What's the point of this on Steam?

[Joshyjess]

Originally Posted by Chris_TC

I want to play game XYZ today. Let me check my shelf. Nope, not there. Let me check my Gamersgate account. Nope, guess I didn't buy it there. Let me check Steam. Nope, not there either. Let me check Direct2Drive. Can't find it. EA Download Manager? Doesn't have it. Oh, I remember. I bought it on GOG and backed it up on an external HDD.

Actually GOG and D2D both simply install an icon on you PC when you download a game, you don't need to look in any kind of separate game launcher. Whenever I download a game through Steam, GoG, D2D, Amazon and GamersGate I simply move the icon that installs on my PC into a file I simply call games. From there I have access to all of my games from these sites all in one place.

On the other hand games I by through GreenManGaming and Impulse do require that I run their Launcher (like Capsule or Comrad) before I can play. So if you are talking about these sites, I can see what you mean, it is a bit more trouble playing them. But games from Steam, GoG, GG, D2D and Amazon are all in the same place for me.

[Djinjifila]

My problem with gamersgate and gog is that their game selection ( compared to what steam has ) is very limited. F.E., yesterday I went to gamersgate and wanted to buy The Black Mirror, but it would not let me, because it is not available in the UK.... That immediately put me off. Very few games on Steam are not available in the UK, and those that I am interested in are, so I'd rather buy them from Steam. GOG on the other hand does not have the old games that I am interested in, so that immediately means that I won't be buying anything from them anytime soon.

Just my 2 cents!

[julio_fb]

You know what? Steam is great, GOG is also quite good (even though I rather have all my games in 1 platform).

This game is rubish, though. Couldn't go beyond the 1st screen and had no incentive to keep looking. Those are 7 dollars that I won't see again.

[eightohfive]

Originally Posted by Emerald

It's cheaper on GoG and has no DRM there + you get free goodies.

And funny enough it's on 50% sale on GoG while it's 20% on Steam right now.

It's on Steam because not everyone has as poor business sense as you do.

The person(s) responsible for getting Syberia on Steam are considering how they can reach the MOST customers, which leads them (and reasonably so) to distribute their title on both GOG and Steam. It would be stupid of them not to even! Good Ole Games is a fantastic site (I use it alot) but Steam has millions of users and it is common knowledge that many of them will buy from only that platform(or from another source if they can attach it to their Steam account).

[eightohfive]

Originally Posted by julio_fb

You know what? Steam is great, GOG is also quite good (even though I rather have all my games in 1 platform).

This game is rubish, though. Couldn't go beyond the 1st screen and had no incentive to keep looking. Those are 7 dollars that I won't see again.

You are missing out on an incredibly unique adventure. If you couldn't get past the beginning because of a glitch I suggest trying to figure it out (unless you don't care for point and click adventures). If you couldn't get past the beginning cause you couldn't figure out what to do, yeah you are probably better off just not playing lol

[EnragedPlatypus]

Originally Posted by eightohfive

If you couldn't get past the beginning cause you couldn't figure out what to do, yeah you are probably better off just not playing lol

If you can't get past the beginning then I don't know how you're using a computer right now. I beat this game when it first came out, on my xbox in 2003. I was 12 at the time and as I remember, it wasn't very difficult. Also remember it having a great story, completely willing to replay it.

[Goatman455]

Originally Posted by Woofy12

It... doesn't have DRM on Steam either? What are you talking about.

ben583, right on.

Steam is DRM, you have to launch Steam to play the game. Everytime you run a game it authorizes and at any time Steam could take away your "digital subscription" and you can't play anymore.


Check that licensing agreement that no one reads but signs anyway.



It's nice to have everything on one platform but that attitude is also what makes Steam successful without having to focus on customer service (it doesn't matter much, since most people just want everything unified as you said), it causes stagnation with the Steam service, they have little motivation to improve if you don't support the competition.



You really should check out Good Old Games, it's a fantastic service and they truly are customer focused, something rare in America's business climate today.

For the OP.
Syberia has been on GoG.com for a while.
It just released on Steam, they put a 20% discount on it to promote it.
GoG saw this and undercut them. for the same weekend.

guys like you got suckered into buying it there. Me included.

That's business for ya.

I don't fall for the DRM spectre. Sure Steam COULD shut down, but that is no where in the foreseeable future. IF I do get locked out, I'm sure intrepid future hackers will laugh at this decade's DRM technology.

Furthermore, ask yourself this, will you be playing all these games again in 10, 20 years?
I never expected to play games from the 90s again. dated graphics and what not.

I do like to not contribute to Steam's monopoly, if only because I don't think that's good for the industry in general.

[pumpmoreoil]

In response to the OP, the Steam overlay is quite nice with the Syberia games. I have not bought them via Steam, but I did complete Syberia 2 while creating a shortcut to it from within Steam. The nice thing about the shortcuts is that Steam adds the overlay even to titles outside of the service. I found this particularly useful when navigating the lens puzzle in the library of the monastery.

[Pumpkin_Masher]

Originally Posted by rwh1

I also purchase games now and again from GOG. Above the DRM, there support is great when compaired to when we usually get from Steam and you have the advantage of being able to install their gams in any location you want. I'd like to see Steam implement a feature that's lets you install their games in different locations as well. I know I can back up and move my entire steam installation, but I'd rather be able to pick which hard drive the install goes to than be forced to put them all on the same drive.

Try SteamMover it really comes in handy for this. I have my steam games spread over a couple hard drives.

[greenman42]

I don't think anyone else mentioned the forums. I've gotten in the habit of searching through a game's forum on steam to see how well it works (or if it will work at all) before buying it. Aside from the usual rage-kids that go off on any bug or inconvenience they have with a game, most of the people will come on and start asking if anyone else is having "x" problem with a game like they are. There's also steam trading for when you buy bundles with games that you already have. My brother and I will sometimes buy and a pack and trade the games that we already have copies of.

[Scarab83]

Steam: Syberia 1&2 Bundle = $3.74
GoG: Syberia 1 = $9.99, Syberia 2 = $9.99

[Focusfin]

Originally Posted by greenman42

I don't think anyone else mentioned the forums. I've gotten in the habit of searching through a game's forum on steam to see how well it works (or if it will work at all) before buying it. Aside from the usual rage-kids that go off on any bug or inconvenience they have with a game, most of the people will come on and start asking if anyone else is having "x" problem with a game like they are. There's also steam trading for when you buy bundles with games that you already have. My brother and I will sometimes buy and a pack and trade the games that we already have copies of.

I agree, Steam seems to have it all in a one stop experience.