An end to all consoles and graphic cards

[ClayMeow]

Right, but that's not really the same. A PDF manual is electrons. A game download is electrons. A game case, CD, and manual are real tangible objects. If Steam goes away, you're effed on all the content they sold you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it won't be around forever. I kinda like the idea of breaking out my StarCraft discs when I'm 45, installing it in Windows 17's compatibility mode and showing them what 3 teams of 12 Protoss Carriers with fully expanded Interceptor bays can do

 

Services like this and Steam sell intangible products. I just don't like that and I certainly don't like being reliant on them for access to content I bought.

If a service like Steam was to ever go under, they'd provide you notice so you can burn all your games.

 

But nevertheless, I see this being better for online games like Battlefield Heroes or Quake Live, where you wouldn't need to download a browser, but you can still play quality non-flash games.

[Verran]

If a service like Steam was to ever go under, they'd provide you notice so you can burn all your games.

My understanding is that at least some Steam games need to be connected to the internet to be played. I'm pretty sure that was the case for HL2 at least. What happens with those games?

[Waco]

My understanding is that at least some Steam games need to be connected to the internet to be played. I'm pretty sure that was the case for HL2 at least. What happens with those games?

You can play in "offline mode."

 

I don't see this catching on simply because of input and visual lag...

[nVidia_Freak]

As long as I love music, I'll need my computer.

 

Besides, I've got the good stuff to keep my entertained.

[NCC10281982B]

You can play in "offline mode."

 

I don't see this catching on simply because of input and visual lag...

I agree. I had a tough enough time with CS:S. And how big an internet pipe will we need? The last time I read anything about video card bandwidth (Several years ago, I could be way off), The data rates where several GB/s.

[Waco]

Bandwidth and latency would be a huge issue (not to mention video quality since we're talking compressed video).

[SMeeD]

Ill believe it when I see it. Lag, subscription costs, the cost for the unit itself arent going to be any cheaper/better than buying a PC.

 

So far, OnLive has yet to make its business model public, but what seems likely is some form of subscription service, where players will pay a monthly access fee and then pay additional costs, depending on whether they want to play games once, or buy them for permanent play.

 

Assuming you're playing it on a computer you're going to be paying a subscription for the service, at least retail for the game, and your usual MMO subscription if thats what you're looking to play. All to play a jaggy 720p game stretched onto your monitor, at the graphical settings of a console. You're probably not going to get the CD keys for use outside of the service for games you buy either.

 

If you're playing on a TV you're paying for the unit, subscription and game + any game subscriptions. That plus the audio/visual lag of your connection and TV... Have fun letting PC players whip your ..

 

Either way you cut it I think you'd be better off buying a midrange PC every year or so.

Edited March 24, 2009 by SMeeD

[ClayMeow]

My understanding is that at least some Steam games need to be connected to the internet to be played. I'm pretty sure that was the case for HL2 at least. What happens with those games?

They'd remove the online activation before going under. I'm pretty sure they've stated this in interviews several times.

[Verran]

Consider me corrected on that part then. My understanding was that games like Half Life 2 would become disabled after a certain amount of time of playing in "offline mode". That's not so bad then. Still, I generally prefer to buy the product in tangible form, but at least I won't be afraid to jump on a good Steam deal if/when I see one.

[ClayMeow]

Consider me corrected on that part then. My understanding was that games like Half Life 2 would become disabled after a certain amount of time of playing in "offline mode". That's not so bad then. Still, I generally prefer to buy the product in tangible form, but at least I won't be afraid to jump on a good Steam deal if/when I see one.

I hear ya. I like Steam just because it makes things easier and allows me unlimited installs to unlimited PCs, even at the same time (though obviously I can't log in and play at the same time). My experience may be better than others though, as I typically get 1.2MB/s download speed from Steam. I'd suspect people with slower connections may not like downloading gigs upon gigs of game data.

 

Anywho, I'm not opposed to buy retail copies though, but typically only if they offer me something extra. For example, the last retail box I bought was FarCry 2 because the preorder copy from Gamestop was better.

 

I'm really not too worried about a service like Steam going under though. I think it's obvious we're moving closer and closer to that direction, and with high-speed internet connections becoming more and more common, that trend will just continue. And I think from the Top FPS poll, you can see that whatever Valve releases is well received (and for good reason). Not to mention that even huge third-party games are on Steam now, I think they'll have no trouble continuing to make the money necessary to run such a service for a long, long time.

[tkrow21]

I like Steam because I heard of the retail horror stories.

[jammin]

While I do understand the preference for having a physical product in your hands (if only for the manuals and if you happen to like playing with boxes), the actual content when it comes to games (or music / video) is always going to be intangible once its in a digital format, whether it be written to a disc or just hanging around in the ether of the 'cloud'.

 

Eliminating physical distribution for products that don't actually require it has more up sides than down in my opinion. You cut out the overheads required for the distribution network, the energy spent producing the cases, paper and discs themselves, as well as the energy and money that goes into storing the physical products or stocking them in stores.

 

So for me it would be a positive move. But it still has to provide an acceptable gameplay experience, which is no doubt going to be the biggest hurdle. I'd rather not have my gaming be reliant on something (my net connection) that is prone to hiccups and occasional downtime at inconvenient moments. I'm sure plenty are in the same boat in that regard.