Steam will kill pc gaming

[Trp Werewolf]

P.S. cheers for wasting my time having to reply to your silly post :angry:

:angry: OK! Who twisted this guy's arm????

 

[acidrainy]

mm.. I'd rather wait 3 days for a CD to come in and be able to use my net connection in the meantime, than spend my money first and wait 3 days to download the thing.

Steam could definitely use some adjustments...

I'm busy downloading L2 right now, and woe... I can't restrict bandwidth usage, so my Internet is f*caked until it's finished. Yeah I can close it whenever I want to download something else, if I want to wait another frigging week for something I want to play NOW. I'm sure this is putting a lot of people off.

You appear to be an intelligent person and your points are duly noted on this issue. However, my statement was aimed towards those that pre-loaded the game prior to its release.

Many people had the game, ready to go, well in advance of the launch date/time.

If you chose to start downloading the game after its release, I'm sorry if this is harsh, but it's your own fault...

 

[Darkn3ss]

Some of you live in some ideal world, I'd like to know where that is, please tell me, because in my world, systems don't work perfectly the first time, and have their fair share of problems. But also my world, they don't abandon the system when it's not yet perfect.

Well let me describe my world...
[] When I buy a new car, I get in it and drive away.
[] When I tune to channel 2 at 10 pm I see then news.
[] When I put a game disk in my 'Gamecube' I play a game.
[] When I discover that a program I've loaded on my PC is buggy I get rid of it. Unfortunately Steam is required to play HL2, otherwise I would have trashed it on day one.
BTW, I'm not abandoning Steam, I was never onboard.

Steam is not quite perfect yet, and that's an understatement, but if anything at all, Steam will save PC gaming. In case you didn't notice, PC gaming is already sorta dying. It's a revolutionary new concept, which requires time to be perfected. Valve will learn from past mistakes, and prevent them from happening the next time, you see now? That's how development occurs, step by step.

Steam will not save sh*t, and yes I did notice PC gaming is sorta dying. I mentioned something similar in an earlier post.
Using the public as guinea pigs as Valve works through its step by step development of Steam is only going to hurt pcgaming, not help.

 

[acidrainy]

Just to skim over your points...

[]A larger percentage of available and affordable broadband worldwide.

Surely this is the issue more so of the governments of the countries within? Steam cannot be blamed for this issue at all...

[]A way to backup the 4GB plus download on the delivery system servers in case of a drive crash.

There is a method that can be used for backing up. Steam will also split the files into varying sizes so that you can easily transport it to the media of your choice
Here is a screenshot to prove it.

[]A delivery system that doesn’t have the many bugs Steam has as described in these forums

That topic has been touched on countless times. It appears that people are either of the opinion that “The world is going to end” or that “Things will improve”. This is classic example of optimism versus pessimism.

Many of the “bugs” Identified throughout these forums have actually been discovered to be related to software outside of steam. Remember steam is only but the content providing system, not the game(s) themselves.

[]A working alternative to the large download for those without broadband.

The current system does work. Yes you have been unfortunate; yes you have been unable to load the CD correctly.

If there was less pressure from the publishers, perhaps valve would of gained more control to the contents of the published disc. This perhaps could of allowed them to simply of issued a disk with backup files for steam?

I am perhaps not the best person to comment on this particular issue, as several of work colleagues and friends have successfully loaded the game from the CD.




Truly I'm am sorry that you have been unable to load the game successfully. Do you have the option of telephone support, from where you live? I only suggest this as it appears this forum has failed to help you in playing the game...

 

[Infidel]

claim to be played in 5 minutes?
is this guy reading these forums?, 99% of people here are totally unable to play, and its nearly been 5 days, not 5 minutes!

Exactly. It took about half an hour just to install Steam and the game, download missing files, updates, etc., just to get stuck by the damn copy protection not being able to read the DVD on my drive.

Infidel

 

[acidrainy]

Well let me describe my world...
[] When I buy a new car, I get in it and drive away.

That's strange, I have to do so much more...
I have to

• Tax it
• Insure it
• MOT it
• Fill it with petrol
• and do a quick point safety check before I drive off

I could do these analogies for all your points, but my message is a very simple one. Despite what you may think. Nothing, not one thing, is as simple as to instantly work. If you analogise everything, you have to prepare yourself for all eventualities.




On a final note for this post, are you able to play the game yet? Or would you like some support into getting you up and running?

 

[[HE]Tick]

Ha you guys are funny! I never even heard of steam until a clan mate told me I could preload hl2. Signed up and bam it was done!

This is the way Valve does it, Its a necessary evil! Live with it or don't use it your choice.

Personally I'm not happy with another app running in the back ground but with little it does take up it is minimal, I'll live with it! As for game delivery? No standing in lines, No hoping to get a copy, No bull shit preorder crap, I'm all for it!


Long live steam! It will prove to be main stream and your useless rants will be quietly forgotten!

 

[acidrainy]

I purchased the CD version and so I didnt go through the download process, but are you saying there's no controlling where the game is installed (drive, path, etc) or what icons are created? If so, that is far from a plus in my book.

No, I never said that at all. You can quite easily pick your own steam directory if you so wish.

On your second point, I am completely unable to site you an example, and so are you, as that game does not exist. However HL2 might have been able to make that claim if it had a delivery system that actually worked. (and we all had warp 9 speed broadband)

I forward you to a point that’s been made multiple times. The preload. This point was based on that function.
This is a link to where I already raised this point.


I could direct you to many a forum where 10 mins after release, people were playing and posting screenshots. Unfortunately I don't think I am allowed to, under these forums regulations.


My point is, is that steam works. The issue appears to be, in your case, with the CD version. Why are you sidestepping from this?

 

[Phoenix2001]

Steam is not the end, it's the future of pc-gaming. Finally developers can have their piece of the cake. With this extra money they can produce even greater games.
Remember the times when you had to write special autoexeces and other stuff to play your game. Using a gameboy was a lot easier

 

[Neurotransmitter]

Steam is not the end, it's the future of pc-gaming.

If that's true, PC gaming WILL die, as the consoles are going to be released with better and better hardware, and better 3rd party support. Casual gamers will eat that stuff up. Developers, in order to make serious dough, will be forced to develop for consoles. It's already started. I mean, you REALLY think we won't ever see a console release of HL2?

Steam is crap, and it wasn't ready. Period. Certainly, i won't evr buy a Valve game for PC ever again unless i'm utterly convinced the release will be relatively painless. I finally got my copy of HL2 to work (10 hours installing and authenticating, 6 days dealing with a CTD bug), and all that frustration is seriously taking the shine off this game. Every time i fire the damned thing up, i see that Steam bullcrap and get to remember all the headache i had to go through after shelling out $60.00. And as i'm playing the game, the words "this was worth the wait!" do not come to mind at all.

I understand that Valve needed this thing out the door, but it just seems that they've made every conceivable mistake. Everything they could have screwed up, almost since day one, they did. To have waited so long for a buggy mess of a release is laughable; but worse, it seriously makes me question whether PC gaming will ever recover from this whole "we gotta stop piracy!!" kick that is ruining it. Developers/pubs are spending precious project dllars on stuff like steam (make no mistake; it's primary purpose is to prevent people from playing illegal versions of it), starforce, you name it, that punish legit consumers like you and me and never really stop piracy anyway. Folks, it's not going to get any better.

 

[Smoke]

this is all B U L L S H I T!

how can u like something that kills ur games!
(cant play them)

 

[terco]

Its great when it works but when it dont work u just wanna kick all the people at valve asses!!!

 

[At0M]

Steam is the way forward.

I think it is great.

 

[OCybrManO]

I had a problem with the first Steam beta... and not one since then. My copy of HL2 was authenticated and ready to go in five minutes.

Remember, there are millions of people that bought the game. If a thousand people complain about it... to be honest, that's a relatively successful release. If you think every other game has zero show-stopper bugs on release you're lying to yourself.

 

[ElAguila]

special autoexecs

Steam is not the end, it's the future of pc-gaming. Finally developers can have their piece of the cake. With this extra money they can produce even greater games.
Remember the times when you had to write special autoexeces and other stuff to play your game. Using a gameboy was a lot easier

But special autoexecs is exactly what is being recommended to try to fix this stuttering issue.

 

[Infidel]

Steam is not the end, it's the future of pc-gaming. Finally developers can have their piece of the cake. With this extra money they can produce even greater games.

Or buy themselves another Porsche.

*I* still remember the times when the most effective copy protection for a game were the things that came with it:

http://www.infocom-if.org/games/games.html

Infidel

 

[Flyingbig]

:angry: OK! Who twisted this guy's arm????

The person that created this post did, call my post a reflex to stupidity if you will.

 

[paratwa]

I think you guys that are for steam have missed the point. Why should I have to give up my email address and any other information just to play a game. Why cant a friend of mine play this game on my computer using a different name so it wont mess my saves up. Why do I need to have an internet connection JUST to play offline! Why have to add time to install a game just verify that I am legal when I know I am. Valve really needs to think this over. I for one will use my vote for not using Steam by never puchasing a game that uses security of this type again!

I agree that Steam and any other software security of its type will kill pc gaming!

 

[dogboy73]

Steam is a disaster. It benefits us paying punters in no way shape or form that I can understand. Some people say it's great because updates will be automatic & we won't have to search them out!! Like they're hard to find & how often do we expect to get them? Could Steam be used as an excuse to release crappy unfinished code? There's already been 1 Steam update since HL2's release (Not 6 days ago!!) & we're expecting another one soon (I hope) for HL2 that will sort out this 'stutter' problem. And does it stop piracy? That remains to be seen but it would seem it's unlikely that any game in uncrackable. Saying so is like waving a red flag at the crackers & saying come & have a go! So the benefits to Valve's loyal & often fanatical fans is minimal it seems. I quite like the idea of software companies cutting out the middle man i.e. the distributor but to what end? Does it mean this whole idea just comes down to greed? If not, Then control? Whatever, It seems to me there is no benefit to the paying punters & certainly no excuse for such a draconian system.

 

[paratwa]

I for one will laugh my butt off when the pirates crack steam and valves security. I have a legit copy of the cd but I will use whatever it takes to avoid Steam!

 

[Blublu]

My experience with Steam has been that is was a bit of a pain, but it worked eventually. I couldn't play in "offline" mode until two days after "activating" it, but whatever...

My problem is that I have to use Steam weither I like it or not. Yeah, Steam is a great idea that I might even consider using if it wasn't such a pain in the ass. However, when I buy a singleplayer game in a store, I would like to install the game and play. I DON'T want to install another program that is designed to play every game ever made by that particular developer. I only want this game, not this one and 100 other ones.

Sure, they could have the option of installing Steam when installing the game but it SHOULDN'T BE A REQUIREMENT.

The biggest pain, however, comes from the fact that this whole thing only affects paying customers! Pirates aren't affected at all! Sure, they might have to wait a little longer until someone makes a crack, but when there's a crack, there will never be any trouble for pirates again, EVER. But those of us that shelled out the cash will have to endure this crap forever.

 

[harmless_Guy]

:sniper: Seriosuley Im prolly going to get flamed for this, but honestley, steam blows, U guys are liek STEAM IS GREAT HL 2 IS BEST GAME EVER YER SYSTEM SUXORS THATS Y ITS NOT WORKING, No steam sucks Tsr programs suck And half life 2 is a huge piece of shit until they get it fixed, The game shouldent have been released like this, also people who are gonna flame this, Go to someones house who paid for th game months ago on steam, N watch the nice stutters, n if u dont have them Congrats, but dont be a dick to pple who really have a shittacular game

 

[OCybrManO]

Steam isn't really a TSR. Steam just runs like any other program until, of course, you choose to exit. You can close Steam whenever you want and it will be removed from memory. The ability to minimize it to the system tray doesn't make it a TSR. TSR (Terminate and Stay Rresident) means the program is stored in memory even while it isn't running. They were used in single-tasking operating systems like DOS so that you could instantly access them (like a notepad, calculator, spell checker, etc) from within another program. They are automatically loaded, terminated (stopped), but kept in memory in case they are needed. They are no longer necessary because of multi-tasking operating systems like Windows, Linux, and Mac OS.

 

[AxelGreaseMonkey]

The problem is that Valve is being dictatorial with regards to the use of Steam.

Once the game has been paid for, and the EULA accepted, Valve has no grounds for forcing people to use Steam; it is not indicated in the HL2_EULA, nor is it indicated on the retail packaging, that the validation, and further use of Half-Life 2, requires the constant use of an extranneous and intrusive program. They're attempting to set a software licensing precedent without the unconditional support of their licencee.

From a legal standpoint it would have been much more intelligent of Valve to included Steam as an optional service to a stand-alone game.

I believe that this hurts the PC games industry as a whole, and may provoke a class action outside the US border.

Am I the only one getting flashbacks of the Windows 98/Internet Explorer fiasco ?

 

[Darkn3ss]

you are late for about a year ... damn ppl .. u are all so shortminded ... u only care about things when they jump at your face ..

So in the future I should express concern about something before I know about it!?

BTW, what content was Steam delivering for the year before HL2?

 

[OCybrManO]

The problem is that Valve is being dictatorial with regards to the use of Steam.

Once the game has been paid for, and the EULA accepted, Valve has no grounds for forcing people to use Steam; it is not indicated in the HL2_EULA, nor is it indicated on the retail packaging, that the validation, and further use of Half-Life 2, requires the constant use of an extranneous and intrusive program. They're attempting to set a software licensing precedent without the unconditional support of their licencee.

From a legal standpoint it would have been much more intelligent of Valve to included Steam as an optional service to a stand-alone game.

I believe that this hurts the PC games industry as a whole, and may provoke a class action outside the US border.

Am I the only one getting flashbacks of the Windows 98/Internet Explorer fiasco ?

The problem with "the Windows 98/Internet Explorer fiasco" was that IE was an optional browser that had strong competition (in the form of browsers like Netscape, Opera, etc) and Microsoft bundled it as a mandatory part of Windows to stifle the competition. Valve building HL2 on the Steam platform does not break those rules. Napster and iTunes require that you register your PC and any devices you want to use your music on and they get away with it... after that, you can use it offline (as with Steam). The only possible case that people might have is that you need an internet connection... but they'll just have to get over it. It says "internet connection" on the box as a requirement. With the prevalence that broadband and narrowband have these days (and it's only increasing) you're going to start seeing more and more things requiring an internet connection. Just because you have a Model T doesn't mean the industry has to stop developing new cars and only support the Model T. Maybe everyone else wants a car stereo with an XM reciever... but because your car doesn't support it, you think they shouldn't be allowed to sell it.

So in the future I should express concern about something before I know about it!?

BTW, what content was Steam delivering for the year before HL2?

You could buy HL, CS:CZ, and all of the games in their catalog through Steam for quite some time before HL2...

 

[Darkn3ss]

Congrats, you have just won the stupid comment of the year award. Do you really think no one cares about gaming after they have made arguably the best game of all time? Never lol

Correct, and I'm not alone.
Specifically I'm referring to the decision makers.

 

[Darkn3ss]

In my opinion Steam is the best thing that could have happened to pc gaming as it is bullet proof against piracy (still no official release from pirates) and if more developers adapt this strategy and make more profit then the market for pc games will increase and game shops might actually give pc gaming more shelf space.

Bullet proof?! Perhaps. I wonder if its made more difficult to hack as it's constantly crashing.

The market for pc games will NOT increase if developers make more money! The market will increase if developers make great games like HL2 and more gamers are able to play right after installing than those that can not.

 

[Cole]

Steam is constantly crashing, darkness wtf are you talking about!

Darkness, steam is great. The developers are getting the money they deserve. It is very secure.

The market will increase if developers make great games like HL2 and more gamers are able to play right after installing than those that can not.

Im having..trouble understanding this..
Your saying that more people are able to play right after installing than those who can't install.... Well obviously those who can't install the game can't obviously play. Onless your using steam.


Steam is perfectly great dude.
It's secure, stable, easy to use.
Steam is stable, not in the start but now its fine.
It's secure, I havn't got one thing stolen from me.
It dosn't use up much resources, which is great!
In the future, if valve makes there own "publishing" department. Then they can get it out on steam quicker and allow people to buy it and play it even faster because they arn't stuck to a release date.
The steam design allows smaller companies who don't have big time publishers to produce games and sell them.
With newer and faster technology we can get the games faster, with new compression methods it allows us to make them smaller. Steam is great, I don't see what your problem is with it.
Steam is a
-Instant messenger, server browser, game handler, "online shop" all in one. I mean hell, if you want a cd copy you can put it on a disk.


Please just list your reasons on why steam is bad... Maybe if your a publisher then yes it is bad. If your a developer its good, you make more money!

 

[Nemesis-Zero]

edit

Please just list your reasons on why steam is bad... Maybe if your a publisher then yes it is bad. If your a developer its good, you make more money!

Umm....money should never, ever be the driving force in the creation of a game or other form of entertainment...If it becomes as such, the quality will drop exponentially, as well as support for the product be reduced... /edit

Alright, alright...Yay, it's a great content delivery concept. Really I wouldn't mind Steam if it would work more than -58489359757438758493875% of the time (If you couldn't tell, that was an exxageration ((sp)) ). And for the person saying, "Who cares what happened with Steam before HL2 was released?" How about no longer being able to play Half Life and it's various mods...you know Half Life...the game that was the premise for Half Life 2....you've played it haven't you?
Steam is not really a new program anymore. It's been in use for at least...I'd say 1.25 years, more or less. Yeah, maybe that's not very long in comparison to other programs, but if you bought a new game or something and it didn't work reliably until a year later, you would've burned it long before.
The #1 problem that I am seeing now is that there was nowhere near anything resembling a decent preparation for the sheer magnitude of users (new and old) wanting to log in at the same time. I've been trying to authenticate my game, but every single time, in the middle of the process, I get disconnected from Steam...and then it takes another hour just to log back in. No, I'm not on dialup. I do believe that Half Life 2 will blow my mind, whenever I am able to finally play it, and I'm sure Steam is revolutionizing pc gaming. But for it to actually have a positive effect, it must be useable.
In my opinion, trying to get console gamers to play pc games is foolish in itself...most of the console gamers that don't already play pc games can hardly even use simple programs on a pc. So dumbing something down to appeal to them will effectively push away pc gamers, because there won't be features that they need...
Alright, I'm not sure where I'm going with this...so...happy shooting! (because I'm sure most everyone will shoot holes in this a mile wide.)

 

[Darkn3ss]

As far as steam problems go i have encountered no problems what so ever although i have the audio stutter issue this will be rectified with an auto patch so all i have to do is kick back and wait for valve to patch my game, could it get any easier? Valve have received too much flack for this, they are the pioneers and other developers will learn from their mistakes (if the audio stutter is traced to being a problem with steam)

P.S. cheers for wasting my time having to reply to your silly post :angry:

Nevertheless there is no denying that a buggy program like Steam will repel potential new pc gamers who might favor the much less complicated console, as a result.

I'm truly glad you are having a satisfactory experience with Steam and that both of us are able to eventually play this great game.
Also I very much appreciate you taking the time to express yourself here and participating in this informative dialogue.

 

[dogboy73]

 

[AxelGreaseMonkey]

OCybrManO,

Steam should legally be an optional service, entirely apart from HL2 (much like IE should've been to Win98), but - like in Win98's case where IE was integrated into Win98; hence non-removable (whether you used it or not) - the licencee is forced to install, and (to one-up MS) use an integrated product extranneous from the product they voluntarily purchased.

Had Valve/VUGames indicated on their retail package of HL2 that Steam, and all the related baggage, was a necessary component to the use of HL2, then there wouldn't be this debate. The licencee could've then exercised their educated freewill in deciding whether they'd purchase the game, or not.

It is only once the box is open, and the implied warranty on the return of unopened software voided, that the licencee is greeted with the (lovely and eye-catching orange ) quick-reference card that indicates the mandatory usage of Steam.

As few (if any) retailers will accept a return on an opened game, this amounts to retail entrapment to any of those that lacked the foreknowledge before the purchase.

Valve could get in a lot of sh*t.

 

[Nemesis-Zero]

OCybrManO,

It is only once the box is open, and the implied warranty on the return of unopened software voided, that the licencee is greeted with the (lovely and eye-catching orange ) quick-reference card that indicates the mandatory usage of Steam.

As few (if any) retailers will accept a return on an opened game, this amounts to retail entrapment to any of those that lacked the foreknowledge before the purchase.

Valve could get in a lot of sh*t.

True, but just thinking about it, if they did get in a lot of sh*t, all they would do is change the packaging and reimburse (maybe) the people who feel they had been wronged...thereby not solving what some people see as a problem.

 

[paratwa]

Thats one of the things that pisses me off the most. The only thing I saw on the packaging was that an internet connection was required. Nothing was said about a requirement to give up your email addy or be required to install a third party program that monitors your game. If valve gave me the option I would return my game in a second.

Im not doing anything illegal and I do not want to have anything on my system looked at by a third party. Thats why I installed a firewall and anti trojan software as well as virus protection.

I think that valve broke the trust by not stating on the packaging that steam would be a required install or describe what steam was.

If your happy with Steam, then your happy. But whats to stop software companys in the future from requireing your address and social security number to install software. If its not put to a stop now, then where will it stop.

Im not a conspiracy nut, but I see it happening as we speak.

 

[Darkn3ss]

That's strange, I have to do so much more...

I could do these analogies for all your points, but my message is a very simple one. Despite what you may think. Nothing, not one thing, is as simple as to instantly work. If you analogise everything, you have to prepare yourself for all eventualities.

I agree that everything can be broken down into steps but to call them preparations for eventualities is quite a stretch.
There is a threshold under witch we are willing to accept certain responsibilities or take certain steps to an end.
Where that threshold is changes based on things like how much something cost or how much we desire the thing.
I think its clear that Steam has taken many of us over this threshold and beyond.

On a final note for this post, are you able to play the game yet? Or would you like some support into getting you up and running?

I was in HL2 about 2.5 hours after putting in disk 1. (I preordered the cd version) To me that is unacceptable.
Also I was fortunate to dodge a few bullets during install (e.g. not deselecting counter-strike which I almost did)

Steam does not deliver as advertised and I should not be forced to use it.

 

[OCybrManO]

They require contact information for the same reason online retailers, forums, and other services that you don't want to lose your account for require contact information. In the case that something bad happens they can contact you through that address or they can use it to help you fix problems. If your games were tied to an account that had no contact information and you lost your password you would be up shit creek without a paddle. How is it not reasonable to give them an emergency contact e-mail address (you could even make a worthless spam address if you really don't care)?

Also, an e-mail address is no way tied to your identity (at least, not yet... if that happens you have every right to be pissed)... unlike your physical address or SSN. You can't look in some internet phone book to trace an e-mail address back to an individual.

 

[acidrainy]

It is only once the box is open, and the implied warranty on the return of unopened software voided, that the licence is greeted with the (lovely and eye-catching orange ) quick-reference card that indicates the mandatory usage of Steam.

As few (if any) retailers will accept a return on an opened game, this amounts to retail entrapment to any of those that lacked the foreknowledge before the purchase.

Valve could get in a lot of sh*t.

Interesting point. I will try to remember and get back to you as soon as I've found a single retailer that does not allow a return of an opened product.

I don't think the UK is the only country that forces a mandatory return policy for consumers, is it?

 

[Flyingbig]

Nevertheless there is no denying that a buggy program like Steam will repel potential new pc gamers who might favor the much less complicated console, as a result.

I'm truly glad you are having a satisfactory experience with Steam and that both of us are able to eventually play this great game.
Also I very much appreciate you taking the time to express yourself here and participating in this informative dialogue.

This thing about gamers being put off by the "complicated" process of playing games on a PC is confusing me. This is nothing new, its been that way since pc gaming was born so why are people bring this up now? What we have here is a game that has a few bugs (nothing new again) and while we are waiting for this patch you guys are talking about the death of the PC when what we have waiting just round the corner is possibily the greatest game of all time. What gives? I honestly believe that the people having the MAJOR problems are people with a lack of knowledge of how pcs work or have cheap nasty hardware or even faulty hardware. Steam works fine, i know of no one personally that has had a problem with it, counter-strike source works flawlessly and has done for 3 weeks solid even with multiple patches being installed without my consent and half-life 2 has 2 bugs niether of which renders the game unplayable. The bugs cannot be squarely blamed on steam itself but rather on the GAME it self. That last point is debatable and i am not saying i am right but as cs source works flawless it suggests that steam is infact ok and its hl2 THE GAME that is causing the issues so just chill and wait for valve to sort it out, i feel a patch will happen sometime this week. :E

 

[paratwa]

You can return the game for the same game, NOT for a refund. Thats so if the game cd is bad you can exchange it. But I have never heard of a retailer that will refund the money.

Did I have to get a loan to buy this game? No. Did I have to get a security clearance to buy this game? No. Have I ever had to give my correct email addy so I can play a game before? NO! So why now all of a sudden do I have to give out information to somebody I have no clue about, and what are they going to do with that information in the future? I dont remember it saying it would not give out that information to another party (but it might have, dont remember) Its just a freaking game.

Yes its just an email address, for now. Whats next?