The best Digital Game Distribution service

[tomemozok]

Ok,i want to know what is the best Digital Game Distribution service,and sites according to you,and why do you think that they are the best.

Please just don't downgrade the other services,like "Origin is herpes",or stuff like that,just explain why your choice is the best.

My vote would go to steam,because i'm really used to it.And gog.com,because there are some old games for my laptop that are pretty cheap.
Note to the moderators:Can we make some kind of a vote option for the top 5?

 

[Bad^Hat]

I like gog better in principle, Steam better in effect. gog is nice and functional and unobtrusive but Steam has all the stuff I want.

 

[Stormy]

steam

 

[JUL3]

On the Halflife2.net forums, I think you'll be lucky to get a response other than Steam.

Playstation Network.

Spoiler

Uh huh.

 

[Bob_Marley]

I like gog better in principle, Steam better in effect. gog is nice and functional and unobtrusive but Steam has all the stuff I want.

I'd go with that - no DRM and all the prices being in US dollars (so no getting ripped off by exchange rates) make it better than steam as far as the purchases go, but steam has all the games.

 

[EversorAssassin]

Steam.
I remember a time when Steam's User Agreement had a clause that stated that if Valve/Steam should ever go under, they would mail you physical copies of all of your games. Sadly, that was before Steam had non-Valve games... so that clause disappeared. Regardless, I <3 Steam.

 

[ríomhaire]

Steam automatically backs up your save files, has an in-game overlay that even works with games that you don't own on Steam and provides an in-game friends list, web browser, clock and battery meter, has a screenshot feature that automatically uploads them to share with your friends, lets you browse servers without going in-game and jump straight into games with friends, is currently giving away 100 free games every day, has hardware ID detection to help protect your account from being stolen, facilitates cross-platform play between PC, Mac and PS3 and doesn't do any bullshit like install limits.

What other services offer these features for free?

 

[Edeslash]

Steam is my favorite because it's an incredibly good service, but GOG is really nice too because it's DRM free.

 

[TwwIX]

Steam. Why? Convenience, affordability, functionality and community.

Origin is nothing more than a glorified launcher at the moment and knowing EA, i don't expect this to change any time soon.

 

[ray_MAN]

Origin, because all you people hate it...






Seriously, Steam, though. It's the oldest distribution platform, but its age has only brought good things.

 

[Stigmata]

GOG in terms of DRM/ownership, Steam in terms of service/functionality, Origin in terms of satire/black comedy.

 

[MJ12]

Greenman Gaming and Steam.

Greenman Gaming is the only Digital Game Distribution service that allows you to sell back games you already bought. Not to mention they have excellent preorder deals compared to Steam.

 

[Quixoticism]

Steam of course. There are some features that would be nice to have(like game trading, even if it came at a small cost) but almost all the games I have bought in the past 2 years have been on Steam so that's where my library is.

 

[Acepilotf14]

GoG, and Stardock back before it was Impulse.

I love Steam but god damn so many issues and glitches and downtime.

 

[kupocake]

Steam:
Maybe it's because I'm a cheapass, but I've still only ever got a full-priced retail release through Steam once... I guess if the sales are working for them, that's great. A force for good in games, but it's not like it's perfect, or that it's restrictions weren't something that took a while to adjust to.

GoG:
They've done such a good job of dredging up sunken treasure that you almost wonder how much longer they can keep it up. The day they finally secure the Looking Glass back catalogue, they'll have finished Would I take them seriously if they went more fully into full retail release? I'll give any service I've already given my money to the time of day, but the lack of DRM doesn't seem that much of a plus to me (versus Steam, at least).

PSN:
Being part of a captive audience absolutely sucks. It's difficult to take the service seriously when there isn't even a wishlist... also, you have to pay extra if you want to actually see anything approaching a value for money deal. Otherwise? It's alright. But then I wasn't a member when it went down for several months thanks to what was surely the most catastrophic corporate hacking attack thus far.

Games for Windows – Live:
Ok, I know that if we have nothing good to say, it's best for us to say nothing at all.. but this was a buggy, bloated blight on the programs it infected. And it adds insult to injury when you consider that this thing was Microsoft's entire contribution to PC Gaming in the late 00s.

---

Haven't had a reason to tie a game into Origin yet. I'd rather I never have to operate more than one digital service at startup anyway.

 

[morgs]

I prefer steam for all the extra goodies like the messenger tool, and it's very easy to see all my games in one list.

 

[Krynn72]

Steam automatically backs up your save files, has an in-game overlay that even works with games that you don't own on Steam and provides an in-game friends list, web browser, clock and battery meter, has a screenshot feature that automatically uploads them to share with your friends, lets you browse servers without going in-game and jump straight into games with friends, is currently giving away 100 free games every day, has hardware ID detection to help protect your account from being stolen, facilitates cross-platform play between PC, Mac and PS3 and doesn't do any bullshit like install limits.

What other services offer these features for free?

This. Until services like GoG and Greenman come close to this feature set, Steam will be my number 1 platform. For every one nice feature another platform has that Steam doesn't, Steam has five nice features that they don't have.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Greenman Gaming is the only Digital Game Distribution service that allows you to sell back games you already bought. Not to mention they have excellent preorder deals compared to Steam.

This is still completely bizarre to me. I got $1 off Skyrim from them because I traded in a game I'd gotten on a promo... for free. I was essentially stealing from them.

 

[Dinnesch]

Steam keeps my games up-to-date and WORKS.
Also used GFWL and Origin(BF3 beta) and they were nothing but stupid errors. GoG's standalone-installer concept is nice for old games but I still prefer Steam for newer ones because it keeps my up do date so I can play whenever I want.