Why i bought steam not retail...

chriso20

chriso20

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Got pissed off with all the people here making shit threads, so i thought i'd join in lol and as a fair few are related to steam, that's th topic:

I bought steam because:

-Get to play within 20mins of release (most likely 5mins ish as it wont be a big last download).
-No tax.
-Supporting Valve over the money hungry VUG.
-Don't have to go out to get to a shop for 8am (for me) to go buy hl2.
-Guaranteed a copy.
-No install.
-Costs less than retail.
-Got to play CS:S straight away.


Please add more if you think of any.
Also any people getting retail PLEASE try to tell me why retail is better.
 
chriso20 said:
Got pissed off with all the people here making shit threads, so i thought i'd join in lol and as a fair few are related to steam, that's th topic:

I bought steam because:

-Get to play within 20mins of release (most likely 5mins ish as it wont be a big last download).
-No tax.
-Supporting Valve over the money hungry VUG.
-Don't have to go out to get to a shop for 8am (for me) to go buy hl2.
-Guaranteed a copy.
-No install.
-Costs less than retail.
-Got to play CS:S straight away.


Please add more if you think of any.
Also any people getting retail PLEASE try to tell me why retail is better.
Click to expand...


Exact Same Reasons i got it From STEAM.
Exept i get to play it the minute its out.
 
I bought it because I'm lazy... I'll probably end up buying a box anyway when it goes bargain...
 
AgentXen said:
Exact Same Reasons i got it From STEAM.
Exept i get to play it the minute its out.
Click to expand...

well not really, as i imagine if a retail and a steam 'copy' went head to head to 'first to play' retail'd win as all it needs to do is authenticate. Steam has to dl the .dlls and .exe (plus other shite) and then it can play.
 
steam doesn't have to play musical chairs with cds 1-4 or whatever number of discs it is
 
Heheh, neither does the UK retail version (said to be on a single DVD)- plus I get a hard copy in case my Steam goes bye-bye!

I'll be playing my HL2 no more than five hours after Steam preloaders... presuming I auth my copy properly. Damn you dial-up!
 
I doubt there will be much left to download. By the time retail gets out the store and is installed Steam users will be into the game a couple of levels throwing things around with the manipulator....
 
Both versions have to be connected to steam for you to play the game o_O
 
Eh, retail HL2 comes with Steam, and all the content-downloading ease you'd expect because of it...
 
GuNzABlaZiN said:
Both versions have to be connected to steam for you to play the game o_O
Click to expand...

I knew it needed activation, but I did'nt know that you had to install Steam. now I do.

Thankyou.

:O Feeling silly!

Not to self - Read This
 
Retail still needs steam to run...
So in effect it will be no different come install time.

I dislike these small updates, I would hope that they would release stand alone patches....Ive been told that does not happen though.
 
Nope, apparently we won't get any independent .exe installers for any Steam game's updates.

Dang.
 
I've bought retail (Standard edition).

Anyone know how many cds it comes on?
 
Alientank said:
27,000
Click to expand...
yeah i thought it would be 25,000+ cds :p

looked on the steam support site and it said 6. that adds like half an hour to the installation :(
 
-Get to play within 20mins of release (most likely 5mins ish as it wont be a big last download).
True

-No tax
Untrue. Additionally, there is no tax on my Amazon order. :)

-Supporting Valve over the money hungry VUG.
True

-Don't have to go out to get to a shop for 8am (for me) to go buy hl2.
No. This is the digital age. People order online

-Guaranteed a copy.
Pre-orders

-No install.
True, but install takes 5 minutes MAX

-Costs less than retail.
No, Amazon has free shipping and no tax. :)

-Got to play CS:S straight away.
True
 
Tax is charged for internet sales depending on local law. In the UK it's 17.5%, for instance.
 
I'm supporting Valve all the way, that's why I'm using steam to purchase their games.
 
Taifong, it wasnt "steam does this retail does this" they're just reasons i bought steam :)
 
Buying through steam is just another way to get the game ASAP with no fuss. Plus I got a great deal when buying through steam for DoD:Source, HL:Source and other games. :p

When you get it any other way you may be delayed in playing HL2, by a little or a lot. It may not arrive at your doorstep right away. Or you actually have to leave your house. Perhaps the store is still closed while others play HL2 from Steam? Of course now you will end up paying a lot more if you want to play DoD:Source or HL:Source. ;)

Plus Valve gets most of my money instead of Publishers and Retail stores.
 
chriso20 said:
Taifong, it wasnt "steam does this retail does this" they're just reasons i bought steam :)
Click to expand...

I know. But your very posting of this thread combined with the actual reasons of why you bought steam rather than retail imply that steam is better than retail, which is a subject open for argument. :)
 
Why i bought steam not retail...

....because more of the money goes to the developer, rather than the publisher.
 
I went with Steam purchase because:

A. The technology is impressive and free (and required to unlock and play HL 2 anyway)

B. I live fairly remote from any retail outlets meaning I would spend a fair amount of cash on gas alone to get to a store and back again which is no short drive :)

C. The thought I had already downloaded the biggest game we've seen in many years, even if I couldn't play it yet :devil:

Oh and Asus, great avatar. Not too many kids these days know about brak :cheers:
 
i think its a great deal to buy on steam but if u have to format ur HD then u have to dl it all over again thats y im buying retail
 
giant384 said:
i think its a great deal to buy on steam but if u have to format ur HD then u have to dl it all over again thats y im buying retail
Click to expand...
If you have means to back it up, then it actually is better. I absolutely hated having to reinstall Half-Life from CD along with all the full CS, DoD files plus patches. :\

I recently reinstalled my system and I just downloaded the steam installer (600K) and installed it in 2 mins, moved my Cache files over and I then played CSS. Much better than the old way, with fully updated cache files. :)
 
After learning more about the situation between Valve and the publisher, I wish I had a highspeed connection.
A couple of people suggested Steam was necessary to play the retail version of the game!? Surely there will be buyers without an internet connection so this seems hard to believe. Pardon me if i'm just not informed.
 
Yes Polypod, Valve is potentially hurting some users but they do in fact require an internet connection to unlock Half Life 2 purchased through retail.

Granted, this user base is getting smaller by the day. In fact I cannot even venture a modest estimate on how many people that actually buy this game do not have an internet connection of some type but in the large scale of things, the number of users without a connection are very small indeed as compared to the user base that does have a connection.

Oh and Giant384, if you have a CD Burner or a second hard drive or a DVD burner, one can make copies of all the cache files downloaded to your box through Steam. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this and avoid having to re-download several gigs worth of data.
 
I know for a fact it'll be a waste of time going to university on that day, I won't be able to concentrate!
 
So I didn't give a penny to Vivendi - may they rot in the corperate cess pool.
 
Well I'm supporting VAVLe twice and VUG once. I bought the Silver and I preorder the retail copy a year ago.
 
The reasons I bought from Steam:

1) Better value: Standard boxed edition would have cost me $55 with tax and I would have gotten only Half-Life 2 and Counter Strike: Source. Steam's Silver edition cost me $59.95 (no tax) and I get Half-Life 2, Counter Strike: Source, Half-Life: Source, Day of Defeat: Source, plus Valve's back catalog.

2) Early release of Counter Strike: Source: Getting to play this game early was worth the price of admission.

3) No worries about my local shop not getting it on release day: I live in a small town, and most games don't show up until a day after they're officially released. My local shop managed to get Doom 3 on release day, but they had to make a special trip to get it and it didn't arrive until almost 8 o'clock at night. With Steam, I am guarenteed my copy the very second it is released.

4) More profit for Valve: I'm not much impressed with Vivendi and want to support Valve as much as possible.

I must say, I have been thus far impressed with Steam's ease of use and general reliability. I have not had a single problem with it, my purchase transaction went flawlessly, and download speeds are excellent. Furthermore, games purchased over Steam can be played in offline mode, and making backups of game files is a breeze with the recently released backup feature.

All in all, Steam has been a joy to use, and I would seriously consider purchasing more product over it in the future.
 
some good points here.

here's the one that really made me reconsider the retail purchase though.

Gamestop is going to sell the game for $54.99. Tax here is 8%. Total would be over $60. Steam Bronze version would be only $50, and I usually throw the box away anyway, not to mention the other pro's mentioned here... I may go with steam after all.

Is it for sure no tax if you buy via Steam (and don't live in Washingon state)?
 
If this Steam business works out for Valve perhaps they won't have to bother with publishers in the future. But that would be a while from now until 56k is unheard of and everyone has a nice broadband connection to download the content.
 
If u get retail not only do u get the box and all. But also whilst u lazy bastards sit on ur seat as u get HL2 piling on the pounds, Ill be out running down to tha shop fit as a fiddle.
Yup, look down at ur belly..isnt it expansive>? :LOL:
 
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