Steam or Retail Games ???

Steam looks very useful, but they seem to be a little pricier... Which do you recommend when I set up my gaming build in a couple days?

for example Call of Duty 2 on Steam - 14.99 Pounds but the same game at Game is only 9.78 Pounds. Fallout 3 on Steam is 27 Pounds but at Game it is a mere 18 pounds.

But Steam looks to be alot more user-friendly and helps keep your games up to date and play them anywhere you want really.

Which should I go for guys?

Discuss.

Go for Steam.

It may actually be cheaper when you put transportation in to the mix.

Steam is also more convenient, you don't have to worry about having a disk scratched.

however, make sure that you don't cheat or anything, doing so could get your account banned.

Considering all new Valve games require steam for activation and updates, buying at the store versus online is only a question if you care about install time. Once activated, all boxed Valve games can be completely installed from steam regardless of whether you have a disc or not. I hope this helps.

Edit : All steam games are identical to their boxed versions. So mods aren't an issue.

I prefer retail games. I like playing games on consoles more than on the computer. I do enjoy buying older games on Steam, like Commander Keen Complete Pack and Half Life. I don't like buying new PC games on Steam is because I get charged the same amount as a retail game, but I don't get the box and instructions, and I feel ripped off.

If I were you, I'd retail. It's cheaper and you get more for your money.

steam is very useful if you buy a lot of games from it, or you play any online valve game frequently (well you kinda have to, but the community feature is great. You also need a relatively constant internet connection. Not a problem for most of us, but if it is you might consder going retail.

As for price, for the states the prices are quite reasonable and there are frequently very nice deal ($2 audio surf, $10 TF2, $10 bioshock, $5 VTMB and Deus EX, $20 for all Max Payne and GTA games, $10 for titan quests gold to name a few of them). I've heard from steam friends from other countries that the prices are a fair bit higher, but I have no actual experience there so can't help with the comparison.

Anywas steam is highly convenient as you don't need CD's, has some nice features and keeps getting better ones, and you don't need to worry about keys/patches/CDs which makes reformatting much more painless.

Definitely prefer retail, with the added bonus of almost always being able to find games cheaper (bought Prince of Persia recently for $29.99 + free shipping for example).

Although Steam isn't bad by any means, I find it quite acceptable as a service if our games must be delivered as service :)

Traditionally, I have typically bought less significant games (games I consider more casual for example) over Steam, although everytime I see World of Goo doing well in Amazon's PC best seller list ... I kind of wish I had bought it retail instead of Steam.

Do people really lose keys or cds that often for that to be a selling feature? I have lost maybe one game in the last 20 years...Captain__Tripps

[QUOTE="Captain__Tripps"]Do people really lose keys or cds that often for that to be a selling feature? I have lost maybe one game in the last 20 years...GodLovesDead

If you don't care about having a physical copy, and not able to give away or sell your games, steam isn't terrible. And yeah, its silly that a lot fo games (mainstream ones) are more expensive on steam than you can find in a store.Captain__Tripps