Steam Users: Pros and Cons of Steam?

I've been using it for a half a year now and i have not had any problems with it at all.

The only "problem" that i've had happen to me was that when i launched the steam client, sometimes my internet connection would go down for about a minute. I'm not sure whether this has anything to do with me connecting to the internet via a wireless connection or not.

i have steam and no problems at all, i have every valve game there is, and others, one thing i like is that i can play all my games and my friends would know im playing. also cause there is no worry about finding latest patches for like 30 games that i have cause they autoupdate, but you could choose to disable it if you really want to.

if you ever need to reinstall a game you can backup your game and burn it into a cd or dvd, and reinstall it.

I would say that steam is good if you don't want another box on your shelf or any of the hassle of installing a CD / DVD. Also I would say its pretty secure with your security details etc.

I would say that the downside is that you don't have a CD / DVD in some ways if it is physical, but you can burn a backup onto DVD if you want.

pros: most of them have been listed

cons: forced autoupdating, having to be online to play certain games (logged into steam), and probably some others.

For me, honestly, it's simply the best online distribution system in the world of gaming.

All Pros

Can only think of one Con, which was STEAMS' decision to include 2k's Bioshock with the retail boxed DRM, which STEAM games do not use nor need. Apparently there will be an update for steam users to remove the uneeded copy protection from the Steam version later down the line.

I was very very nervous about STEAM and not to keen on the idea when it first launched, and to say I made a complete 180 not to long after Steam's launch would be an understatement.

STEAM FTW

i have most of the valve games and many others (DOW, STALKER, M2: TW, etc..)

never really had a problem with it. It has improved alot in the past few years. I like auto-updates, although some dont and there is an option to turn them off. Steam plays nice as a *relatively low resource hog. Never had an issue. Plays like a disc based game, without the disc in the drive.

PRos: Never lose your games (remember password however).
-unified platform with friends list and achievements (greater than xbl IMo)

Cons: none that i can think of other than not having a few games i want on it (mainly crysis, EA Link sucks and CC near me never has em).

Pros

Well, Steam just simply rocks. Automatic updates are extremely nice. Digital Distrobution is very convenient because you don't have to drive to your nearest retailer to pick up the game. Also, with games you bought on steam it shows them as installed or uninstalled. If you have an old game that isn't installed that you bought off of steam and you wan't to go back to you just simply double click on it and it will ask you if you want to install. Their is no hastle of finding the CD/DVD and then making sure you can find the CD key as well. Once you buy a game off of steam you never have to worry about a CD key. Also, if you go use any other computer you can install steam, log onto your account, and download your games onto that computer without it harming your other computers installations. One overlooked thing is the Steam Server Browser. It is really good. Most in game server browsers are god awful at finding servers but Steam is top notch.

Cons

Steam isn't aestheticly pleasing to the eye. Another thing is that when you buy games you won't have a physical object to hold or look at it

pros

-no dvd/media

-auto updates

-out of game server browser (not all games)

-great prices for most games compared to australia retail

cons

-some games not available in certain regions

-some games stupid prices in some regions

-still some problems now and then.

Pros:
- No need to use the CD's if you buy retail. Once the CD-key is registered to your account, you can download the games off the net, without using the CD's.
- Uniform updating makes all versions of their games the same across the globe. Therefore you don't have to hunt down patches and download and install etc.
- The ability to log in ANYWHERE, on a computer that has steam, and just play (providing restrictions aren't in place etc.)
- Friend's network and community are coming along really well, making it easier to find friends in games, and chat etc.
- More and more games are coming to the platform each week.

Cons:
- If you have dial up, it can be a pain in the butt (I used steam for nearly two years on dialup).
- The forced autoupdating makes it painful when you find that a game no longer works correctly because the new update has broken something in the code, forcing you to wait for the next version that fixes it (no reverting to previous versions basically)
- The lack of updates to their features (Steam community took nearly 3 and half years to come around after Steam's beginning). This reduces the novelty value of steam, and makes it purely a game menu rather than like "Xfire" (It's getting there now, but there isn't enough updates in this area to warrant it being a pro)
- VAC is practically redundant. Hacking is becoming worse, and their policy is basically "In due course they will be banned". VAC had its critics from the start, but now it's becoming even worse, since Valve do not give any indication of its effectiveness nor do they acknowledge any "cheating" problems and telling people "they are working on it".

Pros:

-Fast, easy, and convenient

-I have a list of all the games that I own, installed or not

-NO CD's! I can play whenever without having to find a disk.

-I can let my roomates try games by letting them log on to my account. No CD lending.

-Great for LAN parties!

Cons:

-Sometimes Steam glitches and won't let me play in offline mode (fixes on reboot).

-Some games are inexplicably over priced, though this seems to be slowly changing.

Pros: Its free, you can assess the product without getting ripped off.

Cons: None.

Steam is mostly good except when it comes to its major, major game releases such as half-life 2 episode 2. Many people had problems downloading that game because the servers were clogged, I had to wait 4 days to download it which in the process of trying to figure what happened the game was spoiled for me :evil:. On top of that lots of people even had problems pre-loading the game.

So my verdict on Steam, pretty good to use however when it comes to games with a massive popularity base it would be best to just buy it in store. Other then that I have no complaints with steam.

For me, honestly, it's simply the best online distribution system in the world of gaming.

All Pros

Can only think of one Con, which was STEAMS' decision to include 2k's Bioshock with the retail boxed DRM, which STEAM games do not use nor need. Apparently there will be an update for steam users to remove the uneeded copy protection from the Steam version later down the line.

I was very very nervous about STEAM and not to keen on the idea when it first launched, and to say I made a complete 180 not to long after Steam's launch would be an understatement.

STEAM FTW

mismajor99

That was the publisher's, 2K Games, decision. If Valve rejected the BioShock DRM, then 2K wouldn't allow the game to be put on Steam.

Pros

- No CD/DVD

- It patches for you

- Presents all your games on a list

- Fast download speeds

- Covenient

Cons

If it's not a source-based game and lacks direct mod support, you won't be able to mod your game (Stalker for example).

I've been having real problems with Steam since I moved to Thailand 6 months ago. Steam will only start up and run very infrequently. What usually happens is the update bar will flash onscreen for a second before disappearing. Steam will not update nor will it start yet it's still listed as running in Windows Task Manager. If I try to restart, I get a message telling me Steam is already running. I have to use CTRL-ALT-DEL to shut it down and restart yet I have a less than 5% chance of getting it to run. I can't even get it to the stage where it'll allow me to alter my default settings and allow me to start games in offline mode so I don't have to deal with this nonsense.

I've contacted Valve support but they're as bad, if not worse than, EA for responding to issues. You get shunted around to various automated unhelpful and irrelevant "help" pages which only rarely answer your specific need.

Anyway, after following all of their advice regarding port settings, possible program and firewall conflicts, virus scans and driver updates, the problems still persist 6 months on and despite my repeated entreaties for assistance, I never hear a peep from Valve support.

To make matters worse, they just completely "upgraded" their support, so all previous outstanding issues were wiped from the database. I was informed that I'd have to create a new account and start the process all over again. Being the sheep I am, I did so and was ever so pleased to receive the same automated response I got 6 months ago.

STEAM SUCKS!

Can't honestly say a bad word about steam. Never had a problem with it. Great deals on games, love the stat tracking stuff. Love steam. Wish every game would use Steam.

I think its fantastic, the only fault I have with downloading games from it is my Internet is not super fast so it does take a while.

Pros: Everything

Cons: its not really a good looking program

Con: you cant install the games across multiple drives! I hate having to constantly uninstall games due to lack of space.

Old thread party!

The only con I can think of is how little skins there are for Steam. Most of the ones I've seen all suck.

Pros:

Greats games to choose from, and the list keeps on growing

Friends list

Don't have to leave your house to buy/play games

Cons:

Sometimes, steam will act wierd and you'll need to reboot. (Won't let you play games ect.) This RARELY happens though

Cons: Overpriced games pros: good community, sometimes good deals on some games.Solid_Tango

Give me your honest NON-BIASED opinions about it,thinking of getting it,so i won't have to deal with CD's/DVD's and hopefully get the game to work right.Indestructible2

Pros
-Once Bought games you can keep them forever
-Auto Updates
-Easy to setup games with friends
-Weekend Deals, every weekend and some of them are preety radicool

Cons
-When playing games I get distracted with friends sending i/ms so many times.
-If you wanna buy a game of steam you have to have a Credit Card or use Paypal...somthing like that. I remcemend Steam bring out Pre-paid cards like Nintendo and Microsoft.

Pro's - No need to put disk in drive when playing games, games automatically patch, achievements, friends, messaging, voice chat

Con's - Steam interface doesn't integrate with Vista well, Can't message friends when they're offline, Steam's prices are expensive compared to buying the game retail, games often come out a bit later than retail, you don't get a hard copy of instruction manual or a box (it's nice to collect)

Also most of Steams features are in GFWL (and you can message offline friends)

When you use Steam rather than buying the game on retail cd/dvd there will be alot of things you will not be able to do such as play mods and you may have more connection problems than you think.

Also, Steam can conflict with Xfire if you use it, preventing Xfire to work in game or both Steam and Xfire from working in the game. Steam takes up a bit of PC usage, so you use more RAM just to play the game.

When you use Steam rather than buying the game on retail cd/dvd there will be alot of things you will not be able to do such as play mods and you may have more connection problems than you think.

Also, Steam can conflict with Xfire if you use it, preventing Xfire to work in game or both Steam and Xfire from working in the game. Steam takes up a bit of PC usage, so you use more RAM just to play the game.

StealthKing93

Depends on the game.