[QUOTE="RECON64bit"]I do not like anything about steam, in fact I hate it and everything it stands for. Basically it is a program that you need to have to be able to play your games that YOU PAID for. Why do I need to ask for permission to play a game.
nethernova
You also need an operating system. Damn those operating systems. And even worse, you also need hardware to play a game YOU already paid for. No, I get where he is coming from. The difference is with a disc-check, his access to his games are significantly more dependent on factors within his control versus online authentication or online services such as Steam.
Someone could argue that the ability to purchase a replacement disc-drive if it's needed to play games that he's bought is dependent on factors outside of his control (they need to be manufactured, sold, etc) for example. However, that seems a bit of a reach to me compared to the potential loss of access to your games if you've lost your internet access for whatever reason, the service that hosts access to your games goes out of business, or whether legimately or accidently have had your account (e.g. Steam) taken from you in some manner --- i.e. your access to your games is dependent on servers outside of your control.
This likely isn't the point you were making regarding operating systems, but just fyi I don't know if you can really compare requirements for operating systems to games, at least for most people. Operating systems are for the most part disposable where games are often added to personal collections. At least for me, my copies of Win 98, XP, and even Vista have since been forgotten. However, I'm very glad I still have my discs for No One Lives Forever 1 and 2 that are accessible to me whenever I like! (the fact that I haven't yet confirmed they work with Windows 7 notwithstanding). Operating systems may require internet access for install authorization but that may not elicit the same response from a gamer as online DRM for a game.
By the way OP, I can also vouch for having some trouble accessing my games via Steam's offline mode when my internet access was down for a while. It only happened once, but then again I don't use offline mode that often. I don't remember the exact message, but it absolutely would not let me into Steam to access my games offline, it said something about having to login online first. I wonder if a Steam client update affected it or something, maybe the last time I ran Steam it had just updated the client and I hadn't started it again after that point or something --- who knows, but I don't think accessing your games via offline mode always quite works perfectly.
At any rate, if you really don't like Steam, hopefully for most games there will always be a choice for consumers between Steam and retail (non-Steam) versions. You may start to tolerate Steam much more though, especially if you start to pick up some games during their great sales. I used to really dislike Steam, however, now I like it. I still choose to buy retail primarily when it's an option, but Steam is a nice, convenient option to have available -- especially for the deals! :)
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