That is standard for all P2P games...EA didn't get over or cheat them, they can alway cancel there account if they don't like the game.. And If that is the case i would be more upset on dropping 60-100$ on a crap game then P2P..but SWTOR isn't a crap game, WOW (P2P) and RoM(F2P) are better..But SWTOR is still a good game.lge777

Yes I know that I even said that it is a "standard practice", it happens to be a standard practice I do not personally agree with so I steer clear of any MMO whether they are "good" or "crap". Note that is just ONE of the reasons why I stay away from MMO's. I was just clarifying why the TC was complaining. I understand why he is complaining, even though it is a standard practice all MMO's do it does not make it any more legitimate, it is a shady practice designed to get you to set up a payment scheme then forget about it.

I don't get what the problem is ??? You didn't know this is a P2P game ????EA gave you 1 month free and your mad about that ???? I don't understand how you feel like you where tricked. STWOR is a P2P game.

lge777

It is my understanding that BEFORE you can access your "free" 30 days you have to set up a payment option (i.e. give your credit card details). That is what the TC is complaining about, they are not complaining about being giving a "free" period or that the game is P2P.

Whilst it is a practice I do not agree with (and one of the reasons why I never touch MMO's with a barge pole) it is something that is "standard" these days with MMO's.

32 bitSyk0_k03r

That may be one of your problems then. Any 32bit operating system is unable to address more than 4gb of ram. That upper 4gb limit includes everything (such as memory on the graphics card). So if your PC has 6gbs of ram and a 512mb graphics card then your operating system can only use half of that 6gb. With a system such as yours you are really hampering it by continuing to use Windows XP 32bit. I would say that is more to do with your performance problems than steam drm.

I imagine I am just wasting my breath here but Syk0_k03r rather than looking for something convienent to blame your performance issues on perhaps you should examine WHY you are having problems with newer games. I can tell you now with nearly 99.9999999999999999999% certainty that the "DRM" is not causing problems. Now you mentioned you use Windows XP is that the 32 bit or 64 bit version ?

My brother has a couple of games installed and just made me think why is it so popular?

The interface is god awful and the amount of bugs in the software is unbelievable.

I don't even think a lot of the games are even that cheap.

Do people actually like it? Or is it just something to put up with as some games require it?

obenns

Well firstly complaints about the interface are a "personal" thing. I don't have any problems with the steam interface and I don't think it is awful. There are obviously improvements that could be made (as is the case with all software) but I like the interface. In terms of bugs can you be more specific ? I would have to say Steam is one of the most stable programs on the PC, it runs day and night on my PC with no issue whatsoever and I have never encountered any bugs.

As for why it is so popular there are dozens of reasons why it is the "go to" service for PC gamers. A lot of people use the sales as a reason but I feel it is more. The Steam sale is like no other sale, it isn't just a "sale" it is an event. I have rarely seen people get hyped for a sale in the same way as they do for a steam sale. Just look at this sale along with the cheap prices Valve are running a prize give away and event where you stand a pretty good chance of winning free games.

I would say that of all the companies on the PC platform Valve GET IT, they understand the PC platform. The steam service feels like a PC service designed by PC gamers for PC gamers. At any rate I haven't seen any other company come close to offering me waht steam offers. I am no Steam fanboy, if a company tomorrow came out with a better service I would hop on board straight away, but some how I can't see that happening because Valve seems to be rather unique in the gaming industry.

There is a website utility you can use which will convert a Xbox 360 ME2 save game into a PC save game (and vice versa). Firstly you will need to get your xbox 360 save games off the console. There is a handy guide on how to do that here :-

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/128/index/2277020

Once you have your xbox save game you create an account on this site :-

http://legion.cal24.pl/me2/index.php/site/index

Then use the tool to convert your xbox 360 save into a pc save.

Personally I think it is more trouble than it is worth and I would just use the save game editor to create a PC save with the decisions. You can find the save game editor here :-

http://www.masseffectsaves.com/tools.php

It's called Gibbed's save game editor.

pc will have the joy of paying for xbox live also! for awesome services that almost every company gives for free!

Krelian-co

They already tried that and PC gamers laughed at them. As for the story I am a bit confused here, at absolutely no point in the posted link was there any mention of "big news" about the PC. This is a news story about Microsoft pulling out of CES after this year (like a lot of companies seem to be doing). So I am a bit confused how the TC derived that there is some sort of mega super duper news coming for PC gaming from Microsoft.

They agreed to the terms of use. So yes.shakmaster13

Ignoring for a moment the dubious legality of the terms what about the incident where a user DID NOT break the terms of service but he was banned from the forums because another user quoted his name in an offensive post ? The banned user (that did nothing wrong) can no longer access any of the EA games he paid for.

Absolutely no one should be behind this practice EA is pulling, it is wrong on so many levels and just because they try and make it "legally right" by shoving it in the terms of service does not make it right.

EA doesn't ban you for "just" posting inappropriate pics, you'd have to be a complete ****** to get a ban and frankly, the way you're talking about this gives me just that impression. It's a myth people, what you're reading on the internet...EA staff doesn't go "uh lulz, moderation, meh let's make it perma ban"DanielDust

Where is your evidence to support this claim that these bans are a "myth" ? The bans have been reported on a very reputable website and EA themselves have not sought to clarify that these bans haven't happened. I would have thought it would've been in EA's interest to state that the bans that sites such as RPS are reporting are myths. You don't even need to post inappropriate pics to get banned, there is one user that was banned for posting a "commercial" link to a website. This link is actually in an EA FAQ but that didn't stop EA from banning them. Another user was mistakenly banned when his name was quoted in an offensive post (moderators make mistakes they are only human) however that person is now unable to play his purchased games because he has no way to reverse the ban and EA provide no mechanism to contest bannings.

thank God both EA and Blizzard permanently ban both your forum account and games, there's too much stupidity in this world.DanielDust

I really find it shocking that there are people actually supporting game companies banning users from their purchased games. I totally agree if you are an idiot on the forums and disturb other users then you should be banned from the forums but you should not lose access to games you PAID for. If you act like an idiot in multiplayer then naturally you should be removed from that part of the game to prevent you disturbing other users but you should not be banned from the single player game that you PAID for.

So your forum account and gaming accounts are linked resulting in a ban of both? Ewww!MythPro1

This kind of thing has been happening for nearly a year now and EA do not seem all that willing to change it :-

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/12/05/ea-origin-bans-update-edition/

To be honest if you must use EA products then do yourself a favour and stay well away from all Official EA sanctioned forums (including forums set up for specific games). There is even one incident where a user DID NOT break any of the forum rules but found himself banned and cut off from all his games simply because another user quoted his name in an offensive post. So don't think you are safe because you will "play by the rules" you can easily get caught up and banned through no fault of your own.