Many geeks have an issue which one could call laziness, but I’d like to refer to it as being too comfortable. There’s just something about putting on baggy soft clothes, making a good cup of coffee and sitting down in front of the PC, and firing up your favorite game. That kind of satisfied feeling is priceless.
What is even cooler is the added excitement when you get a new game, especially if you’ve longed after it like the fanboy or fangirl that you are, on the day of the game’s release. If you’re lucky, sometimes there’s some kind of release event connected with the game, which can be a lot of fun to attend, but mostly it’s about going after work/school to pick up the game, or even worse, having to wait by the mail box for it to come.
Generally, the whole process isn’t problematic nor frustrating, but sometimes we geeks do face the tough part of having to go to the store to get the game. To our nightmarish reality the shop might be out of copies, the car breaks down, and everyone you thought loved you can’t take you to the store. Let’s not even talk about having to order the game online and waiting for it to show up, that is, if for some reason the mail didn’t get delayed.
About a year and a half ago I learned about a way to get games to your computer without having to move an inch, named Steam.
What is Steam?
Steam is free software developed by Valve Corporation, the creators of popular games as Portal, Half-Life and Left 4 Dead. The main purpose of the software is to distribute games working as a “content delivery system”. This means you browse (through thousands of available games), purchase and then download the game to your computer through the Steam software.
When Steam launched, they were only distributing Valve’s own games, but today many publishers have their catalogs on Steam. The software also contains a community platform which has become popular as well. On your profile you can share personal information as well as what games you own, friends, a wish list and achievements. The friend list allows you to not only communicate with your friends while playing, thanks to an amazing in-game community feature of Steam’s, but also easily allow multiplay as well as inform your friends what you’re currently up to.
So what are good reasons to buy the games through the software?
- Access to over 1,100 games
- Automatic updates
- Steam-only special offers
- An online community
- Your game is tied to your account and not a disk
The Danger of Using Steam
What makes this a “dangerous” choice is that Steam makes it easy to purchase games (a couple of clicks and the game starts downloading), and they also have offers, sales and great games for you to stumble upon when opening the “Steam Store”. There are so many games Steam distributes that it is hard not to browse. I usually have trouble keeping my fingers off the keyboard looking at all the picture galleries and trailers. They also have a sale section, “Steam-only special offers”. This means you get access to amazing deals. Christmas was especially dangerous when they bombarded users with amazing 50-75% off deals everyday for 30 days.
Because their catalog is so big, you can find new and interesting publishers and games that you wouldn’t be able to find in stores, as well as finding games from your favorite creators. You can browse by genre, developer, or even price.
So, not only is Steam a great way of making sure you can enjoy the game on its release date, (you know the date you’ve had written down on your calender, or maybe even as a note on your fridge), but it is also a good way of expanding your gaming knowledge and trying out games you never would have heard about elsewhere.
One of the biggest advantages of using Steam is how it connects your account to the game. When the game is bought as a hard copy you might feel it is more safe and convenient to be able to hold the property in your hands. Yet, have you ever scratched your disk so it is unplayable, lent it to an friend who never returned it, or even worse, lost it? Owning the game digitally means you have the games with you. Steam associates your account to any games you purchase, which means you can download the games again as long as you can log into Steam. So if you have your computer die on you, and you need to replace it, Steam has all of your games waiting for you.
When it comes time to play, as long as the software (which again is free to download) is installed on the computer you’re sitting at, you can just log into your account to access your games and download and install them again. This also prevents the very sad risk of losing the hard copy of the game. Basically, the idea is a tad like the discussion about whether to mail physical letters or e-mails, though that is not as much of a current topic as it was fifteen years ago.
Steam is Not Going to Replace the Local Game Shop
Of course, some geeks like to own a hard copy of a game. It may be the sense of collecting they enjoy. Maybe there is a satisfaction of seeing all of their games lined up on a shelf, much like a geek’s wall of trophies. Let’s not forget Collector’s Editions of games. Steam can’t really provide the gamer geek with that cool concept art book or a character figure, and granted, Steam doesn’t have the cooperation of all of the gaming publishers so not every game is available on Steam. So a true gamer geek should seek out that perfect equilibrium between the convenience of Steam distributed games and buying hard copies of the games which are dear to them, of which the cover will decorate their home (or at least shelf), as their one of a kind action figure sits on their desk basking in the glow of gaming days.
If you are interested you can visit the Steam homepage at store.steampowered.com
Publishers you can find on Steam:
1C Company,2K Games, Activision, Bethesda, Big Fish Games, Bohemia Interactive, Capcom, City Interactive, Codemasters, Deep Silver, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Focus, Her Interactive, id Software, Interplay, iWin, JoWooD / DreamCatcher, Kalypso, LucasArts, Majesco, Meridian4, MumboJumbo, Namco Networks America, Inc., NCsoft, NovaLogic, Paradox Interactive, PlayFirst, PopCap, Prima Games, RailSimulator.com, Rockstar Games, Sandlot Games, SEGA, Sony Online, SouthPeak Games, SQUARE ENIX, Eidos Interactive, Strategy First, Telltale Games, THQ, Tilted Mill, Topware, Ubisoft, Valve, Viva Media, Warner Bros.
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