Why 1C like Steam

[Voyager]

Originally Posted by meshuggahs

You can play fine with steam in offline mode. So there's no downside

Well, mostly. If Steam is trying to update itself when you lose net connection, you can get pretty stuck. Of course I only had that problem because my DSL modem died in the middle of a Steam update, not because I was dialing out, so ymmv.

Originally Posted by Revvin

[...]
Microsoft could have done so much more with Games For Windows Live. It seems now they might realise that if you read this article where they pledge to make the service better but has Steam already got a stranglehold on PC digital distribution?

Steam's only loyalty driver is that they're overall better than the competition. I've bought games through D2D, Good Old Games, and Live!, as well as Steam, but I've found Steam to be better for most things. That said, I do highly recommend Good Old Games for older titles, as their games have been tested for compatibility with modern OS's and are delivered as DRM free standalones, but they aren't a source for current games.

Though I will admit, at least part of what makes Steam so effective is their integrating their storefront into their game loader. Its really easy to go from "What do I want to play today?" to "Ooo look, shiny new games!"