@Mesic: Yes, we know, their support system is often very slow (and so is everything at VALVe). I hope you get a reply soon.
Have you ever tried to uninstall Steam? I did some years ago, and I couldn't. That makes it malware IMO.
Why not? I see now reason why you should be unable to install Steam. Though perhaps, since it was "some years ago" you ran into a problem that is now fixed (Steam has improved vastly since its early years).
Second, requiring an online connection to play a game that is not an online game and for that matter a single-player game creates a possibility for infringed usage. Providing me the option to play the game that way is one thing. Requiring this form of networking as a precondition for the game to work constitutes an infringement on rights of fair use.
There is an offline mode, though it isn't perfect, you do NOT have to always be online except for authentication and patches of course.
Lastly, Steam is a 3rd party application that is not integral to the products in question. Requiring me to register with said 3rd party or for that matter network to their system as a pre-condition to use the game product is forcing me to patronize a third party and giving me no other option for opportunity to get my fair use of the game unless I do patronize said third party. I argue that that too constitutes an infringement of my rights of fair use, though I don't think that principle has been contested in court as yet.
A lot of games also require you to register for GameSpy or have an EA or Microsoft account to access the multiplayer. The End User License Agreements are likely to be held up in court, the company sells you a license to use their product in the way they have designed it. Recently, the EULA for, iirc, AutoCAD was held up in regards to someone selling used discs on e-bay. The original owner was supposed to have destroyed them and should not have sold them in the first place according to the EULA and the US court.
If you don't like a game using Steam, don't buy it. That is the way they designed the product and you agree to all conditions when you use it. Its better than Ubisoft's DRM which kicks you to the main menu of the game if you lose your internet connection for a minute (or maybe less?) (and these are singleplayer games mostly).
Lastly, and this is just my personal feeling: I don't want to have to go to extra hassle to play a game. I'm more than willing to jump through a hoop or maybe even two to get a game to run as a way to help the publisher prevent shrinkage. I certainly have to deal with those godforsaken plastic security packages in which the package various products these days in efforts to prevent shoplifting . . .
Any real hassle is not cool, agreed, but Steam isn't necessarily a hassle (it certainly isn't for me and many other people, others though haven't had great experiences which may or may not result from their own error or Steam causing a problem).
Issuing me a License Key and requiring me to activate the product with said license key is a tried-and true method in software retailing, whether it is hard copy or DL. Unless they can prove to me that this measure of anti-piracy is ineffective, then their decision to employ more restrictive methods that infringe on my life and impinge my use of their product, then what this move constitutes is simply hassling me, an honest paying customer, as a way to TRY to protect their bottom line. If it is so necessary, then why haven't the companies that still do not use such techniques gone out of business? Have the producers considered repricing as an alternative option to reducing shrinkage? A determined hacker is scarcely going to be more obstructed by a login process than by a license key algorithm.
No DRM works. Steam games are cracked and pirated day 1. However, that is why Steam is not JUST a DRM solution, there is a lot more to it.
My bet is this: Valve has a thing going, they are aggressively partnering with various publishers
Hardly surprising, VALVe is, afterall, a company. Just like the other developers and publishers.
and because a large fraction of the gaming market are under 20s who are quite accustomed to having their digital lives networked
The average age of a gamer that has been most quoted (sorry, I forget the source, but a bit of googling should find it eventually, blame the media for not linking directly to sources) is 33. Though yes a large fraction of gamers are under 20, a huge fraction is also in its 20s. This is an interesting hypothesis, but ultimately I would love to see an actual study done on it as there is very little data on if this is an effect or not.
Consequently, more and more publishers are flirting with the model. I will bet that this is inspite of a lack of evidence of a need for such measures, or any proof of their greater effectiveness at reducing shrinkage. I've seen plenty of online discussions about this, including plenty of proponents and I've NEVER seen links to any market studies or consumer psych studies which provide any evidence that these types of anti-piracy measures really are necessary or effective. It is a reflection of an agenday by Valve and an understandable sentiment on the part of publishers/producers to play it safe.
Steam is much more than just DRM, and no DRM works. And yeah, there haven't really been any studies.
However, as I said in the post on the TES thread, eventually I predict this is going to bite them back. Eventually, someone, somewhere will buy this stuff, and be sufficiently ***ed that they fight it. A suit for infringement of fair use will not be a pretty prospect if some filthy rich 20 year old living in Beverly Hills and whose father is a hot-shot corporate attorney catch the whiff of a potential score. Not to mention the potential hit to market share from adopting Steam.
In short, I believe that Firaxis, Bethesda, etc. the companies that are flirting with going in this direction really should be thinking hard about the possible long-term consequences of such changes in practice.
Steam and other digital distributors have proven to be extremely popular over the last few years or so and the demand for digital distribution is growing. It would be stupid of them NOT to offer their products available for digital distribution, especially on Steam which has an estimated (because almost NOBODY, digital or retail, release sales figures) 40% market share of digital video game distribution.
What attracts other developers to bundle Steam with their games is Steamworks, which is FREE for the developer to use. It provides (off the top of my head), the in-game browser, friendslist, chat, etc (though the in-game stuff can be accessed by adding a non-steam game's shortcut to Steam and launching it through Steam), multiplayer support, achievement system, Steam Cloud, if you mac a Mac version of the game and put it on Steam you buy 1 copy of the game that includes both the Mac and Windows versions, and a number of other features. Using this is, as I said, free, and saves the developer time and money developing them themselves.
From this thread in the Computer Talk subforum from someone who is considering using Steamworks himself:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=392916&page=2
Steamworks looks to be pretty awesome for developers. I'm not sure what the actual costs to use it are, but Steamworks lets game developers get access to a lot of features (copy protection, patching/distribution, voice chat, achievements, etc) that they'd normally have to either develop themselves or go out and license from a half dozen 3rd party companies. I'm seriously looking at using it for a game I'm helping develop.
As a copy protection system Steam is reasonable for consumers. It's not as ideal as simply installing the game and using a CD key, sure. But most copy protection for better or for worse is going to require online access, and compared to the competition in that arena Steam is pretty decent. There are legitimate concerns about Valve going out of business and so on, and they've claimed that if that happened they would release patches to remove Steam authentication so you could still play games. Dunno if they'd really do it considering how many games use Steam now, but I have more faith in them than I do in most other publishers (EA, etc).
Steam also runs some fantastic sales that are great for consumers. I just look at my purchase history and in only the last 6 months I've saved $175 on game purchases thanks to Steam sales. Older games often go on sale for just a couple of dollars. Even newer games are sometimes given crazy discounts, eg just a few weeks ago I bought a bundle with Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 for $10 - normal pricing on that bundle is $30.