mjs0
The 4th X
And now your ISP tells you that you have to accept those TV channels in order to be still alllowed to go online.
Would you be happy with such an "offer" (without any option) from your ISP?
"Why are you hesitating? Do you really think the cable channels will eat your soul? Are you really such a paranoid? Don't you realize that this is what modern times are about?"
With such questions you might be confronted in this assumed scenario.
That is almost the situation for Civ5 single players now.
Happiness doesn't come into it...It is purely a financial decision at that point...is my internet access worth an extra $40 per month, an extra $60 per month, etc etc. At some point the pain of the extra cost will outweigh the pain of no internet.
This is quite different to the decision process which causes me not to buy cable which is not based on financial concerns. I can tolerate the pain of being without cable so I am free to choose not to support that business model.
The Civ5 decision, like the cable decision is not financial so it is considerably less cut and dried and somewhat harder to identify all the pros and cons than the new scenario you presented. So, whilst I understand the point you were trying to make I would disagree with the equivalence you presented.
Regardless, at the end of the day it doesn't matter what draconian example you attempt to construct, any decision like this comes down to deciding whether the benefit you gain from the transaction is worth the cost (in money and other inflicted pain).
Different people will jump ship at different pain points.
I wouldn't dream of speaking for others, but when I compare the cost of a Civ game and the potential trouble from Steam (which I personally rate low but I can see others may, based on a different risk management approach, rate higher) with the expectation of many, many hours of enjoyment from the game, the decision is easy for me. Do I wish I didn't have to make the decision? Sure, but life is full of such minor quandaries.
Trust me, I really do have sympathy with those for whom the decision is tipping the other way and I in no way believe i have the right to insult or criticize you over your decision. The developers and/or publishers have made what appears to me to be a rational decision and in the process have upset an important minority of fans; an unfortunate circumstance that is unlikely to invalidate the reasons for the decision.