So Steam asked me to take a survey...

[Clone155]

The first question was what the speed of my computer was, and the second was if I had a microphone connected to my computer. That question makes me 

Do they want to spy on me? 

Are they listening to me right now? 

[Wiley]

The people who want to spy on you already are.  Put on some pants.

I'd read that as them contemplating some kind of built-in VOIP.

Wiley.

[Karnak]

No, they are checking demographics to see what the capability of their market base is.

[Saxman]

If Steam ever sends me a survey I hope there's an "Additional Comments" field. And then I can tell them:

"PC games should come in a BOX with physical media so I'm not reliant on anyone's servers to play a single-player game I spent my hard-earned money on."

[titanic3]

If Steam ever sends me a survey I hope there's an "Additional Comments" field. And then I can tell them:

"PC games should come in a BOX with physical media so I'm not reliant on anyone's servers to play a single-player game I spent my hard-earned money on."

99% of the game you buy on Steam, you can get a hard copyfrom somewhere else. Your choice to buy it off of Steam.

[coombz]

If Steam ever sends me a survey I hope there's an "Additional Comments" field. And then I can tell them:

"PC games should come in a BOX with physical media so I'm not reliant on anyone's servers to play a single-player game I spent my hard-earned money on."

99% of the game you buy on Steam, you can get a hard copyfrom somewhere else. Your choice to buy it off of Steam.

Not to mention you can play your single player Steam games in offline mode

Saxman's post is a great example of why I love coming to this forum I get a real kick out of reading uninformed people grumbling about things that they know nothing about, and there is a great deal of that here

[Ack-Ack]

If Steam ever sends me a survey I hope there's an "Additional Comments" field. And then I can tell them:

"PC games should come in a BOX with physical media so I'm not reliant on anyone's servers to play a single-player game I spent my hard-earned money on."

You don't need to be connected to Steam to play any game.  You can play any single-player game offline, you just won't have access to any of the multiplayer or social features of the game.

ack-ack

[MrRiplEy[H]]

If Steam ever sends me a survey I hope there's an "Additional Comments" field. And then I can tell them:

"PC games should come in a BOX with physical media so I'm not reliant on anyone's servers to play a single-player game I spent my hard-earned money on."

They should reply "Nobody forces you to use our service, feel free to quit".

[Saxman]

They should reply "Nobody forces you to use our service, feel free to quit".

When brick and mortar stores stop carrying games, yeah, they kinda do.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

When brick and mortar stores stop carrying games, yeah, they kinda do.

You can still order the games online as boxed sets even if b/m stores stop storing them.

[jd]

Whats Steam?

[Lusche]

Whats Steam?

This.

[Maverick]

If Steam ever sends me a survey I hope there's an "Additional Comments" field. And then I can tell them:

"PC games should come in a BOX with physical media so I'm not reliant on anyone's servers to play a single-player game I spent my hard-earned money on."

I fully understand what his issue is here. I have purchased exactly one steam game. While installing it it would not load without an internet connection. After installing it it would not load without downloading a 250+ megabyte upgrade / patch. Since I am on satellite and bandwidth limited that's a no go. I contacted steam and after the usual form response "solution" sent in a clarification. The response was that in order to even install it and play off line it was mandatory that I make an online account, register the game online and complete the upgrade. No ifs ands or buts about it. When I tried to get additional info they again replied that the game will not function until and unless I complete the download and thanks for spending your money. I'll grant you they were "polite" but they did not take care of the issue so I could use what I paid for and could not return for a refund.

This game wasn't expensive so I'm not totally bent about it but I won't buy another either. When I buy a box game that is for off line play and the instructions on the box do not state that an internet connection is mandatory I do expect it to work as a stand alone game. Maybe this one game was the mythical 1% out of the system that won't but it was enough for me to forget about ever again trying their back door requirements.

Nope I do not "coad", I do not bother with hacks or security breach patches. I just expect something to operate as advertised. If some consider me a luddite because of that, then that's not my problem.

[Monty405]

Whats Steam?

Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. Water vapor cannot be seen, though in common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air. Strictly speaking, in terms of the chemistry and physics, true steam is invisible. (Wikipedia, 2013)

[titanic3]

I fully understand what his issue is here. I have purchased exactly one steam game. While installing it it would not load without an internet connection. After installing it it would not load without downloading a 250+ megabyte upgrade / patch. Since I am on satellite and bandwidth limited that's a no go. I contacted steam and after the usual form response "solution" sent in a clarification. The response was that in order to even install it and play off line it was mandatory that I make an online account, register the game online and complete the upgrade. No ifs ands or buts about it. When I tried to get additional info they again replied that the game will not function until and unless I complete the download and thanks for spending your money. I'll grant you they were "polite" but they did not take care of the issue so I could use what I paid for and could not return for a refund.

This game wasn't expensive so I'm not totally bent about it but I won't buy another either. When I buy a box game that is for off line play and the instructions on the box do not state that an internet connection is mandatory I do expect it to work as a stand alone game. Maybe this one game was the mythical 1% out of the system that won't but it was enough for me to forget about ever again trying their back door requirements.

Nope I do not "coad", I do not bother with hacks or security breach patches. I just expect something to operate as advertised. If some consider me a luddite because of that, then that's not my problem.

Digital distribution isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It's actually increasing, so you might as well *shrug* deal with it.