Steam v Retail Discs

[furious_gamer]

I always wonder, why would i buy game from steam, with all those complex transactions, downloading the whole game(with the pathetic speeds we are getting), when you can able to easily purchase the same game for reasonable price from nearest store or online store like flipkart/nextworld etc.

But recently, i got Metro 2033 for free and keys are only redeemable in Steam. So i have to use steam and now i can see the difference. Downloading 6.6GB of game, is like taking forever. It is still downloading. But since i want to see how steam works, i did this.

The only downside of having retail disc is physical damage, which i will avoid by using no-cd patch and i can have the disc in mint condition for quite a long time.

And steam's advantage over discs is, once code is redeemed, you can download whenever you want, with no risk of losing/braking discs.

Now i want to know, what are the views of other members of this forum?

 

[Flash]

I too prefer the discs. For a change, i tried "Blacklight Retribution" on Steam.
But, got frustrated because of the "Multi_GB first update" + "the patching process".

Steam will eat up my whole monthly BB limit in a day.

 

[furious_gamer]

^^ Thats the point. My monthly FUP limit is 30GB and i am downloading Metro 2033 @ whooping 6.6GB, so i easily eat up this limit before 20th. After that i have to use that freakingly slow 512Kbps sh1t.

 

[Digital Fragger]

for us in india with our speeds steam may not be the most viable solution to buy games. also our retail games are subsidized. but steam has become something more than just a store, it has developed into an ecosystem and a great social platform for gamers.

steam's features are really overwhelming.
- Friends
- Gifts
- Trading
- Big Picture
- Sales
- Workshop
- Auto Updates
- Steam Overlay
- Driver Updates etc

and now they have just added Community market.

though i usually buy games in retail, i make sure if it can be redeemed on steam or some other platform like uplay or origin.

 

[cyborg47]

I'll switch to Digital the day I get a CC for myself(no problem with the bandwidth either in Hyderabad.), but hey, boxed games are cool

 

[furious_gamer]

^^ Especially with goodies that comes with the boxed ones.

 

[thetechfreak]

I have probably never purchased any game in my life as retail disc except Project IGI.

All my games, are on Steam.

^^ that i have to use that freakingly slow 512Kbps sh1t.

My broadband top speed is 512 Kbps and then 256 kbps

 

[ghouse12311]

once you have downloaded the entire game through steam you can take physical backup of it in steam client and write it to disk and just use it later if u have to install again....but you will have to take backup again if the game receives any updates..

 

[furious_gamer]

I have probably never purchased any game in my life as retail disc except Project IGI.

All my games, are on Steam.



My broadband top speed is 512 Kbps and then 256 kbps

You have a lot of patience to download games in such slow speed... Anyway, you still not off from forum?

once you have downloaded the entire game through steam you can take physical backup of it in steam client and write it to disk and just use it later if u have to install again....but you will have to take backup again if the game receives any updates..

It is the big PITA process, that i hate. Still downloading metro, total time around 8 hours to download 6.6GB, it is sh1t man.

 

[Vyom]

Digital is the future. Yes the pathetic download speeds and instability of the Internet in our country does make the process of downloading games from steam a PITA sometimes, but future isn't for dialups anyway.

 

[gameranand]

Well I prefer to have a copy where ever I go and I don't like to store disks so steam is the way for me. Never liked boxed games anyway because of damn disks.

 

[avinandan012]

one word for all Steam Sales

 

[furious_gamer]

Digital is the future. Yes the pathetic download speeds and instability of the Internet in our country does make the process of downloading games from steam a PITA sometimes, but future isn't for dialups anyway.

Maybe, in future, if our DC/CC will become more hassle free for online transactions, and speeds are good, then we can think about it.

Well I prefer to have a copy where ever I go and I don't like to store disks so steam is the way for me. Never liked boxed games anyway because of damn disks.

Well, i bought GTA IV and stick that map in my room wall, so i can navigate easily while playing... Still i prefer to have Disc rather than in steam. So i can take the disc, install it and keep it safe. Hassle free, in my opinion.

one word for all Steam Sales

+1 . Agreed.

 

[gameranand]

Well when I play I prefer to use map button rather than seeing my wall for the map.

I have like 200 discs of movies and music (most are original). I don't like them because they are just too much, too much hassle to carry if I want my collection to be portable. Its really simple, if you want portability then nothing beats Steam and add to that the steam sales and all.

 

[CarlonSamuels]

Steam over Physical Disks because of the Amazing Deals you can get on games plus the great community and save game back ups

and i dont know if this has happened to anyone else but my download speed increases when i download from steam i.e my regular 2mbps(around 230 kBps) turns into stable 500-700 kBps

 

[furious_gamer]

Well when I play I prefer to use map button rather than seeing my wall for the map.

I have like 200 discs of movies and music (most are original). I don't like them because they are just too much, too much hassle to carry if I want my collection to be portable. Its really simple, if you want portability then nothing beats Steam and add to that the steam sales and all.

LOL, interpreted in diff way. I still use in-game map, but it is cool to watch map and drive. No GPS.

I agree with the disc carrying hassle, but don't you think download games again and again is painful?

Steam over Physical Disks because of the Amazing Deals you can get on games plus the great community and save game back ups

and i dont know if this has happened to anyone else but my download speed increases when i download from steam i.e my regular 2mbps(around 230 kBps) turns into stable 500-700 kBps

Apart from Deals, i don't find anything good as of now, from Steam. I still have all my game disks with me and i am keeping them in good condition. Even my Flight Simulator 97, is still in good conditon.

 

[CarlonSamuels]

Apart from Deals, i don't find anything good as of now, from Steam. I still have all my game disks with me and i am keeping them in good condition. Even my Flight Simulator 97, is still in good conditon.

haha everyone keep their discs in a different way my gta 4 Complete edition (bought 6 months back)
for example the box is torn,discs scratched and posters faded

 

[avinandan012]

I agree with the disc carrying hassle, but don't you think download games again and again is painful?

If you have the power of Beam then it's no problem.
otherwise carry discs

 

[furious_gamer]

^^ I have to go to Hyderabad for that ...

 

[RCuber]

I prefer discs over digital downloads cause I don't like to wait much to play a game. even if I have to get a new game, max time to acquire (read buy) a game would be 2 hrs. My nearest Landmark store is about 30 minutes, thats one hr for up and down and about 20-30 mins for installation and lot of saved bandwidth.