The Hang Out: your post count is going backwards!

[Dr Mario]

It depends on the user agreement, EA likes to point out that you're licensing software.

The EULAs are pretty much standardised nowadays and a lot of what used to be in them has migrated into actual copyright law over the last few decades. End result is that they all look mostly the same - including the little bit about how you're not buying the physical product or the data contained therein but some unholy hybrid of the two that exists only to let the software companies have it whichever way benefits them most at the time.

[Synthetik]

Well, I have to agree on the point about not owning a physical copy. If you lose your internet access you're pretty much screwed, and all that cash you spent on steam is basically worthless until you can connect to the internet again.

I'm with you, especially since you can actually hold the game, instead of having data in a portion of a hard drive.

But the two methods have obvious drawbacks, it's just preference. You can fit the entire library of all regions of every game made for 20 years in a single inch-thick hard drive (like atari to ps1), where that volume of games would cost you so much and take up an entire house. But that's melding the concept of physical and data with digital distribution, which is hardly the same subject in some regards.

Lol psychic > physical

[Cosmic]

Not getting into the digital distribution/physical copy argument, but Steam is amazing if you keep an eye out and buy stuff when it's on sale. I have a really good library on there and I don't think I've ever paid more than £5 per game.

[Quiji]

Well, I have to agree on the point about not owning a physical copy. If you lose your internet access you're pretty much screwed, and all that cash you spent on steam is basically worthless until you can connect to the internet again.

But the other end exists. If your house burns down, all your games are toast. But once you find an internet source and log into Steam/whatever, you can just re-download the crap you already bought.

[Quiji]

Lol psychic > physical

?

[Slacker Magician]

But the other end exists. If your house burns down, all your games are toast. But once you find an internet source and log into Steam/whatever, you can just re-download the crap you already bought.

If the Steam servers containing your information explode you're pretty screwed .

[Synthetik]

But the other end exists. If your house burns down, all your games are toast. But once you find an internet source and log into Steam/whatever, you can just re-download the crap you already bought.

True enough, although I have no preference either way. I'd think the first scenario is more likely to occur for the average person though. And although it's a simple task to redownload games through steam if you need to there is also the option of backing up/burning discs, although then you would need to crack them.

Which leads me to my next point: Pirate first, ask questions later. And buy if you like it and support the developers. It's an apples and oranges argument really, just a matter of preference as has already been stated.

[Tassadar]

This is like the most adorable thing ever. The music makes it perfect.

That is great, it looks like a harp seal also, the cutest kind of seal.

[Slacker Magician]

True enough, although I have no preference either way. I'd think the first scenario is more likely to occur for the average person though. And although it's a simple task to redownload games through steam if you need to there is also the option of backing up/burning discs, although then you would need to crack them.

Which leads me to my next point: Pirate first, ask questions later. And buy if you like it and support the developers. It's an apples and oranges argument really, just a matter of preference as has already been stated.

Buy or do not, there is no try .

[Synthetik]

?

It was a joke. You will soon learn that the large majority of the things that I say are either not serious or semi-retarded. Sometimes a combination of the two, or a third indistinguishable group consisting mostly of nonsensical ramblings and paranoia.

[Russ]

I would think piracy can lead to more fans of the game, thus more sales of said game. Though not always the case when people are fine just stealing the game, in other cases they might tell their friends who don't pirate/steal games. And so on and so on, until that company actually makes substantially more, than if they would have spent resources on chasing the original downloader with a lawsuit.

[Quiji]

True enough, although I have no preference either way. I'd think the first scenario is more likely to occur for the average person though. And although it's a simple task to redownload games through steam if you need to there is also the option of backing up/burning discs, although then you would need to crack them.

Which leads me to my next point: Pirate first, ask questions later. And buy if you like it and support the developers. It's an apples and oranges argument really, just a matter of preference as has already been stated.

It actually kind of sucks that when you buy any type of used games, you don't help the developers at all. Only new games, and I barely buy any of those nor does anyone else.

[Synthetik]

Buy or do not, there is no try .

[Tassadar]

Not getting into the digital distribution/physical copy argument, but Steam is amazing if you keep an eye out and buy stuff when it's on sale. I have a really good library on there and I don't think I've ever paid more than £5 per game.

It is great for that, I got HL2 deathmatch for €0.74 the other day.

[Quiji]

It was a joke. You will soon learn that the large majority of the things that I say are either not serious or semi-retarded. Sometimes a combination of the two, or a third indistinguishable group consisting mostly of nonsensical ramblings and paranoia.

No, I get that you were joking, but I don't get the joke.