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Forums - Gaming - Losing Your Games Obtained Via Digital Distribution - This Week: Steam

 

Digital Distribution is

awesome, because it's li... 18 26.87%
 
terrible, because you don... 49 73.13%
 
Total:67
thranx on 06 August 2012
Soleron said:
thranx said:
Soleron said:
Chark said:
So wait...can you not play the games you bought on Steam without Steam? They aren't just downloaded onto your harddrive? PSN could decide to not let anyone play their games tomorrow through a user agreement but that wouldn't stop me from going offline and keep playing them...unless my automatic update does it while I sleep!!!!

No. But really that's not how steam rolls right? You can be offline and still play the games you bought and downloaded. Removing your account wouldn't delete them off your PC.

Sorry, Steam does require you to check in with the server when you start playing a game. All the game files are on your hard drive but the DRM stops you playing them if your account is banned/deactivated. Steam is a form of DRM.

that is incorrect. you can play your steam games offline with no internet. You dont need the steam client to play them (possibly for steamworks games). I have even backed up my steam games to a cd and installed them on a laptop that had no internet and it worked fine (was about a year ago). the only games i am not sure of are the steamworks games.

 

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-agcb-2555

What is Offline Mode?

Offline Mode allows you to play games through Steam without reconnecting to the Steam Network every time you wish to play - this is particularly useful if you do not plan on playing over the internet and would prefer not to download new updates for your single-player games.

Please note that you must connect to the Steam Network and test each of the games you would like to use in Offline Mode at least once to set up your account and configure Offline Mode on your machine.

Just tried that, it doesn't work unless I log on with the internet connected.

You certainly can't change computers without relogging into Steam. So you'd be tied to whatever install you have for the rest of your life. With transferring to laptop I think you mean the games you installed from their own disk that just happen to work with Steam's social features.

you must have done something wrong. I just tried it with my ethernet unplugged.

It tries to log in, it fails, and gives you an option to restart steam in offline mode. When you select that it starts over, shows that it is trying to log in and than starts steam in offline mode. I even started a game to make sure it works. Please try it again and look for the option to restart in offline mode after it fails to log in. But it does work. I will take screen shots if needed. aqll of that was with my ethernet unplugged so no way i was online.



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Nevermore on 06 August 2012
zero129 said:
Nevermore said:
zero129 said:
Nevermore said:

Nice try, but in the end it's all just smoke and mirrors. All EU member states have adopted consumer protection laws that protect the consumers from this kind of bullsh*tery. It's illegal for a company to hide disastrous clauses in contracts, like "we will add an extra fee of 1000€" or "we will set fire to your hedges". Since the law does not expect the average consumer to read the terms of service, any information that is not presented clearly is considered as omission of information.

Heck, you can sue Steam right now for the "btw, you're just licensing our games"-BS. At no point is the word license mentioned in the entire buying process, leading the consumer to assume, as seen in this thread, that they're buying a product. The fact that it's just a license is clearly a failure "to identify the commercial intent of the commercial practice if not already apparent from the context." So this is just a lawsuit waiting to happen, tho it won't be the consumer who looses that one ;)

Btw, I'm not a lawyer, all this information can be read in this shiny pamphlet: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/fair_bus_pract/ucp_en.pdf

im going to see my lawyer tomorrow and explain to him what you just said. Im going to tell him how i brought over €2000 euros worth of games from steam under the impression i then owned said games. As like you said no where at all did it state i was only renting the games.

Hmm i wonder if it would work? xD.


But please post his answer here after seeing him tomorrow. I'm curious to know what his stance on that is :)

Id like to know what he would say too as i do think that the would be ground to sue them. But then im worried that my lawyer would be like "What? O_o" and not have a clue what id be going on about lol xD (Its not a big town we live in xD)

 

Yea, the guy must know about consumer protection right or at least know someone that does. It won't be of much help talking about that kind of stuff with a lawyer that specializes in patent law or homicides :P



the2real4mafol on 06 August 2012
Damnyouall said:
By the way, it's even worse than expected. I just saw this elsewhere:

"http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Valves-Steam-Latest-to-Erode-Your-Legal-Rights-With-Fine-Print-120625

Points of interest:

1. If Steam decides to ban you from the service, they get to keep all of the money in your wallet (up to $2,000)
2. If you lose, get banned, or in any other way get denied access from one game you purchased in a bundle, they will take away ALL the games in the bundle from you.
3. You agree to ignore your own local laws (in terms of your interaction with Steam), and instead follow US law if you're not located in Europe. If you're in Europe, you still must ignore your own local law and abide by Luxenberg law.
4. You agree to never sue them (class action or individually), instead you agree to ONLY ever us arbitration.
5. You are only renting access to the games. You don't own them in any way, shape or form. If Steam goes under, you will never get access to the games you purchased.
6. If Steam decides to remove a game from it's library that you purchased, too bad. They don't owe you the game, you just lose all access to it.
7. Steam can ban you from the service for any reason they want.

Why is this bad?

Glad you asked! Let's say you decide to write up a critical blog post about Valve or Steam, and they read it and dislike it."

You buy from them, they own your life pretty much. 

luckily i ownly bought 2 cheap games from steam, learning this i won't buy any more from them. Fuck it, i stick to physical media, even on PC.

I feel sorry for my friend, he bought like 150 games from steam (from the sales)  :)



Xbox Series, PS5 and Switch (+ Many Retro Consoles)

'When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called the people's stick'- Mikhail Bakunin

Prediction: Switch 2 will outsell the PS5 by 2030

vlad321 on 06 August 2012

Let's agree on one thing. If things get absolutely unacceptably bad. Someone out there will hack the library on your PC and let you play without worrying about the servers.



Tag(thx fkusumot) - "Yet again I completely fail to see your point..."

HD vs Wii, PC vs HD: http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=93374

Why Regenerating Health is a crap game mechanic: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=3986420

gamrReview's broken review scores: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=4170835

 

the2real4mafol on 06 August 2012
vlad321 said:
Let's agree on one thing. If things get absolutely unacceptably bad. Someone out there will hack the library on your PC and let you play without worrying about the servers.

and undoubtedly get rich in the mean time



Xbox Series, PS5 and Switch (+ Many Retro Consoles)

'When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called the people's stick'- Mikhail Bakunin

Prediction: Switch 2 will outsell the PS5 by 2030

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superchunk on 06 August 2012

Physical media (games) can be just as easily turned off if publisher deemed so.



echoesfromthepast on 06 August 2012

I have steam for 2 reasons: (1) buying the games that I wouldn't buy otherwise for really cheap and (2) for playing indie titles. I'm fine with having a digital version of Arkham Asylum that I got for $4, but I would never replace a physical copy of a Zelda or Metroid game with a digital copy.



     
Games can and should tell stories and share ideas through their mechanics. This is the intrinsic element of the medium and this is how experiences should be crafted in video games. No company does this as well as Nintendo and their echoes from the past.
  Aurum Ring  Delano7  Ocarinahero032

the2real4mafol on 06 August 2012
superchunk said:
Physical media (games) can be just as easily turned off if publisher deemed so.

surely not if you played without an internet connction



Xbox Series, PS5 and Switch (+ Many Retro Consoles)

'When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called the people's stick'- Mikhail Bakunin

Prediction: Switch 2 will outsell the PS5 by 2030

TWRoO on 06 August 2012
the2real4mafol said:
superchunk said:
Physical media (games) can be just as easily turned off if publisher deemed so.

surely not if you played without an internet connction

Of course they can, they send some hired goons to come turn it off.



the2real4mafol on 06 August 2012
TWRoO said:
the2real4mafol said:
superchunk said:
Physical media (games) can be just as easily turned off if publisher deemed so.

surely not if you played without an internet connction

Of course they can, they send some hired goons to come turn it off.

LOL, but that means the IP address links to your real address don't it? based on your logic 



Xbox Series, PS5 and Switch (+ Many Retro Consoles)

'When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called the people's stick'- Mikhail Bakunin

Prediction: Switch 2 will outsell the PS5 by 2030