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Comment by pquerna | Hacker News Reader

strangely, I agree, I love using steam, even though its completely DRMed and I don't get any control over the game -- but at the same time I can download games on new computers, pre-load games before release day, and do it all painlessly.

Yes, the first versions of steam were pretty terrible, but they have turned it into my preferred way of buying PC games over the years -- it really is a great platform now days.

They don't do stupid shit with DRM affecting the rest of your comptuer, or hacks on the DVDs, etc. They keep it clean and simple for the user.

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Apart from the fact that Steam versions are typically 80-100% markup in price over shrinkwrap versions.

For example, Bioshock 2:

30GBP, "down" from 40GBP http://store.steampowered.com/app/8850/

16.74GBP http://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-2-Bioshock-PC-DVD/dp/B00175SOS2...

This may be true in the UK, but in the US Steam games are price-competitive with shrinkwrap versions.

Competitive feels like not low enough, to me.

After all, you don't get any physical copies, which is something a collector may like.

I vastly prefer being able to redownload software that I've paid for, but some people may prefer physical copies.

You do get other perks though - not having to keep track of discs, not susceptible to damaged disks, download-anywhere, unlimited times... etc.

The online features are also not too shabby - being able to join a friend's game in a single click is a pretty nifty feature that I use often.

Also, Steam generally gives 10% off for preorders, which is something brick and mortars aren't doing.

Aye, you cannot sell your games anymore. But i'm still a Steam fan, probably cause i'm older and not as skint as I once was.

In Australia, I've found that steam games are often significantly cheaper (10-20%) than their retail counterparts, and the sales are cheaper still.

In Australia, I see a mixture of: 1. reasonably priced games - often cheaper than physical copies, and, 2. ridiculously overpriced games - same price as RRP for a physical copy, even months later when physical copies are going for much less.

These days, less and less games fall into category number 2. At the moment its mainly Modern Warfare 2 and Borderlands.

Not only is it a great platform, but they're improving it regularly. The beta version running Webkit is so nice.

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