Steamed

[Bob Chambers]

xAD's kinda got a point. Just reading through the EULA just now, and you don't buy a game you buy a "subscription". Interesting choice of words. I'll continue reading and edit when I'm done.

EDIT:

"YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE WITH VALVE WITH REGARD TO STEAM OR THE SOFTWARE IS TO DISCONTINUE USE OF STEAM AND CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT".

In other words, if anything bad happens, you've agreed to close the account. Also, all-caps, Valve? Really?

"In the case of a one-time purchase of a product license (e.g., purchase of a single game) from Valve, Valve may choose to terminate or cancel your Subscription in its entirety or may terminate or cancel only a portion of the Subscription (e.g., access to the software via Steam) and Valve may, but is not obligated to, provide access (for a limited period of time) to the download of a stand-alone version of the software and content associated with such one-time purchase."

If I'm reading this right, Valve retain the right to remove the game from your Steam library and don't have to do anything about it.

Kinda sinister overall, really.

[xAD]

You don't even have to parse the legalese. You just have to stop and think for a moment.

When you give Steam your money, what do you get?
a) a product, or
b) a service

People who don't think will say A.  I bought a game. It's a store!

You have bought nothing.

You have nothing which does not require their service to work.

Steam is a service. You've paid for a service. When that service ends you'll have nothing to show for it.

Which, again, isn't a bad thing. Unless you actually thought it was a store.

[RobF]

Cripes! I have 180, which I thought was a lot. Not played nearly all of them, though, obv.

A lot of them are repurchases for convenience (a fair few indie games, iD stuff and way too much casual stuff than is sensible) but still, my "not played" list is shockingly small in comparision.

My "not touching that bag of shit again" list on the other hand...

[RobF]

You're overlooking these clauses in my contract with Steam:

15 g: You keep making it so I can play PC games without wanting to shit in someone's bed and lots of other nice thing because I hate what that other lot make me have to do and I don't mind if Valve HQ explodes and everyone dies and Steam doesn't work anymore.

21 k: You make it possible for my friends to eat pie a lot. You keep doing that for a while and being nice-ish to them and I don't mind if Valve HQ explodes and everyone dies and Steam doesn't work anymore.

36dd: Please don't explode and please don't die and stuff if you can avoid it, mind.

[Bob Chambers]

I have no idea what you just said. Still laughed my head off though. +1 for...something.

[delve]

Steam EULA workaround:
Buy it, then get a pirate copy just in case. Everyone gets their pound of flesh, you still get your game. :P

Disclaimer: My opinions are my own. Dan no doubt does not endorse my commentary. Don't bother him about it, bother me.

[Bob Chambers]

Steam EULA workaround:
Buy it, then get a pirate copy just in case. Everyone gets their pound of flesh, you still get your game. :P

I think that's everyone's plan if Steam explodes. It's one of the reasons I always buy retail; I've got a pile of boxes that prove I own the game.

[delve]

I'm not waiting for them to go tits up. After this last episode of 'hahaha you can't play your game because our software says so' I may not even bother playing the legit copy again. It's been said much more eloquently than I can imitate but when software piracy provides a better user experience legal purchases always lose.

TBH I generally play pirate copies of even retail box games I own. Saves me the trouble of hunting disks, and saves me from the many pitfalls of copyright protection (ranging from reduced performance to downright HD shredding). It's one (maybe the biggest) reason I love GOG. I don't have to worry about any of that crap.

Edit: Also, I think you'll find that the click-through-EULAs in retail boxes contain many of the same clauses stipulating that you use the software purely at the discretion of the IP owner. Keep a close eye on your first-born.

[Igor Hardy]

Fortunately I never personally agreed to any EULA, so all the restrictions in them don't concern me.

[Ben]

RPS article on the whole 'rental service' thing.

Interesting thing the lawyer says:

the commonly taken position is that when we buy a boxed game, we own the DVD, but only have a license for the software on it.

We also discussed Steam and rentals here, but I won't post on that thread because a) this one is more appropriate and b) Delve did nasty swears at me in that one :(

[delve]

I could accept Valve's idiocy if it only affected your ability to access Steam forums and service. The fact that the games are disabled is ludicrous. Then again, I never participate in the 'community' on Steam so perhaps I'd feel different if I did.

And Ben? Sorry about the swears, I get a bit steamed up sometimes.

[Ben]

Ha ha, no worries. Your excellent puns more than make up for it.

[Ben]

Possible Steam console: http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/2/2840932/exclusive-valve-steam-box-gaming-console

A few of those quotes from gaben about them building hardware are taken mildly out of context, though, and it mostly seems to be speculative.

[covox]

Speculative, and making Everest out of almost nothing at all. There's no way that Steam would be released as a stand-alone game console product, at least with the current state of the market. You cannot sell high end PC hardware with a Windows license, at console prices, without losing a metric fuckton of money.

Hell, even the article admits the alleged device is just a branded Windows PC ("The devices will be able to run any standard PC titles, and will also allow for rival gaming services (like EA's Origin) to be loaded up."). After going through the hyperbole sift, the article makes two probable but unproven statements:
- Valve are working on some fullscreen mode for Steam that works with remotes or controllers
- Valve are working with computer OEMs to introduce a useless "Steam Box" sticker to the front of overpriced gaming machines

[RobF]

"You cannot sell high end PC hardware with a Windows license, at console prices, without losing a metric fuckton of money. "

The alleged specs aren't that high end, I don't think. Throw in a mass purchased OEM license for Windows and it's not spectacularly out there or in the realms of complete fantasy. Unlike the spurious EXCLUSIVE collection of random things in the article, obviously.

But it doesn't have to be console priced anyway, what it has to be really is a fixed spec baseline PC that hides away all those icky things that partly make PC's amazing and also partly allow a market to thrive with underpowered onboard GPU and various other icky things because no-one knows what the fuck they're supposed to be buying.

What's the difference between an X0X0X0 and a T1000 7 layer diddlepox mingleflap?

If someone can walk into a shop and know that the can cough up £x.00 and know that with that, they can run the entire Steam library from their sofa? And that they don't need to understand how a defibblemonkey27 compares to a gibtoss19, they just plug the thing in and go and know they're good for a fixed period of time? That's great.

Fuck, I'd buy that.

But it'll probably be a high end Alienware for £1,000 with "HUGGED BY VALVE" on it or something if it does exist :s