Would you buy Civ5 if it was only offered on Steam?

[Dinner]

I doubt they'll skip CD/DVD. This is an AAA title after all. They can still use Steam if they sell it on DVD.

As long as I have the choice I'm happy. If I don't get a choice I won't buy it which would be kind of sad since I've been playing Civ for so long but I won't compromise my principles and I will encourage others to do the same. Trying to force me to do online activation is a personal pet peeve and I won't support any company which does it.

[gdijedi7]

On the note of wanting a disc (and I see no reason why they shouldn't release a disc ), I present to you the tragic story of Red Alert 3.

I bought a physical copy of Red Alert 3, but the expansion pack, Uprising, was only available for download.

When my computer crashed after the time limit that they kept Uprising available for re-download, I was able to reinstall Red Alert 3, but I'm going to have to re buy Uprising.



As for Steam...I'm not sure why, but I instinctively distrust it. I don't know why, but I've learned that my feelings on such matters usually serve me well. When I ignore them, it tends to be bad.

Besides, downloading off the internet takes forever. Especially if the wind's blowing at forty to fifty miles an hour. Add that to the generally bad internet service where I live, and it's faster to use a disc (by about a factor of six) than it is to download.

[Dermo]

Now hear this, everyone. The answer to this, and every other thread asking "What happens if Steam closes down?," from here on into eternity, is, concisely and conclusively:
NOBODY KNOWS, NOT EVEN VALVE.

This is really the only thing that has me worried. If Gamespy shuts down I can still play Civ4, if Firaxis, or 2K go under I can still play Civ4, If Steam goes under...can I still play Civ5????

[wodan11]

This is really the only thing that has me worried. If Gamespy shuts down I can still play Civ4, if Firaxis, or 2K go under I can still play Civ4, If Steam goes under...can I still play Civ5????

I'm sure they would quickly issue a patch.

[Standup]

As long as I have the choice I'm happy. If I don't get a choice I won't buy it which would be kind of sad since I've been playing Civ for so long but I won't compromise my principles and I will encourage others to do the same. Trying to force me to do online activation is a personal pet peeve and I won't support any company which does it.

As Oerdin said. Part of this is principle - why do i have to give my details to a 3rd party for something I supposedly own but also practical. The few games i've inadvertantly bought with restrictive DRM always seem to cause me problems - Bioshock, Anno 1404 and I've seem to have had many an optical drive trashed by programmes like Starforce.

Mainly though its resentment at the restrictions placed on something I've just paid a reasonable amount of money for.

[wodan11]

As Oerdin said. Part of this is principle - why do i have to give my details to a 3rd party.

3rd party deals happen all the time, often without us even knowing or consciously realizing. EZpass? Subcontracted out. Buy something with your credit card? Processed by Verisign or some other merchant service. Heck, you can't even pay your taxes without a 3rd party getting all your info (processing is outsourced by the IRS).

You would have to go totally off the grid, give your details to nobody, ever, to avoid it.

[rah]

The hysterics here are quite amusing.
You click a button and can play the game in offline mode.
And as wodan has already pointed out, not giving you information to a vendor is hilarious.
Especially when a lot of people that would buy the game from a store will pay with a credit card.
I've set steam not to start at startup so I only run it when I'm playing a game or I need an update.
The last game I got, (i have broadband) took shorter to download than the time it would have taken me to drive to the store and buy it.
Yes, I don't love steam, but it's not the end of the world. And it does solve some connectivity issues for MP gamers.

[ColdPhoenix]

"Cutting off the nose to spite the face" springs to mind.

[fed1943]

I'll buy the game, because to buy a game is just a small thing.
If it was a real business, then I never would sign it.
To "buy" or get a licence that the other part can revoke it in 30 days with no reason...
it's more than a joke.

[rah]

Agreed. It's just a game.

[wodan11]

Agreed. It's just a game.

Blasphemy!!!!!

[rah]

Agreed, It's just THE game.

Corrected.

[gdijedi7]

The hysterics here are quite amusing.
You click a button and can play the game in offline mode.
And as wodan has already pointed out, not giving you information to a vendor is hilarious.
Especially when a lot of people that would buy the game from a store will pay with a credit card.
I've set steam not to start at startup so I only run it when I'm playing a game or I need an update.
The last game I got, (i have broadband) took shorter to download than the time it would have taken me to drive to the store and buy it.
Yes, I don't love steam, but it's not the end of the world. And it does solve some connectivity issues for MP gamers.

The way I'm reading it, and my own personaly feelings match this, is that (at least for most of us) we're not worried that we'll have to be online to play (although, this is why I'm not buying C&C4... ), and not even that we have , but that:

1) We don't like Steam, and we don't want it on our computers,
and
2) We're worried that if Steam DOES go under for some reason, they're probably not going to spend the company's last days making patches for all the games that have to be authenticated through their service.

[wodan11]

1) We don't like Steam

Jury's still out, for me.

and we don't want it on our computers,

Same.

and
2) We're worried that if Steam DOES go under for some reason, they're probably not going to spend the company's last days making patches for all the games that have to be authenticated through their service.

Again, said this before, but if this happened, Firaxis would quite quickly issue a patch on their website and the fan boards. Seriously, come on. They wouldn't allow a failure of a subcontractor to pull them down too.

[Krill]

Steam is OK IMO, if you have a PC that can handle it. It opens up a lot for MP, which is exactly what Civ needs.