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

[Ming]

While I've never played a MP game of any kind on Steam... it "sounds" like it will work well for MP. Everybody should have the latest and identical version of the game, and host our MP games. I will be concerned a "little" if they don't have a direct IP option. That was a godsend for Civ IV... but if steam is good, it won't be needed.
I tried to avoid gamespy as much as possible.

[gdijedi7]

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.

So Firaxis would do this? I was under the impression that it was going to be Steam itself.

This does solve at least one problem. There is always the possibility of the other company going under, but that's just going to be an inherent problem of programs that require activation.

[Modo44]

I believe official information, given by Valve funder Gabe Newell. It's not 100% sure, but it's the official line as far as we know.

Following that logic, assurances from Mark Zuckerberg should automagically translate to Facebook fixing privacy problems... That doesn't seem to be the case. If in doubt, read the user agreement, because that (and maybe some local legal safeguards) is all you've got.

i honestly don't understand all the steam hate. it's inconvenient, sure, but there could be far more draconian ways for them to go about things.

1. It's not hate, it's just opinions different than yours.
2. Somehow some people don't like to pay for being inconvenienced by DRM.
3. Nor for being spied upon by a third party.

[MxM]

Just in case, if it is not mentioned here above, this is just purelly hypothetical thread, because civilization V will be available on CD(DVD): This is amazon.com link

[CanuckSoldier]

Just in case, if it is not mentioned here above, this is just purelly hypothetical thread, because civilization V will be available on CD(DVD): This is amazon.com link

That is irrelevant, you can buy a Civ5 box from any brick and mortar store or online, all you are buying is a CD with the Steam installer and key for Civ5, I doubt you are getting anything more than a few pages of warranty info and a how-to install and activate Civ5 on Steam. Civ5 is exclusively a Steam game, not just a game you can D/L from Steam, like Civ4 is.

CS

[wodan11]

As I understand it, the thread is mislabeled but not hypothetical. The question is more "Would you buy Cif5 if it came bundled with Steam and used Steam for updates?" or something like that.

[Brael]

Now that we know that Steam will be compulsory on Civilization 5, I can say with confidence that I will not be purchasing the game. It's a pity, but this is my policy with all games that require online activation/connection to work/start/install/activate and I have applied the rule to other games I would have otherwise been sure to purchase, so it will be no different this time. Thankfully, Civilization 4 BTS is such a strong version of the franchise that it will be easily sufficient to give me my Civ fix.

Several things including the requirement for steam have really killed my desire to buy the game. I'm not going to say I won't buy it though it's a distinct possibility, but I won't be picking it up first thing in the morning on release day like I did for civ 2, civ 3, civ 3 expansions, civ 4, and civ 4 expansions.

[gdijedi7]

Several things including the requirement for steam have really killed my desire to buy the game. I'm not going to say I won't buy it though it's a distinct possibility, but I won't be picking it up first thing in the morning on release day like I did for civ 2, civ 3, civ 3 expansions, civ 4, and civ 4 expansions.

This. Well said.

[dregor]

Has there been any word on if the retail version will have different incentives than the Steam version, ie the Babylonians.

[wodan11]

I wouldn't be surprised if they hold the Babylonians out of retail until the Deluxe (or whatever) retail version. But that's just a guess (how I would do it).

[Zealot]

Simply not true. Steam allows you to put a game into offline mode so you can play without an internet connection. The only time an internet connection is required is initial install (gotta download it) and first time playing (to register the game). After that simply put Steam into offline mode. Considering the CD/DVD will probably require you to activate online anyways (most games are going that way now for DRM) there's really no difference.

The only time you would need an internet connection all the time is if the publisher put that in as part of the DRM. That will affect you on a DVD as well.

Ha!!!
That is if you actually knew about it BEFORE you lost internet connection! I bought ONE game at steam and the day I was without Internet connection because the ISP was down was the day the game refused to work because it couldn't connect to the Internet. That made me so angry that I completely refuse Steam's way of operating.

Every supplier should do what Paradox is doing with Europa Universalis III. I bought the physical disc and inside it came a piece of paper for me to register my DRM-free online backup on Gamersgate, a Steam competitor.
Now not only I have my game with me, I have a copy of it in the cloud in case I need to reinstall it and forgot or don't know where my disc is.

It's in stuff like these where you can see where Leadership in customer care is.

[OzzyKP]

While I've never played a MP game of any kind on Steam... it "sounds" like it will work well for MP. Everybody should have the latest and identical version of the game, and host our MP games. I will be concerned a "little" if they don't have a direct IP option. That was a godsend for Civ IV... but if steam is good, it won't be needed.
I tried to avoid gamespy as much as possible.

Yea, if it does anything to improve MP then I'm all for it. Civ4 connectivity is a nightmare.

[Ming]

Ha!!!
I was without Internet connection because the ISP was down

Did you instantly go out and change your ISP... because they were the problem.

But feel free to rag on Steam because your ISP sucks

But seriously... what difference does it really make. I'm not a big fan of steam, but I'll be damned if I let that effect my decision on whether I want a game or a not.

I'll base my decision on the actual game, not the distribution format. It seems kind of silly to let the distribution method chase me away from a game I've been spending the last couple of decades playing.

[ColdPhoenix]

I've never used Steam and would prefer the game didn't have it but it won't stop me buying the game.

One of the main problems that people seem to have with it is that you can't play the game if you lose your internet connection. Doesn't seem like a major problem to me. I can't remember the last time my connection went down, it certainly hasn't been in the past 4 years in my new place, and probably hasn't in years before that either. Maybe I've just got lucky...

[Zealot]

Did you instantly go out and change your ISP... because they were the problem.

But feel free to rag on Steam because your ISP sucks

You don't change your ISP because they had a fire in the Exchange building and took 4 days to recover their services.

But seriously... what difference does it really make. I'm not a big fan of steam, but I'll be damned if I let that effect my decision on whether I want a game or a not.

I'll base my decision on the actual game, not the distribution format. It seems kind of silly to let the distribution method chase me away from a game I've been spending the last couple of decades playing.

If you don't understand the difference it makes then this discussion isn't for you Ming. What I think is pretty obvious with the question of this thread is if you're actually so ticked off by the game being only for sale on Steam, if you'll pirate the game.
Because rest assured Ming, everyone here WILL play the game.

I can't emphasise enough how Paradox' system is the most user friendly. If you buy the disc you get an online copy as well.
If Firaxis did the same, allowed us to play offline without Internet connection, and yet allow us to register a version of the same game we paid for in Steam if we want to, enjoying all the benefits that Steam has like Multiplayer, how could we possibly complain?

In fact, why wouldn't Firaxis want to do this?