Purchasing PC games online through downloading.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by snoopy369
It depends on the service, actually. EA, for example, charges to allow you to re-download, the b****rds. They're the only games I won't buy online (unless they put them at D2D or Steam or similar, though I haven't run into a game they sold that they did offer elsewhere yet - maybe Impulse is different, Asher??)

With Direct2Drive, you have an account (if you already have an IGN or Gamespy account, you use that) and log into that, it stores your games and passwords (and also allows you to download patches). It uses a small downloader to actually deliver the game to you (though it does not have to be running to play the game - they have a single activation model).

With Steam, you have the Steam client, which you log in with your Steam account, and have access to your game list from that.

Now it's a matter of which service I'd like to join; one reccomended by Asher, or the one reccomended by you.

[Asher]

Steam has other features Direct2Drive also doesn't have (in addition to being more popular). It's got friends lists, achievements, integrated game updates, etc.

[snoopy369]

Friends list: useless, as I have no friends
Achievements: useless AND annoying
Integrated game updates: annoying when the patches break the game (think Civ4:BtS first patch). D2D allows you to choose WHEN to patch.
Steam also requires you to be online with Steam, doesn't it (or at least to run the Steam client while playing)?

But it doesn't really matter which you choose, I'd say - both are good. Or you could do some of one, some of the other.

[Asher]

Steam needs to run IIRC, but it runs in the background.

I'll leave it to the reader to infer what they want from snoopy's comments, but some of us have friends and enjoy having achievements in our lives.

The integrated game updates are anything but annoying. You don't have to patch if you don't want to (unless it's an online game), so I don't know what you're *****in about. I find it far more annoying to have to hunt for updates and deal with atrociously bad sites like Apolyton to find patches on. I also don't make a habit out of searching for my games on a daily basis to see which has a new patch -- I like being notified before I start it up if a new patch is available.

Direct2Drive is ghetto, ugly, and with a sketchy, lame, and genuinely grating name.

[Asher]

Fact: This is the #1 download on Direct2Drive: http://www.direct2drive.com/12/7473/...azine-Download

Shows you just what kind of sleazeballs use that service.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Friends list: useless, as I have no friends

I'll be your first friend then.

[Standup]

I've just used GOG.COM recently for my first games download. No DRM and pretty cheap or was until the pound collapsed.

Not a huge catalogue and is mainly old games GOG being Good Old Games or similar. Not bad for finding those classics from the past that I can't get the CD version to work on Vista/XP.

Hoping they do the Xcom games at some point.

[Zero]

I try to DL games if I can (legally and illegaly ).

I know some people have negative attitude toward steam, but that's where I prefer to buy it, since most of my friends are on it. And I haven;t had a real bad experience yet with it :shrug:

edit: actually now that i think about it i did have one minor issue with steam not letting me buy games with my CC when I was stationed in germany (since my ISP was german). I did not have the same problem when I was in afghanistan however.

[Kinjiru]

Originally posted by MrFun


Now it's a matter of which service I'd like to join; one reccomended by Asher, or the one reccomended by you.

No reason not to "join" them all. Some games will be on Steam only (at least initially), some on Impulse, some on D2D, some on Green[whatever] - the service from Penny Arcade, some on Gamersgate.

Personally, I prefer Impulse just because I like to support Stardock. Their throughput rate seems to be consistently high as well.