Whats with STEAM????

I am so used to going into a store and buying computer games that this steam thing is a whole new concept. So I wasn't able to find anything that would answer these questions. - What happens if you have to format your PC, do you have re-buy the games you already payed for from Steam??? -On average how long does a game take to download time / size. I would figure that the average game maybe about 2DVD now and a DVD is 4.7G so that is 9.4G for a game minimum. If your not on unlimited internet that could add up fast. - Is there any hidden fees other then paying for the game itself, is there like a membership or something?? -------Huggy37

Games are linked to your account. Once you buy them, they're there forever, and if they're ever uninstalled for any reason, intentional or not, you can download them again without paying again.

Download speed is going to vary, based on your internet. For the most part, Steam has great servers, with fantastic download times, usually as fast as your ISP will allow. I download lots of stuff, using various programs, such as steam, origin (EA's answer to Steam, in case you didn't know), bittorrent clients, P2P clients, and regular internet browsers, and Steam usually gets the fastest speeds I see. As for size of games, that's another huuuuge variable. The majority of modern games are well over the 5gb mark at this point, with many breaking 10, and some getting extremely big. Just for some examples.. GTA 4 is 15 gigs. Batman Arkham City is 15 gigs. Max Payne 3 is 35 gigs. I'd say at this point the "average" size (not including short, cheap, indie games) is probably in the 10-15 gig range. So yeah, if you have low internet speed and/or download caps, that could get to be real bad, real fast.

And finally, no, there are no membership or other hidden fees. The Steam client is free. making an account is free. All your ever pay is the listed price of the game you're buying. And steam also has pretty much constant sales, including a massive summer sale every year, with huuuuge discounts. I paid less than $10 a piece for the majority of the games in my steam library. Even so, if you're not comfortable giving steam your credit card info, you can now buy "Steam Bucks" at Gamestop stores. Pay cash at Gamestop, for a coupon to buy games on Steam.

[QUOTE="Huggy37"]I am so used to going into a store and buying computer games that this steam thing is a whole new concept. So I wasn't able to find anything that would answer these questions. - What happens if you have to format your PC, do you have re-buy the games you already payed for from Steam??? -On average how long does a game take to download time / size. I would figure that the average game maybe about 2DVD now and a DVD is 4.7G so that is 9.4G for a game minimum. If your not on unlimited internet that could add up fast. - Is there any hidden fees other then paying for the game itself, is there like a membership or something?? -------the_bi99man

Games are linked to your account. Once you buy them, they're there forever, and if they're ever uninstalled for any reason, intentional or not, you can download them again without paying again.

Download speed is going to vary, based on your internet. For the most part, Steam has great servers, with fantastic download times, usually as fast as your ISP will allow. I download lots of stuff, using various programs, such as steam, origin (EA's answer to Steam, in case you didn't know), bittorrent clients, P2P clients, and regular internet browsers, and Steam usually gets the fastest speeds I see. As for size of games, that's another huuuuge variable. The majority of modern games are well over the 5gb mark at this point, with many breaking 10, and some getting extremely big. Just for some examples.. GTA 4 is 15 gigs. Batman Arkham City is 15 gigs. Max Payne 3 is 35 gigs. I'd say at this point the "average" size (not including short, cheap, indie games) is probably in the 10-15 gig range. So yeah, if you have low internet speed and/or download caps, that could get to be real bad, real fast.

And finally, no, there are no membership or other hidden fees. The Steam client is free. making an account is free. All your ever pay is the listed price of the game you're buying. And steam also has pretty much constant sales, including a massive summer sale every year, with huuuuge discounts. I paid less than $10 a piece for the majority of the games in my steam library. Even so, if you're not comfortable giving steam your credit card info, you can now buy "Steam Bucks" at Gamestop stores. Pay cash at Gamestop, for a coupon to buy games on Steam.