Steam logs 5 million concurrent users

@msfan1289: I notice you didn't name any games where the Live/PSN connection is mandatory. And as I wrote before, information is tracked on consoles, but it's limited to basic demographics, billing info, and gaming habits, because most people don't use their consoles for anything but gaming. PC's, on the other hand, hold a lot more information on their users than that. @BloodMist: Really? Why is that, exactly? Origin's TOS is very clear about its whole system scanning/application use, and it states that EA will cross-ref with sites like Facebook. Why are you certain that Steam is different? Furthermore, can you prove it? Lastly, you have to be anxious or afraid to be paranoid. I am neither. I simply don't think that companies are entitled to an unmitigated glut of personal data from their consumers, regardless of their intent. World domination, marketing...it's irrelevant to me. As I wrote before, it's a principle of boundaries. Whether Steam is doing it or not...I don't really know...but that uncertainty is part of the problem. So it's back to the consoles for me.

@ymladdych Unwarranted paranoia, nothing more, nothing less.

@ymladdych and makes you think M$ and Sony is not doing the same when playing offline? oh yeah Steam is out to control us man the aliens are here and they are hiding behind Steam.

@msfan1289: Which games would those be? I'm not saying they don't exist, but I've played quite a few titles on PS3 and I've not encountered any. (I don't know about 360...I just bought one on sale and it's still in its box.) As for Steam library access offline...that's great, except with Skyrim, you have to keep Steam running while you play. So it's still sucking resources. Granted, it's not a lot, but if you don't own a high end rig that cuts through anything, it causes a noticeable difference in performance while under load. Last, but not least...don't you have to allow Steam an internet connection for the initial activation of a new game? And here's the thing...playing offline won't stop Steam from monitoring, snapshotting, or logging whatever info it's supposed to collect. It's simply waiting for that next internet connection...like a spider waits for a fly...just so it can phone home with its data. And the more that developers force Steam on you, the more frequently you'll have to connect for initial activation. If you're comfortable with that...cool. Personally, I'm not. Believe me, I actually wish it didn't bother me, because there are tons of games I'd much rather play on PC than console.

@ZeroX91 Valve have said there is a contingency plan for the event the company goes under or service is discontinued. All your games would basically unlock and work without restriction I believe.

@ymladdych hey you have to be logged in to PSN and to LIve for some games. and oh btw you can go in "Offline mode" in Steam and still play games you bought on Steam while you are not connected to the internet.

when dota 2 comes out watch at the numbers.

@Topperfalkon: No, they're not compulsory. I can have a completely disconnected console and play my games right from the case. No third-party application required. Resource allocation aside...I only use consoles for gaming, but I use my PC for a variety of other things - some personal and some professional. So yes, I'm going to be more discriminating about any kind of monitoring software. And while Steam may not cross into spyware territory, Origin certainly does, and I'd rather not deal with the question, "How do you know what Steam does or doesn't track?" For me, it's a principle of boundaries more than anything else. I don't mind EA/Valve knowing who I am, where I live, and what games I play or for how long. But as far as I'm concerned, there's no good reason for them to collect any more data than that, and at least with consoles, I know that's pretty much all the info they're going to get. (Barring any marketing spiders they use to cross-reference known consumers with information they gather from sites like Facebook.)

@ZeroX91 games still play with no Internet. If it goes bust then my game library still works just fine, thanks. I wonder if Steam will do something like OnLive once gigabit fiber networks start spreading?

that's the Skyrim and sales effect. But Steam is growing up fast, very fast.

The more I use Steam, the more I've started to grow fond of it. I mean, I just bought Bioshock - a game which I otherwise might have forgotten about - on a recent discount offer at Steam for, $2.49. I mean, these sort of offers will even tempt a pirate to buy a game !!!

Steam is better than PSN. Why again does Gamespot not have a place on my profile page for posting my Steam username?

@ymladdych What, so Xbox Live and Playstation Network aren't compulsory services now?

Lets just hope they never go out of business because then its bye bye game library.

Funny out of curiosity I looked up how much my account was worth. $2419.23 USD 282 Games on my Steam account alone. I love gaming.

I love Steam, No disc's that get scratches or get lost.

Steam rocks!

LOL@ PC gaming being dead. Xbox and PS3 dreams of having that many users online at once. It would probably overload their servers though as their not used to seeing this amount of volume.

steam had sales for the whole month.. not just 2 weeks. Although most games i wanted wasnt on sale.

They say Steam saves gamers money, but in reality it makes them spend more then they intended with all those damn deals.

I was one of those 5+ million schmoes...playing Skyrim. I think Steam's a great idea when it's a voluntary service, but I hate that it's required to run my game when I have the disc version. In fact, it's because of mandatory Steam/Origin installations that I'll be moving to a "console only" lifestyle after Diablo III.

oh yeah PC gaming is sure dying off ....

I wasn't one of those 5 million users on Jan 2. lol!! I was playing XBox 360 at 1:00am on that day.

I should really remember to consider getting a game from Steam. It's just that I'm very very picky and don't have a lot of cash to throw around even with deals going on. That and I play primarily on consoles.

@zzamaro A sad fact,I agree.Howewer,the studio,CDP still made enough profit,aren't in any serious financial trouble,and are already working on new projects,so Witcher 2 is a success. As a PC gamer,I admit how piracy is stronger on PC than on console(even though console games are pirated too),but piracy doesn't stop PC platform from being healthy,and one of the best proofs beside Steam is SW:TOR MMO,a game with the biggest budget this year that is PC exclusive(I don't plan playing it though,not a MMO fan). So in the end,parrot_of_adun is right,piracy isn't killing PC gaming.A good game will get good sales on PC,as long as the community is treated with respect by removing innefective and intrusive DRMs,and as long as games aren't milked annual releases with no improvements like CoD.PC gamers held onto their games for long periods of time(Starcraft 1-even after a decade the community is strong),and aren't interested in annual crap that doesn't bring anything new,since we can't trade it in after we get bored of it.We consider lasting appeal very important...

No surprise here, steam is amazing. As a reward can we get some info on Half life 3 please? lol

@zzamaro You have completely missed the point. Those 4.5 million were not necessarily lost sales. It's not likely many of them would have bought it if not for piracy. On the other hand, 1.5 million is impressive for a game like The Witcher 2 (not much advertising and and CDP isn't the most well known company). So in other words, W2 was an unqualified success, and that's the important part.

Valve should have a warning label thats says "Do not enter Steam if you want your wallet to be gone with these awesome games and amazing discounts we provide" :P

@DemonChorro The only thing Origin did for the holidays was offer a 50% off sale on a Sims 3 bundle... they didn't even offer the games on sale individually. The package was like $80 and didn't even include every Sims 3 title in their store. And to think... this company wants to compete with Steam...

Honestly, no surprise there! I have been a long time console player until I got a good gaming PC and, Steam. Since then, I haven't logged on PS3, not even once! I honestly believe I am not going to buy the next-gen consoles. Plus, Steam offers deals that you can't find nowhere. PS store+Xbox live deals are nothing compared to what Steam offers. My wallet is getting lighter every week, although is it really a good thing? Long live to Steam!

@BloodMist i know i got Braid & Limbo for 2.50$ each & the whole odd world series for less than 4$. PC + Steam = greatness how can poeple say otherwise

Ahh yes of course, having hundreds of deals on countless great games for a solid month might have had something to do with that.No other company would be cool or smart enough to do what Valve does.

and they say PC gaming is dead.......

@parrot_of_adun Would you kindly stop being a fanboy? Just because there are 5 active member, doesn't mean all 5 million will buy a game. Here is a very recent fact: http://www.gamespot.com/news/the-witcher-2-pirated-45-million-times-cd-projekt-6346876 The Witcher 2 was pirated 4.5 millions times versus 1.5 million legal downloads.

Steam>Origin nuff said. Happy for Steam best way to get PC games.

Last day of the Steam sales - everyone logging in to check the repeat deals and trade their discount vouchers - that or playing Skyrim :)

Well sure, everyone's playing Skyrim, one of the system requirements is: Internet Access required for Steam activation And people tell me i should go buy a console, with the quality of pc games (ie: BF3, Skyrim) i don't think im ever gettin some 300 dollar console

Nice one, VALVe! You never cease to impress us all!

yeah,, good for them,, :) hope Valve keep impress me

I learned everything I needed to know about that garbage in 2004. steam sucked back then, and always will.

Steam had a 2 week sale.... while Origin was doing nothing..... nice. Steam FTW

The Kings of PC gaming >:)

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Why does Origin even try?

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But...but how? Isn't PC gaming dead? :lol: Congrats Valve,you make me proud to be a PC gamer,a company that actually cares about their consumers in these times of greed plaguing the gaming industry...

Doommongering posters should be banned from this site for idiocy.

Steam holiday sale destroyed my wallet.... to... many... games...

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So... There are 30M+ users, with 5M active on a single day... Right, piracy is ruining PC gaming and no PC gamer actually pays for anything. To the consoles! /sarcasm