While steam is great, they don't have everything.

When Steam first arrived I was fuming because they had taken over the running of Counter-Strike, and due to how incredibly buggy Steam was it ruined my favourite game. After many years they finally smoothed out the worst bugs ( although I don't think my friends list worked for many years! ) and you could see they were building something very impressive - most of your favourite games available to run from one place, with a shop for some new releases. Looking back, it doesn't surprise me to see just how successful Steam has become, as back then I remember thinking this is the future of PC gaming. Admittedly I hardly use it now, playing on my PS3 mostly these days, except for The Old Republic, but that's on Origin, and oh my god, that program is almost as bad as early Steam, but considering the legacy of Steam I wonder what EA's excuse for releasing such a poor program in this day and age?

Steam all the way before that play.com and before that software first and before that dixions(1996).

@V----V There is such a thing as offline mode....

@V----V The reason for the needed internet connection is to be able to use steam which adds to the much needed pirate protection.

I'm not happy that I have to have an internet connection to play SP games like Skyrim, Oblivion or the Mass Effect to name just a few. Heaven forbid my ISP goes down, I'll be stuck playing Freecell or Angry Birds!

no steam - I collect so I get hard copies of games from Best Buy ususally.

Gotta love steam. @duderdave You seem to be missing steam's support ticket feature on their site.

Yup, Steam is my one and only PC store of choice, also Blizzard's for WoW.

Steam has been growing o me in the past two years. The number of games I own on there has grown by about 2000%, mostly because of sales.

I only use Steam if I am forced to by the game's publisher. Steam still has numerous problems and glitches that need to be fixed, the worst of which is their almost inexistant customer service. Have a problem, they want you to use their forums, but don't forget, forums like that get hacked... cough, cough... hmmmmm.

dancing. ha! idk what i'd do if i saw that. laugh or be really angry

@ozalme nice that they fixed that but really how could they have that bug show up in the 1st place in their launched product ? pretty pathetic ..... and how many actually used it to cheat and clear stuff already

origin is my pc gaming store of choice. steam servers suck!

I'd much rather walk to the store and purchase a physical copy of a game then purchase through Steam. I just wish some games didn't require Steam to be installed to play. I like playing games so I put up with it but I don't like it. From an anti-piracy standpoint, it doesn't work. Skyrim was pirated within hours of release.

@businessfox I'll admit we don't have as many prize giveaways as we used to, but as for the longer show, you might want to try Super Start/Select on Fridays. The latest should be going live in about an hour from now.

of course steam is my pc gaming store of choice, its certainly not origin, thats for damn sure...

Good to see you again Guy :). Steam overall is bloody amazing, i love everything they have to offer but the only drawback is downloading the game itself which can be a pain sometimes. Steam Rules!!!

Start select is not the same as it used to be, I noticed that for 2 minutes and 20 seconds you do get alot of useful information. But I perfered it when it was like 6 minutes long with the prize give aways. I still watch the show off and on when I get a chance. But I am really disappointed on the revamp of the show. But oh well what would I know I am only a member of gamespot for 5 years and a few days now. I just hope you guys come together and work on a better show.

This star wars bug has already been fixed lol

What exactly is Steam? Is it the same as Origin?

I've been using Steam for several months now and have found it a much-needed tool for accessing games. Everything you need and want is all there in a easy-to-use UI, not to mention the way they advertise game discounts is too deliciously tempting to ignore! Steam is my #1 choice when it comes to buying most of my games for sure. I still frequent B&M stores for games I truly love, especially CE games.

@sune_Gem I have no problem at all imagining PC gaming without Steam. I've played PC games for many years without it. But you have a point here (deliberately or not). Most people have accepted it as the "norm" and grow up with the Steams and Origins of this world, so they're here to stay. I adjust to that, but i don't like it ONE BIT.

how much do you have to pay to play star wars(monthly)??

Now if only Steam would let me have a proper account name intead of my ancient e-mail address as a login, I'd be more inclined to buy from them. OCD? Perhaps lol. /getdown

Steam has come a long way since it's original release. It's hard to imagine PC gaming without it now.

Steam, and Steam alone - it's not even close.

Steam is my #1, but I respect gog.com too.

@Peazo - What did you pay for Skyrim? The last day of the Steam sales many 'new' releases went on sale- Skyrim went from $59.99 down to $40.19. For a game less than six months old and that big and still very buzzworthy, I'd say that's a great price. I'd be shocked to see it lower than that- but even that price shocked me!

Steam is awesome, Gabe's the man, and that's the only reason I listened to the first part of this video. Yeah, thumb it down but I'm not the only one!* Steam's sales this year hit a new high, the top winner won the ENTIRE Steam library of games. Won't catch that generosity at origins (take notes ea).

Wow, Old Republic has problems...

steam rocks!!!!....^_____^

Steam, for their Frequently promotions and discounts....

Dancing gets you out of trouble? I will remember that if i go to the pub this evening!

steam ftw

i love steam,

steam all the way..

I hate steam cause it makes me start that inorder to start my game.

Definately Steam and i feel a strange urge every time i see a game on offer that i must buy it!! That is marketing right there and also steam does what every gamer loves the most STATS!! If you want a platform to be successful give me STATS!!

Dance bug hoax.

Dancing? We'll see what the Sith have to say about that!

LOL nice, the bosses in the old republic enjoy some nice dance moves

Yeah I am lvl 3 now I can comment :-P Note: Steam Rule nice service :-P

steam rocks.........origin has a very long way to go, but its on right track :)

Origin! ... .... HAHAH no. Steam or bust.

Steam FTW. Suck it Origin....and Impulse and all the others

Steam and Amazon are the only places I buy games.

hi

So EA, how you like the numbers? Maybe now Battlefield 3 doesn't seem so bad on steam anymore eh?

Steam is not my PC store of choice - or any other service that requires log-ins and connections to foreign servers for authentication checks. (That said, I often play Steam games offline if I can - and even so I really don't like having the Steamworks API running in the background.) Stores that offer games free of DRM s*** like the above are my stores of choice - if they are selling the games that I want. Otherwise, I only use Steam when there are dirt-cheap discounts on games that I want to play - or at the least, games that I know are buggy and tends to corrupt game files, which can be fixed with Steam's verifying tool.