Is this game coming to PC by chance? It looks like a mouse/keyboard friendly game.

I don't know how to ask this without potentially violating a rule (and I'm not a pirate) but if you have at the least a physical copy in the case Steam goes down, couldn't we just crack the game and keep playing? It seems in this case it would be legal since we own an actual copy and don't resort to downloading it after they go down from some warez site. Am I right? I'd to know your moral views on this.

As a collector, I like having physical copies of games on my shelves and to preserve the games. I am both a PC and console gamer and I always try to pick up games at retail *if I can*. If not, it's no big deal and I'll grab it when it goes on sale at Steam or Humble Bundle.

Now I realize that when I buy the typical current game using Steam that the disc's primary purpose is to save bandwidth and it has to be added to my Steam account. So my question is.. in the future if/when Steam shuts down will my discs be no good? In other words, is it pointless for me to keep buying physical copies outside of only having the artwork and extra goodies if any? For some reason I feel more secure having a disc like it may actually work should Valve change it's policy before they shut down versus being SOL if I don't have all my games downloaded, which then I'd be screwed without a disc. Don't get me wrong I LOVE the Steam summer sales and what not, but I love EVEN MORE having cases with artwork on my shelfs, even its a simple generic dvd case.

So.. should I retire the idea of believing my discs are superior (for future/collecting) purposes or not? Either way I don't like the idea of having all these games attached to an online account but I deal with it because I must play the games. I find myself holding out on certain games to see if they come to Gog.com and I've lately aquired quite a collection from them since it's DRM-free. But still, there are so many that require Steam. So I'm just hoping that all my investment in physical media (requiring steam) won't go to waste later..meanwhile I could have been saving a few dollars here and there if I bought exclusivly through Steam or various DD stores.

What do you think?

I'm not as concerned about when the support will end, because that's inevitable and sooner than later. But I AM concerned about all of our digital purchases and what becomes of that. If in 3 years my Xbox 360 breaks and I have no way to obtain it (even on my spare 360) then I'll quite supporting DD with consoles. I'm 50/50 with steam since it's nearly the same thing (you pay for license to play/rent) but at least Valve will unlock the games from their servers should they go out of business (and give us like a 6 month notice or something). This is VERY good and I think M$ needs to do the same thing. I don't think it'll take too much business away from their future products...instead it'll get honest backers such as myself to KEEP BUYING stuff. Meanwhile (no offense) but all the kids with OCD out there will have moved onto the Xbox One or the next best thing made from M$ and don't give a darn about their previous purchases as they'll continue to buy DD out of impulse. So I really don't see who loses here.

I'm really wanting to get the New 3DS but I just can't get myself to buy any more electronics with glossy finishes. I have moderate OCD and I just can't deal with it.

If there isn't a matte finish version down the pipeline then I may consider picking one up anyway. What do you think?

Since I'm a PC Gamer as well.. it sounds like it would be wise for me to make all my digital purchaes there instead of 360. This goes for all the indie/arcade titles that are currently shared between 360/PC, and like you said stick with physical if available. There's no way I would put my faith in one console to hold all my stuff for the long run unless they change their policy. Thanks for the help in this thread.

I'm a little confused because according to the post above it would seem that games like Gears of War is no longer playable on PC. So just to be clear...your saying that even AFTER they pull the plug on 360's XBL that only one primary console will be able to play games offline for as long as the hardware works (and no secondary consoles)?

--sorry--

Well that's a big no-no. I would think once XBL goes down then they *should* change the policy so our games aren't in prison. What's it to them if they are or aren't unless they believe they'll get more sells out of us in the future. Damnit!

Sounds like I need to focus on physical games before they dry up, and still pick up an extra console for the road. Thanks for all your help.

You know I'm at the point now where I may pick up several 360s for cheap before they stop selling them. Usually retailers sell them off cheap in advance before they actually stop carrying them. Then I'll load them all up with 500gb drives. I can do this, right? Is there a limit to how many 360s I can sign into and download games onto? If I can literally have 3-4 360s with all my stuff on them then I would feel VERY comfortable about the future of my 360 collection. I don't have over 500gb worth of DD but I'm right at the limit. Does this plan (assuming it works) sound ridiculous to you?

I actually value my games more the older they become. I'm the opposite from so many that pay high dollar for current games. There's so many games that I doubt anyone of us can beat them all.. so like movies I always bargain hunt for older stuff (always play catch up) this way I have more and get to play more. 20 years from now when I'm 55, I will most likely still be into games since I'm a kid at heart and a spare 360 would come in handy me thinks. Who knows they'll proably have everything we're doing now through an emulator but I somehow doubt it seeing as Xbox wasn't friendly with it if ya know what I mean (not trying to change the topic).