![]() ![]() In 2010 I got a free copy of the HL2 OS X port and, were I the sort of person who enjoys the quixotic challenge of gaming on Linux, I could have grabbed my free Linux port just a few weeks ago. In 2007, I bought Portal which came in a bundle that included HL2 - I got an extra free HL2 license to give away. It's getting close to a decade but I still have essentially unencumbered access to my copy of HL2 - I'd have surely lost the physical media by now. The client itself has occasionally had quality problems, so have some (mostly non-Valve) games but I've not once felt the 'negative value' of Steam's DRM itself. I've never had a Steam-related DRM problem. I own, according to the client, 118 titles. I've been on Steam since the release of Half-Life 2 in late 2004. Valve seems to generally treat its customers decently and to describe that as some sort of sugar pill with which they cram a supposedly 'heavily DRM encumbered' Steam client down your throat is a little overwrought. This is mistaken, and by abusing and misusing their customers they're destroying brand loyalty, which is perhaps the most important thing a company can have, especially one predominantly working in IP. Some game companies only see DRM from the narrow perspective of a publisher concerned about "piracy" and feel entitled to dictate usage terms to their customer base due to feelings of ethical superiority. Additionally, because of the track-record of steep price drops on old games and the occasional steam-sale they blunt many of the down-sides of DRM (such as lack of used-games). Steam is more than just a DRM system, of course, and it's all of the benefits of the Steam-platform which make up for the poison at its heart (at least for a great many consumers). Steam may be heavily encumbered with DRM but Valve has piled on huge loads of sugar to make it palatable, more and more each year. Valve seems to be one of the few companies to make use of DRM that understands this. ![]() It provides only negative value to the consumer by adding new restrictions and limitations. ![]()
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