Question About Steam, And New (Mac) Games...

[IJBall]

So I've got a question for the group...

Thanks to Inside Mac Games, I recently discovered a game I'd like to check out called Wargame: European Escalation.

However, if you look closely at the Mac Games Store page for the game, it indicates that Wargame: European Escalation "Requires Steam and a Steam Account to play."

Indeed, I've poked around, and I don't seem to be able to find any (Mac) version of this game (or demo) that is independent of Steam.

As somebody who doesn't have a Steam account, and who has no intention of signing up to to their service, is this something that I'm going to increasingly have to worry about - Mac games that are offered only via the Steam service? (I suspect that'll kill the Mac game market off rather quickly... )

Anyone have any ideas about this...?

[sirdilznik]

[Dragonlady]

not to mention more and more Mac games can only be gotten by going to the Mac Store. (which usually means no downloading for demo's) I refuse to buy a game I can't play a demo in. sigh.

[Vroqren]

Yeah, whether that was the creators of the game, or Apple, I feel like it wasn't the brightest of choices.
I respect your choice to not get Steam, though as a pretty strong Steam user, I'm just putting this out there:
Steam is free, and convenient. It's not that bad.

[Lord_P]

Indeed, I've poked around, and I don't seem to be able to find any (Mac) version of this game (or demo) that is independent of Steam.

That's just unnecessarily mean. While Steam has made gaming a bit easier, it has drawn most of the games inside itself.

[leshpar]

steam is free to use. the games are what costs money. I love steam personally, and have never had issues beyond my own stupidity (forgot my password once).

I use steam and GoG as my two main sources of games these days. I think the only time I set foot in a video game store is when I want a wii U game these days.

[leshpar]

not to mention more and more Mac games can only be gotten by going to the Mac Store. (which usually means no downloading for demo's) I refuse to buy a game I can't play a demo in. sigh.

Software piracy has its uses. Pirate the game first, then, if you like it, buy it. I've done that more than once.

[Lord_P]

steam is free to use. the games are what costs money. I love steam personally, and have never had issues beyond my own stupidity (forgot my password once).

I use steam and GoG as my two main sources of games these days. I think the only time I set foot in a video game store is when I want a wii U game these days.

Those may actually be the only sources I use these days. The last time I bought a game from a different souce was maybe Portal, which I bought from a GameStop in Helsinki about a year ago.

[IJBall]

steam is free to use. the games are what costs money. I love steam personally, and have never had issues beyond my own stupidity (forgot my password once).

I use steam and GoG as my two main sources of games these days. I think the only time I set foot in a video game store is when I want a wii U game these days.

Those may actually be the only sources I use these days. The last time I bought a game from a different souce was maybe Portal, which I bought from a GameStop in Helsinki about a year ago.

My preferred route is to go directly to game developers' websites and download the game (hopefully in demo form, first!) and then pay for it there.

Indeed, I have in the past gotten ticked off when I can't get the game directly from the developer and have sometimes opted not to get the game as the result.

Hence my original post in this thread - if you force me to sign up to Steam just to get your game, I'm not going to sign up to Steam: instead, I'm just not going to get your game.

[Dragonlady]

steam is free to use. the games are what costs money. I love steam personally, and have never had issues beyond my own stupidity (forgot my password once).

I use steam and GoG as my two main sources of games these days. I think the only time I set foot in a video game store is when I want a wii U game these days.

Those may actually be the only sources I use these days. The last time I bought a game from a different souce was maybe Portal, which I bought from a GameStop in Helsinki about a year ago.

My preferred route is to go directly to game developers' websites and download the game (hopefully in demo form, first!) and then pay for it there.

Indeed, I have in the past gotten ticked off when I can't get the game directly from the developer and have sometimes opted not to get the game as the result.

Hence my original post in this thread - if you force me to sign up to Steam just to get your game, I'm not going to sign up to Steam: instead, I'm just not going to get your game.

Well said, and pretty much what I do too.

[Rotnefson]

Selling games always seemed like such an interesting profession. I mean, if it's the 10% of the games which actually turn a profit, it's only the question of choosing the right ones to sell, right?