Let`s go back to 2003 for a second. Valve announces that they are going to release their much anticipated Half Life 2 game on a new distribution channel that they created called Steam. It took many off guard, people were telling each other 'what the hell is that for ' , anyway at least the name was matching ; Steam = Valve, allright.
After a while, Valve released the famous Orange Box - a 3 in 1 package - . Team Fortress 2 that was in the package was a solid game. But other than being solid, it had a catalyzer effect at the time that we were not aware of. To play TF2 online, we had to sign in on our Steam accounts and try to get some friends on our profile, get active in the community. It helped Valve tremendously to increase the number of active Steam users.
Then, Valve started to get the digital distribution rights of many games. At first, they had a few number of titles and studios that they distributed digitally, but now in 2011 they almost have 90 % of the market.
With the rise of the Steam, many questioned if it was necessary or a good thing to buy the game digitally other than buying it physically where you would have the game manual and the actual CD that you can touch, feel and put it in your library. I was one of them who opposed to digital distribution in the past. I still prefer to buy a product physically but what Steam offered and still offers were too good to refuse.
1- In most of the cases , Steam products are cheaper. At first, I ignored that fact as I tended to pay 3,5 $ extra and own the game physically. Then I switched to steam for reason 2 and reason 3
2- Amazing promotions and price reductions especially on the weekends and special days. Let`s think of an example : The game that I was thinking about buying, but not sure of , was reduced to 20 $ instead of 49 with another crazy Steam discount. It`s still 49 $ out there if I like to buy it physically. So it`s good to refuse and the example that I mentioned happens quite often. It`s a bargain !
3- Able to pre-load the game before it`s been released hence you are able to play it the minute that it`s been released. You don`t have to wait for shipping or go out there to the store and pick it up from the shelf - without knowing when it`s actually going to be on the shelf -
4- I can bring my games library to anywhere that have an internet access. It`s a huge benefit of Steam. Imagine, you have 100 games in steam library and instead of having those on steam, having them physically and carrying them with you with a few backpacks ! Since, Steam is quite secured, your games are safe and you won`t have any risk of losing the game whereas in real life you may lose it if you own it physically.
5- Maybe it`s not big thing but I love the way Steam has it`s own achievements and keeps track of your stats - how often did you play a game and when -. Moreover, the community - groups, friends - is a great way to share information and have fun together through online competition. Also, we shall not forget about Steam cloud and steam screenshot feature that is the latest introduction.
Digital Distribution has passed the retail distribution in 2009. And the margin is increasing with Steam sitting on the boss chair with a dominant power and ever-improving services. Congratulations to Valve for the great service.
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"After a while, Valve released the famous Orange Box - a 3 in 1 package."
Actually, there are 5 games inside The Orange Box.
Steam is an amazing service; the prices are fantastic and it has a large, solid community. Also, as you pointed out, pre-loading games is an amazing feature.
I don't know; there's just so much to love about Steam, right down to Valve themselves.
i don't have a proper pc for gaming, but when i get one my steam account is ready to go.
I recently bought Star Trek Online through steam :) Cheap, cheaper than ordering the game physically. And that is how it should be. Digital copies should always be cheaper!
As soon as I get a proper job i'm gonna start buying from steam
If I didn't get staff discount I would so buy from steam and only steam.