Should 1C/UBI make Steam optional?

[vicinity]

Originally Posted by Untamo

Meaning: Valve can take any game off their servers anyday, and you don't have any say in it. No more of that game for you.

Sure they could, but unless they have a VERY good reason to, it's not going to happen. Pissing off your customers isn't good business practice.

Originally Posted by Untamo

This, combined with the fact that no company lasts forever, is why I'm against Steam. I like to play old games, something of a nostalgic I am.

Let's say, that after 20 years from now I'd like, in a whim of nostalgia, to play a little bit of that old flight sim, IL-2 CoD. But wait... oh.. they have taken it off from their servers as it was played so little.. OR .. oh.. Valve went bankrupt 10 years ago. Nostalgia moment ruined.

Optimist would say: 1C would likely to make a non-Steam patch for it.

I ask: Would they, for a 20 year old, (almost)forgotten game?

Well in 20 years it's much more likely Steam will still be around than say 1c...You should be more worried about 1c going out of business because if that happens once your activations run out you'll no longer be able play any more.

Originally Posted by Untamo

I would like to like Steam. It's a great idea (apart from the license part), it works great, but for how long?

Thusfar I have dared to buy one license(you don't own the game), ArmA2, from Steam, as it was so cheap on the Xmas sale, and I'm not so emotionally attached to it as I am to the IL-2 series. So, if the Steam servers would be shut down tomorrow, it wouldn't ruin my life.

You know it doesn't matter where you buy a game from, you're still only buying the license to play that game, right?

Your steam version of Arma II will probably outlast my disc version of Arma II despite me not not even needing to ever remove it from it's case.