What's so wrong about non-Steam DRM services?

Desura is awesome, cause it has a load of games that aren't going to get on Steam in the forseeable future (if ever). Also, it's not DRM, just a download provider with an auto patching client (a killer feature that I wish GOG also had).

Ya I like Origin too :P I hardly use it, but that's where I activated my Sims 3 game in which I bought nearly 4 years ago

well obviously they aren't steam, and not being steam fails to satisfy a compulsive need to have all your games in one place behind some drm client.

Well, I have BF3 and Sims 3 on Origin, and my wife and I moved to a new apartment recently and we didn't have internet for a weekend. While I was happily playing my steam games with steam in offline mode, my wife couldn't run Sims, because in order to start up Origin in offline mode she had to log in, which she couldn't do, due to as I said - lack of internet connection. Smart move, EA.

Because DRM is evil. All DRM. It's the simple fact that the publisher graciously licenses you the game but reserves the right to do fuck you over at any moment and make your game (or all your games) unplayable if they so choose. It doesn't matter that "they wouldn't do that" (except they do, even if unintentionally when the servers go down), it's the irksome fact that these people think they have the right to control my computer because gee whiz, I bought a game from them. Let's see, do I want to install Origin and give EA the right to send any information on my computer over to corporate headquarters, as their EULA says they may? No thanks. There's stuff on here I don't care to share with EA, and I'm not buying a separate rig for Origin alone. I'm fine with "limiting my options", thanks. I'll skip on the option to have my privacy invaded by corporate America because they can't figure out how to add value for their customers instead of treating them like serfs. Protip: if you're making the experience of playing a game worse than what I could have gotten by torrenting it, you're doing it wrong.

So is Steam also evil? Yes. But it's the least evil DRM possible, having evolved for years (and offering features linked to game ownership that you actually want), and Valve is actually committed to the platform itself, instead of being committed to it as a vehicle for their own games. Still, if I have the choice between buying a game on GOG.com and buying it on Steam, I prefer Gog just to support a DRM-free world. They're even cheaper on average (since they don't use the Steam currency conversion $ = €).

the problem with non-steam DRM services = companies not willing to put in the staff or the resources to fix it when people have problems...

personally, i had no problems ever with GFWL yet i know nearly every one of my friends who used it has had problems such as connection errors for no reason

EAOrigin... their installation service is bugged on my computer (as in games and game updates get stuck at 99% and can't figure out that i have already updated my graphics card driver, so i have to uninstall my graphics card anytime i want to play a game essentially) and i spent over 6 hours to their support that told me to "port forward then restart your computer" even though i had explained to them i had already done that before contacting them

desura, its pretty reliable for most people but those who have trouble literally can not get onto the service at all for no reason and desura couldn't figure out why so they have essentially forsaken those people (maybe not all but they certainly did to my close friend when i wanted to show him original stanley parable... he essentially got an email saying "yeah, we know this is a problem but we have no clue how to fix it")

idk about others personally, but i have heard more negative than positive about Uplay

I have Steam, Origin, and Capsule. I personally prefer Steam. Origin seems and feels like a Facebook App version of a Steam wannabe, and Capsule is just annoying (really, why bother with it at all?). Steam is the ultimate client. I just want to play games, and want all my games in one place simply for the convenience. EA and all these other DRM laden companies seem to make their own clients just because they can. Problem is that these companies (namely EA) force us to play their games on their clients, instead of just letting us keep our comps organized with one client. All they are doing is creating needless competition for Steam (which is obviously the superior) and dumping it on the gamers. Besides the clients, Steam is also the superior web experience, with a public market, customizable profiles, badges/achievements, groups/forums, SteamGifts, SteamTrades, in-game chat, etc. Those other sites are just another place to buy stuff. Steam gives us more for our time and money, than just games. It's a place by gamers, for gamers. The only reason why I ever use the other ones, is because they force me to use them, if I want to buy a game that only they offer, because of their monopolizing.

Nothing wrong with them, most of them have better customer support than steam. Which is a big deal in my opinion.

The only service that garnered trust so far is GOG. One thing that GOG has over Steam: no DRM on the games they sell. No need to activate the said games. You buy them, you download them, you burn them on DVD, you do whatever you like with them. You don't need a one time activation and to deal with third party DRM ( Securom, Uplay, Starforce, TAGES, Origin, Steamworks, CEG ). In Steam you have all that.

Origin is not trusted because EA has a record in closing servers. Their client still has problems ( Sim City launch and the recent Humble Bundle showed that their infrastructure can't deal with a heavy load of customers ).

Uplay was hated because of the always online DRM, but now only two games still have that ( Silent Hunter 5 and Driver: San Francisco - From Dust got it offline patch ). The client greatly evolved, but we still have to see how the Uplay infrastructure cand deal with a heavy customer load.

Desura is a great place if you like indies, but their client still needs a ton of work.

Personally, i like my EA games on Origin ( i don't need to have Steam AND Origin open to play those ) and my Ubi games on Uplay ( same as for EA - i don't have to deal with two programs while playing ). If there is an old game or a good indie that i want, i prefer GOG ( the reasons are a no brainer - GOG doesn't feel like a rental service, but it actually feels like a brick and mortar shop - you buy it, it's yours ).

Nothing.

Desura is awesome btw....

I have Trials game which using uPlay's client. I have this issue that sometimes my saves is lost causing by the client so I hope I wouldn't be bothered by such services again in the future.

I don't use them mostly because I like convenience to having my stuff in one place, and I have no reason to use them since most of my library is on Steam. I could be careless if I can't play BF3/BF4/Watch_Dogs dll, their games does not interests me anyway.

It's not that big a deal, but I do find it annoying managing two accounts. My Origin account only has 2 or 3 games whereas my Steam account has over 600. I like having everything in once place, so Origin just gets in the way because EA are extremely stubborn, I don't like that.

are you working for EA?
theres no problem with non-steam drm services, theres just a big problem with EA.
i wont trust them, and i dont want their software on my machine.
desura is great.

I've no problem with any of them, though I do miss the convenience of having all of my games in one place. Steam helps me manage my downloads a lot easier.

I don't consider Desura to be a "DRM service", because it allows you to download all of the games that they sell outside of their client. I think of it more as a digital distribution platform/download manager.
I don't like Desura's client a whole lot, because it's far too slow to load up and log in, but the service itself is fantastic! Haven't had any issues so far. Same with Uplay and Origin.

I've had problens of getting DCed from multiplayer games from EA/Origin with no reason (many many times, like each 15-20 min) and on GFLW I've had multiplayer problens algo to conect or host games.
Apart from that the only problem is that they're not steam. Joke apart, with many games to play on steam, right not I usualy just forget to play anything that ins't on my steam list.

Are you implying there's nothing wrong with GfWL though? Because that would be ridiculous. While I do use them, I don't like having to use Uplay and Origin, because they add no value for me at all. They are just another barrier for me to play the games, while offering me nothing else. A direct download would have been easier instead of having to use a whole other client. While I use Steam for communities and the sales are a bonus. Stuff like leaderboards in games only makes sense there for me.

"avoiding Origin/uPlay/Deusra completely just because it's not Steam just limits your options"
Or you could say it's the other services that are limiting your options, just a matter of perspective.

I used to agree with you. In result, I have a lot of non steam games from gamersgate and other retail stores. But a couple years ago I had to format my PC and that changed my mind. Since I like to have a lot of games installed at once (just in case I feel like playing them) I had to manually reinstall all games. Aside from the manual installation itself, some of them require registration, password recovery, code redeeming. This is not a big deal if you have to do it once in a while with a newly purchased game. But if you have to do it a lot, in a short period of time, then you realise how time consuming and annoying it really is. It gave me a whole new level of appreciation for steam's install button.

cuz I wona have all of my games IN ONE PLACE. Gaben gives me the largest choice, I choose Gaben. Thats simple.

/thread

As long as they have games I'm interested in at a good price I will use it. At the moment I'm using Steam and Desura. I'm not aware of any interesting games on uPlay or Origin.

Edit: Just checked wikipedia and yes non of them have any interesting games for me and Origin's EULA violates several German laws xD

i take my games with whatever client or drm comes with them, for me price is all that matters. yes Steam is convenient but its no longer the cheapest place to buy games and hasnt been for a long time. right now i currently have the Steam, Origin, GFWL, UPlay, Desura, Capsule and Gamefly clients all installed and havent ever had a problem with any of them. i also have a load of drm free stuff from GOG etc.

Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon game on steam bust a benefits the devs (the other is just a tie in and they've already been paid like .10 cents for the key -.- ) (Cross promotions benefit more than just "selling" games)
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon has cards, badges, and emotes on steam. very minimum means you get some money back

Because steam has alot of games, and I like having them all together.
EDIT: I've bought the bundle for battlefield 3, I wanted to activate them, but my origin keeps crashing at the license screen.

We have a Wii, PS2, N64, XBox360, NDS, and a few Apple products. We're very multi-platform. None of the games on one platform work on another unfortunately.

I have no problem with any of them. I prefer to have Steam and UPlay though, than just UPlay. I mean, I pre-ordered ACIV:BF, and I would love to have my game listed on Steam as authentic, but I still love that there is UPlay. For those who say "It's just another software installed on my computer", then you should probably learn that you have decades of software installed in your computer, maybe you should uninstall them.