Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
There's probably a yes/no check that happens when you lend a game, so that it knows even when you're offline.
You probably have to be online to lend a game anyway.
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Rumor - Steam to Allow Game Borrowing
- Thread starter Grief.exe
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There's probably a yes/no check that happens when you lend a game, so that it knows even when you're offline.
You probably have to be online to lend a game anyway.
MrTroubleMaker
Member
:O wow
BrokenEchelon
Banned
I worded this poorly, I admit. I should have compared it to their actions with physical games in my first comment.
True, my original reply was to someone who proposed a way this could work without frequent license checks. I'm just presenting problems I see in his proposed way.
StudioTan
Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
Which are the same as Steam.
Just for funzies.
Ok so you've got physical right? Physical pc games as of now can't be traded to your friends, can't be sold to whomever, lent or borrowed to whomever, etc.
Valve and every other PC publisher already restricted this, a negative, yet no one really cares.
Microsoft is taking digital copies, which are currently more restrictive and are making them more flexible, which is positive, yet everyone still finds a way to complain about it.
Valve is doing the same thing and people are in love with it.
People should love both options for digital games.
Does that make more sense?
For Valve games, putting them on shelves in 100% marketting and exposure. For other games it's just registering them and they often can still be played offline without the disc.
Steam is even more restrictive with physical games than Microsoft. Can't sell/trade/give physical discs bought at stores that use Steam. After you register the game the disc is basically a coaster.
what if someone never comes back online? you wouldn't get your game back. And if they do transfer the license back to the original owner without the borrower coming online there would be two copies out in the wild. Would publishers agree to that? not so sure.
edit: i guess maybe they could make it a set time limit for how long you can have the game, that might work.
Zombie James
Banned
Just like real life?
Not quite since they are limiting to only 10 family members...
oh microsoft why do you love your restrictions so much?
You will likely just have to be online to play the game, likely it won't start if you are offline. Wonder how easy it would be to share, and if you can share out multiple games at once. Would likely hurt shorter single player games though, unless publishers have to opt in.
Yep, sure can with most forms of physical media (barring PC software). I don't think there's a digital service that allows anything like this though and if it really is a digital "sharing" service then I don't think this would be intended.
BrokenEchelon
Banned
Right. It's the problem of comparing consoles to PCs in general. CD keys and other DRM have been around on PC in order to prevent piracy, because PCs were so much more open and prone to piracy. Steam is clearly DRM in its own right, and I'm not a fan of that aspect of it (see my praise for GOG), but Microsoft took the idea of sharing games on consoles, which at this point was pretty much open-ended (save recent online passes) and tried to make it more restrictive in order to curb the second hand market moreso than curbing piracy, which is nowhere near as rampant on consoles even though it's more common now than 20 years ago. Steam on the other hand seems to be taking the current, accepted status-quo and making it more friendly. That's the only thing I meant to say, they're trying to improve the current model, while many of Microsoft's actions are making the console model more restrictive.
People kept trying to compare the XBO's policies to Steam as soon it was revealed, and that didn't make much sense either.
Axispowers
Member
Hell yeah!
makes perfect sense. Xbox does not have the sales that steam has but each service is similar. But lets not get into that in this thread.
Felix Lighter
Member
I foresee a website being created that basically lets people pool their libraries together where you request a game and you're linked with another user sharing that game. I guess there would need to be some sort of library size requirement so it wouldn't be over run with leeches.
That's the kind of thing that I think devs and publishers would be afraid of since lending digitally would be instant and the group of borrowers and lenders is no longer restricted to your location.
That's the kind of thing that I think devs and publishers would be afraid of since lending digitally would be instant and the group of borrowers and lenders is no longer restricted to your location.
The difference is: Long before Steam was even a thing, basically all PC games still required a serial key to prevent piracy (because PC games can be installed, and you can make images of the discs). PC gamers never really lost anything with the advent of Steam DRM. The Xbone seeks to change the existing used market by treating disc-based games as digital, even though having the disc inserted should be a valid form of proof of ownership (yet they want you to buy licenses to use the game).
So it's not the same.
Edit: Beaten
Iced_Eagle
Member
Awesome if true!
It's great that digital distribution platforms are going to be doing things like this. I have 350 games on Steam, and I'd love to share some of the gems I've collected with other people. I love that I'll have the same feature on the One too. By the end of this gen, it's going to be insane how many games some of us will have if we're in a sharing group. Our backlogs of games we could play will get even larger!
I definitely want to hear more details on how Valve is going to implement it. Will they have a similar group system, or can anyone on your friends list check out a game? Can there be multiple people playing a game? Do you have to be online to use this feature?
TBH, I bet this feature is to really help with the Steambox proposition for people. If they released Steam in its current state as a console-esque system, I don't think it would work that well. No multi-user licenses (other accounts playing the games I bought on the steambox) like on Xbox/PS, no used games, etc. This is a step in the right direction though.
It's great that digital distribution platforms are going to be doing things like this. I have 350 games on Steam, and I'd love to share some of the gems I've collected with other people. I love that I'll have the same feature on the One too. By the end of this gen, it's going to be insane how many games some of us will have if we're in a sharing group. Our backlogs of games we could play will get even larger!
:'(
I definitely want to hear more details on how Valve is going to implement it. Will they have a similar group system, or can anyone on your friends list check out a game? Can there be multiple people playing a game? Do you have to be online to use this feature?
TBH, I bet this feature is to really help with the Steambox proposition for people. If they released Steam in its current state as a console-esque system, I don't think it would work that well. No multi-user licenses (other accounts playing the games I bought on the steambox) like on Xbox/PS, no used games, etc. This is a step in the right direction though.
StudioTan
Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
You must be young. I certainly remember a time where PC games were the same as console games. That changed as the internet grew in popularity.
la flama blanca
Banned
Embarassed? lol.
I'm not falling for that one!
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
All I can say is, FINALLY. An obvious feature.
Now let us sell our games like those damn trading cards you've got flying around and I'll be happier.
Now let us sell our games like those damn trading cards you've got flying around and I'll be happier.
Wonko_C
Member
Only loan your games to people you trust, I.E. real life friends.
The license wouldn't be able to be transferred back until the borrower logs in, with this system there would always be only one copy running.
Well "family" is used loosely. It could be some friend on the other side of the world (or a complete stranger for that matter). But like I said in a previous post I can't see a scenario where you need to lend all of your games to multiple people at once.
And there's presumably nothing stopping you from removing and adding "family" members as you see fit (although there likely will be a minimum number of days between the day added and removed).
statham
Member
chinner, you didn't go far enough, because I agree. unless people laugh at me tomorrow.
31 and you just negated your own point. The advent of easy file sharing through the Internet is what necessitated the use of CD keys in the first place. This wasn't nearly as big a problem before the Internet and hell, before Win95 when most people didn't even have a computer so trading games was much more difficult (remember swapping at computer meets?).
Just admit you fucked up.
Iced_Eagle
Member
Nothing is stopping MS from raising that limit in the future based on competition.
We also don't know what's Steams limits will be. Based on the last line of text, it sounds like they will also have limits in place, just like MS will have. I would guess one of the cases the game is not available is if there are no more shared licenses left. It's not unreasonable in my opinion.
It wasn't always like that. PC games used to be like console games. Like you said though, the general open nature of the platform (and consistent hardware compatibility with future generations) led to a much faster implementation of DRM. Consoles have been more resistant to piracy but definitely not immune. You can do a quick Google search and find instructions on how to mod/flash your console and also find torrents for almost any game. If you don't want to do all that work then "premade" consoles are sold through various circuits or you can have someone do it for a price. Piracy is getting to be a pretty big problem with consoles. Sure, things restart whenever a new console is released but it always follows the same cycle. Eventually the console gets hacked and the floodgates are opened. Here's an interesting write up that compares PC and console piracy:
http://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2012/09/22/gaming-piracy-separating-fact-from-fiction
Steam and consoles are definitely not comparable on a one to one basis...but they are similar.
Yup all you had to do was punch in the key. You could do that over and over and over again.
statham
Member
If he did, I would put that in my sig.
Except this is the whole issue at hand now. People fucking hated steam when it first released. Then once they made the service better and everyone got used to it people grew to love it. Trading in games is just so ingrained into people's minds that Microsoft taking that away from them is a huge deal. People who game primarily on the pc mostly don't give a damn with what is happening in the console market right now. It doesn't do anything to change their ecosystem, except with Steam possibly adding in the game sharing thing like MS is doing. PC is already pretty much an all digital platform and no one really cares. Consoles are eventually going to catch up in that regard as well and that's what I see MS pushing now. Is it going to be better than having disc versions of games? Probably not right away. I imagine with time it will no longer be an issue. Just like with what happened with steam.
statham
Member
I would give you Deus Ex HR for free.
At least CD keys were still transferable before Steam. These days, once you register a Steam key to an account, it's locked to it forever.
yeah that would be the only way it would work without online checks. I would rather have the checks in place so I would feel safe trading with anyone though.
Despite my love for Steam and Valve, I'm genuinely curious what the true reason behind this is. Is it to become more competitive with Sony or to become a more lucrative and appealing digital store compared to others or is there a financial reason behind this.
I'm sure publishers will be the ones who decide if you can share their games or not. If so, how many will actually hop on board for this initiative? I'm really curious and at the same time excited at the potential of this.
I also wonder how much of an impact has Sony had on Valve's decision to implement this feature.
I'm sure publishers will be the ones who decide if you can share their games or not. If so, how many will actually hop on board for this initiative? I'm really curious and at the same time excited at the potential of this.
I also wonder how much of an impact has Sony had on Valve's decision to implement this feature.
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