Originally Posted by
Ichy
First Like some one else said- Mass effect 3 wasn't on steam- was on origin, EA's exclusive Digital Distribution software.
There is no plan to destroy game shops, having it offered on steam (or for Digital download) allows for the media to reach a far wider audience, and offers much more convince that running down to the store every time you wanna check out a game that you think might have potential.
Developers took this course of action for many reasons, some being a wider audience (more money), made it easier for the devs to control patches (steam auto updates, taking much of the patching concerns out of the hands of the end user). Those are just my/the biggest 2.
What happens to those boxes and CDs that you would rather have? Most end up making a copy to install/run from and the box gets shelved- never opened again or something silimar. Its Honestly a waste of resources and time. Steam and the Like are a better media for delivering games because of Conveniences, Sales, Larger Audiences, better patching methods. The last is a big one, Dev's no longer have to worry to much about how patches are applied as steam/origin will handle it for them, the just have to upload the new files to the Steam archive, and the clients version will download the changes automatically. This is especially important in games Like Counter Strike or Halo where a player doesn't have to worry about client/server file miss match.
I've said it before, Dev's and Gaming Companies are making steam mandatory because of how easy Steam makes it to patch their game. Besides Steam is free for the end user, provides many sales on a Weekly basis, opens up the possiblity to get old games you missed at greatly reduced prices. You are buying their software, and agreeing to the ToS/EULA, but you aren't buying Steam. If your argument is about needing steam to run the game- you don't. You can have steam put a launcher on your desktop, have steam in offline mode- and never worry about it again.
Steam caught a lot of shit when it first came out, however I loved it since its early beta release (which I luckily had access too). It is the future of game distribution. its more Eco friendly, provides more media then traditional stores, has better sales, grants wider audiences gaming possibilities, makes it easier for devs to release new content and update old content. What does Traditional methods have? Box art.. concept art books, manuals... larger price tags because of the need for physical media + all the extra crap thrown in... All stuff I can get off the net for free to begin with (some on takes pictures and uploads it to the net).
As for what Drathos said- no they didn't do it because the thought it would stop piracy, and for most games reselling isn't a big issue (why GamStop in the us is so popular). Steam DID help control piracy a little by offering games at discounted prices. People have always traded games- thus the concept of stopping the re-sell of games was never a concern as it adds more/longer life to a game.