Gaming Steam How and What Is It?

[ponygals]

I have been hearing a lot of things about this Steam company, but what is it exactly? How does it work? I went to Walmart the other day, and saw gift cards for it, what do those do? It'd be very appreciative if someone could explain it to me, thanks.

 

[Depravo]

http://store.steampowered.com/about/

It's Like PSN, Xbox Marketplace or Nintendo eShop but for PCs.

 

[ponygals]

Ohhhhhhhhhh interesting.

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

What Depravo said, it's the primary PC games marketplace.
It also serves as a big community with online groups, game hubs, etc.
There is also a community marketplace where you can buy, sell, and trade trading cards, crafted badges (which go on your profile), profile backgrounds, in-game items from certain games such as TF2 and CSGO, etc.
If you ever hear of "Steam Sales," it is because Steam has regular sales where literally everything goes on sale. Big-name games that may have released just a few months ago can often be found marked down for 50% or more. The Steam Summer Sale is the best example of this. All AAA and indie titles alike undergo huge sales.

Many PC games require Steam, as they may only be available on Steam, even those bought on a disc at retail. Steam is also a DRM service, you see. When you buy a game, you have to do a one-time online verification check when you install the game. From there on, you can play it offline wherever and whenever as much as you want.

Also, fun fact: Steam is the largest digital games distributor in the world. Because almost every PC gamer has a Steam account, it generates more sales than XBL and PSN combined. Dunno about GameStop or the like, but I wouldn't be surprised if it surpasses their sales as well. Steam has thousands of games spanning almost three decades of PC gaming.
Here's a source for that: https://medium.com/steam-spy/steam-sales-in-2015-2e81a6bb0f5a#.24a7560gj

I hope this helped!

 

[ponygals]

Oh nice, so you would need a good desktop and or laptop to play the PC games on? I heard those Alien laptops were good for gaming.

 

[LittleFlame]

Oh nice, so you would need a good desktop and or laptop to play the PC games on? I heard those Alien laptops were good for gaming.

nah there's a lot of old games on there as well i believe back to 2003 or something and even then a lot of games have been ported to work on steam

 

[Minox]

Oh nice, so you would need a good desktop and or laptop to play the PC games on? I heard those Alien laptops were good for gaming.

Please don't buy Alienware. You usually pay more for the brand than you do for actual quality.

 

[raystriker]

I think it's always better to assemble a pc to one's specifications or atmost get a custom laptop

 

[_v3]

Please don't buy Alienware. You pay more for the brand than you do for actual quality.

FTFY, Alienware PCs are not so great nowadays and they are overpriced AF.

I suggest OP to make his own build, watch a couple of YT videos on how to build your own PC and do it (srsly if I could do it then anyone can).

 

[TecXero]

It's simply a market place for games and DRM.

 

[Taleweaver]

Oh nice, so you would need a good desktop and or laptop to play the PC games on? I heard those Alien laptops were good for gaming.

This entirely depends on which games to play. Newer or AAA-titles: probably. But it also has quite a bunch of older or indie titles that will run smoothly on a potato.

Nowadays, you don't even need a windows PC anymore. If you run a debian-based OS, there's a steam client for it as well (heck...steam even has its own operating system: steamOS), though you're obviously only limited to the linux-released games.
(thus far, steam on android or iOS is just an app to buy games for your PC...it doesn't allow you to actually PLAY a game).


As to building your own PC...I've got my doubts. For high end gaming, building it yourself is a lot cheaper than an alienware. But for a standardmodel or a low-end rig, the difference becomes neglible. If you want a laptop, then building it yourself is pretty much out of the question.

 

[the_randomizer]

It's simply a market place for games and DRM.

The DRM is some of the tamest I've seen, even allowing for offline mode and is hardly invasive, so that's a plus.

 

[LittleFlame]

The DRM is some of the tamest I've seen, even allowing for offline mode and is hardly invasive, so that's a plus.

hell i've used this before join a game go offline you don't get bothered anymore!

 

[TecXero]

The DRM is some of the tamest I've seen, even allowing for offline mode and is hardly invasive, so that's a plus.

Yeah, it's far more forgiving than other forms of DRM. Though, last time I tried, the offline mode was a bit touchy, where it required you to be online before going into offline. After that, it allowed me to start it into offline mode, though. I still prefer Humble store and GOG myself.

 

[ponygals]

What are the chances of any steam games to hit consoles like PS4, Xbox, etc.

 

[DKB]

What are the chances of any steam games to hit consoles like PS4, Xbox, etc.

They have the steam machine or something now..so..I guess..it depends?

 

[evandixon]

Before buying older games on Steam, I recommend trying GOG.com first. While Steam's DRM is pretty tame and non-intrusive, GOG.com doesn't have any at all.

 

[mgrev]

www.gaben.tv

Sales, and lots of sales. fallout 3 for 3 dollars. the summer sale is comming soon and its going to be BIG.

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

Before buying older games on Steam, I recommend trying GOG.com first. While Steam's DRM is pretty tame and non-intrusive, GOG.com doesn't have any at all.

I would recommend buying where your friends are. Steam has great social features, and if you have a bunch of friends on Steam, buy it on there to interact with them.

If you don't care about that, buy wherever it's cheapest, or from GOG if you don't want DRM. GOG is a really good marketplace. Doesn't have social features on the level of Steam, but DRM-free is their big selling point.

 

[ponygals]

For steam to work properly. what type of laptop or desktop is best recommended to play the steam games on? I have an HP dv7-7020us and I have played some games on it, Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings online, Never Winter online, IMVU, some games on emulators too. All the games ran fine, even browser based games. But steam games, I am not sure if my laptop can handle those, types. What do you think?

 

[Deleted-379826]

For steam to work properly. what type of laptop or desktop is best recommended to play the steam games on? I have an HP dv7-7020us and I have played some games on it, Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings online, Never Winter online, IMVU, some games on emulators too. All the games ran fine, even browser based games. But steam games, I am not sure if my laptop can handle those, types. What do you think?

It honestly just depends on what you want to play. If you are saying EVERTHING, then thats a no no