said by cbrigante2 :

I remember on the boards of this site, it used to be the "hip" thing to do to bash Steam.

said by Nightfall :

for Steam to make it just a tad bit cheaper to buy a game since you aren't getting an actual disc. Still, instead of charging $50, charge $45.

said by houghe9 :

I love not having to dig out game disks and pass codes everytime I reformat my computer.

said by Vathral :

I think the biggest gripe everyone had was the friends list. Think everything else was okay...was for me atleast. This community thing with friends really made up for that drama.

said by KrK :

I agree tho, games from Steam (or online in general) SHOULD be cheaper.

You go to the store, you get a nice box, the art, the manual.... but you get something else, too. The item has actual financial value. You can keep it as a collector's item, or if you grow tired of it, you can sell it to someone else or trade it in. Try doing that with some burned DVD-R of a Steam download.

One other thing, also connected to physical value. Let's say you have a disaster, and your house is damaged, destroyed, computer burned, etc whatever.... The software you bought at the story is covered by insurance. Your downloaded files? GOOD LUCK ever getting a penny for them....

Therefore--- games downloaded should be WAYY cheaper then the store... All the savings the manufacturer has from not paying retail stores, not having to ship, no phyical media or packaging--- ALL THAT EXTRA MARGIN should be taken off and passed to you.

IMHO.

Course.... it will never happen.