Actually, you do lose access to the game if Steam deactivates your account, game license, or otherwise locks you out. You not only need Steam to download the game, but you cannot play the game without Steam open and running. Thus, there is no added security in physical copies of Steamworks games.

I was talking about Steam going out business and they have said that will unlock all games if this happens (and if somehow they didn't I'm sure Firaxis would release a patch that did). Steam going out of business is the only scenario in which I would need the security of a physical copy, otherwise I can use the electronic one.

So you don't think all that stuff Steamworks gives them that they'd have to get from somewhere else is a factor? If my options are Steamworks, Gamespy (which has licensing fees), or GFWL (which everybody hates), then this is not a tough call.

Other scenarios include your Steam account getting stolen, Valve deactivating your account, or Valve otherwise removing your access to the game. Should another company ever acquire Valve, they may make changes to your account per the Steam subscriber agreement, or via an updated agreement.

The above scenarios are unlikely but possible, and represent flaws with the service.

Primary factor, not sole factor. The other factors are important.

I hadn't thought about having my account stolen, that would suck, though that's a risk for any online service and I'm sure it's something I could get resolved without too much trouble (the issue being how long it would take). I'm not worried about Valve randomly deactivating my account or removing access to the game though any more then I'm worried about my bank randomly deactivating my savings account and saying they are going to keep all the money. Both could theoretically happen, but both are outside the realm of things you should realistically worry about and would result in massive lawsuits and loss of business.

This sucks; Valve is going to make me pirate a game that I would have been happy to pay for...  j/k   Or maybe I'm not.... 

I guess Civ 4 with the xp's & mods, and the inevitable EWOM Civ mod will have to do. 

http://pc.ign.com/articles/112/1122096p1.html

Wrong thread.

All of which are much less likely than you losing a physical copy of the game, along with the dvd case containing the serial.

Also stolen account can easily be recovered.

I disagree. I know several people who have had Steam accounts hijacked. It is a common practice and the thieves are quite clever with their phishing and hacking methods.

Another troubling policy: If your account is VAC-banned while hijacked, Valve will not remove the ban. Many stolen accounts are used for cheating and many get banned via VAC. Enjoy.

Well that only means that you can't play on their multiplayer servers not that you lose access to your games. I'm inclined to agree with that policy, otherwise everyone who cheats would just claim that their account was stolen.

Valve could easily verify this by checking connection logs and such. It's a terrible policy because it puts convenience (for Valve) ahead of the customer. I'm inclined to condemn a system that assumes that its users are potential cheaters.

But hey, that's old-fashioned. In a Mark Zuckerberg world, you take whatever your license agreement tells you and you like it, or you are a defective person.

You don't think it's users are potential cheaters? Have you ever played an online first person shooter like modern warfare? The number of people who blatantly use cheats is unbelievable and it can really kill the enjoyment of the game.

I have complex random password, I have verified my email adress (so nobody can change my Steam password without access to my email) and I have very good security setup in my PC. I never give my password to anyone

I am confident in security of my account and I agree with Valves policy that user is responsible for accounts security.

If someone's careless enough to have their Steam account stolen, they've got more problems than losing access to their games. This can only happen if you either don't know how to secure your account or computer, don't check for malware, don't recognise a phishing email or are duped in another way. We live in an age where identity theft is common and most of us know enough to never fall into such a trap. It's a lot easier for someone to steal your credit card details and that's much more drastic this, but you don't give up your credit card just because it's vulnerable. Or online banking. Or email. You just know how to protect yourself. There's no sense in giving up modern conveniences just because you need to be more careful with them.

Apply the parent/grandparent situation:

If non-tech-savvy users are likely to get hijacked, then the system needs to accommodate them. Most credit cards have fraud protection (if your card is stolen or cardmember account hacked, you are not liable for any charges incurred, if you report the issue within 60 days or so). Valve's customer policies are inferior to those of the major banks? Ouch.

Or consider this situation: If someone steals my car and then hits a pedestrian, should I be charged with manslaughter? But I locked it and it had an alarm system!

Also, anyone can be hacked. You can be the most paranoid user in the universe, and there remains a possibility that your information will be stolen. From the perspective of IT security professionals, you must assume that security breaches will occur, and plan responses accordingly. The, "my security policies make me invulnerable, so puh!" approach is inappropriate.

Blaming the victim is more convenient though, yes? All victims of crime are at fault for the ills wrought against them.

All new Steam accounts have to verify their email, so even if someone is able to obtain their Steam username and password, without access to their email they cant change password - so when user figure out what happened all he need to do is to change password.

User is responsible for thir account security - those who are too stupid/lazy to secure it well take chance that they will suffer consequences.

This is just an argument on principle. Most game players are tech savvy, regardless of age. Using Steam is cheaper for game companies and they aren't going to go out of their way to accommodate a tiny portion of potential customers. The security policies will improve over time, but you're losing sight of perspective if you think Steam needs to be as secure as a bank. In the end it comes down to capitalism. Enough people are happy with it and from the game companies' point of view, the extra cost to accommodate those who aren't is not worth it.

FWIW, while I prefer to buy the boxed game ot have the manual and something solid to hold on to, I would much rather have the game ask for Steam to be running, rather than the old way of having to put the cd in before playing.

I'm not sure that I buy that Valve's policies are that much worse then major banks. Both will resolve the issue and give you your account back if it's stolen. Valve does have the downside of possible multiplayer server loss which doesn't effect most games and which is an necesarry side effect of the rampant cheating they have to deal with (and no I don't think going by connectin logs would work, they can be spoofed).

With that being said if their defences were less then major banks that would be quite understandable. Losing my multilplayer access is not the same as losing my life savings.

I realize that you are on a crusade against Steam and you may have some good points. But I feel like you just going by a knee jerk reaction to criticize every single thing about them whether it's logical or not.

Ah, the eventual descent into ad hominem. Because I, by pointing out obvious and troubling flaws, must be on an illogical crusade (in your terms).

Pardon me.

All I said is that your going a little overboard on attacking Steam for every little thing. I mean you did even lash out at them for thinking their users might cheat when cheating is one of the biggest problems in games like modern warfare. It's ok not to like them, and like I said you do make some reasonable points. But just because you don't like them doesn't mean that every single thing they do is wrong.

I could buy Elemental only thanks to stardock plateform, because there is no box in Europe. It's quite similar :p

Anyway, the need to be online to play sucks, above all for a game that rich in single player... I hoped I could play it at university during breaks, but obviously I won't xD I'll play elemental instead :p

You do realize that there are games that are sold ONLY on Impulse right? Have you ever wondered why you can't find GalCiv2 on Steam or Gamersgate? Good luck trying to find Elemental outside of Impulse.

Personally I don't like these practices and I think in the big picture they aren't good for the gaming industry.

But believing that there is some big bad guy out there out to get everyone is a bit naive. They are all big bad guys.