Will Skrim ever be sold as a non-steam product? I dont have Steam, dont want Steam, and will never get Steam. Its ok with me if it isnt, since there are plenty of other games out there that arent hamstrung by Steam, but it would be nice to play Skyrim.

Probably not. It doesn't make any sense to implement your own DRM when there is one readily available. And you are a small minority of players. The vast majority love Steam.

As a matter of fact, I don't even see why everyone whines about requiring Steam to play. It has all your games consolidated. It syncs your files to a cloud for access anywhere, anytime, even after uninstalling. It allows you to easily chat with other players while playing the game.

Single player RPG is a bit misleading to a customer who might not realise he needs steam. And had no internet connection. Tough breaks.

It's on the box. I have no sympathy to someone who doesn't read the box. It's right there next to the system requirements if I remember correctly.

Use a crack with a legit copy of the game....if you own it you own it.

You missed the point.

Single player RPG requires internet connection? Not optional, REQUIRES?!

At least Xbox and PS3 can play totally offline.

It's called Digital Rights Management (DRM)....as I said in my first post...

I believe it is you that is missing the point....

I know I love Steam. I've discovered a ton of games I would normally not have given a chance just because I gave them a shot when they were on sale. A perfect example is Team Fortress 2.

Besides, I want to support Valve as much as I can since I consider them the gold standard in game development.

On top of that, it gives Indie Studios an opportunity to make it big.

And I'm with you about being exposed to games I wouldn't have gotten any other time. Killing Floor is one for me.

Free game weekends (weeks as well). There is WAY more good to outweigh the bad.

@OP, if you don't want Steam, get a console version. But I'll have fun with my mods.

Seriously? Is it possible to buy the retail version: load and run the game without Steam? If it is I may just do it.

FYI I did notice the Steam reguirement when I ALMOST bought Skyrim at Frys, I opted for TW2 instead.

Plus: obviously, I have an internet conn so thats not the issue.

The whole reaction against Steam seems baseless to me. It's inconvenient if you have no internet connection, this is true, but that's the case for a radically shrinking portion of the PC gaming population. Even if you don't, it's still possible to take your laptop to someplace that has WiFi access - Starbucks, some McDonald's, and a bazillion other places. If you're using a desktop computer and no internet connection, I'm sorry, but it's a bit odd to expect software developers to work to accomodate your 1995 era requirements.

Seriously, I got Supreme Commander 2, not knowing that it required download over the internet. I thought it was just verified over the internet. I did this while I was at Fort Benning, GA being recalled into active duty in the Army. I got moved to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, which is near not much at all, and started the download process over a crappy wifi connection on-base. It took a long time, so I had to do it in chunks and in fact didn't complete the process until I was in Iraq working off my internet connection over there, which needless to say is not like using a cable internet connection in the States.

Still, slow process or not, it worked and I can play the damn game in offline mode, without any internet connection. So even if you don't have internet, you're still good, just take it somewhere you can hook up to a wifi signal. You're fine unless you both have a desktop computer and no internet, in which case you could still cart your damn computer to a Starbucks or whatever if you were really so determined.

You cannot run the game without Steam. You can run in offline mode if necessary, but the PC version requires Steam.

It won't.

The people with poor internet connections but reasonable gaming computers are getting fewer and fewer. If lack of internet connection is a big deal for you, PC gaming as a whole is pretty impossible for most games now (requiring some sort of regitration). Its much better if you get a console to play games.

It is totally possible to install the game via the disc and circumvent steam. You may have to install it and then uninstall afterwards...honestly though I wouldn't give Bethesda another dime and don't plan on it. I have a few friends that pirate games and frankly I like to use cracks for older games instead of having to put a disc in. Out of all of those friends playing the pirated game none have had any CTD's or Black Screens and most have some pretty terrible old computers. I had nothing but issues with Steam running as soon as I circumvented it my problems ceased. Of course in my case I already had steam for other games. I have no problem with DRM however being required to use it and having it conflict with said game is just dumb. All that said I can't endorse using a crack as safe but I just decided to take the chance personally.

This. And I believe people that outright hate Steam and refuse to get it and either just trying to make a scene, or don't know anything about it, and are simply going off random things that they hear.

Skyrim is a wonderful game, it will never be available outside of Steam, and if you cant see that whether you like Steam or not Skyrim is a fantastic game, then that's your loss.

It's because they run another layer of program/ services on top of the game you are running. I wish the IT/Software people would do away with 32bit and make it compulsary for 64bit computing. This way all this softwares running 5 million different services might have less issue, due to having more RAM being available.

Steam Overlay, Communication and basically almost all stock functions of the client cause issues with Skyrim so you sir have no idea what you are talking about at all. I have no issue with Steam and I have it configured the way I want but for someone to be required to use it to play a game that has no online multiplayer or coop is ridiculous. Clearly the layer of security did nothing as TES5 Skyrim(job) The Elder Trolls was out cracked a week before its release and in better working order than any official version and completely avoided Steam.

I have never had an issue with Skyrim running on PC with Steam. None. I don't think you know what you're talking about at all. As a matter of fact, I only had one CTD and it was due to a bug within Skyrim that was patched.

Steam is a DRM and also a distribution node for games. It makes sense to use them now a days as they're cheap (the royalties aren't as much as come competitors) and easily accessible for gamers. Especially with games like the COD franchise using them (as they use VAC security).

I love all of you people here complaining about Steam. You know it's a requirement. You don't like it. Yet you still buy the game. If people would vote with their wallets a game company MIGHT take your thoughts into account. However, when you still gross $450M the first week of release, they're not going to care what you think. Hence, why the PC versions of games are generally crappy ports of the console versions.

And I agree with you about the security thing. But saying something is 100% secure is stupid. There's a fine balancing act when it comes to DRM. They have to balance actual security with ease of use for the customer. Since a vast majority of the pc gaming player base have Steam, it makes sense to go with it. Everything will be cracked no matter how strong the DRM. It just keeps honest people honest. It's like a lock...

I'm on X360 so I don't have this issue, but I can relate. There is just something wrong with having to be online within a certain service for a game you bought. It is almost as if you are renting it. If you don't mind this than that is ok, but you have to understand that someone don't like this development. Previously you bought a game on a disc and it was yours, forever. Now you are dependent on steam being online (what if it is offline, or goes bankrupt?).

I understand DRM is important, PC gaming is suffering from illegal downloading and steam is a good service to all come together in. But this doesnt take away that there are no vallid reasons to dislike steam, like you seem to suggest.

1.Get the game
2.Go into offline mode
3.??????????
4. Profit!

I want to drive a car with an internal combustion engine, but I don't want to use gas stations.

DERP.

What I dislike about threads like this is the intent of their creator. Every time they get an honest answer "No, there won't be a steam-less version" they spew a metric crapton of DRAMA.

As if the only reason they asked is to show how agressively non-conformist they are towards the system in question.

I too was annoyed that you absolutely had to have a Steam account. I bought the hard copy PC version, which wouldn't install. I called tech support and the answer to my problem was to download the game from Steam and register it.

I later found out that you CAN run in offline mode. I try to remember to put it in offline mode at the end of each play period. Reason being: if you want to play and for some reason your internet is down, you cannot play because you have to get INTO Steam to put it in offline mode. Caused my son to miss out on a week of playing all his Steam games when he moved into a new place and had no internet.

Steam is nice in some ways.
Download before release and then unlock at midnight.
The ridiculous amount of sales they always have.
Being able to play a game without using a game disk.

But, I usually play Skyrim in offline mode.

Can someone please explain the reasoning behind people hating steam? Honestly I really don't understand, because every post I have seen is: "I don't like steam, and my reasoning is obvious!" Annnd then there is no explanation provided...

I got steam because there are no retailers that provide a decent volume of computer games for about 100 miles in every direction... And I can usually get 10-15 games at one time when they run a big sale.

Of all the titles I have purchased, none have had major issues running. The games that had CTDs or black screens, were games that were known for being buggy. I had no conflicts or issues due to modding. It doesn't kill my internet bandwidth. It isn't overly annoying to use.

Am I in the minority?

This makes me glad I'm on xbox. But sometimes, I really wish I had a console so I could erase certain NPCs.