Reading this seems to me that Bethesda using Steam has created a lot more headaches than necessary.

What exactly is the benefit of Steam in Betheda's eyes?
Is it merely being used as a DRM ?

It prevents second-hand sales and provides an easy way to handle achievements (that for some reason are required in modern games ) and DLC dsitribution. And supposedly profit margin is bigger with games sold trough Steam than on physical discs.

I don't WANT achievements. What the heck are achievements anyway and what possible use would I have for the blasted things? I never had any before and I never needed them. I'm never going to buy anything directly from Steam anyway. If I buy something I buy a disk for it (from a store). Don't need steam to manage my mods, never did, never will. Hate that Bethesda is using Steam. I don't want to give the company access to my computer. Don't WANT an account with them. Don't trust them. Don't want ANYTHING downloaded without my specific permission. And I hate all the problems it causes.

Perhaps when you buy your jet fighter you'll want the best available. Until then you'll have to do with what you're given. This is a video game we're talking about however. And they really shouldn't have used steam. Or at the very least, how about a non steam version for paying customers, choices would have been greatly appreciated.

Actually Steam does svck- And you don`t need to be a jet pilot to see why.

No way should anyone be even for one second stopped from playing a NON-Online game they PAID for because Steam for whatever reason decides it doesn`t want them to play the game at the moment. It`s like being controlled by some Big Brother. It isn`t freedom to play your own game. Pirates have FAR less trouble- and they`re the ones this is supposed to stop? Laughable.

It only punishes the honest buyer.

It`s just wrong. Can`t believe Steam even gets away with this.

We dont buy the game; we buy a license to play it. Steam gives Bethesda a way to reduce piracy and increase revenue and hopefully justify further investment in the Elder Scrolls series.

Pay more, get less.
Increase revenue? Puh-lease... The revenue they'll lose from pissing all over their own games would easily outstrip any perceived gain from "piracy reduction". As anyone and their dog knows, those who would pirate it and those who would buy it are the same no matter how hard the former is made. Pirates aren't going to suddenly become customers because of this. If anything, the opposite reaction is far more likely.
The whole anti-piracy crap really is just fuelled by paranoia and spite.

You're not getting it. The increased revenue comes from the Steam user base, not from piracy reduction. At the peak today, there were 4,400,000 people on Steam. People that could decide to buy Skyrim. Get it now?

Actually, no one has any rights except those granted under a games EULA. Program content is treated differently under law compared to physical merchandise...you cannot compare a car to a computer program.

There are a number of reasons for this, primarily that programs are 'intellectual property', and under the EULA you are given approval to use that program to play the game...the game itself is not the product you purchase. If you buy a game from a store which is on a disc, and the disc is defective, then you may return the disc for replacement or refund (depending on the conditions under which you bought it), but if the program doesn't live up to expectations that is a different matter.

Bottom line is that it is not 'your' game...it's 'their' game, and you only have approval to play it, or modify it if that is in the terms of the agreement.

Why do people assume Bethesda went with Steam for the DRM value? Much more important and obvious reasons would be the much smaller publisher fee compared to retail publishers, the services provided by Steam (Cloud saving, easy DLC distribution, integrated community, etc..), the absolutely massive userbase who are very easily advertised to, the famous Steam sales that can generate a huge boost in revenue from a game even years after release,..

As much as people here would hate to admit it, Steam is not intended as a DRM product. Steam is a counter to pirating by offering the same ease of usage (the comfort of browsing a list and picking a title to download shouldn't be underestimated) but with added services and value like Gabe himself has stated. And guess what? It's been damn successful.

That's not to say that Steam is a flawless platform, such a thing simply does not exist. But the issues that do occur are nearly always the same generic ones which have extensive help articles on their website, like the one described in OP.

Digital distribution is where the entire industry is headed, anyway. Content and game delivery via XBL and PSN on the consoles has been very successful as well, and combined with the sheer financial benefits and success of dedicated digital platforms I can't see a change in the trend.

Well if you think Skyrim is 'less' that's unfortunate for you. Play another game I guess would be the best suggestion. I think it's great. And I dont have any problems so far with Steam.
By the way your logic is arseways...your post doesnt make any sense; other than to loudly express your anger and contempt.

This made my day!

It really should be a bumper sticker or a signature tag line.

Thank you!

Heh, most people who pirate games ain't gonna go and buy it anyway.
Because, you know, they stole it. For free.
Pirated games do not equal lost sales.
It's a silly red herring to push more DRM nonsense.

I would ask though, what about people who pirated Skyrim because they so did not want Steam? Have Bethesda thought about that?

Steam, by default, locally stores creditentials. Your single-player games will NEVER get interrupted by a momentary failure of internet, only the online ones. Some of the complaints I'm seeing thrown around about Steam makes me wonder what Steam you guys are using. That, or it's not so much 'Jet Engine' as you guys haven't figured out how the clutch works. I'd also like to point out that all the OTHER DRM models that Steam is replacing actually do kill your game the moment you lose connection.

What the OP's issue probably was was an out of date version, or a corrupted cache, which would have caused problems anyway. It's fixable, annoying when it happens, but happens for a pretty understandable reason. Steam doesn't want you playing a game with corrupted files.

In other words mods that dont come from workshop, i do have the latest version of the game and i still cant launch Skyrim, i use SKSE to launch it, thats your "corrupted" file. But thats just an opinion, im a computeranolfabetic. i just know how to install and run something and thats about it. But im pretty sure im not far from the truth

I don't play on PC but I just wanted to raise a fist with you in defiance. Why does software keep forcing us to use more software to use software???

EDIT: i am not talking about merely steam. This is widespread and pervasive. It svcks.

Too bad this forum doesn't have a thumbs up option for this message.

Tried this, and it is still not working. I am getting to the old, uninstall and reinstall.

Hand gesture shaking fist up and down vigorously.

Don't buy the game then

And they are losing more as well. I have bought every Elder Scrolls game out and all the expansions. Though, if I cannot play my game,because of Steam, and so far, NONE of the fixes has helped at all, then I will not be getting any of the expansions for a game I paid for and cannot play. In fact, if I continue not to be able to play after I have been playing for a while, then I may consult legal counsel. (Which I can get for free because of LegalShield)

Good luck proving where the fault lies without expert opinion, and examination of your system.

Steam is not a game DA. I'm sure he wants to play Skyrim, but doesn't want to be railroaded into a Steam account. You may as well tell him to go pirate a copy so he can play without Steam.

(Just to get this straight, I am not suggesting ANYONE should pirate ANY game. I am simply pointing out that telling someone not to buy a game that they want, because it uses a completely redundant start up option such as Steam, which they don't want, is basically telling them to pirate it)

Quite possibly the most counterproductive post in this thread, thus far.

Seconded only by mine.

Alas, I have no advice for Steam because well... Steam svcks...