Steam.... Why do I need Steam, Games for Windows or any other such thing, when I wish to PLAY A GAME???

Am I the last person in the world that hates snooping, spying, privacy intruding software on my computer?

I don't want that piece of [censored] running in the background. It's a horrible practice, and I am starting to consider wether or not this could be taken to court if anough people showed their discontent.

I don't care if it can run offline! Why do I need it at all, if not because it sends information about how I play, each time I download an upgrade? Get rid of it, Bethesda!!!!!!!!

Taken to court? Lol...

Forcing people to install bloatware to play a game they have bought a physical version off? It ~should~ be illegal!

Good luck with your case.

I'm not exactly a fan of Steam either, but this is how things are done now, you might as well get used to it.

If it weren't for the folks that want this and other games without paying for them, then maybe things like Steam or GFWL wouldn't be necessary, but since they are here, and likely to stay, you might as well relax and get used to it.

If you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return your game to the store for a refund.

No fan of Steam and programs like it myself but it does say on the box that the game requires a Steam account.

If you can't deal with that then just don't buy it.

It does, with tiny letters, explaining nothing about Steam and what it does.

But at least here in the EU I can see that legal steps are underway, and a German court has demanded that Steam provides proper information on game boxes about what Steam is and does, e.g. collecting information about your system and your gaming-habits. It's something of a relief that at least I am not the only one highly offended by this practice.

...for the exact same product...

You only need to be ON steam long enough to register the game, you know.

I need to have it ON my computer, which I don't want to, and I need to go online with it to get patches, and probably also to get DLC, if it is ever released for PC.

I do not wish any kind of spyware on my system, and that is what both Steam and Games for Windows are: Spyware!

You needed to have GFWL on your computer as well to run FO3, I didn't like it but I certainly didn't complain that it was spyware, and Steam is no different. I've run scan after scan after scan of my system and not once has Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, nor Spyware Doctor ever told me that Steam was Spyware of any kind. If you wish to make accusations like that it would be best if you have some facts to back up that claim.

I've always wondered, "what if someone without an internet connection wanted to buy it"? Is there an offline option?

For the record, I'd love to murder Steam, too.

Just because they don't register as "spyware" by AdAware and SpyBot, doesn't mean that they do not spy. Why else is it mandatory to install it, when you buy a physical disc? Soon you won't be able to buy physical discs anymore, and have to accept that everything you do goes through some bloatware company who wants your email-adress and demands you are online, at least for "activation" and updates.

You have to be online during installation. After that, you can choose to have Steam running in off-line mode, but you cannot choose to have it not running at all. Also, Steam is the only way to receive patches, legally anyway.

It was optional. Fallout 3 did not even need the DVD in the drive to play; (which I really appreciated and thought highly of them for ~well... until I learned that it was unintentional).

I understand that the disk was optional in FO3, and if I'm not mistaken, it's not required for New Vegas. I have not however, been able to get Fallout 3 to run without GFWL being installed on my computer. FOSE effectively disabled it, but to my knowledge you still could not uninstall it and expect FO3 to run.

No.. no.. New Vegas did not need the disc to install or play, but it required Steam. Fallout 3 did not need the DVD present in the drive to play the game.

:bolt: ...and on that note, I'm outta here. Not recommended admitting something like that on the developers forums.

As this started of discussing legal action and ended discussing illegal action (deleted), this is where we stop.