Why is it that I just noticed the forums? I also noticed that the square to the left of the page that usually shows my profile pic is missing, except for my name. I also noticed that my profile pic (smaller sized) is right next to my notifications.

I'm curious as to how the forums will differ from regular posts. I don't believe I've really explored the "back channel" much. As for the profile pic, the one that's missing, I just assumed that my browser wasn't fully loading the page.

Yeah, I suppose that does make sense.

Apparently it is worth $90, because that's what people have been paying for years for this kind of content. There are a few that I think are worth that, for my library. It all depends on what you're into. I'm about to shell that out for Destiny, but I wouldn't have done it for a game like Watch Dogs. Time will tell if I get my moneys worth out of it (if they Alpha and Beta are any indication, I believe I will). No Man's Sky is another that I'd consider spending an exorbitant amount of money on.

@Zach_Foster "Considering that i paid $60 for Borderlands 2 when it came out, then dumped another $45 or 50 for season pass two months later, i can definitely see myself spending $90 upfront to know that i'm getting what i will eventually want."

This is exactly it. It's a predetermined purchase. I knew that when Bioshock Infinite came out, I was going to buy the story based DLC. It's just a matter of when I'm spending the money, now or later. As you say, @jdodson, As long as you have an idea of what you will be getting, this is a good deal. However, if all I received from this were variations on the Clash in the Clouds DLC, that had nothing to do with the core story, I would have felt disappointed and deceived, thus making the purchase a waste of money. In that case, a Collector's Edition would be preferable, since I know, more or less, exactly what I'm getting with my money. A replica statue of Songbird, soundtrack, artwork, etc. have an immediate value, and arguably add just as much to the experience, by extending your enjoyment of the game into the living world. While the digital content will lose monetary value almost immediately, real world objects retain, and sometimes increase in value, based on quality and rarity.

The whole usage of "full experience" or "complete experience" is as @Travis states, a marketing ploy. It's another part of the experience, but by implying a finite perimeter to that experience and calling it "full" or "complete" gives the impression that "there is nothing more than this." This isn't just all of The Next Generation episodes, it's TNG in full 16:9 ratio, with a Riker/Troy sex tape, the entire TNG soundtrack played by Patrick Stewart on a Ressikan flute, Geordi crossing universes to meet Scott Summers and talking visor technology, and, finally, all the information you have always wanted on Guinan and the El Aurian race, and what powers they could possibly have over the Q (*whew...). It's like a Director's Cut or high level Kickstarter campaign. I imagine a custodian of these projects pulling all the files and drawings and sounds into a giant Santa's sack of gifts that you would never otherwise see, but now you can. For $90, or whatever the cost is (likely over $1000 for that TNG bullshit, and I would PAY IT! Everyone would pay for that!).

Having the total price be upfront, rather than trickled over time, is a more honest approach. I don't think the reality of it will, or does change anything, except that companies are becoming bold enough to lay it out there, day one. I doubt most people are like us, though, and they are perfectly happy with the core game. By the time the DLC comes out anyway, most people are usually on to the next.

Off topic, but I both love and hate that we know so little about the El Aurians. Guinan is one of my all-time favorite Sci-Fi characters because of it, and honestly the reason I like Generations as much as I do (i.e. learning more about her, and meeting another El Aurian). I know most hated it because of the treatment that was given to Kirk, and I agree completely, but I really like the ideas surrounding the rest of the film.

Can't believe I forgot to mention Sony in all of this. Have you seen what they are doing with Playstation Now? The pricing structure there is unbelievable. Granted, it's in beta (open beta...), but upwards of $50 for a 90 day rental? Insane.

http://kotaku.com/playstation-now-is-still-way-too-expensive-1614022375

Except that at the lowest rental tier, the cost is about $3 for 4 hours. That's the shortest rental time. 4 hours. I wish it was $.99 a day, or even a couple dollars for a day. That would make so much more sense.

Sometimes I'll watch if it's a game I haven't played before, to see what it's about. Tournaments are fun, especially the League of Legend games, since I know a bit more about the game and the scene. There are also times when I'll have a stream - someone that I'm following just because I like...whatever: their perspective, communication, etc - playing in the background as I draw or design. I've always liked having music, or some environmental noise, on while I work.

There are games that I can't watch because it's annoying not being able to grab the controls. It can also be annoying watching someone play a game that you've already "mastered", but then with Twitch, you can actually chime in and say "Hey, look behind that building" or "Just do this instead of what you're doing, it's easier." Streamers will sometimes poll the chat for what to do, or what to play next. I don't know. I find the whole thing pretty fascinating.

Nice!

I never got into Sonic games, mostly because I always felt like I wasn't any good at them, or I was playing them completely wrong. A lot of the same frustration that Jack and Rich express in the video, actually. They weren't hard games, like Mega Man was hard. Sonic games just felt really unfairly torturous.

The only recent Sonic game I remember playing was Sonic Unleashed on the 360. I didn't mind the werehog stuff as much as a lot of people apparently did, even though it was completely out of place. The daytime stages were near perfect, however, and if they could do (or have done?) something solely like this in an arcade style game, I'd play that.

I tried the demo. Now my monitor is permanently tinted yellow and my computer gets tired easily.

...Allows owners of the game a free Steam copy. Thought they were handing out Steam codes to everyone for a second there ;)!

The article states that the Granting Tool works with retail discs. Will it work with non-Steam digital copies? Some people commenting are saying you have to have the disc in the drive when using the tool.

Most retail disc games (all, that I'm aware of...) come with a CD key for registration. I would assume if the tool requires the disc, it would then verify the CD Key, as a two-step proof of ownership. Just glad they moved away from SecuRom!

Excellent point. Another something to think about (or speculate over, as the case may be): Concerning the implementation of DRM, do you think most companies are worried about losing profits, or annoyed that someone is getting something for nothing? Put another way, if all the people that pirate games (or any digital content) lived on some remote island with amazing satellite broadband, but TSA level shipping restrictions, would anyone really care if their product was pirated? Would digital piracy even be an issue at that point?

My point is that pirates will pirate, they won't purchase. As long as they don't sell what they pirate, and the people that purchase content legitimately continue to do so, what harm does piracy do? Transformers 4 grossed $300M worldwide in its first three days. I'll take a presumptuous guess and say that it was pirated at least 100,000 times, which is likely a low figure. If someone steals something from a stockpile of infinite supply, what does it matter if a handful consistently go missing?

I'll amend my hyperbolic statement, and say instead that pirates don't want to purchase. I wasn't thinking so much of the people that dabble in blue moon piracy, as DRM isn't built for these people. Netflix streaming service hasn't offered much in the way of new content in years, and I'll bet that most of those pirates that "converted" are really just ripping Netflix discs as they come in the mail.

Free to Play is an excellent solution to piracy (maybe the only pure solution, as it is essentially legalized piracy), although it doesn't always seem applicable. How would Wolfenstein: New Order work as a Free to Play game? And this is what I was vaguely and sloppily coming around to: Could there be more room to innovate in the Free to Play model? Do you think we might see a big game, like Uncharted 4 or Half-Life 3, released in some F2P hybrid?

I've heard good things about the original Oldboy. I haven't seen either, though. All consumed with Guardians of the Galaxy coming out this Friday, which, I read on the internet somewhere, will be better than both Oldboys combined.

Say that Gabe sends out a memo to Team Half-Life, stating that he wants the third iteration to be Free to Play. Half Life is a universe serious in tone, and you don't want to throw gimmicks at it to monetize it, and no way in hell will there be ad placement. Beyond the typical Free to Play structures we've seen, how could you go about monetizing a "free" experience, without cheating the player or the story? I apologize if I just keep repeating the same thing in different words. It's fascinating to think about it, and each time I post a comment I feel like I'm close to progressing the conversation with an actual idea, but then I get trapped in my head, thinking about what I'm thinking about, and that turns into a desire for cinnamon rolls, and then I lose the thought.

I'll have something later, I promise!

There is a place here called Ginger Browns and they make amazing cinnamon rolls. Not gooey, or overly cinnamony, but dense and rich and chewy and you pretty much die after eating one. It's ridiculous.

I was messing around with this a few months ago, and found it to be functional, but lacking. I'm sure they've made some improvements since then. Too comfortable in my bed to check it out right now, though...

You've been working hard! There was an option to join the Steam Music user group early on, and they were granting early beta access that way. I was hoping it would be a viable solution to iTunes, which I usually love, but seems to be lacking in support on "the bastard platform" (i.e. Windows). WinAmp would be my next choice, but it's in corporate-buyout limbo. It still works, but man is it in need of a good designer.

Has Valve said that they would integrate music purchasing through a third party service?

I'm glad they're adding this since this will help flesh out the Steam OS a bit more. However I can't really see myself using this much. I primarily listen to music through Spotify (laptop or iPod) or I use my iPod plugged into a speaker to listen to the music I own.

I have iTunes but I only ever load it up when I need to sync my iPod to it.