How does the "Steam" platform work? Is it DRM? Can I trust "Steam"-powered games?

Posted by Chris W. Rea on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Chris W. Rea
Published on 2010-03-19T21:38:36Z Indexed on 2010/03/19 21:41 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 334

Filed under:

Windows

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games

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steam

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drm

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spyware

So – I just bought the new game Supreme Commander 2. This question is not about the game, but about the online software installation platform that it seems to require. I haven't bought a game in a long time, and I'm puzzled: Apparently, SC2 is a "Steam"-powered game.

When I went to install the game, it asked me to either create a new Steam account, or log in with an existing account. I clicked "Cancel" because I don't plan to play online and I don't want anything unnecessary installed on my computer, since I only plan to play single player!

However, after clicking "Cancel", the installer asked for my confirmation that I indeed wanted to cancel installation of the game! I thought I was just canceling the "online" portions!

So I really want to know:

How do "Steam" powered games work?
Is this essentially a form of DRM (Digital Rights Management)?
Can I trust this software platform?
Has anybody done any independent verification on how this platform works? (I'm very leery of any DRM after the Sony BMG CD copy protection scandal. Thank goodness for Mark Russinovich.)
Does the "Steam" platform install anything particularly nasty or unwanted on my computer?

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