5 ms·

It seems like baby steps though. We really should have a way to loan games at the very least, and this still isn't really scratching that itch.

james4k 13y ago
How? Isn't this better than loaning? Or do you mean trading?
- hayksaakian 13y ago
  because you can't play other games from your library while someone else is using your account on, say another computer
- commandar 13y ago
  It sounds like this essentially loans out your entire library. If you want to play a different game in your library, the person you loaned to would get bounced out of the game.
- mcpherrinm 13y ago
  You can't play Game A when you've loaned your library to Friend so they can play Game B. This is a way to avoid telling people your steam password to "borrow" your account, not borrow a single game. This would have been very useful to me when, in University, my roommates and all played our games on the living room gaming PC. I can imagine this being useful for siblings to share a game library mostly bought by parents, or a spouse playing a partner's library. So certainly not useless, but it isn't loaning a game to a friend for a week, unless you're not going to play games at the same time as the friend.
  - jsmeaton 13y ago
    Hmm, you're right. I misunderstood this part: > WHEN I AUTHORIZE A DEVICE TO LEND MY LIBRARY TO OTHERS, DO I LIMIT MY OWN ABILITY TO ACCESS AND PLAY MY GAMES? As the lender, you may always access and play your games at any time. If you decide to start playing when a friend is already playing one of your games, he/she will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or quit playing. But I missed the implications in the FAQ directly above that: > CAN A FRIEND AND I SHARE A LIBRARY AND BOTH PLAY AT THE SAME TIME? No, a shared library may only be accessed by one user at a time.
sliverstorm 13y ago
Of course it's baby steps. Publishers are terrified, and loaning is only one tiny step from what they fear second most, aside from pirates- a burgeoning used game market.
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  what they fear second most, aside from pirates- a burgeoning used game market I'm not sure how they fear that so much. On the rare occasions when I buy videogames they're usually used ones purchased at GameStop or on eBay.
  - mynameisvlad 13y ago
    Publishers and Developers are gaining absolutely no revenue from you doing that. And that's their issue. They want everyone to buy new games, because then they get a cut of it.
    - asifsignupfor 13y ago
      Buying second hand props up the $60US/$90AUD new cost though. Without second hand (ie. Steam at the moment) the prices plummet very quickly, $5 for Just Cause 2 for example, do you think GameStop etc. would allow you to buy it new for that price?
      - sliverstorm 13y ago
        No, it's the other way around. Buying second hand denies profit to the publisher, which reduces units sold, which increases the price they have to charge to make any money.
        aviraldg 13y ago
        Parent makes the same point as you.
    - anigbrowl 13y ago
forrestthewoods 13y ago
Why? Loaning digital bits literally makes no sense. That's nt a thing. It's not something the laws of physics allow. Loaning digital goods is a gibberish statement. I obviously understand the appeal. Who doesn't like free shit? If you want to "borrow" a game from a friend just pirate it. That at least saves the platform holder some bandwidth costs.
- aw3c2 13y ago
  With DRM, you can "lend".
  - Deestan 13y ago
    So basically, this is how DRM is useful in partially alleviating the problems introduced by DRM.
    - mathattack 13y ago
      Am I going to have to write a flowchart for this similar to Inflection?
- jiggy2011 13y ago
  You can lend a license to use those bits in a specific way.
  - criley2 13y ago
    That's a new thing, a specific new thing defined by a license and is only synonymous to the concept of loaning a physical good, and only synonymous because the definition in the license intends to make it that way. The fact is, lending requires scarcity. I would never in my life lend goods to a friend if I could provide an identical duplicate for basically zero cost. Why would I? I'm not bound by scarcity by choice. Steam invents scarcity by limiting the number of "friends" to 10, and by enforcing a policy that will boot off friends ~five minutes after the owner logs in. Real life doesn't need such machinations for the system of lending to work, which is why lending physical goods can never be the same thing as lending digital goods IMO.

james4k 13y ago

How? Isn't this better than loaning? Or do you mean trading?

hayksaakian 13y ago
because you can't play other games from your library while someone else is using your account on, say another computer
commandar 13y ago
It sounds like this essentially loans out your entire library. If you want to play a different game in your library, the person you loaned to would get bounced out of the game.
mcpherrinm 13y ago
You can't play Game A when you've loaned your library to Friend so they can play Game B. This is a way to avoid telling people your steam password to "borrow" your account, not borrow a single game. This would have been very useful to me when, in University, my roommates and all played our games on the living room gaming PC. I can imagine this being useful for siblings to share a game library mostly bought by parents, or a spouse playing a partner's library. So certainly not useless, but it isn't loaning a game to a friend for a week, unless you're not going to play games at the same time as the friend.
- jsmeaton 13y ago
  Hmm, you're right. I misunderstood this part: > WHEN I AUTHORIZE A DEVICE TO LEND MY LIBRARY TO OTHERS, DO I LIMIT MY OWN ABILITY TO ACCESS AND PLAY MY GAMES? As the lender, you may always access and play your games at any time. If you decide to start playing when a friend is already playing one of your games, he/she will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or quit playing. But I missed the implications in the FAQ directly above that: > CAN A FRIEND AND I SHARE A LIBRARY AND BOTH PLAY AT THE SAME TIME? No, a shared library may only be accessed by one user at a time.

sliverstorm 13y ago

Of course it's baby steps. Publishers are terrified, and loaning is only one tiny step from what they fear second most, aside from pirates- a burgeoning used game market.

anigbrowl 13y ago
what they fear second most, aside from pirates- a burgeoning used game market I'm not sure how they fear that so much. On the rare occasions when I buy videogames they're usually used ones purchased at GameStop or on eBay.
- mynameisvlad 13y ago
  Publishers and Developers are gaining absolutely no revenue from you doing that. And that's their issue. They want everyone to buy new games, because then they get a cut of it.
  - asifsignupfor 13y ago
    Buying second hand props up the $60US/$90AUD new cost though. Without second hand (ie. Steam at the moment) the prices plummet very quickly, $5 for Just Cause 2 for example, do you think GameStop etc. would allow you to buy it new for that price?
    - sliverstorm 13y ago
      No, it's the other way around. Buying second hand denies profit to the publisher, which reduces units sold, which increases the price they have to charge to make any money.
      - aviraldg 13y ago
        Parent makes the same point as you.
  - anigbrowl 13y ago

forrestthewoods 13y ago

Why? Loaning digital bits literally makes no sense. That's nt a thing. It's not something the laws of physics allow. Loaning digital goods is a gibberish statement. I obviously understand the appeal. Who doesn't like free shit? If you want to "borrow" a game from a friend just pirate it. That at least saves the platform holder some bandwidth costs.

aw3c2 13y ago
With DRM, you can "lend".
- Deestan 13y ago
  So basically, this is how DRM is useful in partially alleviating the problems introduced by DRM.
  - mathattack 13y ago
    Am I going to have to write a flowchart for this similar to Inflection?
jiggy2011 13y ago
You can lend a license to use those bits in a specific way.
- criley2 13y ago
  That's a new thing, a specific new thing defined by a license and is only synonymous to the concept of loaning a physical good, and only synonymous because the definition in the license intends to make it that way. The fact is, lending requires scarcity. I would never in my life lend goods to a friend if I could provide an identical duplicate for basically zero cost. Why would I? I'm not bound by scarcity by choice. Steam invents scarcity by limiting the number of "friends" to 10, and by enforcing a policy that will boot off friends ~five minutes after the owner logs in. Real life doesn't need such machinations for the system of lending to work, which is why lending physical goods can never be the same thing as lending digital goods IMO.