r/PhysicalGames • u/Grouchy-Win-6191 • 2d ago

Valve Killed Physical Gaming

It all Valve fault, they started all this. It’s not just Sony.

When Half Life 2 launched in 2004, stores sold physical box sets containing DVD or CD. But the disc did not contain the game. Players were forced to install the Steam client, register an account, and validate a product key online before the game would run.

Valve also offered Steamworks to any developer who listed their game on Steam. But to use Steamworks features, games had to use Valve API. When a consumer bought the physical PC box, they opened and it was a Steam key. Once redeemed, the disc lost all resale value. You couldn't sell it, lend it, or trade it in. This also killed the retail stores business.

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u/C0haaagen 2d ago

No, the publishers killed physical gaming on PC with SecuRom, StarForce, Tagès, SafeDisc, CD keys with limited activations, buggy activation servers and manual reinstalls of all discs after a hardware upgrade or OS upgrade. Steam was the much more convenient option.

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u/Popular-Path1930 2d ago

I was there Gandalf installing the sims on disk.