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I know Steam has been around for years (I own just over 100 games with them that I have collected over the years) and GoG has been around but not as long. However, what I am curious if you had to pick a preference which would you choose?

I'll start by saying while I like Steam...at times (not the community by any means) t hey have decent sales their overall prices on certain games is nearly double what you can find on GoG. That being said, I would pick GoG in a heartbeat and here is why.

Pros:

GoG community is about a million times better than Steam. I'm sorry but when you express concern over Bethesda's paid mod scheme and get called a "cheapskate" (nicest) to a much nastier "self entitled ***** who should go kill yourself to save the rest of the gaming community your stupidity" Then its time to switch. Steam community overall is pretty toxic.
More affordable pricing on the same games
Can buy games as "gifts" for others in the form of codes...Cant do that with Steam anymore.

Cons:
Fewer games and members

That was just my view...whats yours?
Post edited June 23, 2017 by Acanex88
both

I'd like to see where is says I need to choose one or the other. :P
Why can't you use both? Why would anyone want to become one of these tits that have to use one and only one? Just use both.
Nowhere, I was just wondering what your preference is. Although in Steam, I was gonna see about giving away a GoG code I had, this was about a week ago or so and I got told that "posting advertisements for third party "phishing" sites or third party vendor sites" is a bannable offense. Not sure why but we allow it here, but obviously not there. You have that experience before?
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Acanex88: Nowhere, I was just wondering what your preference is. Although in Steam, I was gonna see about giving away a GoG code I had, this was about a week ago or so and I got told that "posting advertisements for third party "phishing" sites or third party vendor sites" is a bannable offense. Not sure why but we allow it here, but obviously not there. You have that experience before?
Well then, for technical reasons GOG. Where I live I can't play my Steam games when the weather is bad.
I have 800+ games on Steam and 1000+ on gog. Some doubles either via connect or I've re-bought them here. If I have to choose, I choose GOG. If the game isn't available here (and chances are slim to get it here) or i buy a bundle then Steam.
I personally prefer Steam for the following reasons:

1) Games get patches faster on Steam - for example, in case of Kingdom New Lands, the delay of GOG patches were several weeks! Also, steam often gives the access to Beta branches and/or previous versions

2) Refund policy with clear set rules, no questions asked! Don't like the game for whatever reason? You can return it if you did not play it more than 2 hours.

3) No censorship in reviews. You will be censored in Steam forums, but you review is absolutely independent on the game developer/publisher and there is no way they will censor it. On GOG, I have posted unfavorable review for Homeworld Emergence right now, because I have various technical difficulties with it. Later, when I found a partial solution, I wanted to update my review, and what did I found? My review was removed, and I cannot even edit it anymore! That is absolutely shameful! - Edit: I can see my review now, but I cannot edit it. Why can't I update my review?
That leads me to 4:

4) Technical problems - GOG Galaxy is in my opinion buggier than Steam client. I used to have multiple instances of GalaxyHelper process hanging in the background - I had to kill them manually, as I mentioned, reviews are now not editable, I don't know why, thre is far less control over what is updated and when, etc.

5) Multiplayer - some games use Steam for multiplayer matchmaking, and while GOG often presents an alternative, the player pool is much smaller.

I still buy games on GOG, especially those I cannot get on Steam. I appreciate some unique things GOG did - for example fixing Settlers 6 graphical bug even Ubisoft failed to fix - that was fantastic! I also appreciate the DRM-less installers. But if I now have to decide, I rather choose Steam.
Post edited June 23, 2017 by Kamamura
I only buy games through Steam if I can't get them anywhere else. Almost all of the keys I have through Steam came with DRM-free bundles.
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Kamamura: 2) Refund policy with clear set rules, no questions asked! Don't like the game for whatever reason? You can return it if you did not play it more than 2 hours.
That's because Steam can guarantee that you actually return the game. :P GOG has to limit their policy because it is so easy to get a refund but keep the download and keep playing.
There is one major difference and several smaller differences:
Major - DRM free. If you like ownership of your product this is a big thing.

Minor:
Steam is well ahead of GOG in everything (like clients and such like).
Steam has vastly larger library, but more crap.
Steam has better sales.

Therefore, the simplest conclusion is that if the major difference doesn't matter, then use either or Steam. If it does then GOG. It is the one single reason to shop here is the DRM free.
I had pre-ordered Sword Coast Legends from another place and messed around with it for around four hours trying to force myself to like it. Got a refund for it but it's been my only refund. Not sure if that makes a difference.
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Kamamura: 2) Refund policy with clear set rules, no questions asked! Don't like the game for whatever reason? You can return it if you did not play it more than 2 hours.
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tinyE: That's because Steam can guarantee that you actually return the game. :P GOG has to limit their policy because it is so easy to get a refund but keep the download and keep playing.
Yes, that's actually a valid point. I guess one cannot have everything. I did not think of it because I usually return games I absolutely don't want to touch anymore.
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tinyE: That's because Steam can guarantee that you actually return the game. :P GOG has to limit their policy because it is so easy to get a refund but keep the download and keep playing.
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Kamamura: Yes, that's actually a valid point. I guess one cannot have everything. I did not think of it because I usually return games I absolutely don't want to touch anymore.
I never return games so it doesn't matter to me either way. :P I just threw it out there to consider.
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Acanex88: I know Steam has been around for years (I own just over 100 games with them that I have collected over the years) and GoG has been around but not as long. However, what I am curious if you had to pick a preference which would you choose?
My overall preference is with GOG, for the most part due to DRM-free.

But like others, I do use both though. Some games don't come to GOG but stay on Steam, and at the moment I feel more comfortable using Steam for free-to-play online multiplayer games, like Team Fortress 2. I might try out Gwent at some point, but then card games aren't really my thing, IIRC Gwent is a card game right?.

However, for quite some time already, I've only used Steam for playing TF2. If I didn't play that, I'd be quite fine playing only my GOG games. I have so many interesting GOG games already now that I guess I could keep playing them for the rest of my life.

I have a few hundred games on Steam, but 1346 games on GOG, so my GOG library is bigger too.

About the communities etc., they are less important to me. I don't really feel I "belong" to either GOG or Steam community, even though I visit the GOG forums several times a week, sometimes daily. I am a GOG user, and I hang around with many other GOG users here, but still I don't shed a tear if some other user decides to leave the GOG forums or something. Whatever, see ya!

Except of course the author of the gogrepo tool, please don't leave us hanging! Please release the new version of gogrepo!
Post edited June 23, 2017 by timppu
When the game is available on both : GOG with no hesitation, regardless of price difference. GOG sells games that you can actually keep.

When the game is available on steam only : well, steam, after a while, when I get sufficiently under the (false) impression that it definitely won't come on GOG. I used to re-buy them on GOG when they pop up here, but now that I've become a cheapskate, I don't even rebuy my retail box games anymore (grew tired of spending money on the same thing again), so I only scream and shake my fist at the skies.

I like my softwares with no strings attached. So, it's really a matter of available product. Beyond that, I find shop-related self-identification a tad creepy. The gog community is no way better than steam's, but moderation now mercifully keeps racism and general assholery politely hidden under the surface. The shop's ideology is still marginally better than steam's, but far from what it used to be when I started buying here (client-free games are now an afterthought in the official galaxy shop). And, at this point, what should matter is simply what you buy for its own sake, not what club you join through it.

Products still happen to be better on GOG, in terms of ensured client-independance and durable compatibility. Plus, I enjoy the curation : I don't always 100% agree with it, but I have acquired some default positive attitude to games released here ("huh, looks lame but... hm, if GOG sells it there might be something under the appearence").

So, quality-wise, GOG.