it's obvious why people like Steam
-one program to buy and launch all your games
-sold at a reasonable price
-easiest way to install a bunch of games on a new computer. don't need to go find the installers or discs for all your games, just copy your Steam folder over.
-easy and universal friends list and community features
-DRM is mostly non-invasive compared to the alternatives
it's pretty telling that people buy things from the Humble Indie Bundle and then install it in Steam. DRM sucks but the benefits outweigh downsides in this case for most people.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npHDxSvwCE0