# Games for Windows Live, Bioshock 2, and Steam **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 24, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791 "2011-01-24T15:58:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/1 "2011-01-24T15:58:27Z")
I’ve searched around some trying to find an answer to this, but thus far no luck. Maybe someone here can help out? I downloaded Bioshock 2 from Steam awhile ago and just fired it up. I entered the CD key before the game would start. Then Games for Windows Live prompts me to use their service. Screw you, I think, and close the window and start playing, only to discover that it won’t let me save unless I create a GFWL profile. So I follow their links, and it seems to think I’m on XBox, but whatever, I did what they told me to, and now I have a login (my email), an idiotic profile name they assigned to me, and a password. Now GFWL wants me to enter a product key. I think this is the CD key I can get from the Steam menu, so I enter it. But I get an error message: it tells me that > [@](#): > > The Profile could not be signed in to LIVE. There may be a network problem or the Windows LIVE ID service may not be available. When I click on “Network Status,” I get: > [@](#): > > Network Adapter: Wireless Network > Internet IP address: not signed in > Local IP Address: 192 etc. > System Link address: not active > PC Account: PC.000etc. > UPnP: Not Active Obviously I’m online, so I’m not sure why it’s saying I lack an Internet IP address. Any thoughts? I’ve logged onto LIVE using their browser using my profile and password, so that doesn’t seem to be the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/2 "2011-01-24T16:03:43Z")
I just found the link to create a local profile, so hopefully that’ll solve the problem. No achievements, but that’s okay. Still, it’d be nice to figure out how to link to a real profile. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/3 "2011-01-24T16:37:37Z")
I hate games for windows live for many reasons, but the hassle of getting a game to run is reason number 1. The issue might have been with their servers, maybe try at a later time? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/4 "2011-01-24T20:26:32Z")
Bright side: I got it to run, saved my game a couple of times. Down side: it crashed, and now it crashes on loading. I hate everyone involved. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/5 "2011-01-24T21:14:32Z")
I got three games that are GFWL over Christmas. I got one to work for a few days then it stopped. Now absolutely none of my GFWL games work…at all. I have spent hours trying to troubleshoot it to no avail. I literally now check to see if a game is using GFWL and if it is I won’t buy it. That is not sour grapes generic internet rant. I literally cannot play them and Steam refuses a refund. In my hours of research I have come to the conclusion that GFWL is a nightmare and the worst of the worst of these things (which is saying something). Fuck you Microsoft! ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/6 "2011-01-25T02:26:24Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I got three games that are GFWL over Christmas. I got one to work for a few days then it stopped. Now absolutely none of my GFWL games work…at all. > > I have spent hours trying to troubleshoot it to no avail. > > I literally now check to see if a game is using GFWL and if it is I won’t buy it. That is not sour grapes generic internet rant. I literally cannot play them and Steam refuses a refund. > > In my hours of research I have come to the conclusion that GFWL is a nightmare and the worst of the worst of these things (which is saying something). > > Fuck you Microsoft! No hate for Steam? Bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/7 "2011-01-25T03:38:54Z")
I have 3-4 dozen games through steam, and I’ve played the majority of them with very few problems other than the rare-but-inevitable crashes. This is the first one that’s crashed every time I try to load it. I wonder if it has something to do with creating an offline profile–but now I can’t even get far enough in the game to try for an online profile again. While I hate everyone involved, I hate Microsoft the most. ---
**Author:** ![drgnrdr07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71e660/32.png) [@drgnrdr07](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drgnrdr07)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/8 "2011-01-25T03:53:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I have 3-4 dozen games through steam, and I’ve played the majority of them with very few problems other than the rare-but-inevitable crashes. This is the first one that’s crashed every time I try to load it. I wonder if it has something to do with creating an offline profile–but now I can’t even get far enough in the game to try for an online profile again. > > While I hate everyone involved, I hate Microsoft the most. I have the exact same problem as you. I bought Bioshock 2 about 8 months back and skipped the GFWL stuff in the beginning without realizing that it wouldn’t let me save. I ended up leaving the game and making a new GFWL account so I could save on my machine. I ended up getting a random crash in the game the next time I tried to run it and now my game freezes on start up. Seems to freeze when GFWL is signing onto its servers. I have tried completely removing GFWL and the game starts up just fine. I just can’t make any saves. Every time I use GFWL I get that awesome crash. I have already told myself that I refuse to purchase any game that uses GFWL. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/9 "2011-01-25T05:34:15Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > No hate for Steam? Bizarre. I dislike DRM overall but that said I have had no trouble with Steam whatsoever. I am pissed they will not refund my money though. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/10 "2011-01-25T06:33:31Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I dislike DRM overall but that said I have had no trouble with Steam whatsoever. > > I am pissed they will not refund my money though. Call me crazy but I think shitty customer service would piss me off more than shitty DRM. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/11 "2011-01-25T07:11:40Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Call me crazy but I think shitty customer service would piss me off more than shitty DRM. Most PC game shops don’t refund money why would Steam? That said they usually do offer a one time only refund if you haven’t played a game past X amount of time. He must have gone past that or they were feeling cranky that day. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/12 "2011-01-25T07:26:06Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > Most PC game shops don’t refund money why would Steam? One version of shitty customer service excuses another? Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/13 "2011-01-25T07:49:10Z")
Hmm what? As I stated they do sometimes give refunds even though it’s in the terms and conditions that they don’t. Also it would be childish to hold Steam personally responsible for adhering to a policy that’s been around for ages now as opposed to being angry with the service that is preventing him from playing his game. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/14 "2011-01-25T18:48:09Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > Most PC game shops don’t refund money why would Steam? > > That said they usually do offer a one time only refund if you haven’t played a game past X amount of time. He must have gone past that or they were feeling cranky that day. Nope. I NEVER got Bioshock 2 to run. I did get an hour or two of DIRT in. Batman never worked. At all. I pointed that out to them in an e-mail. That their system could see zero playtime. They didn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/15 "2011-01-25T21:04:16Z")
I already got unjustified good customer service from Steam once (I clicked on the wrong button and ended up paying $75 for a game bundle when I meant to pay $7.50 for a single game, and they refunded the money even though they didn’t have any obligation to do so). They have some good credit built up with me, so I probably won’t ask for a refund. I’m not normally a fan of pirating games. But I gotta say that the immorality of pirating a game that I paid for and that is completely broken escapes me. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/16 "2011-01-27T17:14:35Z")
I haven’t directly gotten money from Steam, but it was kind of weird. I pre-ordered Black Ops, which was and is broken on the PC and politely requested a refund. They said the couldn’t do that, but that they’d let me buy a full-value game (or multiple budget games for the same amount) and then refund the cost of _that_ and then delete Black Ops. As I said, it was kind of weird, but I think I might have a caught a sympathetic support representative and he kinded of worked around the “no money back” principle. GFWL can blow me, though. (And the way they shoe-horned it into the Dawn of War 2 games perplex, confuse and enrages me.) ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/games-for-windows-live-bioshock-2-and-steam/568791/17 "2011-01-27T17:58:53Z")
I REALLY want GTA IV for PC but refuse to buy it (even for $5) because of GFWL.