I know how patches used to work, I used to download them myself. But those were times with far smaller file sizes! Today patches can easily reach 20-100 GB. That’s not just expensive, it’s also not something companies want to provide for free for pirates. So patches would be locked behind an account no matter what.
That still leaves the criticism of Steam not being necessary as a running program, and it’s a valid criticism. But PSN doesn’t give me any advantage, while Steam at least increases convenience. PSN only has downsides for me. That’s why it’s not a comparable requirement.
I know how patches used to work, I used to download them myself. But those were times with far smaller file sizes! Today patches can easily reach 20-100 GB. That’s not just expensive, it’s also not something companies want to provide for free for pirates. So patches would be locked behind an account no matter what.
That still leaves the criticism of Steam not being necessary as a running program, and it’s a valid criticism. But PSN doesn’t give me any advantage, while Steam at least increases convenience. PSN only has downsides for me. That’s why it’s not a comparable requirement.