Steam is a good system. Not many places allow you to buy a game and download it whenever you want, anywhere you want, for as long as you want. Most places give you 1-3 years and after that you ahve to buy it again.
Steam also doesnt need to be on to play games, offline mode helps
Which i use often to cut back on lag.
And auto-updates is so nice.
Steam mega sales 3-4 times a year also attract a lot of customers. And theirweekly/weekend/ monthly sales are huge bonus.
Dont see why so many hate steam. Been with them for a loooong time and not once had any issue.
Hope this works out well for all parties involved.