If you're into that kind of stuff, ArmA 2, the sequel to a very buggy game that didn't suck is available for prepurchase on Steam. It's out in three weeks, so have fun trying to go to bed if you buy this.
[url=]http://store.steampowered.com/app/33900/[/url]

"great" prepurchase for 48€, they can suck my.....
No. Just no.
I have to be ultimate Steam fanboy to buy it from there.

I hear ya. If I see it for 49.99 and you see it as 48 of your funny money, there's a problem somewhere.

I'm sure I saw this retail for £17.99 from Play.com or somewhere???
You can bet that STEAM will want £29.99 minimum in sterling for this (maybe even £34.99).
They can lick me,...

I know exactly where the problem is. It's in Valve's decision that every european country, save for GB, should pay in € and more than the others (Australia is pretty expensive too, AFAIK).
So while price on Steam is 48€, I can get ArmA 2 from play.com for a mere 25£ (that should be around 29€). I think it's clear where I will purchase that game.

Well, they're charging normal rates of $49.99 on Steam here, which I would buy if I cared at all about ArmA. ArmA is just not my kind of shooter.

Why would anyone want to buy from Steam with those prices? Sooner or later, I would think they are going to have fix this if they hope to stay in business.
As it is: Simply. Not. Worth. It.
Buying on Steam gets me the game, period. Automatic updates are nice and all, but I still only get the game and with luck, maybe the manual as a PDF file. Meanwhile, buying in store gets me the box, DVD, manuals (printed) and extras for half the quids. Hmmm. Hard decision? Nope!
As for ArmA 2, I am yet convinced it is my kind of game; I will be looking for reviews first, and demos, and gameplay videos, etcetera.

What crazy version of time do you live in where you still get anything worth the trouble of going to the store when you buy a boxed computer game? :p

I would assume the year when Dark Forces came out.

Good God, I love me some Dark Forces. Especially Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight.

Man, if that comes to GOG... this site would be golden.

In the version of time where it is 2 hours ahead of GMT, and you live in South Africa where internet is terrible :P
I'll compare retail vs online from my point-of-view
On one hand,
+ Maybe about 1$ petrol and 10-20 mins time to go to the shop and back
+ You can do other things while you're there, such as groceries, etc. In fact, the trip may have been necessary anyway, so time/fuel may be negligable.
+ Bandwidth is whatever you can fit in your car
+ Maybe get the extra goodies Skystrider mentioned
+ Lower price than online for some bizarre reason
- Hope what you're looking for just happens to be in stock
On the other hand, let's look at steam and assume that it is flawless, never becomes unavailable and will carry on letting me play the game whenever I want forever
- Higher price than retail for some bizarre reason
- Assuming that the game fills a DVD, Pay the ISP about $23(cheapest offer I can find)-$92(what I would currently pay) for the internet traffic you use
- Wait several days for the download to complete, with your internet line being bogged down all that time
- None of the physical items Skystrider mentioned
- Thereafter you can't play the game without the grace of Steam
+ Availability is almost guaranteed
Sometimes you just can't find the physical item, but otherwise there is no contest.

You guys are just bitter you have broadband caps. Suckers.

I have no broadband cap like Barefoot_Monkey, but he has a point. No effing game is worth those extra 20€ to have it on Steam. Steam's prices are just rip-off.
I have bought Dawn of War 2 retail for 37€, Steam's digital version's price is for me almost 50€. I'd rather pay less and wait a day or two, than pay more and get the game in a few hours.
I am no rich moron to buy something more expensive (and without box, dvd, manual and sometimes extra stuff).