If we're talking about games with >1K hrs in, could I count "the entire Pokémon series"?

If I can't, I'll just count Pokémon Ruby. I restarted that thing so many times over the years, and I never restarted it unless I had at least 300 hours into it. Actually, if I recall correctly, I have Pearl sitting in some cabinet with >600 hours on the only save file I ever made for that (without another game to trade to, it wasn't feasible to restart, and the world trade/world battle things made it less necessary to do so).

I think I may have around 600 hours racked up in Terraria, but half of them were when I was playing a pirated version so it's not recorded in Steam. Steam also says I have played ~20mins of Fallout 3, but my save files would beg to differ.

There's a new steam beta update that introduces a feature that lets you watch your friends playing games, if they also have the beta installed. It's called steam streaming but I have dubbed it steam spying.

You neglect to mention the fact that it was almost immediately hacked and people started streaming anime and porn. I heard about it thru TB's Co-Optional Podcast and I think he makes a good point: if you have a friend who doesn't think much about a game they haven't bought yet you can go "You don't think this game is worth it? Come watch me play it, then." (Or, of course, the even simpler "Oh-my-god-you-should-really-play-this-game-come-watch-me-and-I'll-show-you-why.")

Sounds like they improved it Kappa

Was it hacked or does it just allow streaming of non steam apps when played through the steam interface? Also I hadn't heard about that so whatever.

So I recently picked up 'Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition' as part of my ongoing quest to re-purchase all the old Black Isle games so I don't have to put discs into my machine (and thus have to install the prerequisite CD-Drive). Been pretty fun so far though this is by far the most 'wait why aren't I just playing BGtutu?' of there efforts what with it not having any new content to speak of.

Still having the full roster of BG2 kits is pretty nice even if it means I've had to play through Easthaven like twenty times to find a party I'm happy with. This is what happens when you give us options!

And now for the holiday sale.

~SE++

Woooo!

Time to start purchasing the really cheap stuff I threw on my wishlist throughout the year.

Precisely!

Most of the time, during the Steam Sales you really should wait for a minimum of 75% off. So, just in case you weren't in the mood to wade through their new interface, here's a few highlights that are up right now:

Amnesia The Dark Descent is $4.59 (77% off)
BattleBlock Theater is $3.74 (75% off)
Civilization V is $7.49 (75% off)
Damned is $4.99 (75% off)
Dark Souls Prepare to Die Edition is $4.99 (75% off)
Hotline Miami is $2.49 (75% off)
Mafia II Digital Deluxe Edition is $9.99 (75% off)
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is $5.99 (80% off)
Sniper Elite V2 is $7.49 (75% off)
SpeedRunners is $2.49 (75% off)
State of Decay is $4.99 (75% off)
Terraria is $2.99 (70% off)
Total War Rome II Emperor Edition is $14.98 (75% off)

Yeah, those are the highlights. There's actually a ton of other crud that's 75% off and up, but it's a lot of unknown indie games, truck driving sims, and other junk most people don't want to know about. And some half decent stuff like Sanctum, AudioSurf and Papo & Yo. But those usually fly pretty far below people's radars, so I won't mention all of them.

~SE++

Can anyone tell me if the Dark Souls games work yet or if they're still tied in to the Games for Windows Live shtick? I've basically been avoiding them like the plague because of that, but I'm still really curious, especially since TotalBiscuit put Dark Souls 2 on his highlights for the day because of the great port job they did.

In relevant but unrelated news, I'm thinking of purchasing Terraria for an acquaintance (friend of a friend, really), since A. I don't think we're really on a gift-giving basis quite yet, so I don't think spending $3 is expecting anything back; and B. since he's currently room-mating with said friend to ease rental costs, I see him kind of frequently (not that that's a bad thing).

Oh dang. Monaco just went on sale for 91% off.

a number of games on my wishlist are on sale..but i'm gonna hold out for a little longer and see if the discount on KSP goes further cuz that's the one i'd really love to have

It'll probably hit 40% off, maybe 50%, but I wouldn't hold out past that.

~SE++

And for a new round:

Batman Arkhman Origins is $4.99 (75% off)
Castle Crashers is $1.49 (90% off)
Deus Ex Human Revolution Director's Cut is $3.99 (80% off)
Guns of Icarus Online is $2.24 (85% off)
Killing Floor is $4.99 (75% off)

Honorable Mention:
Borderlands the Pre-Sequel is $29.99 (50% off)

Considering it only premiered about two months ago and is still $59.99 new, this is a pretty big price drop for the game, and probably the best you'll see it at this sale. Probably.

~SE++

50% would be nice, it's currently at 22%

I might buy nothing

Not a great selection today of sales, but here some highlights are:

Europa Universalis IV is $4.99 (75% off)
The Lord of the Rings War in the North is $4.99 (75% off)
Mass Effect 2 Digital Deluxe Edition is $7.49 (75% off)
Prison Architect is $5.99 (80% off)
Rage is $4.99 (75% off)
Rise of Nations Extended Edition is $4.99 (75% off)
Risk of Rain is $2.49 (75% off)
Trine 2 Complete Story is $1.99 (90% off)

~SE++

I've ended up buying far too many games this year already....

~SE++