I’ve never seen it put so well. Yes it’s a monopoly, but unlike most bad monopolies it didn’t get there from being predatory, or anti competitive. Ironically with the Deck I’d argue by allowing other launchers and stores they’re surprisingly pro-competition.

It’s that every single other store (except GOG) has done everything in their power to be as anti-consumer pro-business as they can and just have destroyed themselves. EA’s Origin from the start was a buggy mess with bad DLC. Ubisoft was just an Assassin’s Creed store and pissed everyone off by forcing it and not giving a single reason to be over there except “You can’t buy Valhalla anywhere else”, proving how little PC players needed to play Valhalla. Microsoft had a strict 5-install limit of installing games over the lifetime of the purchase, and you had to use their shitty “I solidly work 15% of the time” microsoft store. Everything other store was just hot garbage made up by MBAs who had zero interest of serving the consumer.

But now “We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas!”