Multiple companies have tried to become the de facto games store and every last one of them has failed not because Steam uses its dominant position to crush them, but because not a single one of them has been willing to invest in the features, capabilities, and pro consumer policies that Steam has. Every single one of them thought that doing the bare minimum and then throwing cash at ads and publishers would be the path to victory. It wasn’t. Yeah, Steam may be effectively a monopoly, but it’s because nobody else really wants to compete with them at their level. The closest anyone has ever come is GOG.
No other company has invested more in trying to free our PC games from Microsoft either. On top of that, Valve’s investment still benefits the entire FOSS ecosystem.
I worry about what the company will look like when Gabe isn’t there anymore, but for now, I keep buying on Steam because I want to vote with my wallet, and I vote for Linux and FOSS.
That said,
Asked about this rule, Newell repeatedly denied it exists, even when shown internal communications seemingly showing Valve employees enforcing it: “Valve does not have a policy or practice of dictating prices to third-party software developers on other platforms.” When asked how Valve would react if it ever happened, Newell initially said he was confused by the question and then added, “Many of our partners and many of our customers are quite happy with the service that we’re providing.”
This isn’t the first time I’ve read this, and if Valve is using their position to keep prices higher, then that is bad behavior that needs correction.
Ideologically, gog is the winner for me… EXCEPT they refuse to have a native linux client, so i stick with steam
pro consumer policies
What pro-consumer policies does Steam have? They still have a lot of games with DRM, although I guess that’s the publisher’s choice, not theirs.
Their refund policies aren’t great. Not being able to get a refund if you encounter a game-breaking bug just because you’ve played the game for more than 2 hours isn’t a good policy. Thankfully it’s been ruled illegal in some countries like Australia - in those regions, you can get a refund for major issues regardless of how much you’ve played or how long you’ve had the game for.
I agree that they’re better than some of the competition, but at the end of the day they’re still giving you a license that they can revoke at any time. GOG gives you actual ownership.
I wouldn’t say “enormous choice”.
Realistically it’s either Steam, or Epic.
Sure, GOG technically exists, but that’s a very niche audience. It’s amazing for what it is, but when new AAA games come out, you won’t see them on GOG. It’s great for retro games, and it’s basically a monopoly on getting DRM free exe files, but I wouldn’t say GOG is even trying to compete with Steam.
Epic IS trying to compete with Steam, but…they’re just SO bad at it. I’ve heard that Epic’s free games do little more than act as a consequence free way to be demos for people who later buy the game full price on Steam.
So, Epic is another option to Steam…but, is that it? That’s like saying Coke has plenty of competing colas, except Pepsi doesn’t exist, and RC Cola is technically competition that nobody chooses. That’s Epic. The RC Cola of gaming.
i dunno if “realism” is an argument here. you’re talking about a specific market segment targeting a specific hardware configuration and distribution medium. developers still have the choice to target Nintendo or Sony hardware, to sell physical copies or codes through Walmart, Amazon, Target, Gamestop, your local game store, etc, to sell via mobile platforms like iOS or Android, etc etc.
honestly, if i sat here and listed them all out it would be an enormous comment.
i do see how Valve has a hegemony over a big part of the market, but they haven’t been anticompetitive or tried to push anyone out or buy up competition. at least that’s not what’s being claimed, as far as i can tell. Epic’s lawsuits against Apple and Google don’t even apply cuz you can install friggin Windows on their hardware if you had some sort of mental illness.
There’s GOG, but that’s a very niche audience
Contrary to the name, they also have good NEW games, too.
Yeah, but he’s got a point. The GOG new game library is much smaller than on Steam.
That’s Epic. The RC Cola of gaming
brutal.
(pretty accurate, but brutal)
Xbox/Windows? GoG?
Yeah….
Then you see they play this bullshit straight out of Jeffrey Bezos’ handbook:
