Retail threatens Steam ban

Quote from Steppenwolf

So we should allow monopolies because a company innovates first?

My post wasn't addressing what we should or shouldn't allow. It was addressing this misconception of Valve doing something wrong because publishers freely choose it as DRM for some of their retail games.

You want something other than Steam for retail games? Fine, so do I, but crying monopoly (like the retailers in the OP) doesn't change a publishers mind. It's up to the consumers to complain to publishers on why they don't want it and suggest alternatives.

This is the reason some games use Steam as DRM instead of Securom+Steam+WindowsLive (bioshock 2.) People complained, a good number said Steam would be better, there you go.

As Twiz as said, I don't like monopolies either, competition is good for the consumer. However, those who have a problem with Steam cutting into their profits need to step it up a notch and come out with something worth while to attract new consumers and people already using Steam.

the problem with doing something like creating a new steam is that it's a digital distribution. consumers do not want to switch between different platforms to play different games, and as such, steam will always have a near monopoly. there isn't a way to sway consumers who have already bought into steam, because just that: they have bought into steam. they have all their games there etc., and do not see a reason for getting an entirely new distribution system just so they can save a couple of bucks per month on whatever games offered on different platforms.

steam is starting to become a concern if they continue down the road of creating games that can only be activated over steam (see the civ5 problem). this could, however, be more or less solved by creating games that can be activated on any digital distribution platform.

I have always been a fan of Steam, but now they are too big and I don't like how steamworks is done.

things like chat, achievements and server lists should not be tied to a store application.

So I try to support Stardock's impulse::Reactor instead as they offer a solution that gives you all the same stuff without ties to a store page.

(as steamworks should have been if Valve really were such nice guys)

Quote from Steppenwolf

What has that to do with anything? The industry and the economy don't stand still and that's a good thing. I wouldn't mind another digital distributer with a 40% market share because then Valve couldn't just translate Dollar prices 1:1 to Euro.

Thats not really Valve, but the publishers demanding it or you get the "not availeble in your region" stuff like it was in the past.

I can understand it a bit, as long as they are not going to charge more for EU users if the dollar value goes ever above the euro again

Darryl Still, the international publishing director for 1C, the major Russian game publisher, has written an opinion piece on this topic.

http://www.mcvuk.com/features/808/OPINI ... l-vs-Steam

It's a pretty incredible slam dunk for digital distribution and an attack on retailers for how they already treat PC games in stores.

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What is more surprising is the reaction of retail now. I have read it described as the reaction of a small child who threw his toy away because he no longer wanted it, but started screaming as soon as another child picked it up to play with. The metaphor works perfectly, especially in the light of the excuse I heard on numerous occasions.‘There is no demand’ went the mantra. But is this really true? Not in our experience.

I remember fondly the meeting in my office with a red-faced publisher who was explaining why their initial order from a major retailer for one of our new releases was just 30 units. At the time I had my browser open on the Steam product data page, which updates sales numbers every few minutes.

“They have taken one unit for each of their top 30 stores” he told me. “There is just no demand from their customers”.

I glanced at my screen, hit refresh and advised him: “In the time it’s taken you to tell me that there is no demand, Steam has sold 45 units”.

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on a sale over the counter today, we can have our £3 by the end of March, or on a digital sale, we can have £20 by Christmas.