Steam is on a path to become a monopoly. Is that a good thing for the gamer?
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If it's not on Steam, it might as well not exist. Even console exclusives made for PlayStation and Xbox will find themselves listed on Steam. And that's saying something. It's saying that even giant studios like Microsoft or Sony just can't pass on that cash-grab potential.
That is power. Power that belongs to Steam's maker Valve, which also has some of the most popular PC games, and makes Linux-based console SteamDeck that challenges Windows' gaming monopoly. For that, everyone loves Valve. But there is a problem. Valve's power is too great and Valve will use that power to the detriment of the whole gaming community.
I am going to prove that to you by showing you Valve's historical record and by looking at its future path. Both of which should convince you that it doesn't matter how much you may love Steam right now, Valve is not your friend.
Valve has this image of an infallible good guy, standing up to the big tech. Any criticism of Valve or Steam is met with dismissal and ridicule. Valve's fans will defend any corporate decision they make, even if it's the same they would scorch other gaming companies for making.
When you purchase games from Steam, you have to accept the terms that you will never own your games. Your purchase only grants you a temporary limited license. What's the difference and why does it matter? Well, if you own something, like a book, or a DVD with a game, the contents still belong to the copyright holder, but you get to decide what to do with the material. Like for instance, you can lend it, gift it or trade it for something else.
A Steam license gives you none of that. It's just a subscription.
SOURCES [references available in the transcript]
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[1] https://usesignhouse.com/blog/valve-stats/
[2] https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/gaming-giant-valve-hit-with-another-antitrust-lawsuit-alleging-anticompetitive-practices/ar-AA1oF5qi
[3] https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/16/15622366/valve-gabe-newell-sales-origin-destructive
[4] https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/t3glbx/its_okay_to_acknowledge_that_valve_is_not
[5] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21208138[6] https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/
[7] https://www.extremetech.com/archive/73674-halflife-2-will-require-internet-activation
[8] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4019095.stm
[9] https://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-restricts-14-day-eu-refund-law/1100-6425990/[10] https://www.bbb.org/us/wa/yarrow-point/profile/online-gaming/valve-corporation-1296-27030704/
[11] https://www.vg247.com/steam-customer-support-not-where-it-needs-to-be-says-valve
[12] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210428005374/en/Game-Developers-Conference%E2%80%99s-2021-State-of-the-Industry-Survey-Shows-Pandemic-Brought-Delays---But-Also-Growth-Reflects-Rising-Interest-in-the-PlayStation-5-and-Strong-Disapproval-of-30-Digital-Storefront-Revenue-Shares
[13] https://www.polygon.com/22409511/microsoft-store-pc-revenue-share-steam-epic-games
[14] https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/11111747095181-Creator-fees-overview
[15] https://kotaku.com/valve-isnt-evil-they-just-dont-understand-people-1704090932
[16] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/05/why-lower-platform-fees-dont-lead-to-lower-prices-on-the-epic-games-store/
[17] https://www.pcgamer.com/lawsuit-claims-valve-is-abusing-its-market-dominance-to-keep-prices-high/
[18] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/popular-gaming-platform-accused-of-abusing-market-power-through-contracts-4124057/
[19] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/04/humble-bundle-creator-brings-antitrust-lawsuit-against-valve-over-steam/
[20] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/05/judge-brings-dismissed-steam-antitrust-lawsuit-back-from-the-dead/
[21] https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/25/23975695/valve-ceo-gabe-newell-has-to-appear-in-person-to-defend-steam-store-fees
[22] https://www.gamesindustry.biz/gabe-newell-ordered-to-make-in-person-deposition-for-valve-v-wolfire-games-lawsuit
[23] https://www.polygon.com/2017/4/1/15129600/valve-has-cut-dota-2-royalties-and-workshop-creators-are-crying-foul
[24] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/08/valve-says-turning-away-researcher-reporting-steam-vulnerability-was-a-mistake/
[25] https://store.steampowered.com/privacy_agreement/
[26] https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/gaming-giant-valve-hit-with-another-antitrust-lawsuit-alleging-anticompetitive-practices/ar-AA1oF5qi
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Not to disagree with you, but I would say Valve has a good track record of specifically not trying to fuck people over and they tend to make high quality games. But that can always change so it is good to always keep that in mind.
Yet, they popularized loot box mechanics and NFTs. Steam acts a big giant DRM. It puts free mods behind its DRM as well, since you can’t get mods in the Workshop, unless you own the game on Steam. It has enabled sneaky regional pricing for years. There’s no guarantee what will happen to your library if Steam servers go down one day. And there’s very little content curation, which means its catalogue has thousands of scam games, some of which are probably used for money-laundering and online/phone scam purposes.
Yeah, they are not trying to aggressively milk every single penny from every single pocket, but some of their decisions have caused great harm to the gaming community. And it doesn’t help that they are a giant monopoly.
I agree. Keep in mind anything I post I may or may not agree with, and I am always willing to change my mind with feedback I get from here. I post things here because I am interested in listening to discussion.
I’d pick Valve over most game companies, but they are still a company, and I predict Valve will become worse over time unless they are bought or go under as the tendencies of capitalism lead toward greater monopolization. I have accepted that everything that I like and was produced in a capitalist system will be rotten and spoiled eventually.
