I fear for Steam's future if GameStop goes under.

[magelord01]

Here is why: Steam is now almost completely dependent on GameStop stores to distribute Steam Gift Cards to its customers. Many Targets, Best Buys, etc. in many cities and towns across America have STOPPED carrying Steam Gift Cards, so this pretty much leaves it up to GameStop to carry them. Once GameStop completely goes under (and thus: ALL GameStop stores shut down), then I fear that pretty much all Americans will have no choice but to use their credit cards to add funds to their Steam Wallets. I figure that Steam's been counting on the sheer convenience of Steam Gift Cards to stay afloat; and once that option is gone, then Steam itself might well go under: Steam Gift Cards are FAR more convenient than using credit cards!

[magelord01]

Keep in mind, as well, that Steam Gift Cards make GREAT stocking stuffers to give to the PC gamers in your family.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Początkowo opublikowane przez magelord01:

Keep in mind, as well, that Steam Gift Cards make GREAT stocking stuffers to give to the PC gamers in your family.

So do VISA cards and they're accepted more than just on Steam.

[Mad Scientist]

Początkowo opublikowane przez magelord01:

Keep in mind, as well, that Steam Gift Cards make GREAT stocking stuffers to give to the PC gamers in your family.

You can get the cards at many places, even grocery stores and some gas stations.

That's why it's great to have physical goods (even if cards for store credit) in multiple places.

[About47Pandas]

other retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and the Steam website also offer gift cards, so people would still have other options for buying them.

And even if gift cards weren't available at all, there are still other ways to add funds to your Steam account, like using a credit or debit card, PayPal, or other payment methods. So while it would be inconvenient if Steam gift cards disappeared, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

Steam is a pretty popular platform with lots of games and content, so even if something like GameStop going out of business had an impact, I don't think it would be enough to make Steam itself go under. Steam has been around for a while and has dealt with other challenges in the past, so I think it's pretty resilient and will be okay.

[Satoru]

I mean Gamestop hasn't been relevant in PC gaming for like a decade? I couldn't even buy Civ5 on launch day at Gamestop. Gamestop shutting down would have literally zero effect on Steam.

[WhiteKnight]

It would have been great if it's true but nope. It would save Valve from spending 15 of 30% on cash cards. They will be saving money.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Początkowo opublikowane przez WhiteKnight:

It would have been great if it's true but nope. It would save Valve from spending 15 of 30% on cash cards. They will be saving money.

Going 100% digital would save them money.

[WhiteKnight]

Początkowo opublikowane przez cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Początkowo opublikowane przez WhiteKnight:

It would have been great if it's true but nope. It would save Valve from spending 15 of 30% on cash cards. They will be saving money.

Going 100% digital would save them money.

:qr:

If there going that route. Then they should decrease the cut to 15% or 8%. The only reason why 30% cut is worth it is because of the cash cards.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Początkowo opublikowane przez WhiteKnight:

Początkowo opublikowane przez cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Going 100% digital would save them money.

If there going that route. Then they should decrease the cut to 15% or 8%. The only reason why 30% cut is worth it is because of the cash cards.

Sure. Yeah. CoinStar is already doing it and there are more gift card specific kiosks popping up in locations.

[ShadowShifterMarlith]

Początkowo opublikowane przez magelord01:

Here is why: Steam is now almost completely dependent on GameStop stores to distribute Steam Gift Cards to its customers. Many Targets, Best Buys, etc. in many cities and towns across America have STOPPED carrying Steam Gift Cards, so this pretty much leaves it up to GameStop to carry them. Once GameStop completely goes under (and thus: ALL GameStop stores shut down), then I fear that pretty much all Americans will have no choice but to use their credit cards to add funds to their Steam Wallets. I figure that Steam's been counting on the sheer convenience of Steam Gift Cards to stay afloat; and once that option is gone, then Steam itself might well go under: Steam Gift Cards are FAR more convenient than using credit cards!

Everyone is pushing for an "All Digital" in America right now.
The city won't even allow cash anywhere anymore.

Valve is pushing people to leave steam, & if they are not
trying to push people away, then they could of fooled me,
because that is exactly what it looks like to me.

I am defending cash by sticking to only cash, so if game
stop goes under, that is it for me on steam.

[invision2212]

People still use GameStop?

[♥♥tutor♥♥tαrα♥♥]

Where to find Steam Wallet Codes https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/5BB2-E986-A733-CF0E

I have seen a couple posts that said some stores moved the Steam Wallet cards out of the gift cards section, moved them to an electronics section.

[J4MESOX4D]

I saw a post online the other day from an employee at Gamestop who said they would be lucky to sell 4 cards a week at their store. I already know for a fact that retailers where I live actually incur a loss on providing such services because it's a like-for-like transaction with no profit potential and the terminal itself which utlises the foundation to network major services actually costs a reasonable amount of money to rent.

Back in the day when I ran a shop, I was paying £600 a year per terminal from Barclays Business just so people could pay chip and pin with their card. With modern EPOS integration available, it's probably not inflated too much to provide additional retail services but I imagine it's still not cheap. There's also been lots of internal fraud problems with lead to red tape and costly store losses as well as customer dissatisfaction for the people on the end of it.

It's just too much of a headache and an outdated concept now so I can see why retailers may want to bury such things especially when there's plenty of other alternatives. Either way, Steam wont feel any impact because people will find another way and it's not like vouchers are a big thing nowadays - it's not the 2009 anymore.

[1200V2]

Yes it is all going digital but what if you want to give someone a gift?

And my fear for Steam is that it is getting complacement and that Steam is slowly turning into a digital store with real world prices and a sale on every moment but the start prices are so high that it don't realy matter that a product is on sale. Steam is getting used for it's market share to advertise not for delivering good complete (risk free/ non Denuvo) products.
Steam as a store concept is being eroded.

Steam as a market place for products is turning more and more into a disapointment.

[J4MESOX4D]

Początkowo opublikowane przez 1200V2:

Yes it is all going digital but what if you want to give someone a gift?

And my fear for Steam is that it is getting complacement and that Steam is slowly turning into a digital store with real world prices and a sale on every moment but the start prices are so high that it don't realy matter that a product is on sale. Steam is getting used for it's market share to advertise not for delivering good complete (risk free/ non Denuvo) products.
Steam as a store concept is being eroded.

Steam as a market place for products is turning more and more into a disapointment.

But it's the retailers phasing out such things. Also developers/publishers set the prices on this platform.