Why arent books, comics and movies sold on Steam too?

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Sivarg Jun 17, 2022 @ 4:01pm

I haven't been able to find a proper answer to this, what is your opinion about this too? Like, dislike? I mean theres so many users on steam, surely it would sell too, but instead these things are sold elsewhere. I know there a few movies/tv series here though, but its not like you can buy a certain movie, like lets say, blockbuster has for sale on their site.

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Showing 1-13 of 13 comments

Wolf Knight Jun 17, 2022 @ 4:02pm

they tried movies, they stopped. that should tell you why.

Sivarg Jun 17, 2022 @ 4:04pm

Originally posted by Wolf Knight:
they tried movies, they stopped. that should tell you why.

why did they stop? Nobody bought enough?

Judgmental Amaterasu Jun 17, 2022 @ 4:07pm

Originally posted by Sivarg:
Originally posted by Wolf Knight:
they tried movies, they stopped. that should tell you why.
why did they stop? Nobody bought enough?

It wasn't popular. At all.

IFIYGD Jun 17, 2022 @ 4:38pm

Originally posted by Sivarg:
Originally posted by Wolf Knight:
they tried movies, they stopped. that should tell you why.
why did they stop? Nobody bought enough?

You answered your own question with your own question:

Originally posted by Sivarg:
I haven't been able to find a proper answer to this, what is your opinion about this too? Like, dislike? I mean theres so many users on steam, surely it would sell too, but instead these things are sold elsewhere. I know there a few movies/tv series here though, but its not like you can buy a certain movie, like lets say, blockbuster has for sale on their site.

...these things are sold elsewhere...
...but its not like you can buy a certain movie, like lets say, blockbuster has for sale on their site.

There are quite a number of competing services that provide movie and TV show rentals or purchases, that have way better media players or systems set up for watching them on different devices.Steam failed big time at sales and promotion of movies and show series- why would they want to repeat that?

Just like all of the games on Steam- it is up to the people who produce and publish movies or TV shows to bring them here- if they feel like they'll get better sales and rentals from other services with less restrictions and less of a cut being taken off the top by those services- of course they are going to list their shows and movies there instead of here.

As far as e-books and comics- there is only a small percentage of Steam users who have posted threads asking for these things. Again- it would be up to the authors and publishers to bring them here. And again, the cut that Valve takes off of each sale may be much higher than what a vendor like Humble Bundle takes, or ComicXology, or Barnes & Noble, or Overdrive, or Amazon , etc.

Stores have their target markets and focuses- Steam's is video games and DLC for those games (which often does include artbooks, backgrounds, OSTs and such). You focus on the market your store is strongest in, that presents the possibility of the best profit for your company, with the least possibility of repeated failures (which Valve/Steam have already had when they tried to "branch out"). L.L. Bean would never do as well with tuxedos and overly formal sequined wedding gowns as they do with rugged outdoor clothing styles.They know their market, and focus on it.

Last edited by IFIYGD; Jun 17, 2022 @ 6:30pm

muckymucks Jun 17, 2022 @ 4:50pm

Steam tried selling movies and TV shows. They were overpriced; they could be found elsewhere for much cheaper.

I also remember PC Gamer published a digital magazine on Steam. It even had a tie-in with Team Fortress 2 for an exclusive hat. It lasted a few issues then it disappeared.

Put simply: people want their gaming launcher to only sell video games for the most part.

RamiroRa Jun 17, 2022 @ 4:53pm

Movies, like said above, was tried. I think Valve should have advertised it more. As for digital comics and books, I don't think they would have worked, in my experience, people who really want to read prefer the printed media, but that's not to say that nobody would buy it.
And in the end, they would have to compete with other already entablished platforms for those media. I don't think they were willing to. Especially since trends nowadays are more of making platforms focused on one thing, not many.

Sivarg Jun 17, 2022 @ 4:59pm

alright thanks for the answers

And IFI, I just asked for a confirmation, didn't answer myself as I didn't know all of this.

Pierce Dalton Jun 17, 2022 @ 5:22pm

Steam does sell books/comics, some games offer them as dlc.

The problem with movies is no one wants to purchase single movies anymore, people want to subscribe to services that let you watch a ton of movies. That's why it didn't work.

Last edited by Pierce Dalton; Jun 17, 2022 @ 5:23pm

✨Saint✨ Jun 17, 2022 @ 6:34pm

There was simply not enough revenue to be made from such service, there are specific platforms more "specialized" in books comics and/or movies.
Steam is a gaming platform, I am glad it is like this, the Steam library is already a chaos as it is imho (sarcasticly).

Sivarg Jun 17, 2022 @ 6:48pm

Originally posted by ✨Saint✨:
There was simply not enough revenue to be made from such service, there are specific platforms more "specialized" in books comics and/or movies.
Steam is a gaming platform, I am glad it is like this, the Steam library is already a chaos as it is imho (sarcasticly).

:saint:

haha i see what you mean but the more the merrier no? and alright Pierce I see what you mean :D What you stated there is me with comics haha. I dont want to buy them physically. They take up too much space.

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✨Saint✨ Jun 17, 2022 @ 7:02pm

Originally posted by Sivarg:
Originally posted by ✨Saint✨:
There was simply not enough revenue to be made from such service, there are specific platforms more "specialized" in books comics and/or movies.
Steam is a gaming platform, I am glad it is like this, the Steam library is already a chaos as it is imho (sarcasticly).

haha i see what you mean but the more the merrier no? and alright Pierce I see what you mean :D What you stated there is me with comics haha. I dont want to buy them physically. They take up too much space.

Back in the day, it was awesome to have a physical copy of your game, that often included a poster, booklets and such, more stuff for your money imo.

If you put comics in a digital format, they really loose their value. Just to make an example, Superman number one, is worth a lot of money, digitally, it is worth nothing, unless we are speaking about very specific digital art.

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