Steam - The Future of PC Gaming ?

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

I live in the U.K so I'm not sure if my experience is replicated elsewhere in the world.

There were several events that lead to the hypothesis above.

1) The loss on the high street of several retailers who used to sell PC games - Woolworths, Virgin, Blockbuster
2) That even if they still exist many stores who used to sell PC games don't any more - HMV do not, WH Smiths do not, Sainsburys almost never do, my local giant Tescos has now stopped stocking PC games, Morrisons have very few (although they occasionally have some very good value Ubisoft compilations)
3) PC Gamer, still retailing for an eyewatering £8.00, now gives Steam codes instead of discs.

If I were Steam I would be worried. People want what they see. No high street and particular no supermarket games retailing means there is no shop window for the non converted.

Should we then give the kiss of death to PC gaming ? There are actually strong arguments against doing so.

At this point I must confess that I am an ideologically committed computer/ PC gamer. I have never owned a games console. The reason is that I was never prepared to pay between £30.00 and £80.00 for a single computer game.

So from my biased perspective I would argue that the consoles are moribund. Firstly, and cynically, there is no backwards compatability. Anyone updating their system loses their entire back catalogue which usually happens once every four to five years. And whilst space terms may make it feasible to have two or three laptops in use the chances are that there is only ever likely to be one console plugged into your television. Secondly they seem imaginatively dead. Most games released on current console platforms are versions of long running franchises and there's the problem that own brand games never cross to competitor platforms. If you can only afford one console buying a Playstation means you won't get the chance to play Mario or Pokemon. Thirdly in a world where wage pressure on Western employees is ever downward the more people won't be prepared to pay console prices for games.

Mobile phones ? I'm sorry but amateur time. The wonder of touch screen technology cannot match the precision and speed of mice and game pads. The result is games for the thick of thumb and the thick of head. A world where mobile phones were the only gaming platform would be a world where "Angry Birds" and "Candy Crush Saga" would represent the zenith of gaming. I know. Leave your lights on when you go to sleep.

Steam's advantage is hardware free from licence fees and a catalogue of games extending into the thousands, many of which can be purchased for less than £5.00.

Also most of the innovation in gaming comes from the PC. The Sims, Mass Effect, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Terraria. All started as PC games.

However I can't remember the film which said "Commercial death is an explanding share of a declining market". It had Danny Devito in it. I know - Google, IMDB - do it if you want.

I have a vested interest in Steam's continuing survival because I've probably got already about £50 worth of software that will stop working if Steam's servers are switched off.

The key issue is likely to be the Steam console and how it is marketed. Part of the issue is going to be that a significant number of console users lack any technical ability beyond put in the disc and play so any new products are going to have to be lowest denominator compatible - in accessibility if not game complexity.

Also a Steam that exists entirely in cyberspace won't sell consoles. They'll need to get the hardware into the computer shops, electrical goods retailers, and critically the supermarkets.

Furthermore hardware does not sell consoles, software sells consoles. To be a success Steam should have accessible at launch more titles than are available on both the current Playstation and Nintendo consoles combined.

This doesn't have to be new software. A variety of price points could attract large consumer interest. Software retailing at £40 - £60+ is usually going to be for Christmases and birthdays alone. Software selling at £5.00 is discretionary purchase zone and much more amenable to pester power. I think such a move by Steam could cause Microsoft, Nintendo, and Playstation to have so many cows they could supply McDonalds for a year.

However playing in the console market means playing with the big boys. Consumers used to the big players' professional sheen won't be happy with buggy, shoddy games sold as works in progess.

For its commercial credibility Steam will have to tighten up its consumer protection. Having to explain to the CEO of Walmart (ASDA in UK) why their customers returned thousands of games isn't going to be pleasant or commercially sound. Any game sold by Steam will have to match its description and be of merchantable quality. If it isn't the consumers need to get their money back.

A solution might be in library delving. It might take a relatively short time and little expenditure to produce versions of classic games compatible with modern games systems. I know versions are available on the internet but they usually come with enough malware to down a server. A game that made only £100,000 might be very cost effective if it only took one tech guy one week to convert it.

Success breeds success. The more successful Steam became the more people would want to write games for it.

The future is yet unwritten. But I think that Steam may be the best hope for an innovative and imaginative games industry. And if it doesn't - I think we can kiss goodbye to any significant innovation until the first full immersion equipment becomes commercially available.

S.x.

[mikO]

Steam would never die. If anything Console's would.

[armedready]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από crunchyfrog:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Quint S. Akemi:

You don't own the games legally. It's not like a cartridge that you can transfer to your friends. It is a non-transferrable license.

It's basically the same, except when it's under dispute -- Valve reserves the ability to terminate that license, unless your game is DRM-free. I am not sure under what conditions it has the right to do so, but it still reserves the ability.

Obviously, Valve would not want to exercise that ability in most circumstances, or it would be horribly damaging to their reputation. Still...

Wrong. You DO own the LICENCE legally. It means you cannot sell it or transfer it in any way, but it IS an indefinite right to use the game. There is no fundamental difference, apart from the lack of transfer.

Sure, it has the right to terminate but that's a caveat - only used under circumstances such as when fraud is used to purchase said licences. They can revoke them. It DOES NOT mean they can ever take away any legitimately purchased licence.

If they did such a thing, theft would be a clear case - and don't forget, no regional laws can EVER be overruled by any contract condition (your statutory rights are not affected).

I have heard of Steam has terminated accounts for payment disputes before & not just the game in question but all of them.One question could buying games in the flash sale flag as fraud.

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Bootis:

If Steam is the future of gaming I'll gladly stick to GOG and the like...as well as my consoles.

On a side-note:

#1. Consoles are moving increasingly towards digital download - just like Steam.
The lack of physical discs won't damage the console industry in the long-run.

#2. If most PC gamers are only willing to pay £2-5 for triple-a games there will be no more triple-a games on the PC in the future.

#3. The console market is where the profit has been for triple-a developers because these people buy more games at release price. Piracy is also less of an issue with console games.

#4. You are erroneously assuming everyone wants to play every genre there is. Every gaming platform has limits, including Steam.

#5. Gaming for mobile platforms is growing much faster, and will only get larger.

#6. Steam is increasingly becoming a monolopoly; deciding which games people have access to and how much they pay for them, and therefore the pricing developers need to set.

#7. With Steam you only rent your games, you don't own anything.

Steam already has too much power and influence in the gaming industry.

There should be more competition, more gamer choice and proper consumer ownership.
Steam is the antithesis of all this.

1) I think my issue with consoles wasn't the impact of digital downloads but that a lack of innovation and a lack of backwards compatability together with over priced software was damaging their market share.

2) This is a good point but also a complex issue. Looking at recent hits Angry Birds made a very large amount of money coming in as a low to mid price game, Candy Crush Saga made a ton of money as a free game but with paid for bonuses, Minecraft has made lots of money as a high mid price game despite significant piracy, it looks like EA are not going to radically drop the price of the Sims 3 now Sims 4 is out as they did with Sims 2 at the time of release of Sims 3, Starcraft 2 started at a premium price and still retails at £20+. The key equation is are costs < profit per item x sales. As a comparison the DVD market seems to have a fairly standard curve of opening at £12 - £15, dropping to £10, then £7.50 ish , then £5.00 before an occasional drop to £3.00 before increasing in price as production drops off. Most PC Games follow a similar pattern but not all do. Sims 2 I think took a huge sum of money because having sold very well at release prices there was then a huge second wave of sales as it was discounted. The query for E.A. is will they make more money from people who will pay out larger box prices because they realise that the games aren't going to decline in cost against those sales lost from people who simply won't pay the larger prices. At a cost of under £1.00 per disc the profit on a game at £5.00 or even £3.00 can still be significant. Digital downloads would increase the margin further. Total War games tend to follow the DVD model of opening high - say £30 - £40 then dropping down to the extent that you can pick up Rome Total War in the 3 for £5.00 section at Game. I'd agree that few developers are going to invest millions in games that start their retail at a couple of quid but a lot of music publishers are now reliant on repackaged greatest hits at £3.00 a go to keep them going.

3) Emphasis on "has been". High profit margins per game are worth little when you sell very few. I'd agree reduced piracy is a factor.

4) I think my point was that in my opinion there would be a considerable market for a games console that coukld put games out at the £5.00 retail point. Some people are as dedicated to their consoles as I am to my PCs and laptops. But many consumers can be converted - many Xbox user have apparently converted to Playstation.

5) I think that tablets are more of a threat than mobiles whose small touch screens are far too fiddly for more complex games. I suppose it is feasible that a mobile platform could develop software so good that people would buy the hardware just to play it - Pokemon proves that - but will it happen ? What is worrying is that I think there is a perceptible dumbing down in games. A world dominated by Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga clones where there is no place for masterpieces like Half Life, Baldur's Gate, or Mass Effect.

6) My hypothesis WAS that Steam is coming close to developing a monopoly in respect of PC games.

7) I think I'll save this comment for another post.

S.x.

[crunchyfrog]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από FuG chibilibi:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από crunchyfrog:

But one thing I really take umbrage over is your claim that you've never played consoles because you don't want to play £60 for games - you don't have to. I play almost all popular platforms since the Atari 2600, computer and console. There has NEVER been any reason to suggest console games are markedly more expensive. Sure, they are a little, but they drop in price just the same as PC games.

In fact, I can get used or new old console games MUCH cheaper than digital games on Steam from places such as CEX, which I'm afraid is rather contrary to what you say.

There's the thing, though. You can get OLD console games for cheaper. Well guess what? I get can OLD PC games on Steam for really cheap as well. Wolfenstein 3D, for example. $5 for a copy that will work on a modern system.

You can't deny Steam Sales are WAY cheaper than consoles. Prices for Tomb Raider 2013 on console right now are around $30-$40. It's $3.99 on Steam right now, with a standard price of $20. And the game is only a year old!

Sure, console games do eventually drop in price, but not quite to the extent that a PC version does.

No, you're quite wrong.

PC games are a little bit cheaper, as I clearly stated, and they do go down about the same amount as console games on the whole.

However, I can get - from the shops that I listed alone - games on console CHEAPER than PC, except for the odd boxed PC game that such shops stock. But the biggest point is that I can also get USED games for consoles cheaper.

And no, I DON'T mean old games. I refer to games that are less than a year old too.

About a month ago I spent £40 on console games, and got a mix of older and newer games on the last gen - 360, PS3 and Wii - totalling 13 games. I also bought £30 of PC games, very similar in age spread, and bought 6.

So, with respect if you're claiming that, you aren't looking at the whole picture. This is a fundamental reason I game on as many platforms as possible - to get the best of ALL worlds.

So, sure Steam sales CAN be cheaper than console digital equivalents. They often AREN'T cheaper than I can get console PHYSICAL equivalents for, new or used.

Maybe I just shop around more...

[chibilibi]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από crunchyfrog:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από FuG chibilibi:

There's the thing, though. You can get OLD console games for cheaper. Well guess what? I get can OLD PC games on Steam for really cheap as well. Wolfenstein 3D, for example. $5 for a copy that will work on a modern system.

You can't deny Steam Sales are WAY cheaper than consoles. Prices for Tomb Raider 2013 on console right now are around $30-$40. It's $3.99 on Steam right now, with a standard price of $20. And the game is only a year old!

Sure, console games do eventually drop in price, but not quite to the extent that a PC version does.

No, you're quite wrong.

PC games are a little bit cheaper, as I clearly stated, and they do go down about the same amount as console games on the whole.

However, I can get - from the shops that I listed alone - games on console CHEAPER than PC, except for the odd boxed PC game that such shops stock. But the biggest point is that I can also get USED games for consoles cheaper.

And no, I DON'T mean old games. I refer to games that are less than a year old too.

About a month ago I spent £40 on console games, and got a mix of older and newer games on the last gen - 360, PS3 and Wii - totalling 13 games. I also bought £30 of PC games, very similar in age spread, and bought 6.

So, with respect if you're claiming that, you aren't looking at the whole picture. This is a fundamental reason I game on as many platforms as possible - to get the best of ALL worlds.

So, sure Steam sales CAN be cheaper than console digital equivalents. They often AREN'T cheaper than I can get console PHYSICAL equivalents for, new or used.

Maybe I just shop around more...

You don't mean old games, yet you said "I can get used or new old console games for MUCH cheaper?" Alright then.

PC games might go down about the same amount as console games for non-sale prices, yes, but I've never seen a brand-new copy of a AAA game go for $7 or less on the consoles, even on sale. A used copy, maybe (used games are a little iffy when comparing prices between PC and console IMO, mainly because SOMEONE paid $60 initially and then sold it later), but never a new copy.

As for the rest of your post, I can't really argue with that. I once spent $35 on a Steam Summer Sale and got 17 games.

And yes, I think you do shop around more, because I've heard of exactly 0 of the stores you mentioned.

[crunchyfrog]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από FuG chibilibi:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από crunchyfrog:

No, you're quite wrong.

PC games are a little bit cheaper, as I clearly stated, and they do go down about the same amount as console games on the whole.

However, I can get - from the shops that I listed alone - games on console CHEAPER than PC, except for the odd boxed PC game that such shops stock. But the biggest point is that I can also get USED games for consoles cheaper.

And no, I DON'T mean old games. I refer to games that are less than a year old too.

About a month ago I spent £40 on console games, and got a mix of older and newer games on the last gen - 360, PS3 and Wii - totalling 13 games. I also bought £30 of PC games, very similar in age spread, and bought 6.

So, with respect if you're claiming that, you aren't looking at the whole picture. This is a fundamental reason I game on as many platforms as possible - to get the best of ALL worlds.

So, sure Steam sales CAN be cheaper than console digital equivalents. They often AREN'T cheaper than I can get console PHYSICAL equivalents for, new or used.

Maybe I just shop around more...

You don't mean old games, yet you said "I can get used or new old console games for MUCH cheaper?" Alright then.

PC games might go down about the same amount as console games for non-sale prices, yes, but I've never seen a brand-new copy of a AAA game go for $7 or less on the consoles, even on sale. A used copy, maybe (used games are a little iffy when comparing prices between PC and console IMO, mainly because SOMEONE paid $60 initially and then sold it later), but never a new copy.

As for the rest of your post, I can't really argue with that. I once spent $35 on a Steam Summer Sale and got 17 games.

And yes, I think you do shop around more, because I've heard of exactly 0 of the stores you mentioned.

No, again, I said new OR old games, not specifically old, as you stated. I was clearing that point up.

Well, if you've haven't heard of the stores, and you're British, I can thoroughly recommend shopto.net for a start, and keep your eye on www.cheapassgamer.com if you're US resident. Deals galore on there at all times.

I meant no disrespect in any case, as I do have the benefit of being old and retired (and therefore having a hell of a lot of time on my hands), and years of experience not just in gaming but in collecting as a whole. I can sniff a deal without thinking. I guess it comes with time.

[chibilibi]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από crunchyfrog:

No, again, I said new OR old games, not specifically old, as you stated. I was clearing that point up.

You actually did say (verbatum) "used or new old games." Was probably just a typo, though, so I now see what you were saying.

[crunchyfrog]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από FuG chibilibi:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από crunchyfrog:

No, again, I said new OR old games, not specifically old, as you stated. I was clearing that point up.

You actually did say (verbatum) "used or new old games." Was probably just a typo, though, so I now see what you were saying.

Aye, it was a typo - my typing's not the best as I'm too quick for my crotchety old fingers to keep up :) My apologies for not being clear. I was just trying to illustrate that I didn't mean SPECIFICALLY old games.
Plus, I have a frigging awful chiclet keyboard that has a lot of crosstalk, so it loves to insert the odd strange character in the mix when I'm not looking.

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

I'd accept that there has been a recent change in the market that means that second hand console games can be obtained more cheaply - partly the recession forcing people to sell more of their possessions, partly due to lack of backwards compatibility in the newest consoles.

But I'd agree with FUG that new games are still cheaper on PC than on console versions - and console games never discount like PC games do.

Something I hadn't thought of till I started Googling was that as PCs decline a lot of PC and laptop manufacturers will be keen to develop new markets. What if msi started bringing out Steam consoles ?

Plus - if the consoles use Linux isn't there a risk that PC and laptop manufacturers might dump Microsoft ?

S.x.

[crunchyfrog]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από gallifrey:

I'd accept that there has been a recent change in the market that means that second hand console games can be obtained more cheaply - partly the recession forcing people to sell more of their possessions, partly due to lack of backwards compatibility in the newest consoles.

But I'd agree with FUG that new games are still cheaper on PC than on console versions - and console games never discount like PC games do.

Something I hadn't thought of till I started Googling was that as PCs decline a lot of PC and laptop manufacturers will be keen to develop new markets. What if msi started bringing out Steam consoles ?

Plus - if the consoles use Linux isn't there a risk that PC and laptop manufacturers might dump Microsoft ?

S.x.

That's not true at all. There has been NO change that has meant console used games are cheaper. I'm equating things since the DAWN of video games. I've been buying for over 35 years.

I can tell you with evidence if you wish (as I have to keep all my purchases on spreadsheet for insurance reasons) that there has been NO noticeable change in console game prices for the last decade at least (which is as far as my computerized data goes - it was manual before then).
Furthermore, citing backwards compatibility as a reason is quite wrong, as backward compatibility was NEVER a thing - there have only ever been a handful of platforms that supported it.

Looking at more recent consoles:
PS2 has PS1 capability.
PS3 has PS1 capability (and some of the early ones had PS2, to a degree)
360 has a degree of Xbox capability.
Wii has Gamecube capability (in the earlier consoles)
Wii U has Wii capability

There's not much more than that.