Is Valve's monopoly on the market a good or bad thing?

[Michael Obama]

Discuss

[michael porn]

引用自 SuLpHiDe：

引用自 Lethe：

unless valve abuses it i think steam is like the bestest thing ever in gaming history.
i can download games anywhere, anytime, as much as i want without any invasive DRM, people can distribute their games to that 10 million steam accounts instantly, easy access to patches, mods etc.
a monopoly is harmful only if they create stuff like fake scarcity of resources to influence prices etc and i dont see any similar stuff here.

it could be better though by not accepting GFWL games.

But it is evasive DRM. You practically have to always be online to play games (offline mode is poo-poo) and every game you buy is tied to your account for all eternity. Who owns the game? Or are you just renting the game?

How are you renting a game???

[Michael Obama]

引用自 SPUFExtraCheesyPie：

引用自 SuLpHiDe：

引用自 Lethe：

unless valve abuses it i think steam is like the bestest thing ever in gaming history.
i can download games anywhere, anytime, as much as i want without any invasive DRM, people can distribute their games to that 10 million steam accounts instantly, easy access to patches, mods etc.
a monopoly is harmful only if they create stuff like fake scarcity of resources to influence prices etc and i dont see any similar stuff here.

it could be better though by not accepting GFWL games.

But it is evasive DRM. You practically have to always be online to play games (offline mode is poo-poo) and every game you buy is tied to your account for all eternity. Who owns the game? Or are you just renting the game?

How are you renting a game???

Renting may be the wrong word. What I mean is your ability to play the games you own is completely dictated by Valve and Steam. So do you really "own" your games?

[crispy_gin]

its ok but far from monopoly. Xbox and PS3 both have digital markets and if you look at a lot of these games you can find them off site in one form or another even the Valve games.

[mik1306]

thing is steam is much better than origin, gamersgate, or anything like. The store is rather standard but the community functions, steamworks multiplayer system, the in game web browser and chat functions. It's just more functional.

[A Dirty Gypsie]

i wish it was a monopony, i dont want to open up 6 other game clients to play my other games

[Nacimota]

Valve doesn't have a monopoly on anything.

[ohmycosh]

Honestly a bit scared of Valve, but they certainly do not have a monopoly on the PC market. They are more than capable though, and it seems they want it.

[Dimi]

Competition is always a good thing (at least for the customer).

[My Name Is Mud]

as a consumer, yes. I don't want to have 10 different accounts, which I have to use to geet different games.
Also, valve isn't an evil company like EA who will try to get as money out of me as they can.

[EsferZ]

Just because Steam is the most used doesn't mean it's a monopoly.

[Meghterb]

I think the word "monopoly" is too harsh. Steam is the only service that is doing it right. They are very friendly with their users and I never heard much complaints from publishers too, except EA. And I think we all know that EA only complained to make an excuse to pull their games from Steam and put them on their new service as exclusives. Pity they had to return some of their games.

[Lyn]

引用自 Meghterb：

I think the word "monopoly" is too harsh. Steam is the only service that is doing it right. They are very friendly with their users and I never heard much complaints from publishers too, except EA. And I think we all know that EA only complained to make an excuse to pull their games from Steam and put them on their new service as exclusives. Pity they had to return some of their games.

Actually, there have been quite a few complaints made about the changes to Steam and their Terms of Service. Off the top of my head, I know of Nadeo (Trackmania/Shootmania), NCSoft (Guild Wars 2), and Notch (Minecraft). However, comments by these groups have been largely ignored by the community, as it is more "cool" to hate on EA than acknowledge and discuss any possible flaws in the Steam service.

[my dude]

Steam is not a monopoly. That would be like saying Apple has a monopoly.

[Taciter®]

引用自 Meghterb：

I think the word "monopoly" is too harsh. Steam is the only service that is doing it right.

This^

Valve may have emerged as the preeminent digital distributor for PC games but I personally wouldn't call their commercial position a monopoly. When I try to define 'monopoly', I usually conclude that any product or service provider which attempts to undermine the 'spirit' of the free market to artificially distort pricing and/or demand is guilty of engineering a monopoly.

Take the diamond industry, collectively they withhold stock to artificially inflate prices before drip feeding the market. I find this practice particularly distasteful. Then there's the banking sector, there are precious few options when it comes to choosing a secure holding facility for your hard earned money and banks know this so collectively they manipulate interest rates and cream the froth off investor capital (and even when they deserve to be liquidated, they simply dip into the public purse and extract whatever funds are necessary to keep them afloat).

Apple's iTunes, EA's Origin and countless other proprietary distribution clients seem positively draconian in contrast to Steam. Yes, you have to be online to register a newly installed game but as DRM goes it's pretty unobtrusive. Yes, it does require that third party development companies and publishing houses subscribe to a set of contractual policies but given the propensity for greed so frequently displayed by EA's contemptuous head shed, I welcome the protection - Valve is providing the muscle that collectively, consumers could never organise and muster.

And finally, I've yet to witness a corporate monopoly that benefits the consumer at the expense of the provider. Given the sheer frequency and scale of their discounts, I find it hard to believe that anyone could be dissatisfied with their service. I think as long as Gabe Newell resides at the head of the table, we can expect Valve to continue treating its customer base with the respect we've come to appreciate.

On that note and as an aside, I used to buy 'Newman's Own' Salad dressing on a regular basis - best vinaigrette on the market and all the proceeds went to charity. Then one day, poor ol' Paul popped his clogs and the vultures swooped in. The winning formula was changed as was the pricing model - I haven't touched the stuff since.

[[DK Krew] Modiga]

引用自 Hella Finn：

There is Origin, Gamersgate, Desura and many other sites that sell digital games.
So it isn't like monopoly at all.

Not to mention that digital downloads are a sub-market of the video game market. I don't think one can really call it a monopoly when there's an entire retail sector selling more or less the same products.