Viable alternatives to Steam

[Cinnamon Buns]

As a community the best way to save something we love is to give it proper competition. Right now Steam is essentially a monopoly, and that allows Valve to pull things like paid modding. I recommend starting by supporting the new GOG client (Galaxy). The Wither 3 is a pretty good modern game availible on it if you wanted to know where to start. Where else should we go to try to break this monopoly?

[Laptop]

If you think EA and Ubisoft are any better, you're dead wrong.

[Cinnamon Buns]

Originally posted by eram:

You are aware you can use more than one service at the same time? PC's are amazing things, they allow you to install many different types of programs on the machine at the same time.

Of course, and I'm not advocating leaving Steam completely. I just belive that we should do everything in our power to create some sort of competition in PC gaming. Otherwise the "free market" won't regulate itself and consumers end up getting screwed. We should buy games in other places whenever possible.

[Cinnamon Buns]

Originally posted by Laptop65:

If you think EA and Ubisoft are any better, you're dead wrong.

I didn't mention Uplay or Origin, but honestly I don't see the problem with using them in order to cause Steam to stay on its toes. If those services have good sales then we shouldn't refuse to use it just because it's EA and Ubisoft. Valve needs strong competition or they can make moves that are blatantly against the interest of PC gamers.

[Cinnamon Buns]

Originally posted by eram:

No one is stopping you. If the other services were clever they would be promoting the heck out of themselves right now, adding new features, offering free mods etc. They missed a trick over the weekend. I'm moving this to the community section for further discussion.

No one may be stopping me, but the impact of a single person trying to diversify is less than negligible. People need to realize that locking themselves into such a close embrace with what is essentially a monopoly is not good for them or the future of PC gaming.

[T.]

Originally posted by eram:

No one is stopping you. If the other services were clever they would be promoting the heck out of themselves right now, adding new features, offering free mods etc. They missed a trick over the weekend. I'm moving this to the community section for further discussion.

You are just a moderator here, so don't expect i will respect you.

[Kittens]

nice nice hahaha

[Satoru]

Devs will continue to choose steam because there is no competition

No one else has a robust patching and middleware platform that provides what customers actually want. Steam gives users what they want. Steam gives devs what they want.

Everyone else is literally 5-10 years behind.

[HLCinSC]

Devs can put their games on any service, but Steam offers the easiest implementation with the most uses and most features. Do any other services even have a built in workshop? It's easy to say we don't let modders charge for mods if they want to if you don't even have mods.

Personally, I just use istheanydeal.com and buy my games wherever they are the cheapest unless there is some particular reason I would want it on a certain platform.

[Marco Schepper]

Steam is for most people the easiest platform, as the choices are great, the updates are automatic, many shops sell keys for Steam-games... and so on (not talking about the PAY-workshop, but it was clear Valve would use the opportunity to make extra-money sooner or later).
Soooo, not easy to compete Steam. Microsoft tried and failed badly - and at least there you have to admit it wasn't a problem of money or ressources. And other than eram suggests, most people DON'T like to use multiple platforms. There is lazyness too in the equation.
I am not the perfect Steam user - go see the legal stuff you accepted by using this platform and you know why - but for me lazyness is a big point, even if I use other platforms, too. And there I have to add that 3 out of 8 other platforms I used disappeared during the last 5 years while Steam still persists (and gets another lazyness-point - no need to change).