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Gamers love the concept of digital distribution but not the way Steam does it. Where do you think Steam fails in this respect? Is it simply the lack of a rent

Gamers love the concept of digital distribution but not the way Steam does it. Where do you think Steam fails in this respect? Is it simply the lack of a rental option? When I encounter limits that directly affect me, it's usually due to restrictions insisted upon by some brain dead publisher, but not by Valve. So I (as a steam "fan" [not fanboy]) are really interested in where you think the service lets you down.

iwwr 15y ago
It's the lack of a trading option. You can't give your games to someone else once you're bored with them. There are also geographic restrictions, the games you bought in the US you may not be able to play in the EU or vice-versa. Technically as well, if your account gets hacked and the hacker gets VAC-banned, there is no recourse, bans are near-impossible to overturn.
- CaptainZapp 15y ago
  Thank you. All true, but with the exception of the fact that Valve gouges their European clientele, none of that really disturbed me much. The fact that I don't have to fumble with media to me is so valuable that it balances the disadvantages out. But all your points are valid and while I probably wouldn't personally make use of a rental option it would sure be nice to have (for example: to evaluate a more expensive game before buying it. Thinking about it; This is probably the very reason why they don't have it, but I digress). Trading or gifting games would probably be a no-brainer to implement, then again it would be bad for business. Overall I just haven't found a comparable service that works so well, which probably makes me that relative fan. That doesn't mean that there's no place for improvements or a better product / service in the future.
  - ordinary 15y ago
    I don't see how being able to give away games would be bad for business. I do see how trading could hurt business, but that's a narrow view of things. It might be that the ability to trade attracts more sales than the trading itself costs. I don't know if that is actually the case, but I wouldn't be too hasty to dismiss it, either. The same goes for renting. Granting people the ability to try out a game before buying it could increase sales. Many of the games I play I don't even come close to finishing. If there were a cheaper (and easier) option to try out a game for an hour than buying the full game in a physical store and then hoping I can trade it off later on, I might very well be interested. I never quite understood why shareware games went out of favour.
  - daemin 15y ago
    It's not Valve that gouges non-US customers, it's the publishers. Having travelled to the US with a gaming capable laptop I was unable to purchase games via the US Steam store, but instead had to pay a significant amount more (in USD) to buy it from the Australian store. Just as an example now - even though the AUD and USD are hovering around parity - Deus Ex is $90 here, and I'm sure it's around or under $60 in the US. As for problems with not being able to re-sell or rent games, that's not so much of a problem for me because I don't do that anyway. I would only really need to sell such games when they take up too much physical space, and with Steam and digital delivery it's not an issue.
chollida1 15y ago
> Where do you think Steam fails in this respect? For me it's the lack of a resale option. With console games I can get them on the day they come out, beat them in a week or two and get half my money back. This means a AAA title that costs $60.00 actually only costs me $30.00. I haven't found a way to sell steam games yet:( This means that the same game on steam would have to cost half of what it costs in retail chains to be worth my while. Now Steam occasionally does have such games due to sales, but it just can't compete with the new releases.

iwwr 15y ago

It's the lack of a trading option. You can't give your games to someone else once you're bored with them. There are also geographic restrictions, the games you bought in the US you may not be able to play in the EU or vice-versa. Technically as well, if your account gets hacked and the hacker gets VAC-banned, there is no recourse, bans are near-impossible to overturn.

CaptainZapp 15y ago
Thank you. All true, but with the exception of the fact that Valve gouges their European clientele, none of that really disturbed me much. The fact that I don't have to fumble with media to me is so valuable that it balances the disadvantages out. But all your points are valid and while I probably wouldn't personally make use of a rental option it would sure be nice to have (for example: to evaluate a more expensive game before buying it. Thinking about it; This is probably the very reason why they don't have it, but I digress). Trading or gifting games would probably be a no-brainer to implement, then again it would be bad for business. Overall I just haven't found a comparable service that works so well, which probably makes me that relative fan. That doesn't mean that there's no place for improvements or a better product / service in the future.
- ordinary 15y ago
  I don't see how being able to give away games would be bad for business. I do see how trading could hurt business, but that's a narrow view of things. It might be that the ability to trade attracts more sales than the trading itself costs. I don't know if that is actually the case, but I wouldn't be too hasty to dismiss it, either. The same goes for renting. Granting people the ability to try out a game before buying it could increase sales. Many of the games I play I don't even come close to finishing. If there were a cheaper (and easier) option to try out a game for an hour than buying the full game in a physical store and then hoping I can trade it off later on, I might very well be interested. I never quite understood why shareware games went out of favour.
- daemin 15y ago
  It's not Valve that gouges non-US customers, it's the publishers. Having travelled to the US with a gaming capable laptop I was unable to purchase games via the US Steam store, but instead had to pay a significant amount more (in USD) to buy it from the Australian store. Just as an example now - even though the AUD and USD are hovering around parity - Deus Ex is $90 here, and I'm sure it's around or under $60 in the US. As for problems with not being able to re-sell or rent games, that's not so much of a problem for me because I don't do that anyway. I would only really need to sell such games when they take up too much physical space, and with Steam and digital delivery it's not an issue.

chollida1 15y ago

> Where do you think Steam fails in this respect? For me it's the lack of a resale option. With console games I can get them on the day they come out, beat them in a week or two and get half my money back. This means a AAA title that costs $60.00 actually only costs me $30.00. I haven't found a way to sell steam games yet:( This means that the same game on steam would have to cost half of what it costs in retail chains to be worth my while. Now Steam occasionally does have such games due to sales, but it just can't compete with the new releases.