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Steam was at the right place at the right time. Also it was more insidious in its behavior. Throughout the late 2000s and 2010s most AAA games were Steam releas

Steam was at the right place at the right time. Also it was more insidious in its behavior. Throughout the late 2000s and 2010s most AAA games were Steam releases only. Even boxed copies were not much more than a Steam code. This allowed them to build a powerful network effect. At some point gamers were demanding that any new big release was a Steam release ("no steam no buy").

jabbany 4y ago
This does make some sense. Games are big (file size wise) and prone to updates. Steam helped handle this distribution in a reasonable way. It's also why people prefer app stores or package managers, because they give a predictable distribution experience over hunting for scattered software. I'd say the problem with Steam is that it should have a community-run alternative/competitor. There hasn't been much push for one since Steam isn't a walled garden and Valve has historically been pretty ethical, but still...
- matheusmoreira 4y ago
  > Games are big (file size wise) and prone to updates. Steam helped handle this distribution in a reasonable way. Indeed. Steam is the original package manager of Windows. It's so good that nobody really remembers what it was like before Steam. They don't remember downloading and manually applying half a dozen incremental patches to their games. People are used to its incredible convenience now. As far as DRM content licensing digital fiefdoms go, it's certainly the least bad. It's easy to forget that we don't really own anything on Steam. It certainly pisses me off when other studios start launching shitty alternatives to it that are even worse in every single way.
- fomine3 4y ago
  Also Steam's CDN is extremely fast in my experience. I'm surprised how MSFS2020 downloader sucks.
MisterBastahrd 4y ago
There's another factor too: Steam just plain doesn't change the store that much. When I open the Steam store to browse, I bypass literally everything to scroll to the bottom of the page. There I will find a few tabbed lists. One will show me new and "trending" games (I have no idea what they consider trending), one will show me the current top selling games, and another will show me upcoming games that are receiving hype. I rarely ever view anything else on that page unless they're running a seasonal sale.

jabbany 4y ago

This does make some sense. Games are big (file size wise) and prone to updates. Steam helped handle this distribution in a reasonable way. It's also why people prefer app stores or package managers, because they give a predictable distribution experience over hunting for scattered software. I'd say the problem with Steam is that it should have a community-run alternative/competitor. There hasn't been much push for one since Steam isn't a walled garden and Valve has historically been pretty ethical, but still...

matheusmoreira 4y ago
> Games are big (file size wise) and prone to updates. Steam helped handle this distribution in a reasonable way. Indeed. Steam is the original package manager of Windows. It's so good that nobody really remembers what it was like before Steam. They don't remember downloading and manually applying half a dozen incremental patches to their games. People are used to its incredible convenience now. As far as DRM content licensing digital fiefdoms go, it's certainly the least bad. It's easy to forget that we don't really own anything on Steam. It certainly pisses me off when other studios start launching shitty alternatives to it that are even worse in every single way.
fomine3 4y ago
Also Steam's CDN is extremely fast in my experience. I'm surprised how MSFS2020 downloader sucks.

MisterBastahrd 4y ago

There's another factor too: Steam just plain doesn't change the store that much. When I open the Steam store to browse, I bypass literally everything to scroll to the bottom of the page. There I will find a few tabbed lists. One will show me new and "trending" games (I have no idea what they consider trending), one will show me the current top selling games, and another will show me upcoming games that are receiving hype. I rarely ever view anything else on that page unless they're running a seasonal sale.