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Now yes, but Apple's put them in a tricky position for the future. Thanks to the influence of iOS, Steam will be in a rather tight spot once Windows 8 rolls out

Now yes, but Apple's put them in a tricky position for the future. Thanks to the influence of iOS, Steam will be in a rather tight spot once Windows 8 rolls out (as the WinStore will be the primary source for games by default; exclusive on ARM); the presence of the App Store on OSX isn't doing them any favors either. On the flip side, if Apple wants to take the consoles head-on (a fairly safe assumption), they're going to need strong console-level games. Partnering with Valve puts them on mostly equal footing with Microsoft and Sony in terms of publisher relationships, as well as a few headliner exclusives.

tzaman 15y ago
you are right, the position is tricky, but I think partnering with Apple is the easy way out for Valve (and they'll probably loose their identity in the long run - probably not a bad thing, but still). They have a nice user base and if they'll adapt to WinStore coming out with proper counter-measures and marketing approaches (and maybe some new ideas), I think there's nothing they should be afraid of.
- ConstantineXVI 15y ago
  How doe you expect Steam to "adapt" to being near-totally shut out of their primary market? Steamworks is a moot point when Win8/MountainLion comes with Xbox Live/Game Center integration as a selling point. Like it or not, Steam's days as-is are numbered and Valve needs a new platform. Could be Apple, could be their own but they have to do something if they want a chance of surviving.
  - tzaman 15y ago
    Let me answer that with a question: How was Dropbox able to "survive" when Apple has their cloud (and I'm sure Windows will feature something similar as well)? If I remember correctly, Apple wanted to buy them and they said no. The bottom line, it can be done. Others have proven it.
    - ConstantineXVI 15y ago
      iCloud (and SkyDrive, Microsoft's equivalent) is capable of co-existing on your system with Dropbox. Dropbox even has features that iCloud lacks (files aren't limited to a single app, proper cross-platform support, photo archival, etc.) Windows Store, by design, removes the ability for Steam to function. It's technically possible to run Steam on Win8-x86, but constrained to the "legacy" desktop and denied integration of any kind with Metro. They'll be shut out completely with ARM. Their momentum will carry them for a while, but provided Metro isn't a massive failure Steam's current business model will be unviable within 5 years of Win8's launch. If they are to survive, Valve /must/ get off the PC.
  - talmand 15y ago
    As a Windows user who uses Steam as the primary method to purchase games I would say, from my experience, that Steam won't have to adapt at all. When I eventually have a Windows 8 machine one of the first things I'll install is Steam. Why would I change? I've already invested a great deal of money into it. It works quite well as a platform and for me to switch would require a superior platform to take its place, which I don't see coming in the near future. Plus, considering Microsoft's history with PC gaming it would take a great deal for me to switch to their platform from Steam. Game for Windows Live anyone? Unless Microsoft ups their game (bad pun!) in terms of actually supporting PC gaming then I would think Valve will be just fine. I'm willing to bet Xbox Live integration on Windows 8 is not a selling point to Valve's market. If someone from Microsoft suggested I should switch from Steam to their platform I would laugh in his face.

tzaman 15y ago

you are right, the position is tricky, but I think partnering with Apple is the easy way out for Valve (and they'll probably loose their identity in the long run - probably not a bad thing, but still). They have a nice user base and if they'll adapt to WinStore coming out with proper counter-measures and marketing approaches (and maybe some new ideas), I think there's nothing they should be afraid of.

ConstantineXVI 15y ago
How doe you expect Steam to "adapt" to being near-totally shut out of their primary market? Steamworks is a moot point when Win8/MountainLion comes with Xbox Live/Game Center integration as a selling point. Like it or not, Steam's days as-is are numbered and Valve needs a new platform. Could be Apple, could be their own but they have to do something if they want a chance of surviving.
- tzaman 15y ago
  Let me answer that with a question: How was Dropbox able to "survive" when Apple has their cloud (and I'm sure Windows will feature something similar as well)? If I remember correctly, Apple wanted to buy them and they said no. The bottom line, it can be done. Others have proven it.
  - ConstantineXVI 15y ago
    iCloud (and SkyDrive, Microsoft's equivalent) is capable of co-existing on your system with Dropbox. Dropbox even has features that iCloud lacks (files aren't limited to a single app, proper cross-platform support, photo archival, etc.) Windows Store, by design, removes the ability for Steam to function. It's technically possible to run Steam on Win8-x86, but constrained to the "legacy" desktop and denied integration of any kind with Metro. They'll be shut out completely with ARM. Their momentum will carry them for a while, but provided Metro isn't a massive failure Steam's current business model will be unviable within 5 years of Win8's launch. If they are to survive, Valve /must/ get off the PC.
- talmand 15y ago
  As a Windows user who uses Steam as the primary method to purchase games I would say, from my experience, that Steam won't have to adapt at all. When I eventually have a Windows 8 machine one of the first things I'll install is Steam. Why would I change? I've already invested a great deal of money into it. It works quite well as a platform and for me to switch would require a superior platform to take its place, which I don't see coming in the near future. Plus, considering Microsoft's history with PC gaming it would take a great deal for me to switch to their platform from Steam. Game for Windows Live anyone? Unless Microsoft ups their game (bad pun!) in terms of actually supporting PC gaming then I would think Valve will be just fine. I'm willing to bet Xbox Live integration on Windows 8 is not a selling point to Valve's market. If someone from Microsoft suggested I should switch from Steam to their platform I would laugh in his face.