StingingVelvet wrote on Aug 10, 2011, 18:42:
Dude, you couldn't be more wrong. You couldn't be less understanding of my entire point if you tried.
Not agreeing with your point isn't the same as not understanding it.
A well reviewed and well received indie game not getting on Steam and therefore suffering from lack of interest by people who treat Steam as PC gaming itself is EXACTLY my point. It's not an aside what-so-ever.
Your point is meaningless because we don't have all the facts and it's a single game. I can point to a big successful indie game that didn't even try to get on Steam. Whoop de doo. Every DD service has rules and standards, end of story. Should Steam's approval process be more transparent? Sure, that's something I can get behind. Is it wrong for them to have one in the first place? No.
Uh, okay then. I guess you know me better than I know myself.
Hold them equally accountable then in the future and stop using justifications to blame Steam on one hand while absolving EA on the other just because Steam is involved.
They'll branch out for huge games they don't want to miss like Diablo 3 and Battlefield 3, and hopefully that means they will be more likely to branch out the next time a good indie comes out without a Steam release.
Remains to be seen and still ignores the fact that the irrational people who swear to only buy games on a specific service are less likely to respond to ultimatums.
Sure, but that's only worthwhile if you make money doing so. If the only way to really make money is to be on Steam then Valve essentially become your publisher and have their own list of requirements and suggestions.
It's a good thing there are many ways to release games and that Steam isn't the only way to make money on the Internet then.
q[I don't have as much faith in consumers as you do I guess, and Valve don't need to buy out their competitors when they handily control the market without doing so.
I don't need faith, the PC is an open platform that could only be locked down through hardware. Steam and other digital distribution services are largely shaped by consumer and industry demands. The industry has already shown repeatedly how it reacts when companies attempt to monopolize it (by fracturing) and consumers have shown resistance to being forced down paths they won't want.
In the end if the entire industry releases games on Steam it will be because the majority of both wanted it and I don't think most people really give a shit how they get their games, it's just that Steam is literally the best option right now. Companies like EA simply need to do better.