MattyC wrote on Jan 2, 2020, 19:47:
Prez wrote on Jan 2, 2020, 09:22:
Valve was breaking new ground when they launched Steam and thus there was no model to follow. They were basically making things up as they went along and fighting whatever fires popped up as they came.
I would think that goes both ways. Steam had no competition and thus nothing to compare it with. We knew it was a complete shit show, but there was nothing to point and say "why didn't they do it like <X>." Steam in 2004 was a large soft opening for Valve. It wasn't a sales platform yet. It was just a buggy mess, forced on people to not just get HL2, but to continue to play HL1. It didn't become a real digital storefront right away.
At any rate, Steam did have issues on things that you could compare. We had server browsers, chat clients, and friend trackers. They worked, but Steam's sure didn't. It didn't just not work at launch either, it didn't work for years.
Steam is my preferred store and I can't see that changing anytime soon. People do, however, need to take off the coke bottle rose tints they seem to don whenever they look Steam's way.
Rag Doll Kung Fu was the first non-Valve game on Steam... showed up October 2005.
Steam server browsers worked just fine right at launch.
Friends list was added 2005ish, hard to find the exact timing.
This comment was edited on Jan 2, 2020, 20:53.