Until any competing store releases a Linux client, I can't really argue against Steam. They are a gatekeeper and almost a monopoly, but they're also the most benevolent and pro-consumer gatekeeper that we have in the PC gaming distribution space. As long as all the competition continue to be Windows-only and, in some cases, actively work against Linux users, I don't want Valve's digital fiefdom to fall.
this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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I'm not sure "gatekeepr" is the right term when all you do is simply being better for your customers than anyone else. Like, Ubisoft, EA, Epic, they all are garbage companies. GOG is the only store I'd mildly consider (ignoring tiny indie ones like Itch here), but they also have 0 interest in Linux support, which is where they lose me. Without Valve, Linux gaming would not be where it is today, and as a Linux user that is already like 85% of my decision making being done in favor of Valve - with the remaining 15% not all strictly being in another camp either. If someone wants to challenge that monopoly, they'd have to do something better than forcing exclusives or luring with "free" games, because that's some shady shit that makes me just want to stay away even more.
How are they a gatekeeper? Near monopoly sure. But they don't force companies to only publish on Steam. They don't have restrictive rules. I'm not sure what gate they are keeping.
Valve is interesting. Enshitification is the standard for something like social media. Corporations are the real customer and users do creative labor to keep it valuable.
Valve flips the script. Developers struggle because they are only expected to labor. Studios don't get the full value of their labor. They might be a huge corporation but they are a worker to valve
One of the only good stores is suddenly the asshole but not because they did something wrong, its because everyone else sucks.
Fuck that. They aren't responsible for other's failures. GOG and itch.io are around and doing fine and aren't hated, if GOG would finally make a Linux GOG Galaxy without having to go through troublesome third Party tinkering (compared to steam) it would be a great competitor. But Epic and the other "stores" just suck ass lack features lack community lack privacy and generally suck ass. That's not valves fault.
if GOG would finally make a Linux GOG Galaxy without having to go through troublesome third Party tinkering (compared to steam) it would be a great competitor.
I still think this is a huge blunder by GOG. There has to be a very significant overlap in the user base of DRM free software and Linux.
At least Heroic has matured very well and GOG partnered up with them so something is moving.
By far not enough sadly, and they could literally just integrate proton into a store that runs on Linux, proton is open source (besides some steam API stuff).
Its not hard and them not doing it shows how little CDPR actually cares about GOG, its either running or not they don't really give a fuck. And for that it works good all things considered.
CDPR aren't gamers' friends. Look at the transphobia controversy. Look at promising no crunch and then crunching anyway. CDPR are the "how do you do fellow kids" of the gaming industry. Everything they put out is greenwashed garbage.
OK, let's be real, everything gets labeled trans phobia and I bluntly don't give a fuck about it anymore.
You can put any word and afterwards trans phobia in to the search engine of your choice and you will get results, I've already seen a article claiming that cheese is anti trans and hate on women.
I don't believe you. Google doesn't show that article, and I followed your instructions to the letter. I think you're making stuff up.
I still don't believe you. That article doesn't mention transphobia at all. It makes a point about sexism, and sexism isn't the same thing as transphobia. Your claim that there's an article saying cheese is transphobic is false. Also, I agree with the article. I love drinking breast milk, but only if she consents. And cows can't consent.
I might have mixed the example up but the point still stands.
There are two reasons that common things might often be accused of immorality:
- Snowflakes these days are too sensitive
- We live in a fundamentally unethical society and have serious work to do to fix it
I believe in 2. Do you?
Wow.
I believe in nither, I can think for myself and can form my own opinions about shit.
Glad to hear Gog is partnering with Heroic. Heroic is pretty slick, and only getting slicker. Shame to waste effort, and much better than forking and not contributing to upstream.
Digital fiefdoms like who, you ask, as if you don't already know the answer? "Valve is the most egregious example," says Gavrilović. He hopes for a future where devs, not digital feudal lords, have more power, "but I lack the imagination to envision the replacement of Valve with a community owned alternative. That 'winter castle' will not fall as easily, but we should at least start openly discussing alternatives."
Make an opensource game store that's owned by a non-profit and paid for by the game studios that want to sell on it, giving them a say on how things should run.
That could easily be abused by the big players, and would be.
How?
We will find a unicorn before that simply because such a store isn't easy to keep up and because things turn political real fast, wich is why steam is run like it is.
I feel like some journalist got high as fuck with a dev, wrote out a fucking fever dream of... drivel and then the editors were like fuck it, Tim Sweeney pays us to post some hit pieces against Valve and this is all we got this month so we'll just run with this.
I don't know if a spiritual successor will be as good. I mean, it wasn't exactly the gameplay that made it so compelling; it was the writing. None of the supposed successors being made rn have the writers from the original game.
It also is a shame it wouldn't be set within Elysium; a very well built world that is as exciting as it is mysterious.
Summer Eternal has Tuulik and Red Info has Rostov and Kurvitz
I agree and hope that what comes after it is even better at supporting gaming on GNU/Linux and contributing to various libre and opensource projects like KDE and Proton and Mesa and such.
Steam obsessed people always cry about the lack of "features" in other stores, as if a game store + launcher needs features other than being able to buy and launch games.
Hell, I don't even want to launch games. Just let me buy and download an exe (oh yeah, GoG does that, which is why I use GoG whenever I can...)
Sucks for devs that people just won't buy their game if it isn't on Steam though :/ Idk how to change peoples' behaviour, unless Steam does something egregiously bad to users
Your wants and needs are different from other people's wants and needs, doesn't mean other people are wrong.
One of those features is Proton. Thanks to Steam I can play every game I am interested in, without the need to install Windows.
GoG sometimes pushes out Linux installers that they immediately stop supporting, resulting in non-working games. Fuck that.
Steam was around for long enough, with it's array of features, that I have grown accustomed to having them. Even when it first launched, Steam was more than just a store and library. It had Friends and, while not yet integrated into the app itself, they also provided the User Forums for every single individual game.
Even as just a store and ignoring all the other periphery features, it has more features for actually finding things than any other digital market for buying games. Not to mention sales, user reviews, and more.
Steam is widely regarded as the best option because they do things in the interest of their customers, instead of shareholders with a stake in the company.
Steam is fast. Epic is slow. Epic is always asking me to 2FA to access my library of free games. Epic takes minutes to load their store homepage.
Dont buy your game codes on steam if you use steam!
Gamestop sells them among others.
Hard to walk away from steam services but GoG is non drm, so once they get better linux integration going start a library there.
Bottom line everyone should be disturbing their spend among various players.
While steam is great, once gabe is ded, we are cooked frogs.
Eh… I have a 500+ game library on GOG and moved back to Steam in 2020. Steam just has too many good features. I’m at the point where I don’t really care about DRM anymore. I know that’s an unpopular opinion but after 20+ years I realize it’s just a boogeyman.
When DRM is implemented without problems (unlike denassvu) its generally absolutely not relevant when you buy a game.
That's your opinion dawg... my opinion is that i don't to pay for that trash, so now I don't.
I have other options when I don't like how a vendor behaves ;)
I can keep this up as long as fit grey markets exit and/or Fitgirl is around. So prolly until I am dead.
These shiti corpo operations should get a hint, this aint rent or food lol 100% discretionary media with apple options
Bro its not my problem what you do but when you Pirat stuff then don't complain about evil steam allowing publishers to protect their stuff.
Shure I pirated games as well, especially from big greedy companies, but I don't go around whining that people want to get paid for work.
Its really telling how low you value the work people put into the things you like. You sound like a gamer Karen.
But so everybody is clear, buying shiti corpo products does not help devs who already laid off by the shiti corpo after the crunch. You are not paying the developers as humans, you are paying a legal entity collecting rent. Some of that money will be used to retain min amount of staff required to maintain minimum service.
Once corpos start to "value the work people put into the things you like" we can revisit this topic.
Fucking disgusting bootlicking, learn how businesses and this specific industry operates before you say idiotic shit that is not factually correct.
Bro I've only bought indie games for the last 10 years when we make a exception for Anno 1800... Wich was a grate game and those devs are treated great as they are the only consisting cash cow ubisoft has.
You are as said just a karan (maybe a kyle I don't care) gamer.
I take your ramblings as a "I don't want to pay for the games I play and love because I hate [insert leftist sounding dog whistle]" while in reality you enjoy the games and think you are special for beig a good person because you didn't support capitalism.
You are not. You are a cheap liar that tells himself he is so smart and genius (looking at your instance name here as well...) all while you shit on others that want to get paid for work, and I know why that is, you probably never worked a day in your life.
I pay for products I decided worth my money, I am sorry your feelz get hurt when exercise my rights to vote with my wallet.
Paying corpos has nothing to do with developers getting paid. Again, learning how the commercial operations are actually ran.
Brain dead takes:
you probably never worked a day in your life.
all while you shit on others that want to get paid for work
think you are special for beig a good person because you didn't support capitalism
You made up these points and you failed to address crux of my argument.
Juvenile.
I'm just gonna block you, you behave like a toddler.
See yah, or rather not.
🤡
I would not call it a booegyman... it is a non burger for avg gamer tho.
But for people who think bigger, it is a valid concern IMHO. Also, if it is not for people who think bigger, we would never big here tech wise.
If we keep accepting current trends, everything will get shittier...
Steam is an exception to this maxim, but for how long?
Steam is literary labeling denuvo as unwanted feature... They are a market place. Not the publishers.
I'd really like it if Valve waits for until after I get a pile of external hard drives before they go under.
They won't go under. They are managed with good knowledge and in good faith towards all people involved in the game processes (devs, publishers, gamers and themselves)