[QUOTE=MightyMax;35811542]In that case, Steam isn't a monopoly. They DON'T charge high prices.[/QUOTE]
lmao.
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;35811593]Infact, it's probably due to the fact that they have such a large market share that publishers are willing to give the go ahead on cheap game sales, which tend to earn a lot of money. If they didnt have that big share, publishers probably wouldnt be willing to put up their games on sale quite so cheaply.
In my opinion, they're doing a monopoly (if you can call it that) the right, sensible way.[/QUOTE]
I agree, never meant it in a negative way. What I find surprising is that no government has stepped in yet. Here in the netherlands we have the supermarket chain Albert Heijn for example, which isn't allowed to open any more stores because their market share is too high. They use that power to lower prices, not raise them. This is bad for food producers because they can't do much beside lowering the price, as if they lose AH as a client they'd lose like 50% of their income from the netherlands.
A monopoly works both ways, it doesn't always negatively affect consumers. (of course in the case of steam, no one should complain as it's all fairly fair).
[QUOTE=The golden;35811541]I usually buy my games retail. It's more cost effective (bandwidth caps ahoy) and I like getting tangible goods for my money. What I don't like is coming home and having to tie my game to Steam. In my eyes, that is surrendering freedoms which I would otherwise have if it were non-steamworks. Not only is the game not mine in the first place, it's even less mine when it's Steam tied.
[/QUOTE]
Valve has multiple times said on multiple places (Even in the EULA I believe) that if, for some reason, the Steam network has to shut down. They will allow everyone to download the games and keep them. They are yours even if they are tied to your account.
And I've seen a lot of people complain about having problems with the Offline mode. I travel a lot by train and I have used Steam in offline mode on my laptop a lot without trouble.
Oh and as far as the other points. You can turn off the ingame overlay if that annoys you in the settings. I personally love the idea of having the browser there. You can make it not sign onto friends too every time you start the client.
Lastly, put it in Small Mode and it will basically turn into a list for your games and nothing more.
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;35811511]I'm arguing that they have a monopoly, not that they're using it. Having a monopoly does not automatically mean you're using it, just means that you could, and valve could if they wanted to.[/QUOTE]
They don't have the power to charge high prices. Sure, they could raise their prices, but pretty much every game on steam is available from another source. They don't control the market.
[QUOTE=dogmachines;35811936]They don't have the power to charge high prices. Sure, they could raise their prices, but pretty much every game on steam is available from another source. They don't control the market.[/QUOTE]
And how would you know that
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;35811998]And how would you know that[/QUOTE]
Because Valve doesn't control Gamestop, Wal-mart, Best Buy, or any other retailer that sells games. This means they can't raise their prices without people using other methods en-masse.
[QUOTE=dogmachines;35812032]Because Valve doesn't control Gamestop, Wal-mart, Best Buy, or any other retailer that sells games. This means they can't raise their prices without people using other methods en-masse.[/QUOTE]
You mean those shops that now only sell xbox games and wow + starcraft?
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;35812053]You mean those shops that now only sell xbox games and wow + starcraft?[/QUOTE]
Regardless of their current stock, Valve can't stop them from getting more.
[editline]3rd May 2012[/editline]
Besides retailers that sell physical copies, there are digital retailers like Amazon.
I don't like dividing my games across to game clients, Origin isn't a total mess, it's the fact that some games are on origin and some are on steam, making my life inconvenient.
[QUOTE=Cows Rule;35812089]I don't like dividing my games across to game clients, Origin isn't a total mess, it's the fact that some games are on origin and some are on steam, making my life inconvenient.[/QUOTE]
1st world problems. Seriously though, the main thing wrong with Origin is that it is a badly made version of steam. It's ugly, it's buggy, and combined with the bullshit DRM that EA uses(PC users of Mass Effect 3 can't play multiplayer right now, for example), it leads to people only using the client because a few good games are on it.
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;35811998]And how would you know that[/QUOTE]
Because Valve are, for the most part, distributors, they don't actually set the prices for most games on steam, that's up to the publishers.
[QUOTE=RayvenQ;35812135]Because Valve are, for the most part, distributors, they don't actually set the prices for most games on steam, that's up to the publishers.[/QUOTE]
They could use their market share to force a lower price, hypothetically.
the only thing you're doing right is the logo.
Releasing 2 highly anticipated games and force people to use your shitty beta version of steam to play them is beyond disgraceful.
for shame, EA. for shame.
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;35812159]They could use their market share to force a lower price, hypothetically.[/QUOTE]
Not really, they kinda depend on the publishers to allow them to sell the games that they sell. Force, no, convince and make it appealing to publishers to lower the price? Yes.
I mean hell, look at GAME and its near death, f they hadn't been yanking publishers chains so badly, the big publishers may have been a bit more willing to play ball with them
[QUOTE=Aetna;35809476]I don't mind Origin, I just dislike Battlelog.[/QUOTE]
I dislike having my BF3 shortcut start Origin which starts Battlelog which starts the game. Overly complicated.
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;35812159]They could use their market share to force a lower price, hypothetically.[/QUOTE]
Then you'd think that Steam's low prices would force competitors to lower their prices. Yet they don't, so they don't seem to have that power. Also as someone mentioned, Valve only really sets the prices for the games they own, most of the games are priced by their respective publishers. That's why COD goes for 59.99 on Steam still.
[QUOTE=Im Crimson;35812346]Then you'd think that Steam's low prices would force competitors to lower their prices. Yet they don't, so they don't seem to have that power. Also as someone mentioned, Valve only really sets the prices for the games they own, most of the games are priced by their respective publishers. That's why COD goes for 59.99 on Steam still.[/QUOTE]
this.
Like someone said earlier, they're just a digital retailer AND gives you a library to keep all your purchases in on place.
Do they really want feedback?
1. Who ever set the prices for these are on drugs. Why does Glamour Life Stuff (A near content-less shit heap of an expansion) cost twice as much as the best expansion for The Sims 2?
[IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3536420/YourEAondrugs.PNG[/IMG]
2. Why does Origin hang for half a minute when I resize its window?
3. The storefront shows no useful information such as sales and top sellers in addition to being buggy.
4. Storefront search is useless. When trying to find the prices for the items in point one, search came back with things like Army of Two, Battlefield and FIFA. I searched for 'The Sims 2' why are you returning with unrelated items?
5. Betas and Demos are permanently tied to your account.
[IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3536420/EAcartelpawn.PNG[/IMG]
Its been how long since this beta ended and this is still here? Sure I have it set to be hidden, but why the hell is it still on my games list?
6. Registering legacy games is a clusterfuck. In order to register some games on Origin you have to go to one of three different locations.
I. The Origin client. Most games don't register from here oddly enough.
II. [URL]https://activate.ea.com/activategame.do[/URL]
III. [URL]https://activate.ea.com/applyentitlement.do[/URL]
I don't know how to even explain this shit. Crysis 1 is supposedly able to be registered from the second option but every time you try to it says that it can't be processed right now and that you should try later. (Don't bother it always says that) A few other select games work fine however, just not Crysis apparently.
I would go on but as you can see my experience with Origin have been less than optimal.
In conclusion, when Steam came out it was sort of pushing unknown territory at the time leading to unforeseen issues but that was in 2002. EA had 10 years to catch up in fact Origin as a code base has existed since 2005. Whats their excuse?
All the hate aside, here's some positive feedback that I can't say about Steam.
+Offline mode hasn't caused me trouble.
+I have control of the installation and its directory.
+DRM isn't forced in all games.
+Minimalistic design.
+Doesn't automatically kick the client currently logged in if opened from another location.
[QUOTE=Silikone;35812804]
+Doesn't automatically kick the client currently logged in if opened from another location.[/QUOTE]
Actually they recently removed this feature. Logging in from another location now kicks you out of your session on the other device.
Origin is a fucking joke.
I was checking out the free games section and on the top of the list included "the sims 3 teaser".
A TEASER IS NOT A FUCKING "FREE" GAME.
[QUOTE=Silikone;35812804]All the hate aside, here's some positive feedback that I can't say about Steam.
+Offline mode hasn't caused me trouble.
+I have control of the installation and its directory.
+DRM isn't forced in all games.
+Minimalistic design.
+Doesn't automatically kick the client currently logged in if opened from another location.[/QUOTE]
I never really have any of those issues actually.
[QUOTE=Zanfall;35812587]longpost[/QUOTE]
they probably had sore hands from rubbinghandstogetherevilly from all that money they got that they had no time to work in the code
I can't even open the damn overlay half the time, and when it does open, it crashes when I get my friends list up.
I dont trust buying things from origin, didnt buy ME3 cause of that.
[QUOTE=The golden;35811590]Australians would beg to differ[/QUOTE]
It's not Steam that sets the prices though, it's the publishers
It has a fast ingame webbrowser ......... unlike Steam
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;35809878]Steam has an estimated 70% market share, that's called a monopoly. It matters not how many services there are if there's one that has 3/4th of the market share.[/QUOTE]
Ever think that they might have the largest market because they're actually good and Origin is literally the software equivalent of dogshit
[QUOTE=zzaacckk;35814274]It has a fast ingame webbrowser ......... unlike Steam[/QUOTE]
Steam's ingame browser is fast as long as you have a decent PC.
[QUOTE=BuffaloBill;35814320]Steam's ingame browser is fast as long as you have a decent PC.[/QUOTE]
Does anyone remember the browser before the major UI update? It made my computer cry.
[QUOTE=Tacosheller;35814286]Ever think that they might have the largest market because they're actually good and Origin is literally the software equivalent of dogshit[/QUOTE]
Ever read any of my other posts?
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