Retail Threatens Steam Ban

[the7k]

The end price of the game is not just what Activision and EA take in from the game, but also the cut that Steam takes. If Steam is the only viable distributor, that monopoly can be exerted over publishers like Activision and EA uniformly (or worse, selectively as retaliation for doing stuff against what Steam wants them to do etc.) and if they demand higher cuts of the profit from the publishers it is easy for that to be passed down to the consumer.

Monopolies are not good for the consumer. At best, they may be neutral - I can think of no realistic counter-example here, but I'm interested in hearing about a scenario like that if you can think one up.

Ivo.

If such a thing were to happen, then Activision and EA would simply stop supporting Valve and go their own route. I'm sure the big boys would have a lot of pull when they start threatening to pull Call of Duty and Mass Effect from the virtual line-up.

[YoshiEgg25]

The end price of the game is not just what Activision and EA take in from the game, but also the cut that Steam takes. If Steam is the only viable distributor, that monopoly can be exerted over publishers like Activision and EA uniformly (or worse, selectively as retaliation for doing stuff against what Steam wants them to do etc.) and if they demand higher cuts of the profit from the publishers it is easy for that to be passed down to the consumer.

Monopolies are not good for the consumer. At best, they may be neutral - I can think of no realistic counter-example here, but I'm interested in hearing about a scenario like that if you can think one up.

Ivo.

If such a thing were to happen, then Activision and EA would simply stop supporting Valve and go their own route. I'm sure the big boys would have a lot of pull when they start threatening to pull Call of Duty and Mass Effect from the virtual line-up.

I don't think that's going to happen. Having both support Steam is very beneficial for both of them.

Valve is helped loads by having Activision and EA support it. Even if they aren't the only publishers for it and may not be the cause for the majority of sales, they cause a lot of income for Valve.

Also, Activision and EA need Steam for their games. Steam is by far the biggest retailer of PC games, and them leaving hurts. Even with their large fanbase, them leaving does not mean they can easily sell somewhere else. A lot of their sales come from people who see their stuff on Steam and think "Oh, this sounds fun." They can't get those sales if 90% of PC gamers don't see their games.

[the7k]

I don't think that's going to happen. Having both support Steam is very beneficial for both of them.

Valve is helped loads by having Activision and EA support it. Even if they aren't the only publishers for it and may not be the cause for the majority of sales, they cause a lot of income for Valve.

Also, Activision and EA need Steam for their games. Steam is by far the biggest retailer of PC games, and them leaving hurts. Even with their large fanbase, them leaving does not mean they can easily sell somewhere else. A lot of their sales come from people who see their stuff on Steam and think "Oh, this sounds fun." They can't get those sales if 90% of PC gamers don't see their games.

You seriously think gamers wouldn't just pack up and move to another service if they could no longer play Black Ops? Seriously?

I mean, hell, there was just recently an uncountable number of PC Gamers who downloaded Games For Windows Live for no reason other than to get Age of Empires III for $0.10. If they'll download a service just to get cheap access to a game they didn't even want, they'll definitely do the same for a game they think they need.

I don't think anyone is going to leave anyone either. I'm just saying that IF Valve became dicks and started exerting a lot of force on other companies to get more money, those companies would push back without a moments notice.

[Erik_Twice]

Dammit, my post where I argued against JT points was lost in transmission. Since that was offtopic let's skip it, I'm also too lazy to write it again

I don't think digital downloads will "kill" mortar stores soon. First of all, people value their physical media and I very much doubt that the trust Valve has given will be rivaled for a good while.

Also as games get more mainstream the average savyness of gamers will lower so mortar stores will still be around for those people.