Steam - The Future is Now

Mostly PC, but console and mobile too
Leisher
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Steam - The Future is Now

Post by Leisher »

Company of Heroes 2 and an expansion were or still are free on Steam this week.

Little Nightmares is free on Steam through Monday.

Epic and Amazon have been giving away free games. Did Steam join the party?
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Steam - The Future is Now

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Humble Bundle suing Valve for Steam being a monopoly.

Interesting comments by the author discussing how Valve's tactics may or may not be real, but pointing out how they avoid the elephant in the room, in that, none of Steam's competitors have anywhere near the same features nor were any smart enough to do what Valve did back in 2003.
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Steam - The Future is Now

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Leisher wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:29 pm Humble Bundle suing Valve for Steam being a monopoly.

Interesting comments by the author discussing how Valve's tactics may or may not be real, but pointing out how they avoid the elephant in the room, in that, none of Steam's competitors have anywhere near the same features nor were any smart enough to do what Valve did back in 2003.
Steam doesn’t allow publishers to sell PC games and game keys for less money elsewhere
This does harm competition, and I'd love to see it voided. Then the %age differences between game markets would matter.

Overall, I'd say Steam is a far cry from Apple's monopolistic behavior. But that provision is definitely anticompetitive.
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Steam - The Future is Now

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TheCatt wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:33 pm This does harm competition, and I'd love to see it voided. Then the %age differences between game markets would matter.

Overall, I'd say Steam is a far cry from Apple's monopolistic behavior. But that provision is definitely anticompetitive.
I'm on Valve's side.

Valve spends millions/billions developing this amazing platform/library for digital software distribution that has countless features for both developers and consumers. They did it before anyone else could even conceive of such a thing. It's also important to note that they did not then get complacent. They are constantly adding features and updating it.

They beat Microsoft to the PC gaming market, which...holy fuck...how did people at Microsoft not get fired and how does Microsoft STILL not understand that market?

So now all of the vultures come out of the woodwork after the heavy lifting has been done, want to undercut Valve's prices, and then send those customers back to Steam with their discounted game codes. The vultures profit, Valve suffers, and in turn, gamers suffer because the people now making all the sales have zero interest in giving consumers a good experience. For example: Epic has, literally, told their users to go to Steam to write reviews, contact developers, and get support for their games.

I'm also a fan and subscriber of Humble Bundle, but they have no platform and their website sucks shit. It's fucking garbage. Scrolling through your keys and library could not be more painful. The EGS is trash. GoG's launcher is trash. Battle.net only focuses on Blizzard games, and is trash. Origin is trash. Ubisoft aspires to be trash.

I get that this is business. Totally understand. I get that Valve is technically preventing any sort of price war that could erupt, but realistically, how much are we really talking about? No publisher wants to sell their triple A title they just spent millions on for a 50% discount on day 1. Publishers ALREADY bitch about the discounts Valve puts on their games during Steam sales. But yeah, Humble has the power to force them down farther... :roll:

Epic has been giving away free games, signing others to exclusivity, and didn't make a dent in Steam's market share. That alone pretty much destroys Humble's argument about Valve's policies preventing them from doing business.

Call me crazy, but the public has spoken and they want Steam. Sorry you got there late and don't want to put the time and money into developing a better platform than Steam, but as a consumer let me say fuck you.

That all being said, I would like to see Valve drop their cut of sales to 15% and get back into developing games versus developing a bunch of gadgets nobody wants.
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Steam - The Future is Now

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Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:39 am I'm also a fan and subscriber of Humble Bundle, but they have no platform and their website sucks shit. It's fucking garbage. Scrolling through your keys and library could not be more painful. The EGS is trash. GoG's launcher is trash. Battle.net only focuses on Blizzard games, and is trash. Origin is trash. Ubisoft aspires to be trash.
Sounds like they would withstand the competition then.
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I mean, they are now.

I'm just very much over the "Profit > Quality Products/Customer Service" mantra of big business. It's like every C suite executive fell asleep in class when they were covering ethics and social responsibility.

I also don't have a ton of faith in consumers to be intelligent enough to do the right thing for themselves in the long run.
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Steam - The Future is Now

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Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:00 am I'm just very much over the "Profit > Quality Products/Customer Service" mantra of big business. It's like every C suite executive fell asleep in class when they were covering ethics and social responsibility.
Profit is job #1 for a company.
Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:00 am I also don't have a ton of faith in consumers to be intelligent enough to do the right thing for themselves in the long run.
Look who hates capitalism.
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TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:20 am Profit is job #1 for a company.
Yes sir, and I'm not saying it shouldn't be, but I am saying there needs to be #1a and #1b that can sometimes supersede #1.

Only going for profit above all else is like an unemployed guy fucking all the women in a trailer park and not pulling out. He doesn't care if he gets a disease, if they get a disease, if they get pregnant, how he'll support them, and so on. Not his problem.

"Great, Earth has run out of resources, we're all starving to death, and nobody ever put a dime into getting off this rock. Humanity is doomed, but corporations made a profits, so win!" :D

Do we need to layoff 1 million cab drivers just to make the stock look good in the third quarter? Is that really what's best for the country or the world? Hell, is that short sightedness good for the actual company? Look at all the morons who saved a buck by outsourcing IT departments only to realize they completely fucked themselves and it cost more to reverse the decision.

What's wrong with a company doing the right thing for its community, country, and humanity while also making a profit? When did "We made $100 million last quarter just like the previous 10 quarters" become bad and deserve a response of "You showed no growth so you suck"?
TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:20 am Look who hates capitalism.
Why does capitalism have to be at odds with ensuring a clean and safe world and a healthy populace? I, personally, don't believe it does.

Also, to be fair to those other idiots I share the planet with, despite all of Epic's grand standing and bribes, they haven't dented Steam's market share, so maybe I'm wrong about consumers being too stupid?
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Steam - The Future is Now

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Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:04 pm Yes sir, and I'm not saying it shouldn't be, but I am saying there needs to be #1a and #1b that can sometimes supersede #1.
Then you are saying it shouldn't be.
Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:04 pm Only going for profit above all else is like an unemployed guy fucking all the women in a trailer park and not pulling out. He doesn't care if he gets a disease, if they get a disease, if they get pregnant, how he'll support them, and so on. Not his problem.
That's what regulations are for. Or shareholders, if they desire.
Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:04 pm When did "We made $100 million last quarter just like the previous 10 quarters" become bad and deserve a response of "You showed no growth so you suck"?
Well, for 1, inflation. For 2, that's kinda fine. Look at utilities or other mature, non-growth companies. And their prices reflect that lack of growth.
Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:04 pm Why does capitalism have to be at odds with ensuring a clean and safe world and a healthy populace? I, personally, don't believe it does.
In the long run, it's not. In the short run, however...
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TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:11 pm Then you are saying it shouldn't be.
Not at all what I'm saying. Checks and balances...
TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:11 pm That's what regulations are for. Or shareholders, if they desire.
So you want mommy to keep you from breaking shit? How about some personal/corporate responsibility? Also, this last year proved that normal aren't really allowed to become shareholders.
TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:11 pm Well, for 1, inflation. For 2, that's kinda fine. Look at utilities or other mature, non-growth companies. And their prices reflect that lack of growth.


Yeah, my example was shit because I didn't take inflation into account. Fair. However, the point is there. A company posting a $100M profit in Q3 shouldn't be laying off 25% of its workforce.

Maybe a better way to put this is companies can still make profits #1, but they should serve employees, their community, and customers before stockholders? I think that kind of works with the #1, #1a plan. So if a profitable (big key there) company comes up with a plan to layoff workers just to boost quarterly profits, it would get nixed because of #1a. Layoff workers because demand isn't there, a line was discontinued, a plant closed, etc., but not to artificially inflate quarterly results.

Am I explaining that better? And you are 100% right that shareholders should hold them to a higher standard, but the kind of pussy and power having your own yacht attracts is difficult to set aside. Especially when others aren't.
TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:11 pm In the long run, it's not. In the short run, however...
I'm fully on board with capitalism, I just think it needs a few tweaks. Maybe Adam Smith's invisible hand could pimp slap assholes every now and then?
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Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:23 pm Not at all what I'm saying. Checks and balances...
Which means not the #1 goal, but rather a mishmash of goals.
Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:23 pm So you want mommy to keep you from breaking shit? How about some personal/corporate responsibility? Also, this last year proved that normal aren't really allowed to become shareholders.
Company makes money. How it does that, is complicated and determined by lots of factors, obviously. But a company is unlikely to take up a burden unless they think it will win customers, absent being regulated to do so.
Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:23 pm A company posting a $100M profit in Q3 shouldn't be laying off 25% of its workforce.
What if it could make $100M without those 25%?
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Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:23 pm Maybe a better way to put this is companies can still make profits #1, but they should serve employees, their community, and customers before stockholders? I think that kind of works with the #1, #1a plan. So if a profitable (big key there) company comes up with a plan to layoff workers just to boost quarterly profits, it would get nixed because of #1a. Layoff workers because demand isn't there, a line was discontinued, a plant closed, etc., but not to artificially inflate quarterly results.
Literally their mission as a company is to serve the owners first.

But the debate is very au currant, and the Democrats would be proud of you.
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TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:33 pm Literally their mission as a company is to serve the owners first.
So let's turn all companies into ESOPs... :D
TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 1:33 pm But the debate is very au currant, and the Democrats would be proud of you.
I know, and that's fine. I have no problem aligning with Ds or Rs if they are right about something. They do lose me though when they take it too far. Companies have a right to make as much money as possible, BUT I think they should do so ethically and while being socially responsible.

Side note: I just ran my Capsim this way and did very well. I was not "the" most profitable company, but I was very profitable, extremely stable, innovative, debt free, had a triple A stock rating, and got an A in the class.
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Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 2:09 pm Side note: I just ran my Capsim this way and did very well. I was not "the" most profitable company, but I was very profitable, extremely stable, innovative, debt free, had a triple A stock rating, and got an A in the class.
You've probably played more simulation games than other classmates. :)
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TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:20 am
Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:00 am I'm just very much over the "Profit > Quality Products/Customer Service" mantra of big business. It's like every C suite executive fell asleep in class when they were covering ethics and social responsibility.
Profit is job #1 for a company.
Leisher wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:00 am I also don't have a ton of faith in consumers to be intelligent enough to do the right thing for themselves in the long run.
Look who hates capitalism.
He's saying , maybe shift the focus slightly back to making art.

Long live Westwood and Sierra.
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TheCatt wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 3:50 pm You've probably played more simulation games than other classmates.
True story, although I've been pleasantly surprised by how many other adult students are attending classes.

My professor for this class actually called my cell phone to discuss questions I had about the sim and strategies I wanted to use. Super nice guy. He kind of shit on the sim calling it "too rigid". For example, if I produced 5K sensors in one market and sold them for $1, while my competition sold them for $33K, mine would not sell like you would expect if the age of the product isn't old enough, the size large or small enough, and so on. Plus, he told me that demand is fixed so you can figure out exactly how many sensors sell every year. The worst part of the whole thing though is that you are expected to improve your sensors every year, while also investing in your people and production facilities, AND the customers in this sim also expect you to lower your price by $.50 every year. You know, just like in real life where products are damn near free and prices never go up... :roll:

Oh, and your second shift people are time and a half. They aren't working overtime. They're just paid more than the first shift for some reason and you cannot negotiate that pay. You also have no access to suppliers, so no looking for better or cheaper parts and no leaning on suppliers for discounts.

I'm quite certain there are kids in the class who are simply copying exactly what some YouTube video has shown them. I've seen those videos when I was trying to figure out strategies in week 1. Some of them have numbers way too close, and they're not making business decisions that are anything like real life. They're simply gaming a simulation that is not programmed to throw a monkey wrench at them.

It's honestly been fun doing it off the cuff and running something "the right way" without going into massive debt. And holy shit, some of the other students are crazy in debt. Approaching a billion dollars in the negative debt. Good on them for not cheating, but I hope they're learning from their mistakes.

I wish you could give it a go. I think it's something you'd enjoy tinkering with.
GORDON wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 5:08 pm He's saying , maybe shift the focus slightly back to making art.

Long live Westwood and Sierra.
Yes sir.

You can make a boatload of money, afford mistresses, yachts, and so on, but still make your company sustainable, invest in employees, pay taxes, make quality products, adhere to laws, and so on. Just post a $1B Q4 profit instead of $1.1B...
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We had something like that for our marketing class. My team won. We crushed everyone. The sim had some similar shortcomings, basically once we got one popular product, people would buy everything else we made, and demand was very inelastic due to that (ie we made massive profits).

There weren't youtube videos we could cheat from back then :)
Leisher wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:16 am ou can make a boatload of money, afford mistresses, yachts, and so on, but still make your company sustainable, invest in employees, pay taxes, make quality products, adhere to laws, and so on. Just post a $1B Q4 profit instead of $1.1B...
But then how do you get the helicopter deck on your yacht?
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I really do believe that if every corporation wasn't so greedy, prices would adjust and heli decks would be more affordable for billionaires.

Added bonus: Many people wouldn't want to find such yachts, slaughter everyone on board, and mount their heads on the bow as a warning to other elites. :D
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If you didn't notice, the summer sale has begun.
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