No no..it’s going to be much worse than that.
It’ll be a subscription just to play the game you already own.
this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2024
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Anyone who thinks their steam libraries will be safe forever is delusional.
Eventually a for-profit motivated individual will gain control and they will use all their MBA learnings to maximize subscriptions, per play revenue, per download revenue and overall provide a cheaper platform.
There isn't an mba on the planet that doesn't recognize that advertising is highly lucrative and being the company that sells the most pc games means you have metrics no one else has. They'll instantly monetize advertising and the popups we get when we log in today will turn into mandatory non-skippable ads on the free tier to start a game, and they'll add their wrapper on top of games in their store, especially games that do not currently need steam to play today.
It'll only get way worse. Expect everything to be pay to play.. once gaben is gone. They have a monopoly and any leader would think they are too big to fail. No one can just take their games elsewhere... we're locked in. We're committed. We can't escape. They've got us by the balls.
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The direct transfer of power in tech is often to someone that will carry the torch. It's quite rare that a successor is picked that has been at the company for years, but wants to change practically everything about it. For that reason, I can see Gabe passing to a like-minded person that already knows that they are a succession candidate.
But ultimately none of us know Gabe, or what he plans to do. He may have a 100 step plan to secede power, or he might get to 65, say "that'll do" and just sell up and retire to a remote island somewhere. The plans might have been in place for years, or he might not want to consider Valve without him. Hell, he might not even think that Valve should exist without him. It's impossible to guess, so it's not worth worrying about...
Remember when google didn't do evil? Remember when they were hip, cool and not the living nightmare of a corporation we see of them today?
That was two CEO's in. Google under Sundar is very different to Google under Page.
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It seems worth worrying about if only to try and make valve think about the future.
Steam is just another profit business. I dont get why people think care about anything else. They take a huge part of the sells and dont even let you own the games. Owning means you can sell, give or do whatever you want with your games.
Fuckload better than ‘you need to pay a subscription just to play the game you already paid for’ cuz oh you launched it from their app.
Extreme Obesity is defined as being 100 pounds or more over your ideal weight. It is known to decrease life expectancy up to 14 years.
It's just one factor but it's a big one. Living past your 80s is really tough... and working into your 70s is really hard as it is. The reins will go from his hands likely before we die.
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I think they were just going off US averages. Our average lifespan has been declining past few years but it's pretty close to 75 if you're poor.
Gabe hasn't always taken care of his body, but he's rich, he'd be likely to hit around 88 in the US. The average lifespan in New Zealand is also a bit higher, so if he stays there then it may add a few years.
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On the one hand, yeah it's absolutely important not to idolize any company, because they have no sense of loyalty or generosity. Telling yourself otherwise is a guaranteed path to disappointment.
On the other hand, of all the shit sandwiches we've been served, Steam is one of the fresher ones. Though they developed Proton for their own benefit, it's pretty undeniable that it has made gaming on Linux way more viable than it has ever been, and it's open source. I mean no shade to FOSS solutions like Lutris, but having paid developers work on a project full-time certainly has its advantages.
I do think that the concerns about Steam's pricing rules are valid, as are gripes with its DRM for first party games. But, overall, they've brought a lot of convenience to PC gaming that is hard to find elsewhere in the gaming world.
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There is regular, for-profit business, and then there is EA/Microsoft/Amazon level for-profit.
The complete disregard for their employees, massive firings for "AI powered optimization", the use and abuse of dark pattern methods(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_pattern), are some of the things that I haven't yet head of from Steam.
Sure, ultimately Steam is a capitalist business, but it could be much, much worse.
I mean, there is your regular serial killers, and then there's ___ Insert most dangerous killers here____ . Sure ultimately I've killed a few people, but it could be so much worse. See what I mean? Steam is an ok platform but in the end they only cares about profit. But since 90% of the gamers get wet when you mentioned the company name, there's no need for them to change anything right now. Why in the world is it considered normal that a business that basically only provide server space gets to take 30% of sale price, while the devs who spent thousand of hours on a project only get 70%. Maybe it made sens 15 years ago, but not in 2024.
Their entire platform is built on goodwill. After he passes, someone is gonna cash that goodwill in for profit. Seems to be happening to Nintendo. Disney has been doing it for many years.
That is the McKinsey formula, abuse consumer trust to have them over pay expecting the previous quality of goods while you slowly slash all your costs and bottom out the quality of your product. The lag time between your actions to destroy the product and the consumer realizing that your doing is all profit.
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I mean, its possible.
But then again, people have now known the beauty of steam. If this does happen as you say it could, it does open up the possibility for someone to make a Steam_v2.
I have faith that there are enough people who are passionate about Linux that it's possible for Windows to lose some of its dominance in the future. Maybe the enshittification of steam is needed to make that a possibility.
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The fact that people non ironically visit 4chan in 2024 kind of worries me
I have heard for years and years that "the other parts of 4chan" than /b are good, but I've never seen it myself.
I used to go on 4chan, on a variety of boards, every day for 10 years (06-16) some boards are better than others, and /b/ is definitely the worst by a lot, but they're all terrible.
Aside from valve probably having a hit by bus plan, I'm pretty sure ownership of valve is actually split pretty evenly so it will likely fall to another senior dev who understands what to do.
I've heard they've hidden three immeasurably invaluable CS:Go Knife skins throughout the platform, and the first person to find all three will unlock Half-Life 3 and annoint the winner as Gaben 2, God Emperor of Valve and owner of Steam. Also, they get a chocolate factory.
Oompa loompa, doompadee doo, We’ve got a perfect riddle for you, Oompa loompa, doompadee dee, If you are wise, you’ll listen to me.
Three precious knives, in Counter-Strike they hide, Find them all to claim your prize worldwide, The first to collect, in triumph shall stand, To unlock Half-Life 3, the game so grand.
Oompa loompa, doompadee doo, Follow the clues and you’ll be through, Oompa loompa, doompadee dee, Just one more knife, and then you’ll see.
A crown awaits, a throne so high, Steam’s vast empire, you'll rule the sky, With Half-Life 3, your reign begins, All hail the gamer who truly wins.
Oompa loompa, doompadee doo, The ultimate prize belongs to you, Oompa loompa, doompadee dee, Gaben 2, you shall always be.
I hope it pleases you to know I sang this entire song to myself