The only period I remember is the few years after launch (Compulsory for CS 1.6). By the time Half Life 2 launched, it was much much better. Immediately after the HL2 launch, their were some problems but that was mainly down to capacity problems and Valve not planning well enough. They did learn though and not aware of any such widespread issues which has had the same problems since.
Steam feeling the financial heat of their unfair revenue split
- Thread starter AWPC
- Start date
The only period I remember is the few years after launch (Compulsory for CS 1.6). By the time Half Life 2 launched, it was much much better. Immediately after the HL2 launch, their were some problems but that was mainly down to capacity problems and Valve not planning well enough. They did learn though and not aware of any such widespread issues which has had the same problems since.
wasn't after HL2 launch. since i didn't live in the uk at that time. but it was common here in the uk for steam to just die (i'm thinking maybe 4-5 years ago). issues seem to have resolved now anyway so it's all good.
it's also rather nice to see people finally moving on from their viewpoint of steam or bust.
Been using Steam since HL2 and nothing else comes close to it for me personally. I like that there are other options out there as no one wants a monopoly, but I don’t see myself changing any time soon.
End of the day we are not forced to buy from steam directly and can get codes much cheaper elsewhere, until that changes or something that is much better comes out, I cannot see myself going elsewhere.
End of the day we are not forced to buy from steam directly and can get codes much cheaper elsewhere, until that changes or something that is much better comes out, I cannot see myself going elsewhere.
I think also dev's are probably not liking steam's refund policy.
I checked origin, battlenet and uplay.
Only origin have as good refund policy as steam, and it isnt as streamlined.
Uplay break EU law by waiving your right to refund when you download the game.
Battlenet have been refusing refunds to people who played games for under an hour.
For indie dev's the 30% is value for money, indie dev's would be nowhere without steam, some indie dev's dont even have a website and their online presence is steam.
For established brands tho a 30% cut is deffo high.
I checked origin, battlenet and uplay.
Only origin have as good refund policy as steam, and it isnt as streamlined.
Uplay break EU law by waiving your right to refund when you download the game.
Battlenet have been refusing refunds to people who played games for under an hour.
For indie dev's the 30% is value for money, indie dev's would be nowhere without steam, some indie dev's dont even have a website and their online presence is steam.
For established brands tho a 30% cut is deffo high.
I purchased starcraft remastered from battlenet earlier this year and after playing a bit realised how crap the pathfinding was as when I got cornered and all my units got stuck and killed. Just felt broken for today’s standards so I asked for a refund. They agreed to give a refund, but said it is not something they typically do and may not do again as it is at their discretion.
Steam has a lot going for it:
1) Anti-censorship, stance of if it's legal it's on Steam. Plenty of filters for people who are easily offended.
2) Excellent refund policy that feels clear and automated and doesn't rely on the whim of a customer service drone.
3) Good backbone of Steamworks, community tools, groups, etc.
4) Has had better uptime/functionality over a long period than competitors like Uplay, MS Store, Origin, etc.
5) Excellent storefront where it's genuinely interesting to browse by genre, tag, upcoming releases, etc. With most other launchers I do my browsing elsewhere and then fire up the relevant launcher to buy the thing I've decided on. That's an important distinction: one is a true storefront, the other is a necessary speedbump to get our game.
Obviously more competition is not a bad thing (although it is a little ironic to see Epic imagining themselves as the new Steam after saying all kinds of unfriendly things about PC gaming in the 2005-10 period) but Steam is a genuine institution for a reason.
1) Anti-censorship, stance of if it's legal it's on Steam. Plenty of filters for people who are easily offended.
2) Excellent refund policy that feels clear and automated and doesn't rely on the whim of a customer service drone.
3) Good backbone of Steamworks, community tools, groups, etc.
4) Has had better uptime/functionality over a long period than competitors like Uplay, MS Store, Origin, etc.
5) Excellent storefront where it's genuinely interesting to browse by genre, tag, upcoming releases, etc. With most other launchers I do my browsing elsewhere and then fire up the relevant launcher to buy the thing I've decided on. That's an important distinction: one is a true storefront, the other is a necessary speedbump to get our game.
Obviously more competition is not a bad thing (although it is a little ironic to see Epic imagining themselves as the new Steam after saying all kinds of unfriendly things about PC gaming in the 2005-10 period) but Steam is a genuine institution for a reason.
CliffYB was a tool.
He did rescind his comments in 2015 but only because Law Breakers was coming out.
I did not pirate that **** so **** you CliffyB
Indeed. While I won't necessarily preclude them running a good eStore because of failing with UT (even though UT was one of the mainstays of my online life at one point, growing up), it does give Steam a very impression when one considers the devotion Valve has always had to their PC products. We throw a lot of money at online platforms, after all - thousands and thousands if you add up the years - and being to trust that it won't just disappear one day is a very big part of what makes Steam successful.