Something I’ve noticed in this community is that whenever I criticize Steam, or point out something I don’t like about the platform, I tend to get a ton of downvotes.
And honestly, I’m just curious why.
This is a piracy-oriented community, so I find it kinda interesting that Steam seems to have such a strong positive reputation here. I’m not saying people shouldn’t like Steam, obviously everyone has their own reasons for using it. Steam is convenient, has huge sales, supports Linux, has a massive library of games, etc. I completely get why people use it.
I’m just wondering where the line is for people.
For example, do you like Steam despite the DRM because the convenience outweighs the negatives? Do you see Steam as fundamentally different from other forms of DRM? Do you consider Valve one of the “good guys” in the industry? Or do you simply see Steam as a convenient storefront and don’t really think much about the DRM side of it?
Or maybe you actually agree with some of the criticism of Steam, but just think it’s being exaggerated.
For me personally, I don’t use Steam because I don’t really like having my games tied to an account and a platform. I’d rather have the actual files, be able to back them up, move them around, mod them and know that I still have them years later. That’s basically what I was getting at in that video I made about Steam as well.
But I’m not trying to start another “Steam bad!” argument here. I’m genuinely curious because sometimes the reaction seems surprisingly pro-Steam considering the nature of this community.
So what is it about Steam that you guys actually appreciate?
I think people tend to be naive about Steam.
I mean, I DO think that Steam is miles better than Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo/Epic and I would say they’re probably one of the biggest responsibles to make Linux that much more popular (both for consumer and for devs) in the latest years.
But I don’t know what’s gonna happen to Steam after Gabe Newell leaves. I think there’s a huge risk for a dramatic shift in Valve / Steam monetization and culture. Things are fine now, but that’s still a corporation, and shareholders will want to get the last drop out of it just as these shitheads do to everything else.
I’ve heard rumors that Gabe’s son is being prepared to take over when Gabe is no longer in the picture. With any luck, Gabe will have imprinted him with the same ideals that made Steam what it is.
Personally i think people are throwing away money and freedom for convenience. but thats just my opinion so please don’t shoot me. I’ve never used any of those services, never used any streaming service either, i never game online (always offline against the cpu) and i don’t use music streaming services either. but that isn’t to say i’m trying to tell anyone here to stop using steam (although i did make a remark like that once), use whatever you like, its just me personally i never used it and never will. and i’m pretty surprised to see any steam users in a piracy lemmy, thats all. i wasn’t expecting that.