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The Age of Steam
By Edge Staff
March 9, 2009
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“The last I checked, we put servers in Greenland. We have enough customers to need servers there. We even sell games to somebody in Antarctica.”
–Jason Holtman, Valve’s director of business affairs.
–Jason Holtman, Valve’s director of business affairs.
The name could hardly be more appropriate. Just as railroads swept the US, leaving in their wake a west that was significantly less wild, so has Valve’s Steam client spread across the PC, centralising, simplifying and consolidating.
What started as a way of administering updates has become a delivery platform so powerful that it has threatened to render even the big publishers’ alternatives obsolete, an online community so well-supported that it sets standards even for those found on consoles, and a no-fiddling environment that allows your games, settings and saves to follow you from one PC to the next every time you log in.
Looking back, such success seems inevitable, but in reality Steam was far from an obvious idea. Creator Valve was a developer, not a publisher or distributor, and the service’s opening months were marred by bottlenecks and a frustrating online registration experiment.
More interesting than the triumph, then, is the journey: what has made Steam such a powerful platform? Which forces shape its evolution? And how can it rewire not just the PC market, but the way that games themselves are developed?
Today, Steam is gigantic, physically as well as economically. Along with its 16 million users and almost 600 titles, Valve controls one of the largest server networks in the world, offering its client in 21 languages. “The last I checked, we put servers in Greenland,” says Jason Holtman, Valve’s director of business affairs. “We have enough customers to need servers there. We even sell games to somebody in Antarctica.”
But inside Valve Steam is less distinct: “Labels don’t really apply any more,” says Holtman. “Engineers who work on games, a lot of those work on Steam as well. There’s a blurring of lines. We don’t have just dedicated Steam guys.”
But how did they come to have Steam guys at all? How did a game developer end up commissioning server farms in Greenland?
“The genesis of Steam really came in the late ’90s when people at Valve were pretty aggressive users of the internet and bulletin boards,” says Valve’s managing director, Gabe Newell.
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Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
For *new* games in the US, Steam is usually the same price as brick-and-mortar retail but a few dollars more than Amazon. I keep it around just for the sales on older games.
My only issue with Steam is Steamworks. Dawn of War 2 requires you to be a Steam user to do anything. So you'll never see it on another distribution platform because of that.
If we should have learned anything from Microsoft, its that giving one person all the keys is a really bad idea. But other then that, its a good platform these days and its success is good for the industry.
One thing I have always liked about Steam: I have never, ever been unable to download my games onto any pc I wanted. That in and of itself makes it valuable for me...at least until they go out of business.
Brian
www.brianwoods.com
To Wall_E:
I agree with you, but, from what I've heard, it is the publisher who fixes the prices of their products on Steam, not Valve. And, even then, there are Steam discount sales which offering very generous savings - the 'Bioshock' Christmas sale being a notable example.
SwiftRanger:
Yeah, I've heard many people on the forums complaining about the Steam rollout of E:TW. Luckily, I wasn't one of them; although, I feel it's pretty tough on people who bought the game game for a premium price and end up getting a flat-out broken service.
Also, I agree with the worry of Valve establishing a monopoly over online distribution. As a gamer I like to have my games in one place, and I also have a lot of goodwill stored up in Valve. As a consumer I don't believe that any company with that kind of dominant position in a market won't exploit it, just to keep the fanbase happy. Competition keeps companies competitive and sparks innovation: it's almost like a physical law of nature.
If anybody isn't aware, Stardock provides a fairly good distribution service called 'Impulse'. Unfortunately, it lacks the features which make Steam's service seem more like a community than a business model. If other distribution platforms want to compete with Steam, I think they will have to step up their game somewhat.
Who the f**k in their right mind would pay £39.99 for Total War on Steam when the game can be bought for £30, or even order it from some places online for £25.
Madness!!
Madness, this is Sparta!
sorry couldn't resist. :)
"and the service’s opening months were marred by bottlenecks and a frustrating online registration experiment. "
Well, that's still the case even now, both the DoW II and Empire launches didn't go all that smooth to put it lightly.
I like Steam but it's essential it doesn't become a monopoly or that the gaming press doesn't exclusively highlight certain Steam pricedrops and special deals. PC gaming should never rely on one company pulling the strings, like it's the case on consoles.
As much as i like Steam and the content it provides, i can't help but get annoyed at the price tag of some games.
For example:
Fallout 3 £26.99 on Steam - £16.99 for retail version.
Bioshock £13.99 on Steam - £10 for retail version.
Dawn Of War II £34.99 on Steam - £22.99 for retail version.
Empire: Total War £39.99 on Steam - £29.99 for retail version.
This is just a small example (there are loads) when comparing retail and downloadable games.
Considering there are no distribution costs for downloadable games i.e. no disc, no printed manual, no box, and no shelf space fees, these games shouldn't be price so high.
Games just aren't worth £30/40 and asking such high prices for downladable games is laughable considering the no distribution costs.
I for one won't be moved on my maximum £25 per title, therefore i'll go to the place where i can get the title the cheapest.
The future isn't digital downloads if they are priced at these ridiculous numbers
Hrm. Maybe the experience is different in the UK. Here, I first installed Steam when I thought about buying the orange box on special at a local office supply store. When I checked steam, it was cheaper. I ended up buying the valve complete pack.
Similarly, I have picked up things when they've been deeply discounted... like bioshock for $4.95.
Now Steam for us Canadians is in American dollars --- so the actuall price has become more skewed of late, but I still find that releases are cheaper on Steam... even FEAR2 at $49.95 vs. $59.95 (although that's awfully close with the current exchange rate).
There 's a big debate over the price of games within Steam over at the Steam forums (see link below). Most of Europe are at War with Valve over pricing.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=770231
Maybe the moaning idiots should have kept hold of their own currencies then?
//Sorry, double post.
Definitely agreeable.
And also--Gabe Newell really needs to lose weight.