Gabe Newell: The Next Videogame Billionaire?

[duchaked]

I think he deserves success, who would you rather give your money Gabe or Steve Jobs?

not Bill Gates!

(it's okay, he doesn't want it now anyway)

 

[Bags159]

Publishers get a 70% profit margin?

So then why the fuck are digital prices on par with physical prices? If its cheaper to distribute, and earns more money, shouldn't the price of the stuff be a little lower?

Because when you factor in how much PC games get pirated, getting it for $10 less than console owners is a fair trade.

They're starting to go to $60.

Well EA/Activision games are.

And besides, piracy is also big on consoles, so thats not that great of an excuse.

Acti-Blizz games have been at $60. WC3? $60. WoW at release? $60.

At all the people saying VALVe has faults... name one? (And don't say delaying a game is a fault, because I know damn well you'd ***** about them being "released too early" if it was released on time) The only fault I can think of is the whole L4D2 ordeal, but L4D2 had more than enough content to justify a sequel so...

VALVe gives us:

-Amazing deals
-Good social tool
-Amazing games
-Funny developers

I think Gabe has more than earned his money.

 

[Irridium]

Publishers get a 70% profit margin?

So then why the fuck are digital prices on par with physical prices? If its cheaper to distribute, and earns more money, shouldn't the price of the stuff be a little lower?

Because when you factor in how much PC games get pirated, getting it for $10 less than console owners is a fair trade.

They're starting to go to $60.

Well EA/Activision games are.

And besides, piracy is also big on consoles, so thats not that great of an excuse.

Acti-Blizz games have been at $60. WC3? $60. WoW at release? $60.

At all the people saying VALVe has faults... name one? (And don't say delaying a game is a fault, because I know damn well you'd ***** about them being "released too early" if it was released on time) The only fault I can think of is the whole L4D2 ordeal, but L4D2 had more than enough content to justify a sequel so...

VALVe gives us:

-Amazing deals
-Good social tool
-Amazing games
-Funny developers

I think Gabe has more than earned his money.

Think I can answer the second part pretty decently. The only issues I have are little ones, but they're been with the service since Half Life 2 and I cannot for the life of my figure out why they're still here.

1) When you own a game, you can choose to have it update never, or update whenever. But nothing else. Why can't I schedule it to update at a set time? They could at least let me choose how many things update at once, so yesterday doesn't happen again(4 things started updating AT ONCE. Bringing my 1mb connection to its knees). Just at least let us choose how many things can update at once. Would be great.

2) When you have a game set to never update, keep it that way. I can't tell you how many times I set New Vegas to never update, and later in the day I see it is set to "always update". Just ridiculous.

Also, when it is set to never update and an update becomes available, let me know somehow. As it is now, you have no way of knowing. Just put an asterisk next to the game that has an update available. Hell, I could program that in.

Yes these are very small issues, but they've been issues since Half Life 2. Thats 7 years these small, easily fixable issues have been here. Come on Valve, your better than this. I know it.

Also, a side note, some people don't care for the perks Steam gives. They won't use them, they have no need for them. For this reason, Steam offers nothing, its just another DRM service, and they don't like being forced to use it to play their games. Yes they can avoid it, but more and more are going Steamworks, which isn't good for them. They don't really hate it, they just don't care for it and would rather not use it, since it offers nothing for them. Which is understandable. If I was forced to use a service that offered nothing for me in order to play my games, I'd rage about it to.

 

[Bags159]

Publishers get a 70% profit margin?

So then why the fuck are digital prices on par with physical prices? If its cheaper to distribute, and earns more money, shouldn't the price of the stuff be a little lower?

Because when you factor in how much PC games get pirated, getting it for $10 less than console owners is a fair trade.

They're starting to go to $60.

Well EA/Activision games are.

And besides, piracy is also big on consoles, so thats not that great of an excuse.

Acti-Blizz games have been at $60. WC3? $60. WoW at release? $60.

At all the people saying VALVe has faults... name one? (And don't say delaying a game is a fault, because I know damn well you'd ***** about them being "released too early" if it was released on time) The only fault I can think of is the whole L4D2 ordeal, but L4D2 had more than enough content to justify a sequel so...

VALVe gives us:

-Amazing deals
-Good social tool
-Amazing games
-Funny developers

I think Gabe has more than earned his money.

Think I can answer the second part pretty decently. The only issues I have are little ones, but they're been with the service since Half Life 2 and I cannot for the life of my figure out why they're still here.

1) When you own a game, you can choose to have it update never, or update whenever. But nothing else. Why can't I schedule it to update at a set time? They could at least let me choose how many things update at once, so yesterday doesn't happen again(4 things started updating AT ONCE. Bringing my 1mb connection to its knees). Just at least let us choose how many things can update at once. Would be great.

2) When you have a game set to never update, keep it that way. I can't tell you how many times I set New Vegas to never update, and later in the day I see it is set to "always update". Just ridiculous.

Also, when it is set to never update and an update becomes available, let me know somehow. As it is now, you have no way of knowing. Just put an asterisk next to the game that has an update available. Hell, I could program that in.

Yes these are very small issues, but they've been issues since Half Life 2. Thats 7 years these small, easily fixable issues have been here. Come on Valve, your better than this. I know it.

Also, a side note, some people don't care for the perks Steam gives. They won't use them, they have no need for them. For this reason, Steam offers nothing, its just another DRM service, and they don't like being forced to use it to play their games. Yes they can avoid it, but more and more are going Steamworks, which isn't good for them. They don't really hate it, they just don't care for it and would rather not use it, since it offers nothing for them. Which is understandable. If I was forced to use a service that offered nothing for me in order to play my games, I'd rage about it to.

I'll grudgingly give you the DRM complaint, but I've never had it update a game I've told it not to(so this sounds like a personal problem) and I don't see the lack of an update schedule as a downside, as nothing else has it. I also really don't see the need for one.

 

[Irridium]

I'll grudgingly give you the DRM complaint, but I've never had it update a game I've told it not to(so this sounds like a personal problem) and I don't see the lack of an update schedule as a downside, as nothing else has it. I also really don't see the need for one.

When you have a slow internet, and are doing something, having Steam automatically download a large-ass patch is a real pain in the ass. And yes nothing else has it, but thats how you get a leg up on the competition. You do what they're not doing, you offer what they don't offer.

 

[Bags159]

I'll grudgingly give you the DRM complaint, but I've never had it update a game I've told it not to(so this sounds like a personal problem) and I don't see the lack of an update schedule as a downside, as nothing else has it. I also really don't see the need for one.

When you have a slow internet, and are doing something, having Steam automatically download a large-ass patch is a real pain in the ass. And yes nothing else has it, but thats how you get a leg up on the competition. You do what they're not doing, you offer what they don't offer.

That's not a good reason to hate it though. Dislike? Maybe. Hate? No. I still don't see the point of a download schedule, could you enlighten me? I've never been sitting around and have the thought, "wow if I could schedule my downloads this would be awesome" occur to me.

 

[Irridium]

I'll grudgingly give you the DRM complaint, but I've never had it update a game I've told it not to(so this sounds like a personal problem) and I don't see the lack of an update schedule as a downside, as nothing else has it. I also really don't see the need for one.

When you have a slow internet, and are doing something, having Steam automatically download a large-ass patch is a real pain in the ass. And yes nothing else has it, but thats how you get a leg up on the competition. You do what they're not doing, you offer what they don't offer.

That's not a good reason to hate it though. Dislike? Maybe. Hate? No. I still don't see the point of a download schedule, could you enlighten me? I've never been sitting around and have the thought, "wow if I could schedule my downloads this would be awesome" occur to me.

People hate Steam because its DRM, essentially controls the DD business, or the just don't like Valve. Maybe all of the above.

I just slightly dislike it for the reasons I'm mentioning.

As for the schedule thing, it'll help those of us with not so great connections. So Steam doesn't update during when we are probably doing something. Or at least not download multiple things at once, but do it one at a time.

Its especially a pain when there are two people with the same Steam games, so Steam would download everything for both of you at once, which does not lead to good things.

 

[manythings]

And around half of it is from people buying TF2 keys.

What works works. It's not horse armour.

No, it's a gamble at what may be the horse armor you want, but probably won't be. I don't share the hostility towards the Mannconomy, but even I think the crate/key system is just cruel. See the VGCats comic somebody posted.

People don't gamble to win (well they do but if they ONLY gambled to win they'd gamble once and realise it wasn't paying off) they do it for the rush the dream of millionaire potential. You won't win the lottery just buying a ticket for every draw for the rest of your life.

 

[manythings]

And around half of it is from people buying TF2 keys.

What works works. It's not horse armour.

No, it's a gamble at what may be the horse armor you want, but probably won't be. I don't share the hostility towards the Mannconomy, but even I think the crate/key system is just cruel. See the VGCats comic somebody posted.

People don't gamble to win (well they do but if they ONLY gambled to win they'd gamble once and realise it wasn't paying off) they do it for the rush the dream of millionaire potential. You won't win the lottery just buying a ticket for every draw for the rest of your life.

This isn't a million dollars. This is the horse armor you referenced. You're spending real money (about the price of horse armor, in fact) for a game item that only affects the appearance of the player, except you're incredibly unlikely to get that game item. At least with horse armor, you could spend that money knowing what you were downloading. In this case, it doesn't pay off (as you acknowledge) and there is no prize worth the excitement you describe. It's only a trap for the curious and the gambling addicts.

And some people roll the dice just to see if the get a seven this time.

 

[manythings]

And around half of it is from people buying TF2 keys.

What works works. It's not horse armour.

No, it's a gamble at what may be the horse armor you want, but probably won't be. I don't share the hostility towards the Mannconomy, but even I think the crate/key system is just cruel. See the VGCats comic somebody posted.

People don't gamble to win (well they do but if they ONLY gambled to win they'd gamble once and realise it wasn't paying off) they do it for the rush the dream of millionaire potential. You won't win the lottery just buying a ticket for every draw for the rest of your life.

This isn't a million dollars. This is the horse armor you referenced. You're spending real money (about the price of horse armor, in fact) for a game item that only affects the appearance of the player, except you're incredibly unlikely to get that game item. At least with horse armor, you could spend that money knowing what you were downloading. In this case, it doesn't pay off (as you acknowledge) and there is no prize worth the excitement you describe. It's only a trap for the curious and the gambling addicts.

And some people roll the dice just to see if the get a seven this time.

...aaaand you wouldn't have a problem with someone charging such a person money to roll that die?

If it's legal, no one is forcing them and they're aware of the rules of the game? If those three criteria are met, my opinion is irrelevant in the face of their informed decision. If that's not the case it is wrong.

I play poker with my friends, we gamble with real money, we all know the house rules and it's in no way illegal or untoward. I almost never win but I'm still going to play next time because it's a thing we do. If I ever go to vegas I'll probably hit the tables there and lose money aswell. Why is it evil to let a person make their own choice?

 

[manythings]

And around half of it is from people buying TF2 keys.

What works works. It's not horse armour.

No, it's a gamble at what may be the horse armor you want, but probably won't be. I don't share the hostility towards the Mannconomy, but even I think the crate/key system is just cruel. See the VGCats comic somebody posted.

People don't gamble to win (well they do but if they ONLY gambled to win they'd gamble once and realise it wasn't paying off) they do it for the rush the dream of millionaire potential. You won't win the lottery just buying a ticket for every draw for the rest of your life.

This isn't a million dollars. This is the horse armor you referenced. You're spending real money (about the price of horse armor, in fact) for a game item that only affects the appearance of the player, except you're incredibly unlikely to get that game item. At least with horse armor, you could spend that money knowing what you were downloading. In this case, it doesn't pay off (as you acknowledge) and there is no prize worth the excitement you describe. It's only a trap for the curious and the gambling addicts.

And some people roll the dice just to see if the get a seven this time.

...aaaand you wouldn't have a problem with someone charging such a person money to roll that die?

If it's legal, no one is forcing them and they're aware of the rules of the game? If those three criteria are met, my opinion is irrelevant in the face of their informed decision. If that's not the case it is wrong.

I play poker with my friends, we gamble with real money, we all know the house rules and it's in no way illegal or untoward. I almost never win but I'm still going to play next time because it's a thing we do. If I ever go to vegas I'll probably hit the tables there and lose money aswell. Why is it evil to let a person make their own choice?

It's a manipulative choice. I don't have a problem with a set price for a set item. Valve sells items, and I'm fine with that, because that really is an informed decision, but I take issue with a super special fantastic mystery box that really isn't going to have what it offers unless you're incredibly lucky or spend a few hundred dollars to beat the odds, and people who are addicted to gambling are helpless to resist. Unless you look it up, you don't know that the estimated drop rate of their "Exceedingly Rare Special Item!" is 1%, and not everyone does the research. They just see that they might get something they want, and it lures them in. Chances are that they will never get what they want.

I've read an article about someone spending hundreds of dollars on keys and never finding one unusual hat that the crate description teases us with. He expected not even a specific item, but one of many unusual items, and spent an unreasonable amount of money to not even receive it.

A poker game where everyone is running equal risk is one thing, but this is a roulette game that is harshly in favor of one side, and that side gets all the real money while the occasional winner gets something that really isn't worth the risk. This isn't a fair game among friends; It's a rigged carnival game with a cheap stuffed animal as the prize for betting $2.49 to knock the super-glued metal bottles over with a ball so light it couldn't hurt a child if you hurled it at him as hard as you could.

Roulette is the best example of this style of game, and I have no doubt the odds are stacked heavily in Valve's favour (the House always wins), but every person has the choice to play that game. It's extremely unlikely I'll ever play roulette, and if I ever do it'll purely be an occasion when there is money I literally will never miss and have absolutely no real use for, but even if the wheel was invisible and the odds of success obscured no one will be holding me there or forcing me to choose the game.

This is the internet and undoubtedly someone, if not Valve themselves, has clearly blocked out the odds of return on the Mystery box and Google is right there. When the information is at your fingertips and the choice is 100% yours then I have zero sympathy for anyone who loses more than they can afford to purely because they chanced their arm (with reasonably limits based on gambling addiction, children or the mentally (the real kind not just stupid) impaired).

EDIT: Another facet of this issue is governed by the "worth/suffering" ratio. In otherwards people who suffer (or work/study etc.) to gain something small will value it far more than someone who gets that same thing at zero personal cost. A very good example is christmas presents, about a week after christmas most people can't tell you what they got.