For now...bastardofmelbourne said:How are they monopolising mods? Anyone can mod a game. The workshop just makes it easier.
Of course they edged out the retail market. Who wants to buy a physical game when all you get is a CD that only has a game-key and a link to install steam on it.bastardofmelbourne said:Steam edged out the retail market the same way every other digital distribution client has - by providing a better, cheaper, and more convenient way to buy games. You can't tell me the retail situation [https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/03/30] was any more ethical. And as for the price, I live in Australia, so... [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_Tax]
I acknowledge that Australia had unfair prices, but that is a bit of a special case, isn't it? steam certainly wasn't price competitive in Denmark.
It still isn't... It's being beaten by gog.com who will give you vouchers, out of their own pockets, for what you pay extra according to your country and exchange rate.
Funnily enough, gamestop still flourishes, while all the good, independent game stores have all disappeared. Not that I blame that on steam, just a side note.
Because, in a scenario of "the carrot and the stick", I consider steam less of a carrot(service) and more of a stick(enforced drm client).bastardofmelbourne said:And why are you putting service in scare quotes? Do you just disagree with digital distribution in general? Because...that's freaking crazy talk, man. The only situation where having a physical copy of a game makes more sense than digital is if you live somewhere with no internet.
I'm not against digital distribution. I'm against DRM.