Steam's New Mobile App Threatens Your Wallet and Credit Score

[TheYellowCellPhone]

If Steam somehow finds a way to use iTunes money to buy Steam games...

...I'd be broke. Forever. And very happy.

EDIT: Account not part of the beta

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

This is one of the few reasons I am glad I have a Mac.

No Steam games to destroy my bank account for me!

...

:'(

 

[xPixelatedx]

Well, considering I have maybe bought 5 games the entire time I have had steam (since it came out around the release of HL2) I sincerely doubt it

Sorry, just not into the whole digital only thing. If a game is only available that way, I'll buy it on steam or XBL/PSN, but if it has a physical copy, that's what I am going for first. I am just not comfortable with the idea of having games I don't control.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

This is one of the few reasons I am glad I have a Mac.

No Steam games to destroy my bank account for me!

...

:'(

Have you SEEN the amount of stuff they've been making available for Mac and PC? They're pretty much single handedly bringing gaming to the Mac, and what's more, you buy a game, you get it free on both formats.

http://store.steampowered.com/browse/mac/?snr=1_4_4__12

Ok, it's only 277 games at the moment, but it's 275 more than I knew about, I thought you guys only had Chessmaster and Myst Team Fortress is still free for mac too, if you want to test it out!

 

[DarthFennec]

Best lower your credit card limit or better yet, hide your wallet all together, as Valve software has released a mobile app that brings just about every aspect of its Steam distribution network to Android and iOS devices.

Hide your wallet? Why?

Depending on your point of view (or your finances), this may not or may not be a good thing, especially considering how often Steam slashes the prices of games in its catalog [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115240-Amazon-and-Steam-Dismember-Dead-Space-Prices] and the temptation to pick up just one more game at a 50% off can override one's common fiscal sense.

... oh, okay ...

I guess I'm like the only one who doesn't do this then? I just have a list of the ten games I want (in my wishlist) and every day I check that to see if there's a sale on any of those, and if so I buy it. So this sort of doesn't apply to me >.>

Also I don't have a smartphone (I use Google Talk/Voice from my laptop) so that doesn't apply to me either. Carry on ^^

 

[Dirty Apple]

My Blackberry is sad face. Why don't the app makers want to play with it? You bring a spreadsheet to an app party one time and you're black(berry) listed for life.

Seriously though, the steam app would look great on my BB Torch. Help a brother out!

 

[Vigormortis]

So, when will steam become the premier mobile marketplace? I don't smartphone. Don't know how that works.

The sooner something like Steam, or another marketplace, replaces the Apple App store, the better. (if you couldn't tell, I hate the App store. and Apple in general)

What would be nice now is if you could get your computer to start downloading the game while your out

Or even better, download and then stream the game directly from your own rig. Something akin to Onlive, but with your own computer running the game.

Now THAT would be pretty damn amazing. Maybe get on that Valve? Hmm?

Also, does this thing have a chat app? Because I think that could be usefull. It would basically replace my text function. haha

(on a second read through, it does. Yay)

I 'yayed" too. Seeing as pretty much anyone I text anymore, I text through Steam, Live, or via e-mail, this would be right up my alley. Not to mention could save me some money on my monthly phone bill. So....win/win. (especially if the voice chat features work)

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

This is one of the few reasons I am glad I have a Mac.

No Steam games to destroy my bank account for me!

...

:'(

Have you SEEN the amount of stuff they've been making available for Mac and PC? They're pretty much single handedly bringing gaming to the Mac, and what's more, you buy a game, you get it free on both formats.

http://store.steampowered.com/browse/mac/?snr=1_4_4__12

Ok, it's only 277 games at the moment, but it's 275 more than I knew about, I thought you guys only had Chessmaster and Myst Team Fortress is still free for mac too, if you want to test it out!

I do have steam, and I do have a few games on it (TF2 and Civ V being the main ones).

Still, mac games are still far the minority.

But at least it cannot make me poor!

 

[Darth_Dude]

Boy oh boy, I cant wait to check which Railworks DLC is on a daily deal from my smartphone.

Oh my God, those things are the biggest pile of BS I've ever seen! It's like what, $20 for one single train! Daylight robbery I tell ya.

 

[thespyisdead]

So what, you'd rather Steam not make new things for their customers? Interesting view.


Wait a minute, you're not an EA employee are you?

i am definitely NOT an EA employee. in fact i love steam, and competition is healthy, but what steam is doing is basically forcing people to use Steam over everything else.

Just you seeing as they are in no way a monopoly. They may very well be the biggest name in digital distribution (by far) but seeing as they have numours competitors and they have prices that show that they are competing, then I would say that they in no way at all fall under the definition of a monopoly.

you may be confusing competition with price discrimination, where they try to force the competition out of the market with low prices

furthermore, in early 2011, Steam had a market share of about 50%, good enough to call it a monopoly(at that time at least)

 

[Thepistolman1234]

I find that even when there's a sale on something, it's cheaper to go out into a shop and just buy it, like the F3AR half price deal on at the moment, it's half price but still £5 more expensive than Amazon.

 

[AhumbleKnight]

Just you seeing as they are in no way a monopoly. They may very well be the biggest name in digital distribution (by far) but seeing as they have numours competitors and they have prices that show that they are competing, then I would say that they in no way at all fall under the definition of a monopoly.

you may be confusing competition with price discrimination, where they try to force the competition out of the market with low prices

furthermore, in early 2011, Steam had a market share of about 50%, good enough to call it a monopoly(at that time at least)

Price discrimination can only really be carried out when a larger company is able to reduce prices to near or even below cost and running a loss for a couple of years in order to knock out their competition. There has been a fair bit of this thrown around over the years eg. major supermarket chains killing local small businesses. So no, I really don't think it is price discrimination. It is just competition.

Regarding your second point. No, just no. 50% is not good enough to call it a monopoly. Not even close. Also try and remember that Digital Distribution also count in their competitors the store front retail shops.

 

[Rossmallo]

For half a second, I thought the title meant that there was some sort of credit scandal or it got hacked or something. But no. Seems it's just the GOOD financial threats.

Bring it on.

 

[Ewyx]

pffft... Just remember people, you're giving 30% of the money to apple, if you can, always buy things directly through steam. Not a valve fan, but I prefer if they get the money and not apple.

Its a free app?
so yeah apple can have 30% of my nothing if they want, i don't need it.

if there is a way to purchase through the app itself, you will give 30% of that to apple. Apple doesn't allow anything in their app store that circumvents their payment processing. Actually, I'm surprised steam got away with it, assuming there is in app purchase...

 

[Ewyx]

pffft... Just remember people, you're giving 30% of the money to apple, if you can, always buy things directly through steam. Not a valve fan, but I prefer if they get the money and not apple.

Its a free app?
so yeah apple can have 30% of my nothing if they want, i don't need it.

if there is a way to purchase through the app itself, you will give 30% of that to apple. Apple doesn't allow anything in their app store that circumvents their payment processing. Actually, I'm surprised steam got away with it, assuming there is in app purchase...

That won't fly, seeing as apple contribute nothing to that not only is that unethical its borderline illegal. And given that you can set different cards to your iphone and steam accounts the transaction could actually have no connection to apple.

No it wouldn't happen, just like when you buy shit on amazon microsoft don't charge you for using windows or internet explorer for it. Never happen.

Except that at my company, we released an iPhone app, and were rejected, because we mentioned that you could purchase somethings online. If you want in-app purchases, they have to go through their processing system which takes 30%. Maybe since steam is big, they got a special deal, I wouldn't know... But... well Apple isn't really known for their ethical concerns.

The only way our app would actually reach the appstore is if there was no mention that the same thing could be bought online, thus circumventing their system and in-app purchases were made through their system...

So yeah... just buy it online.

 

[theonlyblaze2]

I'M THROWING MONEY AT THE SCREEN AND IT IS WORKING!! IT'S WORKING TOO WELL!!

 

[Darth_Dude]

Boy oh boy, I cant wait to check which Railworks DLC is on a daily deal from my smartphone.

Oh my God, those things are the biggest pile of BS I've ever seen! It's like what, $20 for one single train! Daylight robbery I tell ya.

Have you seen how much they all cost? (Look at the normal price, since the picture was taken during a sale.)

Holy SHIT.

I can't even comprehend how this is even possible. I'm trying, but....

...

Seriously. How is this even possible.

I'll be telling my grandkids this one day