Poll: Why does Valve have such a stronghold on the gaming industry, and is it right?

[Ickorus]

I love Valve as they are and I think they're one of the few businesses that deserves such a strong hold on the industry.

But.

That does not mean I'm not worried, whilst I love Valve at the moment what happens when key players like GabeN retire? Will someone get a hold of Valve and turn it into the next EA?

 

[dimensional]

Not really a huge Valve fan I like some of their games but I just dont find them great more forgettable fun and Steam is definitely not my thing I am never putting that crap on my PC again but that being said they do tend to treat their customers with more respect than a lot of companies which always garners good will.

I think valve comes across as well as they do mainly because so many others come across as so bad. Its just hard to hate valve really I find it hard to love them as well but fair play to them they must be doing something right.

Also im not sure they have such a stronghold on the gaming industry as you think they do many games dont use steam at all i.e all but one of my games dont use steam (because one was one too many) but in PC digital downloads yes im sure they are ahead and will remain so for the foreseeable future. (mind you I am not a huge PC gamer and most of my PC games are older ones)

 

[Da Orky Man]

When it comes to Valve, I don't mind them having an almost-monopoly on on game download markets. it's been shown time and time again that when it comes to valve, being nice wins. They took over the download market, and a good percentage of the PC market as a whole, simply via Steam and frequent sales. They create awesome games, and actually seem to like their fans, and want to keep them.
Plus, Gabe Newell just seems much more personable than Bobby Kotick or John Riccitiello. Really, take a look:

Gabe Newell

John Riccitielo, CEO of EA.

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision-Blizzard

Out of those three, who would you be most likely to visit the pub with?

 

[Zipa]

Its pretty simple really, they treat their customers with respect and not like retards, and they run Steam which is pretty much the savior of PC gaming. Valve invested in the PC game market and helped to keep it alive when companies like Microsoft basically said we have our console now so fuck off.

Plus Gabe is not a wanker like Kotick and Riccitielo.

 

[LilithSlave]

Also Lilith, if there was enough support to bring Dark Souls into development for PC then the PC audience have enough voice to convince a publisher and developer to give them what was supposed to be a console exclusive.

Yeah, but they had to do that to begin with. I don't think that PC gaming is as mainstream as you think it is.

Though you've reminded me of a Dragon's Dogma thread I've been kinda interested in making.

 

[James Crook]

--unholy snip--


Out of those three, who would you be most likely to visit the pub with?

Personally, I'd go with Gabe Newell.
Seems the most likely to go to a pub, too. The others would rather dine in a fancy restaurant and pay the bill using money milked from consumers with DLC.

 

[DRTJR]

No one company should have a strangle hold over an aspect of a portion of industry. even Nintendo when it was the only game in town(and a token resistance from sega) it partook in many practices it had to abandoned in the modern ages.

 

[Woodsey]

Because they're not twats. Customers come first and the bottom line follows naturally. Even when they fuck up you're never left with the impression that it's because they don't give a shit, or because chasing the dolla was more important.

Competition should certainly be encouraged, but the competition tends to be half-arsed or simply a grab for market share; GOG is a far more worthy distribution rival to Steam than Origin ever will be.

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

Based on the replies you've gotten so far, there isn't much reason in once again pointing out how/why they treat their customers so well. But I will say that, given the overwhelming answer to your question is "Valve treats their customers well," I think that speaks volumes to how much being treated well as a customer matters to people. Yes, they do dispense the products people want like every other big developer. But to not feel disgusted with whom you are giving your money to, or better yet have a feeling of respect for that company? That is an extremely valuable and rare feeling as a customer, and it's a type of respect that is only given when earned.

I think more developers need to be like Valve. The stronghold Valve has on the market only indicates that Valve has something that no other companies are giving to customers. The fact that they aren't getting a slice of that pie is their own fault for failing to make their customers feel like people rather than wallets with brains. I mean, it couldn't be easier. They have the blueprint right in front of them, and Valve openly encourages others to do the same as them.

 

[Austin Howe]

They hold power because of Steam.

That said, I think the overall worship of Valve is bad because they have a very specific way that they make videogames which is, though good for their games, not how every game shoud be made, which is not what their fans seem to think.

For example: I think Valve games are more or less good examples of how you can make games without cutscenes* if that's really what you want to do. Valve fans seem to think that cutscenes are a sin and that almighty Valve has the answer: eradicate them, even at the expense of clarity or flow.

* Of course, often this just means there's a cutscene happening around me while I have nothing to do, like in the opening to Half-Life 2. The main sin of this being that it reiterates the worst sin of any long cutscene, you can't skip it. Give Kojima some credit for at least letting you skip his cutscenes.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Because they haven't been massive dickheads fucking over their fanbase and no they have a stronghold on the PC side as of yet and with good reason. I would love if they had competition but they just don't because no one is near as good as them PR and decision wise at the moment.

EA is only starting to catch with using Origin right but it still has a fairly bad shop UI with that awful white background. The only website I like or want with a bright white background is Google.

 

[irani_che]

What steam does, is get all the things we normally hate companies doing,
Stiff DRM, death of second hand gaming, watching what we buy and play, stupid DLC

and make us not mind, who cares about second hand games when there is a Sale every week? If DRM does not get in your way, does it matter? is DLC ripping us off if we only buy it if we really want to and it doesnt effect the gameplay?

EA is trying origin and so far they have done everything wrong, holding loads of sequels like BF3 and ME3 didnt make origin more popular, it made the games less

If any other publisher had a stranglehold like steam, they would abuse the market and the prices.
steam, sits atop a mountain of money and throws down treats for us,

 

[scorptatious]

Well for one, they have a wide selection of hats in TF2. Everybody loves hats.

Except Solid Snake. He hates hats. >_>

 

[SoMuchSpace]

Hmm I see.It is surprising that people like steam so much, when steam is basically an extra DRM layer for games already with GFWL etc.And yet pc gamers shrug at DRM.I can't say for anyone else, steam was and is still a pain in my ass

 

[Lord Revan 117]

They don't release a game until they are confident it is the best it can be, for that reason alone they are one of the best developers in the industry and rightly so.

 

[Cry Wolf]

They owe their success to a range of things. Initially it was just good game design. Then, it was great treatment of customers. Innovation in the disribution of games a.k.a. Steam. So on, and so forth. If I were to put it simply and generally, I would say it's because they care much less about the money then other companies (and therefore, care about much greater things).

And you know what? It's fucking great. They deserve to be even bigger too. More power to them...

...Steam power.