Steam hits 8.5 million concurrent online users

[st0pnsw0p]

valve's iron-tight grasp on the PC market grows stronger. Hurray for monopolies!
Fuck the freedom of choice, nobody wants that shit anyways.

Err Origin has 50 million accounts and has hit 4 million concurrent users. Its not a monopolie

Origin only sells EA's games. Steam sells games from hundreds of devs and publishers, but none of EA's newer games. They both sell completely different products and are both free, so they're really not competitors at all and they won't be until Origin starts selling other publishers' games.

 

[tippy2k2]

Not so much now, but back in 04-08 it was pretty common to see people calling PC gaming dead due to the dramatic drop in PC gaming between the mid 90s and mid 2000s. A lot of PC gamers haven't let that go, kind of the same way Nintendo fanboys haven't let the fact the company bounced back from third to first place between generations die down.

Playing that game are we now. Says it all really, though these type of threads are usually a pretty good indication anyway.
You can attempt to appear reasonable all you want, but people will notice those slip ups that betray the illusion.

I'm pretty sure he put the "Nintendo fanboys" example in there because he was responding to what I said...

Kind of like our favorite Nintendo Defense Force user back in the day, I hear a lot of PC gamers talk about "How dead are we now suckas!!!?"

He wasn't lashing out against consoles; he was building on the idea that I presented.

 

[Ruuvan]

After spending the Christmas and New Year period with the family, obviously a lot of people needed to murder computer generated characters

EDIT: ... or just unwind with a non-violent game, of course.

 

[LaochEire]

Who would have thunk that a program that is forced upon us would have a large amount of users.

Can't play Football Manager without STEAM...

 

[westcoast1313]

valve's iron-tight grasp on the PC market grows stronger. Hurray for monopolies!
Fuck the freedom of choice, nobody wants that shit anyways.

Err Origin has 50 million accounts and has hit 4 million concurrent users. Its not a monopolie

Origin only sells EA's games. Steam sells games from hundreds of devs and publishers, but none of EA's newer games. They both sell completely different products and are both free, so they're really not competitors at all and they won't be until Origin starts selling other publishers' games.

Wrong considering that Origin already sells other publishers games and it has for quite some time. They definitely sell Ubisoft games like the Assassins Creed series and Far Cry.
EDIT: They also carry games from Deep Silver, Square Enix, Capcom, CD Projekt Red etc.

 

[pearcinator]

PC is on the rise again thanks to the shittiness of the XBone and PS4. When they were announced (and have worse specs than high-range PCs upon release) I jumped straight on the PC bandwagon!

 

[Phrozenflame500]

valve's iron-tight grasp on the PC market grows stronger. Hurray for monopolies!
Fuck the freedom of choice, nobody wants that shit anyways.

Eh, I'll consider Valve a monopoly when it starts actively suppressing other platforms. Until then it's just the best platform getting the most consumer support; capitalism at it's finest.

 

[st0pnsw0p]

valve's iron-tight grasp on the PC market grows stronger. Hurray for monopolies!
Fuck the freedom of choice, nobody wants that shit anyways.

Err Origin has 50 million accounts and has hit 4 million concurrent users. Its not a monopolie

Origin only sells EA's games. Steam sells games from hundreds of devs and publishers, but none of EA's newer games. They both sell completely different products and are both free, so they're really not competitors at all and they won't be until Origin starts selling other publishers' games.

Wrong considering that Origin already sells other publishers games and it has for quite some time. They definitely sell Ubisoft games like the Assassins Creed series and Far Cry.
EDIT: They also carry games from Deep Silver, Square Enix, Capcom, CD Projekt Red etc.

I actually use Origin semi-often for the free monthly game and I've never noticed that before today. Guess EA just sucks at advertising other publishers' games.

Either way, my point still stands. Origin's publisher diversity is pitiful compared to Steam's, and I wouldn't really call them competitors at this point. GOG is a much better comparison, though still a flawed one given their focus on indies and old games. Matter of fact, I can't think of a single notable online store that I'd call a Steam competitor. Green Man Gaming is the closest I can think of, but you still need Steam to play the games you buy from there.

 

[LaochEire]

PC is on the rise again thanks to the shittiness of the XBone and PS4. When they were announced (and have worse specs than high-range PCs upon release) I jumped straight on the PC bandwagon!

And yet, they're breaking records...

 

[Tayh]

Eh, I'll consider Valve a monopoly when it starts actively suppressing other platforms. Until then it's just the best platform getting the most consumer support; capitalism at it's finest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_using_Steam_authentication
Please tell me where I can buy those games without using steam.
They are the sole distributers of those games, not to mention about ~95% of every other PC game coming out today.
That's a monopoly on games. Unless you include torrent sites.
And no, I don't count steam key re-sellers(GMG, GG, etc) as a counter to steam.

But yeah. Capitalism. They couldn't have done it, if it wasn't for the horde of people who cried, "no steam, no buy!"
People wanted a monopoly, and they got it. Hope it turns out well for ya.

 

[List]

People shouting PC gaming is dying before is just as stupid as the people shouting nintendo is dying now. Someone, somewhere is always shouting nonsense like this.

On another note, does concurrent users mean playing a game? or just logged-in?

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Eh, I'll consider Valve a monopoly when it starts actively suppressing other platforms. Until then it's just the best platform getting the most consumer support; capitalism at it's finest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_using_Steam_authentication
Please tell me where I can buy those games without using steam.
They are the sole distributers of those games, not to mention about ~95% of every other PC game coming out today.
That's a monopoly on games. Unless you include torrent sites.
And no, I don't count steam key re-sellers(GMG, GG, etc) as a counter to steam.

But yeah. Capitalism. They couldn't have done it, if it wasn't for the horde of people who cried, "no steam, no buy!"
People wanted a monopoly, and they got it. Hope it turns out well for ya.

Developers choosing to only release their game on Steam is different from Steam actively discouraging games from being released on other platforms.

That's like a salesman only selling in the largest store because the other stores won't take his products. It's certainly not the store's fault.

Until I start seeing exclusivity agreements on third-party titles, I don't really mind.

 

[Cidward]

This is one reason I don't get actively hostile when a game forces me to log on to Origin or Uplay or something. They're somewhat annoying in their current forms, and I'm not about to start clamoring for support of EA or Ubisoft as scrappy underdogs, but they represent theoretically viable Steam alternatives if their libraries expand and improve.

Then there's something like GOG.com, which I do consider a superior option to Steam for a certain niche of games and try to frequent now and again.

Healthy competition is a net good for the consumer, even if the companies who'd like to be monopolies won't do anything to encourage it. Still, I'm not going to knock Steam too much. I spent too much time browsing the last sale (finally picked up the Saints Row series!) to rag on it without being a hypocrite.

 

[Veldel]

To all you idiots who think consoles are worthless and PC gaming is the only way. Your not really gamers just overly entitled jackasses.


The true master race are those who love games regardless of platform and want to fully enjoy the artform.

OT: I got a ton of good games this year from steam sale that I been wanting. And my B day coming up and me getting a Wii U for myself I'm going to be super busy with games in coming months with all the exclusives coming out.

 

[Gailim]

The exclusives argument doesn't work in consoles favor.

besides that is a terrible reason to buy a platform. There are fantastic games on every platform these days. Not having certain games is not important. you can still have tons of fun without them. The only good reason to buy a platform is because you believe that platform offers an inherently superior experience to the alternatives. No game is so much better than it's competitors that it is worth dropping $3-500 just to play that one game. It is a crutch used by platform makers to avoid having to compete on the actual quality of their machine.

in short, if you believe that the WiiU gamepad/Motion controller offers a compelling gameplay alternative then by all means get a WiiU, but saying you got it because of MK8 is a bit silly. There are TONS of other great racing games out there that offer a great time with friends

Just burying yourself with all that. Gaming is about the games, not the pieces of plastic and metal you use to play them on.
To sum it up you're saying: "I myself don't have access to the consoles and their exclusives... but... that is fine because who needs those games, I don't want to play them anyway...".

no that's not what I was saying at all. It's not that I wouldn't play them. But there are other games available that don't require dropping $300 for a machine that I wouldn't otherwise want.

The "inherently superior experience" is loaded and very common in those types of posts. You're saying it because you think that as you're talking about PCs far beyond the current consoles (which isn't the norm but I don't need to go there) that your statement is rock solid.

at no point did I say that PC offered a superior experience for everyone. in fact I said the exact opposite. If you believe the Kinect or Wii U gamepad offers a compelling experience then the X1 or Wii U is the "inherently superior" platform for you. it's all about what your looking for in a machine.

The problem is your other statements and "loyalty" weakens it to the point of irrelevance... its quite simply not credible.

you need clarify what you mean by this

The "compete on the actual quality" is rarer though you'll find a couple of folk here who have that stance... though one sadly got recently banned. However as I said to them consoles are not == pre-built PCs. Consoles are purchased with the customer having faith in exclusives being produced specifically for it (or if brought later the exclusives already existing).

yes and my point is that that alone is a dumb reason to drop $400 on a machine

You should try it before you deem it unimportant. Many of the best games are exclusives, being a multiplatform god I know such things trust me. I'm confident you wouldn't be able to name a single game that gives a experience like MK8 on PC as that is seemingly the contest you wish to have.

try what? I have played exclusive games; like I said, PC dwarfs any console when it comes to exclusives. games don't magically become more fun because they are exclusive.

I'm confident you wouldn't be able to name a single game that gives a experience like MK8 on PC as that is seemingly the contest you wish to have.

I am not interested in any "contest" but since you asked about racers...

When my friends get together and we feel like playing a combat racing game we often play games like Skydrift, Split/Second, and Sonic All Stars Racing.

Now, maybe you think Mario Kart 8 is better than those games, that's personal preference. But let me ask you, and be honest, even if you love MK8 is it really $300 dollars better than those games? because that is what your saying. People should buy machines they don't really want just to play a small handful of titles

 

[Rozalia1]

I honestly have no idea what you're trying to insinuate with that comment. Is it implying I have something against either PC or Nintendo gamers? Because the Wii U is the only current gen console I use and PC is the primary means by which I game.

PC gamers
Nintendo fanboys

Can you tell the message there? How about I modify it a bit so perhaps it becomes a little more obvious.

Nintendo gamers
Playstation fanboys
Xbox fanboys
PC fanboys

I'm pretty sure he put the "Nintendo fanboys" example in there because he was responding to what I said...

Regardless of it being response it bothers me. Its easy to see how it reads and he hit post with no issue.

Developers choosing to only release their game on Steam is different from Steam actively discouraging games from being released on other platforms.

That's like a salesman only selling in the largest store because the other stores won't take his products. It's certainly not the store's fault.

Until I start seeing exclusivity agreements on third-party titles, I don't really mind.

So they could have 100% of the market and it wouldn't be a monopoly?

Monopoly: exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices.

Do Steam not have exclusive control of a great many games? Sure sounds like the definition. Wasn't there a thread lately on changes to Steam that read like Microsoft's indie policy? You know the "come to us first or we'll cut you off".

To add to that than how about the often mentioned "I'd not want to Sony to wipe out its competition in Microsoft and Nintendo as that'll mean a monopoly". Sony also in such a situation wouldn't need to sign contracts with companies, with their numbers bolstered by their fallen competition. That wouldn't be a monopoly? What if all the companies start just putting them all on playstation only in that future? That wouldn't be a monopoly because Sony wouldn't actively be hammering them in line (hint they wouldn't have to).

no that's not what I was saying at all. It's not that I wouldn't play them. But there are other games available that don't require dropping $300 for a machine that I wouldn't otherwise want.

Except you're not buying a console for one game. Completely ridiculous what you're saying. I suppose people upgrading their PC to a decent level to play X is pretty stupid of them too as they are spending all that money for one game... except they are not.
Besides what is your authority to dictate value to people? You can decide your own, but you can't dictate others. For example you could see a game like say an atelier game as worthless... to me that game would likely have more value to me than every single game you play.

Not that I can tell what you play, but in my example I'm pegging you with indie and AAA titles of dubious quality. Just an example so chill.

at no point did I say that PC offered a superior experience for everyone. in fact I said the exact opposite. If you believe the Kinect or Wii U gamepad offers a compelling experience then the X1 or Wii U is the "inherently superior" platform for you. it's all about what your looking for in a machine.

Lets just say I've been around the block many times and have seen that before. The "superior experience" is often used by the most biased of folk who when a light is shone on them try to appear reasonable as they can at least see the weaknesses in their statements... however the attempted shield only works if no one can tell it for it is.
So sorry if based on the past I don't take your word for it.

you need clarify what you mean by this

Come on now, you're using very obvious common statements. What else what I be stating.
Simply put if someone has an obvious heavy bias (you're not going to deny this I hope) than from the get go their words are made less credible.

yes and my point is that that alone is a dumb reason to drop $400 on a machine

Mario, Zelda, Last of Us, Halo, Gravity Rush, Monster Hunter, and the list goes on. A great many of the best titles that people have huge interest are exclusive. Say I play all the Nintendo exclusives because they appeal to me (I actually do pretty much, so why I'm using an "example" is force of habit I guess). You're telling me I'm stupid for getting a console to play the games I like to play? I'm sorry but what? Though once again I've heard all that before too, I've heard it said that everyone should take some grand stand against consoles to drive them out of business and that those games will than all magically appear on PC... I've heard it all friend.

try what? I have played exclusive games; like I said, PC dwarfs any console when it comes to exclusives. games don't magically become more fun because they are exclusive.

Oh oh seems I tripped in to that one, I hate having to always cover all bases to stop comments like that... no they don't magically become better you're right there.
Now you know what I meant.

I am not interested in any "contest" but since you asked about racers...

When my friends get together and we feel like playing a combat racing game we often play games like Skydrift, Split/Second, and Sonic All Stars Racing.

Now, maybe you think Mario Kart 8 is better than those games, that's personal preference. But let me ask you, and be honest, even if you love MK8 is it really $300 dollars better than those games? because that is what your saying. People should buy machines they don't really want just to play a small handful of titles

"Handful". You aware how many PS3, Wii/U, Vita, 3/DS exclusives I and many others own? The handful comment is very common, but its pretty darn weak. It implies that those who have such devices have the tastes of those who are attacking their choices... not so friend. You may see a handful, others see much more. Open your horizons and perhaps you'll see them too.

 

[NPC009]

Now, maybe you think Mario Kart 8 is better than those games, that's personal preference. But let me ask you, and be honest, even if you love MK8 is it really $300 dollars better than those games? because that is what your saying. People should buy machines they don't really want just to play a small handful of titles

People who buy a system for just one single game are pretty rare. Usually they see all sorts of exclusives they interested in coming out and when that list becomes long enough, or they see that one title they must RIGHT NOW, they buy it.

Once you have that extra system there are other perks as well. For instance, you can compare non-exclusives and buy the best version. Like, say you wanted to try Dark Souls and you have both a PC and a PS3. The PC port is kinda shoddy, so having another option is nice.

And to be honest, I think buying a system for a handful of exclusives could still be justified. If your friend constantly come over to play Mario Kart, Smash and other multiplayer/party games, you're still getting plenty of value out of that Wii U.

 

[PetitDemon]

PC gaming was in worrying shape when the XBOX 360 and it's generation started and before Steam became popular.

A lot of traditional PC developers were moving to consoles. And many PC gamers were growing tired and wearisome over PC game development, distribution, and DRM. And many industry thinkers were taking note. Thus you had many "PC gaming is dead" articles.

Now, things are quite the opposite. Steam has revolutionized the PC gaming industry and turned a niche hobby, into a serious global phenomenon. Particularly in countries that didn't used to be as PC gaming. America has traditionally been more of a console gaming culture, though less so than Japan, while European countries like Germany skew heavily towards PC gaming.

Steam has simply created a worldwide PC gaming boom, because of being able to centralize and show customers games. And with it's user-friendliness and ease of use(though some aspects could be improved upon, customer support can be a bit lacking at times). Almost everyone owns a multi-purpose computer, of some sort. So it is easy to find Steam and its games, when finding a game is as easy as searching a game you're interested in on your tablet, click the "download Steam client button", and download and play the game, PC gaming is more convenient than console gaming.

We're also living in a time of disruption of mobile gaming. Japan barely even buys consoles anymore. The most successful console in Japan right now is the Wii U, and it is still doing poorly. Most people in Japan would rather game on phones and tablets. And plenty of people in the West feel that way, too. The mobile industry is disrupting the traditional console industry from all sides. And most people want to buy multipurpose devices that run iOS or Android or Windows.

And yet, the market is more flooded with tablet PCs than ever. And tablets are becoming shockingly powerful for PC gaming. And most kids want something that can play Minecraft, especially if it has mods. And Intel's 14nm are going to be incredibly powerful for PC gaming, especially on mobile.

And when you need a TV to play on a console, and a kid can just bring a tablet with him and play Minecraft or some Steam game, most kids are going to want that tablet, rather than a console. This generation is simply not very interested in consoles in comparison to mobile devices like the Surface Pro or iPad. And that's what they want under their Christmas tree, instead of the next console.

Consoles are something you need a TV or monitor to use. Tablets are essentially portable TVs with a fairly powerful computer inside. Why wouldn't a kid choose the tablet instead?

The Wii U and the PS Vita have failed badly, and are both losing Nintendo and Sony money. The PlayStation 4 is the console leader this generation, but it will likely still lag far behind the sales of the PlayStation 2, and even the PlayStation 3. Nintendo has lost incredible amounts of money in recent years. Sony, as a company, is in serious trouble, despite how well the PlayStation 4 is selling. And Nintendo is struggling at this moment to make profit instead of loss. And the XBOX One is lagging behind the PlayStation 4, it may even be possible that, in the long run, the Wii U may outsell the XBOX One. The XBOX One has quite simply lost this generation.

And tablets are coming seriously close to matching the price-performance of the PlayStation 4 and XBOX 360 this generation. Sony took a loss on the PlayStation 3 last generation, and the price-performance was better than a PC for a few months. But Sony didn't want to make that mistake again, and so, the PlayStation 4, the most powerful console this generation, is still quite underwhelming. It's weaker than most PCs, and isn't really ready for virtual reality.

And if there's anything that will keep the enthusiast desktop as popular as ever, despite market disruption from mobile. It's virtual reality. Virtual reality is kind of the "real" next generation. And today's consoles simply aren't read for it.

This market is seriously disrupted, and I think that multipurpose devices that are open, that buying and playing a game is as simple as going to a website and downloading a game or a client, are going to take the lead. Simply because they are more convenient and user friendly.

At this moment, the market mantra is not, "PC gaming is dying". PC gaming is doing better than it ever was. The mantra is now, "console gaming is dying".

 

[PetitDemon]

The exclusives argument doesn't work in consoles favor.

In some ways it does, and it some ways it doesn't.

It's a good reason to buy a video game system if you like those games. No matter how terrible the Wii U hardware is from a price-performance standpoint, I'm not missing out on games like Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Super Smash Bros., Splatoon, and the Legend of Zelda.

I'm easily like or am more excited for these games than most games for the PC or PlayStation 4.

However, it doesn't work in favor that consoles are witholding games from me.
If I could buy Nintendo games on the PC, I would have no need for a Nintendo console, and I wouldn't buy one.
I would just play them on my PC.

Making a game exclusive to a closed platform, is essentially holding it hostage. And it why so many people are eager to develop video game console emulators.

besides that is a terrible reason to buy a platform.

No it isn't. And yes, different platforms have different good games. But different people have different tastes.

I want to play Mario Kart 8, not Sunset Overdrive or Call of Duty.
And personally, I feel like the Wii U has more better games than the PlayStation 4 and XBOX 360 combined.

The PC has more better games than the Wii U, the PC has millions of games.
But it's hard to beat such a tight and amazing library as the Wii U has.
I have both, and I respect the PC platform more. But I have plenty of good reasons to own a Wii U.
The amazing games that are absolutely worth buying a Wii U to play.

Isn't the point of being a gamer to play games? Well I love Nintendo games, and even if the Wii U does absolutely nothing for me other than play Nintendo games. That alone is worth it. Because, quite simply, Nintendo is a top tier game development company with games polished to perfection. I don't know that another game company even has as good of a development track record as Nintendo.

No game is so much better than it's competitors that it is worth dropping $3-500 just to play that one game. It is a crutch used by platform makers to avoid having to compete on the actual quality of their machine.

I disagree. And, the Nintendo Wii U has man of these.

in short, if you believe that the WiiU gamepad/Motion controller offers a compelling gameplay alternative then by all means get a WiiU, but saying you got it because of MK8 is a bit silly. There are TONS of other great racing games out there that offer a great time with friends

But there are none that I enjoy so much as Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

One of the closest competitors is Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed, which I proudly own and play on Steam. But I'm not going to simply miss out on Mario Kart 8, either.

Unlike the Wii U, the XBOX 360 had very few exclusives that I cared about. Tales of Vesperia, which is inferior to the PlayStation 3 version, but still in English. And SHMUPs like Cave shooters, like DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou. And it was still well worth it.

Games are worth it.

Edit: Opps, double post! Sorry!