In November 2009, many digital distributors spoke out against the Steam service and upcoming games that were infused with Steamworks. These services claimed they did not want to continue distributing games that forced a third party client upon their consumers, as well as deliver a competitor’s store front. Essentially, digital distributors were put in a [...]
For the past few months, I have wanted to do a thorough review of technical support systems for each digital distribution service. To me, this is one of the most important aspects of these services, and often dictates where a majority of my purchases will go. However, my schedule has not permitted me [...]
Since mid-November, I have been anticipating the upcoming holiday sales the major digital distribution services put up each year. Last year, they were fairly average, except for Valve’s Steam service which put their entire catalog on sale. I simply could not wait to see what the holidays would bring this year, and how companies would [...]
On December 17th, it will have been one year since Valve introduced regional pricing to the Steam service. The decision to alter the pricing method for European consumers has generated an endless amount of controversy and frustration. As we approach the first anniversary of these changes, I feel it is important we take a look [...]
With Steam’s ever growing popularity, it is only natural for Valve to pursue exclusive third party developed titles to promote their service. Publishers appear to be on board with the idea of becoming Steam exclusive, as they are able to take advantage of the built in digital rights management (DRM), as well as Steamworks, a [...]
One thing PC gamers look forward to every weekend are the sales various digital distribution companies place on their website, including those by the Steam service. Valve has often touted the immense amount of activity that is generated by a single sale, but how effective are they really?
Earlier this year, Gabe Newell noted that a [...]
No doubt many have been made aware of Randy Pitchford’s comments regarding the Steam service. Yesterday, Maximum PC published an interview where Pitchford commented on his newest game, Borderlands, as well as Games for Windows Live and the Steam digital distribution service.[1] However, his comments were less than favorable towards the Steam service, bringing about [...]