this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2025
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PC Gaming

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[–] Binturong 21 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

This just sounds like sour grapes whining paid for by Epic games who actually just want that to be them rather than Steam, despite Steam having provided the same service for free, consistently, for multiple decades now. The real offense here is PC Gamer attacking its primary consumer base (try to tell me the majority of PC gamers aren't Steam users), so you KNOW Epic is paying a shit-ton for this manufactured consent and wish-casting. Counterpoint to this article: having more games that you want to play than you have time for, without breaking the bank, is GOOD actually, and other launch platforms only seek to enshittify YOUR experience for their own gain. Thanks!

Edit: grammar

[–] [email protected] 21 points 7 hours ago

Will I get around to playing my whole library? God no, but do i want to give this indie Dev my money? God yes!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 hours ago

The perfect south park clip to illustrate this story:

Randy explains how stupid other people are with their money.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 hours ago

It seems like a ignorant take. It's FOMO but instead of a missing out on a loot box or a silly cosmetic for a high price. It's about missing out on the sale for a low price.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

Barely bought anything this year because I am still finishing Factorio. 1600 hours on steam and countless more from the non steam version of the game.

The factory must grow. My SA deathworld save is up to around 3000 SPM.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

I put Factorio down for a bit. I have almost 4,000 hours in Factorio, and almost 3,000 hours in Dyson Sphere Program. Been playing Derail Valley Simulator, Schedule 1, and Vintage Story recently.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago

Vintage Story is one I have played a lot of, got it a long time ago before they even had seasons or food spoilage.

[–] lobut 8 points 12 hours ago

Factorio is a game where I'll spend so much time and getting pretty far. Then I'll "refactor" some parts for efficiency. Then I get like a new science and I'll be like, I can't make this work and give up.

Then I'll start again later thinking I'll get it right the next time!

Although, if I had my robo flying stuff set up correctly then this wouldn't be an issue.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

I do have a lot of games but most of them came from big bundles from Humble Bundle.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Word. It's not hoarding it's "yeah I'd pay $16 dollars for that one game and I'll give a couple of others a go". I didn't just never get around to Kane and Lynch, I never had any interest in it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 hours ago

Aww man K+L has one of the most surreal co-op experiences ever put into a video game.

It legit gets one player to think the other has gone completely off the rails.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I wondered which studio would be bold enough to do blatantly insult an entire marketplace of potential customers, but it's just some guy.

Chris Zukowski.

I am a game marketing consultant and strategist. I have helped Games-as-a-Service companies, indie publishers, and small to single-person teams understand their audience and communicate with them in a more personal way.

Funny way to communicate with your clients audience mate, calling us all "a bunch of drunken sailors"...

I specialize in optimizing your marketing for the Steam algorithm

Ah, so you're part of the reason nothing has a soul any more. Got it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Bill Hicks evergreen marketing bit is as relevant now as it was in the 80s.

[–] [email protected] 148 points 20 hours ago (3 children)

In defense of the ‘drunken sailors’ of Steam, many of the games they’ve bought are likely to still be playable for a long time, some were bought in half-yearly sales, and some were part of ‘bundles’ that were bought for a different game. The 30% also pays for the Content Delivery Network, marketing, a forum and sometimes moderation, and a genuine customer feedback mechanism. Who wouldn’t want to be part of an un-enshittified system? Fanboy? You bet. I’m not saying they can do no wrong, but they’re doing a lot right.

[–] [email protected] 86 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

buying a game for 90% off sure sounds responsible to me lol

[–] [email protected] 49 points 19 hours ago

I've spent ~$1200 and have 227 games to show for it. Plus now works on almost any computer and cloud saves. Steam offers so much gonna be hard to unseat them.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Yup. I bought The Forest for $2 a year ago and I'm sure I'll play it eventually.

[–] lost_faith 6 points 12 hours ago

Play in VR if you can, amazing experience

[–] [email protected] 24 points 20 hours ago

Exactly, every game I’ve ever bought is still accessible.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

If gaben decides tomorrow to shut it all down, everything is gone. They might have a lot of good will based on past behavior, but in the end it's still a company and you have zero control over what they do. You don't actually own any of those games.

[–] Lfrith 4 points 13 hours ago

If steam shutdown it would probably mean PC gaming itself is dead and the industry is in really big trouble.

[–] Rentlar 11 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Technically, uh no. Many of the games I haven't loaded onto my PC would no longer be accessible, correct. But I have a copy of Goldberg emulator, in case Valve doesn't hold up their end of the bargain.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

Then technically I am correct? If Valve just shuts down, it's all gone. You might find a workaround for some of the stuff you happen to have downloaded right now, but in general, everything you "bought" is gone.

[–] GreyEyedGhost 2 points 7 hours ago

"Technically, if your computer breaks and you can't recover those games after Valve decides to close its doors, those games are gone forever." Yeah, and? Is there a storefront that doesn't apply to? Just how long do you think CDs and floppy disks (and the hardware to access them) last, if you haven't lost them already? Is it more or less than Valve's lifespan so far?

[–] Lfrith 11 points 13 hours ago

Technically it would be the same case for GOG too if that happened, since the average consimer doesn't back up all the games they pay for.

In the end when it comes to digital most consumers rely on convenience and trust than taking the extra step to back up stuff so they remove the dependency.

That's why the actual back up for lot of people is piracy as the final line of defense and archiving.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 hours ago

It's not any different than getting on the apple app store, they even take 30% too.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

WELL, I'll let you know that my GOG collection is larger than my Steam collection!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 6 points 12 hours ago

He's right

Some people have huge backlogs of games they will naver be able to play, some games alone will count for hundreds of hours of playtime.

You can't manage all them, and that platform encourages overspending

[–] [email protected] 23 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

You best be glad these sailors are drunk and laying about on their hoard. Before Steam, those sailors were pirates. Do not tempt them to set sail again.

[–] [email protected] 64 points 20 hours ago
[–] cyberpunk007 5 points 12 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 39 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

When I first got a Steam account, my original plan was to buy every game released on it. But now that’s impossible.

[–] [email protected] 55 points 20 hours ago

Well, not with that attitude!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 16 hours ago

So, you're saying that Steam games are the stuffed animals that're culturally acceptable for adults to display openly.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 17 hours ago

It's like gym membership or books. If everyone with gym membership would go regularly, the business won't be profitable. Or if everyone only buys a new book after they finish what they have bought, the publishing industry would be in shambles.

These businesses play the probability game. They are actually just insurance by a different name.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

I have bought games on steam that I already owned and played on other platforms, just because I wanted to support the dev and have a copy on a reliable platform. But with recent developements I do wonder more and more how long it will stay reliable.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 15 hours ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

I was thinking of developments in the industry as a whole. Valve themselves have been the only beacon of hope, but for how long.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Probably supporting Linux and open source is now evil or so.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

Sorry I wasn't clear, I'm a big fan of Valve's efforts, it's just that they are the only ones right now and I'm wondering how long until they too fall like the rest of the industry.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 19 hours ago

Didn't have to call out my 20+yo steam account

[–] [email protected] 12 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

I mean, where is the lie? Gimme cheap games, I'll "buy" all of them!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Bo7a 1 points 7 hours ago

As with almost everything. Cheap is subjective. And not even just as in "I have more money so everything is cheaper for me" but also like "The value I derive from this thing for my specific use-case makes the cost feel cheap. To me."

[–] [email protected] 7 points 19 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 19 hours ago

My thoughts exactly :)