Recently many threads have been made about new players into the PC store market and how Steam needs competition because it's trash apparently. I think such views are mostly due to not knowing what the landscape actually is for PC stores. The only real way I feel these stores to have a chance to actually compete is in features and price. Things that are actually helpful for users. Not exclusive games. To understand this I think it's key to know what these features are that Steam provides to consumers and how they compare against the other stores
If I have made a mistake here pls inform me*
EDIT: Fixed some inaccuracies in the image. again. again. again, again :HopelessHD:
As you can see Steam dominates over others in features and this is where other stores need to focus on.
What follows are my opinions
Microsoft Store deserves special mention
How a billion-dollar software company like Microsoft can screw this up is a feat. The store wasn't originally designed for large PC games, it's ill-equipped to handle the large download size and frequently fails to download as a result. Sometimes the only way to fix the store when it breaks is to reinstall Windows. Their console store XBL store is largely regarded as a good store. So it's not like MS is incapable of it.
You also cannot access the files for games because of UWP. so no modding or .ini editing.
Steam has features and tools that many people don't even know for example You can choose what server to download your games from You can watch a friend play a game by just right click-> watch game and all the streaming heavy work is done by steam. Steam also invests in R&D like Steam Controller, SteamVR, Steam link to innovate the PC gaming space. The recent improvements in Proton/Linux gaming prove as such. Most of their projects are open sourced which is great for everyone.
People say competition is good and we should support these other stores, I'm sure many people who play on PC would give a real competitor a try but nobody else comes even close. Most ppl use other stores because they are forced by exclusive games. GOG is the exception here. Their DRM free policy is very enticing to many. But alas, there is no competition for steam because nobody is at Steam's level in market share and features. Steam is not perfect and has a lot to improve. Steam adding automatic refunds after Origin added it is one instance where competition has helped. The competition also didn't help for consoles for paid online gaming, paid cloud saves etc.
I would also like to say something about the 30% share steam takes. I think it's very well deserved. Valve provides a lot of stuff for devs as mentioned above and also the fact that valve single-handedly saved PC gaming. PC gaming was in a dire state not many years ago, distribution was terrible, piracy was rampant, many developers stopped making games for PC. Steam arrives and opens itself for non-Valve games and with sales and effective distribution turned the PC market around. The fact that PC gaming is healthy today is all because of Steam. Final Fantasy and Yakuza on PC, 100% due to Steam's success.
Also, developers can sell steam keys on their site and get 100% of the share. Square Enix and Paradox are 2 publishers of the many that do this. Win-win for both developers and consumers. GMG, Fanatical, Humble Bundle all exist due to this. You can buy most games 20% off at launch because Valve gets 0% cut on these sales. UPlay and Rockstar Social are other stores that do this. I hope this post helped you understand why PC players dismiss all these new attempts at a store that don't even try to match Steam's core features. These are billion-dollar software companies we're talking about. They should strive to be better.
I wrote this with help from Prominent Members™ from PCERA
If I have made a mistake here pls inform me*
EDIT: Fixed some inaccuracies in the image. again. again. again, again :HopelessHD:
As you can see Steam dominates over others in features and this is where other stores need to focus on.
What follows are my opinions
Microsoft Store deserves special mention
How a billion-dollar software company like Microsoft can screw this up is a feat. The store wasn't originally designed for large PC games, it's ill-equipped to handle the large download size and frequently fails to download as a result. Sometimes the only way to fix the store when it breaks is to reinstall Windows. Their console store XBL store is largely regarded as a good store. So it's not like MS is incapable of it.
You also cannot access the files for games because of UWP. so no modding or .ini editing.
Steam has features and tools that many people don't even know for example You can choose what server to download your games from You can watch a friend play a game by just right click-> watch game and all the streaming heavy work is done by steam. Steam also invests in R&D like Steam Controller, SteamVR, Steam link to innovate the PC gaming space. The recent improvements in Proton/Linux gaming prove as such. Most of their projects are open sourced which is great for everyone.
People say competition is good and we should support these other stores, I'm sure many people who play on PC would give a real competitor a try but nobody else comes even close. Most ppl use other stores because they are forced by exclusive games. GOG is the exception here. Their DRM free policy is very enticing to many. But alas, there is no competition for steam because nobody is at Steam's level in market share and features. Steam is not perfect and has a lot to improve. Steam adding automatic refunds after Origin added it is one instance where competition has helped. The competition also didn't help for consoles for paid online gaming, paid cloud saves etc.
I would also like to say something about the 30% share steam takes. I think it's very well deserved. Valve provides a lot of stuff for devs as mentioned above and also the fact that valve single-handedly saved PC gaming. PC gaming was in a dire state not many years ago, distribution was terrible, piracy was rampant, many developers stopped making games for PC. Steam arrives and opens itself for non-Valve games and with sales and effective distribution turned the PC market around. The fact that PC gaming is healthy today is all because of Steam. Final Fantasy and Yakuza on PC, 100% due to Steam's success.
Also, developers can sell steam keys on their site and get 100% of the share. Square Enix and Paradox are 2 publishers of the many that do this. Win-win for both developers and consumers. GMG, Fanatical, Humble Bundle all exist due to this. You can buy most games 20% off at launch because Valve gets 0% cut on these sales. UPlay and Rockstar Social are other stores that do this. I hope this post helped you understand why PC players dismiss all these new attempts at a store that don't even try to match Steam's core features. These are billion-dollar software companies we're talking about. They should strive to be better.
I wrote this with help from Prominent Members™ from PCERA
Last edited:
