| AngryLittleAlchemist said: I don't really think your argument holds up well. PC gamers rejected Microsoft's advances based on quality, Xbox Live was more of a scam on PC than it was a "service" so acting like it's equivalent to any Microsoft subscription is a slippery slope, Games For Windows Live was awful, had a terrible interface and shitty DRM. And the Windows store is extremely limited and, again, has a terrible interface. Basically what i'm saying is ... in order for your argument to hold water you would have to believe 1 ) the false equivalence that every subscription service is the same and 2 ) that this theoretical subscription service would be bad before it's even made. Even though the entire point of my comment was that it would interesting to see how gamers react to it ... so there isn't a point in making absolutes to refute the possibility. It's as useless as saying "If Steam 2.0 is bad then people won't like it" - like duh, obviously. However, I am way more interested in how this would turn out if it was well received, so let me chime in on a few things. Trying to compete with Steam by copying Valve isn't a good idea. Steam already has a strangle hold on PC software sales and doing the exact same thing as them isn't going to drive competition. In addition, Steam already HAS done some bad things that have really effected the platform for a while now. Steam now has a terrible store front as it doesn't weed out much of the bullshit. Steam isn't perfect, even though i'm not enough of a snob to really not love it. But the mere idea of paying say 10-15$ a month for a huge selection of games is enough to entice a lot of people especially when you consider that most PC gamers are connected to the internet 24/7. If they plan to play the game offline, they could just pay a few extra dollars to access it in offline mode. I imagine that this service would have it's own HUB like Steam where you can add friends, make clans and communities, and post art etc. As good as Steam's HUB is compared to the shit that is Origin, Uplay, or the Windows Store even it's not perfect. If Microsoft should copy anything it should be that HUB and it should just make it even better. Microsoft might worry about Mods if they have a chance of unlocking the DRM for a game, so what they could do is have their own "workshop" where mods that go through Microsoft's check can be installed in a game that you are paying a subscription for. It might limit the amount that goes on their front but it really shouldn't ... I don't know of many mods that have security issues ... As long as Microsoft doesn't try to limit speech and actions on their userface and keep it relatively free like Steam's workshop and community section, I don't see the issue. There's a lot of issues with the idea of a subscription based service and i'm not even necessarily a fan of it (I don't see why the concept of just buying a game should be discarded just because it's expensive). But it would at least be interesting to see how it would pan out, things could be fixed as they go on, and it would at least give Steam a competitor. Of course if i'm rooting for anybody it's not Microsoft, we really should get a different company competing in the games industry on PC .... |
It's not even an argument here. PC gamers rejected GFWL and being charged a sub fee. That's not an argument, but a fact that happened years ago.
It's not even a point of making "absolutes". You've seen it happen multiple times in the past to see where it went on PC. Magically thinking it will objectively be a massive hit and allow PC to gain sub fees all around is just plain silly, and that alone doesn't hold water, based on past and current evidence.
No, I mentioned taking their "good pages" from what Steam has been rolling with over the years. MS takes the good features, and what people like using Steam for, then MS adds on top of that with unique and good ideas of their own. They need to catch up to Steam, but going all in on their own methods isn't working out for them currently, and this isn't going to be another one of those "give it another decade" kind of ideas either.
I never said Steam was perfect, but it seems we're putting a large focus on just the bad things Steam has done, vs the good, which honestly isn't backing up the argument, but only points out that you're letting one side slide more over the other for little to no reason.
You don't have to be a "snob" to like Steam. I prefer using it over other clients because 1) it has features I'm actually interested in and consider QoL, and 2) It has all the games I want being sold from the store, and 3) It has mod support via the workshop, which I value quite highly as I like to mod my games whenever possible.
@Bold
You assume everyone loves renting games more so than owning them. Again, there is little data on PC to suggest that 90% of PC gamers will love paying a sub fee monthly and never buying a game once ever again. Paying a few extra dollars just leads to a slippery slope, with no end.
Their DRM has already been cracked, and recently we've found that they used 5 layers of DRM for one of their games, 5 layers...
Going through a "checking" booth of sorts via MS just serves as a way to kill the modding community, because you'd be going through what the company thinks is good vs what the community actually wants. You don't try to control the modding community, even Bethesda knows better than to control their entire modding community (hence why Nexus is still around and still widely used more than Bethesda's "modding club").
The concept is interesting to you, because you have nothing to lose from it being executed. I however, would rather not see an experiment being conducted in a space they've already proven their worst in. I especially have something to lose if they try to screw around with games, let alone their OS in the future. I'd rather they leave things as they are, and instead appeal to the interests of those that want a good storefront and client, not what they think is best for me.
As far as things are going, there is no solid all around amazing competitor to Steam, because no one else is bothering to try taking all the pages. Everyone takes one or two pages and calls it a day. To learn how to beat your competitor, you have to study what good they are doing, as well as the bad, and simply adding onto the good and giving your own unique spin (and I mean unique, not a half arsed job).
Study the PC ecosystem a bit more, and you'll learn more of what makes it tick. Those that don't study it well seem to think mods don't matter or should be restricted in some form or another (when they really shouldn't, as people always find a way around said blocks).
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