Why Steam is Awesome, and How You Can Make Live Free

[Rainbird]

makingmusic476 said:

Rainbird said:

They don't want you to switch platform, they want to bring their platform to you.

This is true, and I'll be honest, I often forget what a great, pro-consumer company Valve can be, and it muddles my view of how they operate.  They certainly aren't a typical business, something that should've been obvious given the case I've been trying to make this entire thread.

For example, Ameratsu just reminded me on Steam that Valve gave away Portal for free back when they first brought Steam to Mac, in an effort to help grow their userbase. 

Rather than locking games to their platform, they allow gamers to play on whichever platform they choose, meanwhile they promote their own platform by giving away free games.

Exactly.