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General discussionIs Steam a monopoly. Therefore, illegal?(77 posts)(77 posts)
(77 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted August 28, 2019
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50urc3c0d3: There has never been any sort of DRM launcher. As in a PC game vendor that markets itself by attaching it's entire store to video games by DRM. Even if you take a look at DRM alone. Any other PC game DRM has been veritably locked out of the PC game market because of Steam's dominance.

In a normal capitalistic system, price of goods from a vendor are based on supply/demand as well as competition with other vendors.

In a monopoly, competition based on other vendors doesn't exist. Therefore, prices can be set solely on the demand for the product.

I for one am absolutely against DRM, but nobody can deny the demand for it from devs in PC gaming. Many to the point of moving exclusively to console for no other reason than piracy alone. Aside from that and going DRM free, there's only one option for anybody in mainstream PC games for selling games with DRM copy protection - Steam.
No, but Epic has a monopoly on some games....does that count? o.0

(Also why is this low rated? I thought many here hated steam?)
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50urc3c0d3: Aside from that and going DRM free, there's only one option for anybody in mainstream PC games for selling games with DRM copy protection - Steam.
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Randalator: Yep, Steam is the only option. Steam and uPlay. Two. There's two options, Steam and uPlay. And Origin. Okay, there's three options: Steam, uPlay, Origin and Epic. Wait, that's four, isn't it?
I think OP confused monopoly with the BOARD GAME...which has many variants.

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Randalator: Explain why.
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eric5h5: Because it ruins his "argument," such as it is, and as such he will pretend they don't exist.
Would you say he picks up more cherries than the people following around George Washington during his tree chopping days? ;)
Post edited August 28, 2019 by GameRager
Posted August 28, 2019
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50urc3c0d3: Yet I haven't complained about anything. It's a simple question. If you don't have an answer, then feel free to not respond.
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paladin181: EGS, Origin, UPlay, Bethesda

All say hello with their gaming storefronts.
When Microsoft was subject to Anti-trust legislation, and thus labelled a monopoly, it had Server/Desktop OS competition from

Sun Microsystems
IBM
HP
Novell
SCO
and of course
Apple

All billion dollar companies

Its possible to be a monopoly and have "competition"

Valve doesn't have a monopoly only because "computer games" are not important enough to warrant any oversight.
Posted August 28, 2019
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paladin181: EGS, Origin, UPlay, Bethesda

All say hello with their gaming storefronts.
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mechmouse: When Microsoft was subject to Anti-trust legislation, and thus labelled a monopoly, it had Server/Desktop OS competition from

Sun Microsystems
IBM
HP
Novell
SCO
and of course
Apple

All billion dollar companies

Its possible to be a monopoly and have "competition"

Valve doesn't have a monopoly only because "computer games" are not important enough to warrant any oversight.
Those companies were flies on the wall in terms on competing with MS...MS at the time and to today had/has the major market share(more so than steam has in games)...that's why they were sued/had action taken on them.
Posted August 28, 2019
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darthspudius: Clutching at straws there, pal.
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tinyE: Do straws have a sipping monopoly?
No lips can sip and are frequently used especially increasingly with the introduction of paper straws.
Post edited August 28, 2019 by MaceyNeil
Posted August 28, 2019
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tinyE: Do straws have a sipping monopoly?
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MaceyNeil: No lips can sip and are frequently used especially increasingly with the introduction of paper straws.
So it's a Rolling Stones monopoly.
Posted August 28, 2019
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So it's a Rolling Stones monopoly.
Damn, someone should tell the owners of the Rocky Horror IP the stones ripped their intro logo off. ;D
Posted August 28, 2019
No, it isn't.
/thread.
Posted August 28, 2019
Am i on reddit now? Is GOG not a competitor to Steam then?
Post edited August 28, 2019 by tiredliger
Posted August 28, 2019
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mechmouse: When Microsoft was subject to Anti-trust legislation, and thus labelled a monopoly, it had Server/Desktop OS competition from

Sun Microsystems
IBM
HP
Novell
SCO
and of course
Apple

All billion dollar companies

Its possible to be a monopoly and have "competition"

Valve doesn't have a monopoly only because "computer games" are not important enough to warrant any oversight.
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GameRager: Those companies were flies on the wall in terms on competing with MS...MS at the time and to today had/has the major market share(more so than steam has in games)...that's why they were sued/had action taken on them.
And the situation with Steam is not much different.As a distribution platform it has a vast level of influence.
Posted August 28, 2019
Also, is Steam DRM?
Posted August 28, 2019
low rated
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mechmouse: And the situation with Steam is not much different.As a distribution platform it has a vast level of influence.
People usually need an OS to do important things(work related) and switching such is usually hard(learning a new one/getting stuff running right/etc). Games are not important(to live and function) in the grand scheme of things, and there are other stores and ways to play games.
Post edited August 28, 2019 by GameRager
Posted August 28, 2019
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mechmouse: And the situation with Steam is not much different.As a distribution platform it has a vast level of influence.
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GameRager: People usually need an OS to do important things(work related) and switching such is usually hard(learning a new one/getting stuff running right/etc). Games are not important(to live and function) in the grand scheme of things, and there are other stores and ways to play games.
Which is exactly why Valve's monopoly has gone under the radar.

Ask any CEO or politician what Microsoft is, you're likely to get fairly accurate answer.
Ask the same people about Valve, you'll get an answer about plumbing.

Its not important enough to the right people.
Posted August 28, 2019
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mechmouse: Valve doesn't have a monopoly only because "computer games" are not important enough to warrant any oversight.
Ultimately I'd suspect that legal oversight of Valve/ Steam as a 'monopoly' would fail because they would argue that they are in the same market as and in competition with xbox/ playstation/ nintendo/ phones, which is hard to argue against.

They'd be more likely to get in trouble for other market distorting effects- if it were provable that Valve threatened Paradox with being thrown off steam if they released Connect in 2012 for example that could very well be seen by the EU as abusing a dominant market position to prevent competition, even without steam being a legal monopoly. Trouble is of course that whatever might happen it would almost certainly take literal years to be decided and more literal years to go through appeals. The market distortion case against Intel for their pretty well documented policy of paying companies not to use Athlon took the best part of a decade to settle (and the AMD suit against Intel from the same time still hasn't seen Intel actually pay any money despite losing).
Posted August 29, 2019
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50urc3c0d3: <op post>
I would hope you are aware that in your country, being a monopoly in itself is not "therefore" illegal? Abusing a monopoly is illegal, having one is not.
Posted August 29, 2019
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GameRager: People usually need an OS to do important things(work related) and switching such is usually hard(learning a new one/getting stuff running right/etc). Games are not important(to live and function) in the grand scheme of things, and there are other stores and ways to play games.
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mechmouse: Which is exactly why Valve's monopoly has gone under the radar.

Ask any CEO or politician what Microsoft is, you're likely to get fairly accurate answer.
Ask the same people about Valve, you'll get an answer about plumbing.

Its not important enough to the right people.
Problem is it would be hard to pin a "Restraint Of Trade" charge on Steam;very easy for Steam's lawyers to cite GOG and other on line gsme stores are proof there is competition.
It\s lke the film business: Disney is easily the most dominant studio right now, but they don't have a monopoly. Being a lot bigger then the competition does not mean a monopoly.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionIs Steam a monopoly. Therefore, illegal?(77 posts)(77 posts)
(77 posts)