anjohl: Really though. Steam has had a drastic shift in philosophy partway through the summer of 08. I think the euro = dollar thing was the first symptom, but it's larger than that.
Steam was *always* competitive with retail, but now in many cases their games are more expensive than retail...and you don't even own them! (For the apologists, read that as "You don't even have guarenteed access to them)
I have no idea what made Valve abandon their "for the customer" ethos, but they seem colder than D2D these days. In fact, D2D is likely nipping at their heels with their amazing sale (Just got East India for $5...which uses Goo...which means I can register it via Impulse!).
Navagon: From what do you think Valve have made the most money in the past few years? It's unfortunately not surprising that their focus has shifted. They wanted a means to secure HL2 and wound up kick starting a whole new industry with themselves at the forefront.
TF2 aside, they've really started to slip when it comes to actually making games. In fact, I think it's fair to say that they've gone somewhat overkill on updating that one game. Had they more effectively allocated resources to their upcoming titles and Left 4 Dead people's perceptions of them might be somewhat higher. Instead they've been treating TF2 like their own personal WOW. Only without the financial return to justify their investment.
In other words, it's like games development doesn't matter to them so long as they have Steam to keep them going they can do what they like. Pitchford was right about one thing: splitting the company would be best for both parties. It would mean that something was actually expected of their development studios.
As for D2D: they can make all the offers in the world. If I can't buy them, regional restrictions or no, then I don't see how it makes a difference. They strike me as very unprofessional on many levels and I just can't trust them with my money, no matter how little. Also: activation limits =/= ownership.
I bought World in Conflict from D2D, DRM free. I bought East India Company, which uses Goo, which I will register on Impulse, which makes it virtually DRM free.
Regarding TF2, Valve didn't even *technically* make that game. The only games they developed in-house were Half Life 1 and 2. CS was an existing game that they bought out, as was TF2, Portal, and L4D. Valve has just been smart when it comes to personal/IP acquisitions.
Part of what changed Valve I think was the push to have the big 3rd party publishers onboard. I think that they dictated strict terms to Valve, that kindof "rubbed off".
I once did a list up of games that I have concluded are "not part of Steam", in that they will never go on sale, based on telemetrics and forecasts based on past sales. I can remember off top of my head that I had COD4 and Quake Wars on there.
