KyleKatarn: So I still haven't ever heard a good reason of why people think PC gaming would have died if Steam hadn't been brought into existence, unless people consider indie platform games that more closely resemble classic consoles like the NES or SNES the heart and soul of PC gaming. Point-and-click games? Sure, those are doing better now. I don't see many indies trying to make a classic PC game like Dark Legions though.
If I want a console experience (which I consider Steam to be), I get a console. And I did. I wonder, how do people like using a mouse for games that were designed to be used with a stick, especially FPP shooters? What's the point?
It relates to the big-time developers and their reluctance to release or heavily support a game on a platform where it's trivially easy to pirate said game. Releasing on a console means it's that much harder to pirate a game due to constant updates to prevent such and some extra work required by the pirate. Steam offers an easy way to implement strong DRM in a digital distribution model while still reaching a huge percentage of PC gamers.
I don't agree with it and it doesn't really work as far as preventing piracy goes either, but that's probably the biggest reason people think that.
As for the second point, well that's the greatest thing about PCs is versatility. If a game is really ill-suited for a mouse/keyboard setup you can just plug in a controller or joystick and you're good to go. Microsoft sells a 360 controller that comes with a little receiver to plug in the computer that works for up to 4 360 controllers at a time; I use it for plenty of games.
