| reply to Karl Bode
Re: It's just that easy, right? said by Karl Bode:Also take a look at what Steam is doing for PC Gaming. Take a look at what Netflix can do for movies over broadband. The future path is obvious. Some people think suing your customers or booting them from the Internet (so they can never be customers again) makes more sense than trying to convert pirates to legal alternatives. They continue to be wrong. Ding ding ding, and we have a winner! 
I honestly didn't expect Steam to take off, but it was appaerent that it was successful once other game developers started to jump on the boat.
Some DSLR may be saying "so what? iTunes sells music for cheap!", you are missing the guiding principle behind Steam. Steam isn't about downloading 5GB of data and let you worry about data integrity, but that you can download any game any number of times without fee.
Buy a new computer? Just download the game again.
On a friends computer? Just download the game again.
With iTunes, you download it, and if your hard drive crashes, oh well (I think you get what...5 free downloads then you have to PAY FOR THE SONG AGAIN). I don't think steam would be as successful today if they used the iTunes philosophy. Especially after the fifth new computer and you couldn't play a game that you supposedly purchased.
I think I could be ok with a monthly fee access to a set of movies similar to netflix style. But I have a problem purchasing something that is apparent that I don't own. |
