Is Steam becoming a Rip-Off?

[phredd1]

PC Gaming is surviving just fine.  I'd even say it's thriving due to the bustling indie market of late.

I dunno why some of you guys keep insisting that it's dying.  Same 'ole misconceptions we've seen for decades.  ::)

I don't want to derail this thread, but would jump into the discussion with gusto in another thread.  I think PC gaming as we know it is having it's last "hurrah."

PC gaming isn't so much dying as it is mutating. It's going to survive in one form or another until such time as PCs' and laptops no longer remain in the marketplace.

[SgtRock]

Steam now has 75 games selling as early releases, this can't be good for the industry.  The problem is how many really know what they are getting with they buy an early release, 50%, 60% 70%?
Does Steam offer refunds for early releases that won't even run, no!





 

[Arctic Blast]

Steam now has 75 games selling as early releases, this can't be good for the industry.  The problem is how many really know what they are getting with they buy an early release, 50%, 60% 70%?
Does Steam offer refunds for early releases that won't even run, no!

This isn't good for the industry...why? Are you planning to actually lay down some context to go with this claim? All that I see are small indie outfits selling a product advertised as early release and getting the money to continue development on a real time basis.

[Bison]

It's not like your choice to pay into a pre-order, alpha, or beta game is taken away from you.  You can choose to this method of support/payment for a game or not.  Just not seeing the issue here as long as the games are appropriately marked on the sale page.

[FarAway Sooner]

As much as anything else, I suspect it's a damning indictment of American consumers' inability to delay gratification.  And Steam's willingness to cater to that tendency, like any competitive for-profit business...

[ArizonaTank]

As much as anything else, I suspect it's a damning indictment of American consumers' inability to delay gratification.  And Steam's willingness to cater to that tendency, like any competitive for-profit business...

I wonder how many of the gamers buying these things used to run around and flame a buggy release in the "old" days.

Personally I will stay away from them unless they come from an established dev shop....why?  It takes discipline to finish a piece of software (I know from personal experience).  Under the pay early system, new devs who don't know how to finish and support their product get their money early and then have little incentive to get it right.  Just take the "coming soon and in development" forum at Matrix as proof.  Plenty of games have dropped off the forum over the years...never to see the light of day.  Black Powder Wars comes immediately to mind.  Then there is Battlefields that has been on the forum since at least 2004 (the Operation Epsom AAR is dated June 2004)...coming up on its 10 year "in development."  Glad I didn't pay for "early access" to that.

[LongBlade]

Steam now has 75 games selling as early releases, this can't be good for the industry.  The problem is how many really know what they are getting with they buy an early release, 50%, 60% 70%?
Does Steam offer refunds for early releases that won't even run, no!

This isn't good for the industry...why? Are you planning to actually lay down some context to go with this claim? All that I see are small indie outfits selling a product advertised as early release and getting the money to continue development on a real time basis.

I don't dabble in pre-purchases much, but I did buy Sir, You Are Being Hunted. Yes, it's in alpha. Other than it being quite difficult and that I'd hope they make an easier play mode, I like everything about it. It *could* be released in its current state and would be a pretty darn good game. I can't wait to see the final product.

Do I feel bad/abused/exploited/whatever about getting it? No. I knew it was a pre-release purchase. If I so chose I could contribute my thoughts to the development. I probably won't. I like what I have now, knew what I was getting into, and think there's nothing wrong with this. I won't do it with every game, but I see nothing wrong with offering it as both a means to obtain early access and a means to partial fund a partially completed project.

[Greybriar]

I...knew what I was getting into....

That is the key. If a game is being sold that is incomplete or a work in progess but makes it clear to potential customers what stage of development the game is in, then no one has room to complain about the game's unfinished state.

[Toonces]

So I had an experience that illustrates my point that it is pretty hard to be "fooled" into buying a game without knowing what you're getting into.

I was reading a story on another site about survival games that led me to a game called State of Decay.  I quick search showed it was available on Steam for $20 and what do you know- it was even released today!

I watched the trailer...so far so good, looks awesome and $20 isn't too much money.  I head to the forums to do a quick sanity check...and there are 3-4 pages of threads all started within the last 4 hours about the game.  After a few threads, whine threads, bug threads, and praise threads, I have a pretty good idea of what the game is about, and what the state of the game is with respect to playability.

It wasn't that hard to figure out that this is one to wait out a bit.  But that's the whole point.  A little research goes a long way.