No, it is where it is because Valve decided it wanted to invest in it outside of it being a launcher/updater for Valve games.

And it’s not really the first. The first was probably Battle.net by Blizzard, which initially was a way to connect players (chat and join games) back in the mid-90s. It wasn’t a game sales/distribution service for many years, but it got there w/ the release of the dedicated desktop app in 2013 and had some of the core features that makes Steam special (chat and match making). In fact, I had the desktop app before I had a Steam account, which I created in ~2013 when Steam came to Linux (I switched to Linux in ~2009, and had played games on Windows for years before that). Blizzard was never interested in becoming a game distribution network, so Battle.net remained largely exclusive to Blizzard titles.

I wouldn’t have bothered w/ Steam if it didn’t provide value. I was fine managing games individually, and I bought many games from Humble Bundle and directly from devs for years before Steam became a thing. I only started preferring Steam when it provided features I couldn’t get elsewhere. These days, it provides so much value since I’m a Linux user, that I honestly don’t consider alternatives, because everything else is painful. Heroic launcher closes that gap substantially, so I’m actually considering buying more from GOG (outside of a handful of old games I can’t find elsewhere).

If another launcher provided better value vs Steam, I’d switch in a heartbeat. I use both Steam and Heroic, and I still prefer Steam because it has great features like controller mapping. But if, say, GOG supported the features I care about on the platform I use, I’d probably switch to GOG because I also care about DRM-free games. But they don’t, so I largely stick to Steam.

If I don’t like what Comcast charges I don’t do a class action lawsuit.

That’s a poor example, because in many markets, Comcast (or another cable provider) is the only option, or there’s only one other option with much lower top-end speeds (e.g. DSL). So a class-action against Comcast may be a reasonable idea, since they’re an actual monopoly in many markets.

The games industry is different. Steam does have a commanding share of the market, but there’s no real lock-in there, a developer can choose to not publish there and succeed. Minecraft, famously, never released on Steam, and it has been wildly successful. Likewise for Blizzard games, like Starcraft and World of Warcraft.

Maybe a better comparison is grocery store chains? Walmart has something like 60% market share in the US, yet I have successfully been able to completely avoid shopping there.

Same, and I’ve even played one or two!

Something something hindenberg…

Depending on the game, I can get 4 hours or so on my OG Steam Deck, but AAA games can burn through it in under 2 hours.

I and my kids value the exclusives, especially Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, Zelda, and Kirby. I could emulate those, but getting local multiplayer working is tricky and not something I expect my kids to do with their friends. We also share games with neighbors, which is nice too.

Most of my time and gaming money goes to my Steam Deck, because that’s what I play when the kids go to bed. In fact, I never play the Switch without my kids watching. We have maybe 20 Switch games, and I have hundreds of Steam games. I see value in both ecosystems.

I have a Steam Deck…

It’s not, but it does have a cryptocurrency you can opt-in to if you want. I don’t recommend that, but I think Brave is fine as Chromium browsers go.

Yeah, I like the OLED on the Switch, maybe I’ll wait until the Switch 2 has a revision

I’ll probably get one eventually, but I’m in no rush. We still have lots of Switch games to play, and nothing yet is a must have. Now, if they make a great Zelda game or something, maybe I’ll be convinced.

Most of my gaming is on PC or Steam Deck, so the Switch is mostly for my kids and family game time. So as long as the OG fulfills that purpose, I’m not upgrading.

Yeah, I want some.

So basically a Steam Deck. That’s too bad.

I’m guessing something like a “justice boner,” but with misinformation?

Boots up Hitman.

This is an oldie, but Lords of the Realm II. I loved the first two, but had trouble with the third and ended up giving up, assuming it was a me problem.

Nope, the community pretty much unanimously hates it. It’s not a terrible game per se, it’s just very different from the first two, throwing out everything most people liked about the predecessors and not exactly succeeding at the new mechanics.

I’ve decided to build my own take on the best parts of all three, we’ll see if I ever finish it.

Eh, I think it’s simple, they want people to sign up for free, and then forget about the subscription once it starts charging. I don’t think selling data is the priority here, but maybe they do that too.

That’s fine, just use ChatGPT…

You can run it rootful, then it behaves just like Docker.

I never said it wasn’t capitalist, just that being bad nonprofit should afford a little more leniency when it comes to “free labor.” Matrix is FOSS, the Matrix foundation exists to drive its development, and its whole point is to provide a replacement for exploitative products. Such an organization soliciting donations makes a ton of sense, and donations can take the form of code, money, or even free labor (moderation).

So yeah, I’m absolutely willing to give them a pass on asking for such donations, and I think they should replace some of the money they’re spending on moderation w/ more development time.

My understanding is that Matrix is a nonprofit.