this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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So more-efficient competitors emerged against the supermajority market leader and didn't impact that company's market share.
Hmm.
Thats not what they said, "More efficient" didn't happen.
Just either a wildly more toxic environment with Epic, or a cheaper but much less user friendly one with GOG.
Steam didn't need to change because neither of the competition understand the market.
Steam didn't need to change because none of their competitors challenge their de facto monopoly. Reasons do not change how it is plainly a monopoly. They have a supermajority market share, and people glibly admit, they don't even consider buying games except on Steam.
You said
But now you are saying that they didn't challenge the monopoly? If they dont even challenge then how are they competition?
Steam let's me buy games and play them. The interface with Big Picture Mode let's me interact with the store.
The issue I see is that no one is competing on PC with Steam because they keep trying to tie themselves with the fucking trainwreck that's Windows.
They keep trying to tie themselves with shitty desktop launchers.
They keep trying to tie themselves with toxic customer service.
There is competition, but it's with Sony, Microsoft and their consoles.
That's equivocating two definitions of "competition."
... that's admitting they have a monopoly. That's the monopoly we're talking about. You're not disagreeing with me, you're just picking unrelated definitions and talking about something else.
Steam's competitors, on PC, are services like GOG and EGS. Their teensy market share doesn't disqualify them as competitors. They are in the exact same market. That's why they have a "market share." And Steam's market share is so overwhelming that you're treating their would-be rivals like they do not exist.
I could basically buy anything that I get on Steam, on either Epic or GOG. Their market share is not why I buy games on Steam, I gave you those reasons already.
I do not run Windows because its a shitty hostile environment that contractually prevents distributors from providing an optimised interface for gaming. It inserts adverts into every section, and even Windows users unironically complain that Windows Update is malware.
In response to a comment reading: "Reasons do not change how it is plainly a monopoly."
Their market share is what make them a monopoly. That's what the word means.
Upvoting 'no competitors means it's not a monopoly' is tribalism. Y'all don't care about the words. You are performing loyalty. Comments defending the ingroup must be good and smart and right... even if they're repeating the initial criticism.
'Steam's competition doesn't matter.' 'Wrong! They have no competition.' That's worse. You know that's worse, right?
Thats not what was said at all.
No competition is not good. But Epic is worse competition, and GOG is halfhearted competition that is an ultimately worse experience for most people.
You literally said "no one is competing on PC."
If you're not arguing against calling that a monopoly, I'm pretty fuckin' sure everyone else missed it.
That's half my sentence, dont add a full stop where there wasn't one in quotes. It makes you a liar.
And then I list reasons why i don't see the alternatives as credible competition.
"Because" doesn't change what we're talking about. You said: "no one is competing on PC". That's a monopoly. That's you, calling Steam a monopoly. Do you understand that? Saying 'Steam is a monopoly because...' would not change that.