Unangst: GFW Live and Steam “Trying to do Two Different Things”
By Chris on Saturday, July 26th, 2008 at 12:08 PM PST In Computer, Game Companies, Game Platforms, Gamer Life, Games, Microsoft, Valve
Most would consider Games for Windows Live and Steam to be directly competing with each other. While Steam does have its store and digital distribution aspect to it, it also works as an overlay in games that gives you access to a friends list, messaging and — in some games — achievements. Sounds a lot like the most compelling features Live has, doesn’t it?
In an interview with 1UP, Games for Windows head Kevin Unangst tried to differentiate the two platforms out of what I amount to a desire to be anything but a Steam competitor. Valve’s platform clearly has a strong hold on the market right now, and it won’t be easy to gain ground on them for Microsoft, Stardock, or anyone else.
In regards to how significant of a challenge Steam’s head store poses for GFW Live, Unangst said, “I think we’re really trying to do two different things. Steam started many years ago, and now they’ve got a great distribution platform that’s being used by quite a few people, and it’s great. I think our focus is, how do we consistently deliver value-add to PC games? We’ve got a multiplayer system that nobody can match, we’ve got achievements for both single-player and multiplayer, we’ve got cross-platform play, we’ve got that plumbing that’s even easier to implement as a result of this. We’re just continuing to give developers tools that are going to get those consumers excited about the gameplay experiences.”
As I said, Steam already covers some of those bases, like achievements and Steamworks being an easy way for developers to implement Steam support into their games. But Unangst doesn’t believe he’s disregarding the competition, and that there’s room on PC for GFW Live and other services.
“I think there’s plenty of room on the PC for all kinds of systems,” he said. “I think consumers and developers will make their own choices. Certainly we are competing in some ways, and over time I think that will continue. But Windows is all about choice. That’s what’s great. They, like many others, are moving into the digital distribution space. You’ve got Gamespy — that’s been in the multiplayer space for years, when you’re talking about game developers having a choice to integrate multiplayer gaming into their system, that’s really the target, when we look at what developers are making choices between. I think our focus on content, our focus on a broad set of content, and really keeping the game at the center is what’s going to define us moving ahead.”
One of the major fundamental differences between GFW Live and Steam today is that you can buy games through Steam. When he was asked if GFW Live might be interested in selling games through Live, Unangst replied, “I think that’ll be a natural evolution of where our service would go — it’s something that’ll be on the road map, but not anything we’re ready to talk about specifically today.”
image via Sarcastic Gamer
“Valve’s platform clearly has a strong hold on the market right now”
Chris, you are a moronic Valve sycophant as usual. Steam certainly does NOT have a strong hold on the market for which Games for Windows is targeted. Almost no games outside of Valve’s own dogfood use Steam for their multiplayer functionality. Red Orchestra is the only non-Valve game I can think of which uses Steam for its master list and authentication servers. The other third-party games offered for subscription on Steam do not. Steam just delivers the game files and serves as the DRM/copy-protection. Games for Windows Live has substantially more games supporting it than that. Eleven games which use Live are listed at http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/Live/Pages/AboutLive.aspx In addition Gamespy is clearly the current top dog in the PC multiplayer SDK market followed by proprietary solutions with Games for Windows Live, Steam, and Qazal bringing up the rear. If you’d ever take your head out of Valve’s ass, you’d have known that.
games for windows live is crap no mod support most of the games are crappy xbox ports which still have the fricking buttions layout for xbox even if it not cross platform.
that steam is better. simple as that.
“no mod support most of the games are crappy xbox ports which still have the fricking buttions layout for xbox”
That is a problem with the games themselves NOT with Games for Windows Live. There is nothing about Games for Windows Live which prevents a game which utilizes it from supporting mods or mandates that it be controlled with a gamepad.
“that steam is better. simple as that”
It’s not better, simpleton. I’m no huge fan of Games for Windows Live, but Steam is worse. The main problem with games which use Steam is that they require the Steam software to be running just to play the game. That’s a ridiculous requirement, and there’s no technical reason why the Steam client can’t be optional. The only reason Valve requires the Steam software be running is to shove its embedded DRM down users’ throats and so that it can track users as they play.
steam sucks…I don’t know anyone who would, if given the choice, rather have their game integrated with steam than not integrated.
that aside, GFW is also terrible, supports very few games, half of which are widely accepted as terrible…these apps are for one thing and one thing only DRM. you cant get a hacked copy of css,dods, TF2s or any game that requires steam integration…
that aside, both the above posts are 100% correct although i do believe steam has a strong hold, not because we like it, but because we have no other choice to play some of our favorite games.
both of these DRM machines are dog crap, one just stinks a little less cause its been stuck on the bottom of our shoe for so long
I am looking forward to cross-platform play however when more games that support it come out.
your attempts to bash steam fail. Steam is the most successful program in the field.
“The main problem with games which use Steam is that they require the Steam software to be running just to play the game. That’s a ridiculous requirement”
Is it? I see it as the best safeguard a company can have. It doesn’t take a notable amount of resources to run and keeps anyone from pirating their games. I have used steam for many many years and ive NEVER had issues with steam.
“steam sucks…I don’t know anyone who would, if given the choice, rather have their game integrated with steam than not integrated.”
I would love to have every game ive ever bought integrated into steam. Steam offers me accessibility to the game I could never have with it being bought from wall-mart on a disk. No cd-keys or disks to worry about losing.
Phil, you bash steam and give 1 reason, a shitty reason at that. Everything you posted just says how us steam lovers don’t know shit. You offer no valid points onto why Steam sucks yet you seem to praise GFW for supporting eleven games. ZOMG ELEVEN GAMES. You obviously haven’t looked into steam and seem to sit behind oyour biased ass shell of ignorance.
well said Duddee wouldn’t of said it better myself
“Steam is the most successful program in the field.”
NO, it isn’t. Steam may be relatively successful in the PC game subscription/distribution business, but that is NOT the target or purpose of Games for Windows Live. The purpose of Games for Windows Live is to provide multiplayer hosting, matchmaking, and related game communication functionailty in games. And, in that space Gamespy is by far the number one player. Outside of Valve’s own games, Steam is at the bottom of the barrel because almost no other developers or publishers use it for the multiplayer functionality in their games. As I noted above even Games for Windows Live has more third party game support than Steam, and that will most likely escalate given that Games for Windows Live is now free and more easily integrated with the DirectX and XBOX SDK’s which all Windows game developers already use. Steam’s biggest problem competing in that space is that Valve also competes directly with other Windows game developers so those developers naturally don’t want to be dependent upon Valve’s tools since they don’t have to be.
“I see it as the best safeguard a company can have.”
Sure it’s best for Valve but NOT for the consumer.
“It doesn’t take a notable amount of resources to run”
“Notable” is relative. Steam does cause a noticeable performance hit on low-end PC’s. How noticeable simply depends upon how tolerant the user is. The bottom line though is that it is completely unnecessary and only serves Valve NOT the customer.
“No cd-keys or disks to worry about losing.”
No, instead you have to worry about Steam failing, Valve or a third-party developer or publisher terminating the availability of one or more of the games on Steam to which you are subscribed, or Valve unilaterally and irrevokably terminating your entire Steam account without recourse or compensation and you losing the hundreds or thousands of dollars you spent subscribing to Steam games. See http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=subscriber_agreement and https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5406-WFZC-5519 for some of the horrific details. At least with games bought on physical media, the customer ultimately controls when, if, and how he can play his games, and the developer or publisher can never take his games away from him after purchase as Valve can with Steam.
“Phil, you bash steam and give 1 reason, a shitty reason at that.”
I gave one reason because that reason is the subject of this news story. I could have written a lengthy diatribe on everything wrong with Steam, but it wasn’t appropriate here. Also, you would be too stupid to comprehend it and too biased to concede to it even if I had.
“you seem to praise GFW for supporting eleven games. ZOMG ELEVEN GAMES.”
That’s ten more third-party games than use Steam’s multiplayer functionality.
“You obviously haven’t looked into steam”
I obviously know Steam better than you do.
“and seem to sit behind oyour biased ass shell of ignorance.”
“biased ass shell of ignorance”? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Go find a literate adult to explain the English language to you before you attempt to write it in the future.
“well said Duddee wouldn’t of said it better myself ”
John, that only proves that you are an even bigger idiot than he is. Your even worse grammar than his, i.e. “wouldn’t of said,” also makes that abundantly apparent.
I like steam because I can patch my valve games easily with it. I don’t really care/know about it’s other features.
The reason why I might like GFW live in the future is that I’ll be able to play against xbox dudes…. if just a good game existed that didn’t have autoaim/etc…
Phil they don’t take your game away and steam has tons of 3rd party games on Steam and plus they only ban you from multiplier if you where hacking. which it does with ever other system windows for live included. Plus when you grammar as a insult it just shows the true idiot you are.
“Phil they don’t take your game away”
Yes, Valve can and has done that to some of its customers after purchase. Steam is a subscription service, and Valve can terminate a customer’s game “subscriptions” at any time per its broad “zero tolerance” policies using Steam’s included DRM. Read the Steam Subscriber Agreement and the other links I posted above for some of the details.
“steam has tons of 3rd party games on Steam”
I don’t dispute that, but that is NOT the point, fool. The point is that only ONE of those third-party games actually uses Steam for its multiplayer functionality. The others use Gamespy, proprietary solutions, or even Games for Windows Live. That’s the point. Games for Windows Live is even more popular than Steam in the market in which they both compete because almost no developers and publishers outside of Valve use it for their games’ multiplayer functionality.
“plus they only ban you from multiplier if you where hacking”
No, Valve’s list of offenses for which it terminates Steam accounts is much, much broader than that. See http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=online_conduct and https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5406-WFZC-5519 . In addition Valve’s abiility and decision to terminate accounts is unilateral, irrevocable, and without any compensation to the customer. What that means is that the customer can be screwed out of all of his Steam games at any time simply because Valve says so.
“which it does with ever other system windows for live included.”
No other system or service can or will completely disable any or all games a customer purchased using that same system or method including the single-player functionality of those games like Steam does.
“Plus when you grammar as a insult it just shows the true idiot you are.”
No, it just further shows what idiots they are when they can’t even write their moronic thoughts correctly.
lol k Phil you win for now im tried of aguring but for now steam is on top games for windows live is not even near it. it gonna take a lot of changes for me to be happy with it have fun with grammer taunts.
lawl. i giggled. You still fail at changing anyones mind. Again the reasons you posted that steam sucks are irrelevant. Countless people love steam and what steam has done for the gaming community.
Philly probably did somethin illegal and/or stupid and got punished. Now he is crying over it.
Thats what it sounds like to me as well. It’s not as evil as Phil makes it out to be. You’re not going to lose your games just because “Valve says so”.
Piracy, Hacking, Phishing – Those things are illegal, and you sound like you’re whining over how you can lose your account for performing those actions.
As far as Steam dropping support or distribution over titles, that is not up to Steam to decide… they only agree to provide the service. The Publisher is the one who has the right to pull a title off the steam platform. Gametap, Steam, even GFW can suffer from it. If the publisher no longer wants a certain title to be electronicly distributed, Steam has to oblige. You can’t blame steam for that.
No offense, but it sounds like you’re upset that Steam caught your pirating with your pants down and now you’re stuck with a bunch of games you can’t play because you broke the law. And you’re parading like it’s THIER fault.
They do in fact cut off your account for what I consider an abusive reason. It happened to me. They sold me a game that WOULD NOT FUNCTION, ever, on any computer I owned. Yet they refused to provide any customer support beyond boilerplate crap about rebooting. Like I hadn’t thought of that. When I exercised my rights under the commercial law to place a chargeback on that payment for the NONFUNCTIONAL game, they froze the entire account and all games that ran through it, forever, despite my having paid hundreds of dollars to buy those games. And they NEVER fixed the game, because after your account if frozen, YOU CAN’T CONTACT THEM ANYMORE!!!