30% to Valve seems disproportionate and greedy though, which they get away with only because they have a near-monopoly.
This part is just not true. Every vendor storefront except Epic has the exact same split. It is the industry standard, has been for thirty years.
Epic is doing what is called a "loss leader", it's a tactic that Rockefeller used to buy up rival gas stations by operating at a loss in hopes that he could outlast them financially. It is a tactic that you use when you are bent on creating a monopoly. A tactic that Epic can only use because they are heavily backed with Red Chinese money.
They are very literally engaged in illegal, monopolistic trade practices and the only reason they haven't been legally confronted for it yet is because fully one half of the political spectrum is also in the pocket of the ChiComs.
The online game marketplace industry hasn't existed for 30 years. More like 15. Anyway, I just looked up revenue numbers, and found a 2017 quote about Valve earning $4.3 billion on operating Steam that year.
I bet Steam could be operated very profitably on, say, a 7% commision, which would have netted them a round 1 billion.dollars. Everyone deserve a bit of profit for their work, but a 30% cut for being a glorified CDN and credit-card processor, is exploitative rent-seeking, and I don't care if Apple and others are doing it too.
The online game marketplace industry hasn't existed for 30 years.
Sega Channel. Which was 94 so while it wasn't strictly thirty years, it's pretty close.
Anyway, I just looked up revenue numbers, and found a 2017 quote about Valve earning $4.3 billion on operating Steam that year.
Good for them, they provide the best service to the customer.
but a 30% cut for being a glorified CDN and credit-card processor
Is a dramatic, almost deliberately dishonest reduction of the services Steam provides.
Steam has the largest base because they provide the most convenient and most useful service to the one group of people in this equation whose opinion matters. The customer.
is exploitative rent-seeking
It is literally nothing of the sort. They have the largest base because they have the best product. No one has broken them because no one actually bothers trying to compete with them. Epic certainly isn't trying to compete with them, hence their constant use of illegal trade practices instead.
I don't give two shits about what cut the storefront takes. I care about the service provided to me, and I will use the best one, which is Steam.
This part is just not true. Every vendor storefront except Epic has the exact same split. It is the industry standard, has been for thirty years.
Epic is doing what is called a "loss leader", it's a tactic that Rockefeller used to buy up rival gas stations by operating at a loss in hopes that he could outlast them financially. It is a tactic that you use when you are bent on creating a monopoly. A tactic that Epic can only use because they are heavily backed with Red Chinese money.
They are very literally engaged in illegal, monopolistic trade practices and the only reason they haven't been legally confronted for it yet is because fully one half of the political spectrum is also in the pocket of the ChiComs.
The online game marketplace industry hasn't existed for 30 years. More like 15. Anyway, I just looked up revenue numbers, and found a 2017 quote about Valve earning $4.3 billion on operating Steam that year.
I bet Steam could be operated very profitably on, say, a 7% commision, which would have netted them a round 1 billion.dollars. Everyone deserve a bit of profit for their work, but a 30% cut for being a glorified CDN and credit-card processor, is exploitative rent-seeking, and I don't care if Apple and others are doing it too.
Sega Channel. Which was 94 so while it wasn't strictly thirty years, it's pretty close.
Good for them, they provide the best service to the customer.
Is a dramatic, almost deliberately dishonest reduction of the services Steam provides.
Steam has the largest base because they provide the most convenient and most useful service to the one group of people in this equation whose opinion matters. The customer.
It is literally nothing of the sort. They have the largest base because they have the best product. No one has broken them because no one actually bothers trying to compete with them. Epic certainly isn't trying to compete with them, hence their constant use of illegal trade practices instead.
I don't give two shits about what cut the storefront takes. I care about the service provided to me, and I will use the best one, which is Steam.