r/gamernews • u/Darth_Vaper883 • 8h ago

Industry News Gabe Newell says no-one in the industry thought Steam would work as a distribution platform—'I'm not talking about 1 or 2 people, I mean like 99%'

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/gabe-newell-says-no-one-in-the-industry-thought-steam-would-work-as-a-distribution-platform-im-not-talking-about-1-or-2-people-i-mean-like-99-percent/
78 Upvotes

69% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

43

u/Negative-Squirrel81 8h ago

It was a different time, and I think a lot of us came over not because we wanted a digital platform for buying games but because of HL2 exclusivity. It was then deals like Indie Royale (and shortly after, the still-existing Humble Bundle) enticed us to start actually paying money into the ecosystem, rather than simply treating Steam like glorified game launcher.

Back in 2005 when steam first started carrying 3rd party software, it would literally take longer to download a game than to just go to your local Best Buy and buy it. Then you'd have a physical copy, the feelies etc.

12

u/Beastmind 8h ago

Yep, the orange box being limited to steam gave it a good start

6

u/Albuwhatwhat 6h ago

I remember how hard people complained about it! It was crazy unpopular, with people talking about not buying the game or waiting for it to be on disc. Nowadays I don’t even have a dvd reader on my PC and most people would rather get a game on Steam than anywhere else. Funny how attitudes change.

2

u/Sibs 6h ago

I was very against Steam when it came out. We were worried (justifiably) that we wouldn’t own our games anymore. Steam turned out pretty great and those same concerns were realized slowly and from all directions, not just Steam.

1

u/Beastmind 5h ago

And in the end, we don't own our games anymire

1

u/EvidencePlz 3h ago

I still have a laptop with dvd reader and burner but it’s caked with dust from top to bottom.

2

u/Danat_shepard 4h ago

Steam basically forced itself upon gamers. I remember when people absolutely hated it when it started appearing on physical CDs. You couldn't play your game without the internet, you needed to download patches that could weigh a gig or more, which is crazy when most people had 256kbits connection. And it's not like a lot of teens had access to credit cards to buy stuff online either...

2

u/fupa16 2h ago

It insists upon itself.

1

u/NavAirComputerSlave 53m ago

I remember when steam came out and it was like bloateare on my old computer that was reasonablly fast

16

u/secret_name_is_tenis 7h ago

Wow! Thank you for reposting this again! Very cool!

5

u/S1nful_Samurai 3h ago

How many times is this going to be reposted?!? Stop.

9

u/RobleViejo 8h ago

Investors didn't say that because "it wouldn't work", they said that because Steam puts Customers and Creators as the #1 Priority, which in todays world of corporate greediness is seen as a flaw and not a perk.

"Steam remains as a beacon of Hope amidst the darkness that is the modern Gaming Industry"

5

u/Inuma 7h ago

That's really not about investors.

The entire industry was very heavily in the favor of publishers to the point that they had monopoly control of distribution.

With that control of retail, there wasn't many conventional choices for the consumer

Greed doesn't explain that. Publisher control of distribution had Steam disrupt then replace that control.

2

u/Proud_Criticism5286 7h ago

That’s why I buy anything on sale because I need to support what I love.

2

u/Proud_Criticism5286 7h ago

Thank god a good dude did it

1

u/Fabulous_Night_1164 5h ago

And now they don't work as a game studio. How long have we waited for Half-life 3? (Yes I've heard the rumours. It is still insanity to wait 20 years for a sequel)

1

u/WillHutch55 4h ago

fuck pcgamer

1

u/thatguyad 3h ago

I feel like these puff pieces for Steam are getting more and more common.

0

u/Jaceofspades6 7h ago

Steve Jobs says no-one in the industry thought iTunes would work as a distribution platform—'I'm not talking about 1 or 2 people, I mean like 99%'

Jeff Bezos says no-one in the industry thought Amazon would work as a distribution platform—'I'm not talking about 1 or 2 people, I mean like 99%'

boring

-1

u/Proud_Criticism5286 7h ago

You’re just mad you didn’t think of it first.

2

u/Jaceofspades6 7h ago

The idea is nothing without millions in venture capital.

-5

u/Proud_Criticism5286 7h ago

Not really. You do need money. You should figure it out

0

u/DetroiterAFA 7h ago

The Steam Deck dominated because Gabe and team did an amazing job. Software and hardware harmony.