With Gabe’s absurd amount of middleman tax money obtained by running the defacto PC games store monopoly, the solution is oddly simple: Just start a bank and become a payment processor.
A “de-facto” monopoly is not a monopoly. Competitors basically refused to innovate their stores beyond the MVP despite users pointing out the missing features. Epic pissed away a lot of money to buy traffic and then never did anything to keep it.
A “de facto” monopoly (whatever that is) has all the drawbacks of a “real” monopoly (whatever that is): reduced incentive for innovation, possibility for price fixing, means for anticompetitive practices, and so on. The distinction is entirely meaningless when you look at the actual impact an <adjective> monopoly has on society.
I would be alright with this. Gabe could make a fiscal platform that lets everyone escape MasterVisa’s grip, only charging 1% or thereabouts on every transaction, with barely any moderation. That would let Valve to benefit from other storefronts like GOG, JAST, and DLSite, while also freeing Steam from content restrictions, plus giving freedom to buyers to just get what they want. It is win-win for everyone who isn’t MasterVisa or Collective Shout.
Plus, Gabe could establish stronger ties with Europe and Asia, which is good if the US balkanizes in the coming decades. It protects from de-dollarization, since Steam would be able to easily allow Americans to use foreign currencies that become more competitive.
With Gabe’s absurd amount of middleman tax money obtained by running the defacto PC games store monopoly, the solution is oddly simple: Just start a bank and become a payment processor.
A “de-facto” monopoly is not a monopoly. Competitors basically refused to innovate their stores beyond the MVP despite users pointing out the missing features. Epic pissed away a lot of money to buy traffic and then never did anything to keep it.
For all the things I enjoy about GOG, I really wish they added an “ignore” button to games. Steam has had it for 10+ years now.
Another thing I really wish they added is negative filters to the store search/list, “hide games with the tags”. It’s shopping UX 101
A “de facto” monopoly (whatever that is) has all the drawbacks of a “real” monopoly (whatever that is): reduced incentive for innovation, possibility for price fixing, means for anticompetitive practices, and so on. The distinction is entirely meaningless when you look at the actual impact an <adjective> monopoly has on society.
Payment processing is only one part of their troubles. The other is lawsuits.
I would be alright with this. Gabe could make a fiscal platform that lets everyone escape MasterVisa’s grip, only charging 1% or thereabouts on every transaction, with barely any moderation. That would let Valve to benefit from other storefronts like GOG, JAST, and DLSite, while also freeing Steam from content restrictions, plus giving freedom to buyers to just get what they want. It is win-win for everyone who isn’t MasterVisa or Collective Shout.
Plus, Gabe could establish stronger ties with Europe and Asia, which is good if the US balkanizes in the coming decades. It protects from de-dollarization, since Steam would be able to easily allow Americans to use foreign currencies that become more competitive.