PC gamers' views on Valve's impact on the industry and the presence of multiple launchers
PC gamers have largely positive views of Valve, the company behind the Steam store. According to PC Game Spotlight's Steam survey, many respondents believe that Valve has had a mostly positive impact on PC gaming, although there are concerns about the presence of multiple launchers.
The survey, which was conducted over the course of a month, asked PC gamers about their experiences with Valve and the Steam store. The majority of respondents expressed that Valve has been a positive influence overall, while some raised concerns about Valve's 'Steam dependence' and the proliferation of multiple launchers. There were also a few respondents who stated that the benefits of Steam are not worth the associated costs, and that piracy is a preferable option.
Overall, most respondents believe that Valve has been good for PC gaming. The most common response (16%) indicated that Valve has 'helped PC gaming in a lot of ways,' while an additional 15% stated that Valve has had a 'mostly positive impact.'
Some respondents acknowledged the negative aspects of Valve's impact, particularly the fragmentation of the market caused by multiple launchers. However, they also recognized the positive contributions Valve has made and considered the company to be a net positive influence.
Others mentioned specific examples of Valve's impact, such as its role in the growth of the PC gaming market and its contributions to pushing the medium forward, particularly in terms of virtual reality (VR). Valve's games, including Half-Life, Counter-Strike, and Dota 2, were also praised by respondents, with some considering them to be the biggest games in PC gaming.
While Valve's logo and its status as a 'monopolist' were criticized by some users, these opinions were in the minority. There were also comments about Valve's decisions regarding certain games and franchises, such as Age of Empires 2, Age of Mythology, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2, which were considered controversial by some.
Valve's customer service was commended by many respondents, who praised the company for making excellent games and providing the best customer support in the industry. Additionally, Valve's hardware ventures, particularly the Valve Index VR headset, were highly anticipated by some users.
Some users expressed a desire to see Blizzard games on Steam, citing the user-friendly experience and their admiration for Blizzard's games. Others expressed nostalgia for certain game styles, such as old-school FPS games and pixel art indie games, as well as the era of MMO games like Second Life and RuneScape.
There were also suggestions for improvements to Steam, particularly in terms of privacy, security, and transparency in decision-making.
