Eli Hodapp’s large collection of words.

Dear Retards,

I’ve never been able to wrap my head around the seething hatred for Steam a lot of people have had since Counter-Strike 1.4’s initial Steam download in what… 2002? Like it or not, online content delivery is the future of all forms of media. Look at what is happening to music, the iTunes music store is the #3 largest music retailer in the USA right now. With more and more music being either iTunes or internet-only exclusives, how long before retailers decide to stop wasting shelf space with CD’s?

The same can be said for Steam, the XBOX Live Arcade, and other internet video game content distributors. Take for example the following two scenarios in purchasing a new computer game:

Brick and Mortar
I decide I absolutely must have the mini-box, set of several CD’s in paper sleeves, and if I’m lucky, a black and white manual with a staple or two in it. I get in my car and drive to GameStop. Since GameStop keeps a stock of about two dozen PC games, I am forced to preorder the game I want to secure myself one of the three copies of whatever newly anticipated title is coming out. I give GameStop $10. My $10, even at terrible interest rates is making them ridiculous amounts of money considering the no-doubt millions of preorders they have in their system at one time- Or, millions of people giving them free potentially long-term $10 loans.

A few weeks pass and the game finally comes out. I go to GameStop, redeem my free $10 loan, then pay the balance on the boxed game. In doing so I’m giving the following people my money:

• The pimply faced dweeb behind the counter at GameStop.
• His manager, potentially the rest of the employees of the store.
• All of the GameStop fat cat executives and corporate employees.
• UPS, FedEx or USPS and their entire delivery network.
• The factories that press the discs, print the manuals, and assemble the boxes. (And all of their employees.)
• The game’s distributor and all the corporate fat cats behind them.
• The game’s publisher and all the corporate fat cats behind them.
• The game’s developer.

In my lust for boxes and CD’s in paper sleeves which I’ll only use once I’m adding potentially thousands of people who are all hungry for a slice of sweet sweet profit pie, reducing the amount of money the actual developers who actually made the game to a paltry share of the original $50 price tag.

Versus

Steam - http://steampowered.com
Preordering (unless there is a neat bonus, like early-playing of TF2 or the Half-Life hat and poster) isn’t needed since there are unlimited copies of the game to go around. I also never have to get in my car since the entire transaction obviously takes place online. I don’t have to attend any dorky midnight launches or take time out of my day to go pick up my game… Instead, I pre-load it and it is instantly activated the second the release date and time tick by. I don’t waste shelf space with additional dust-collecting boxes or contribute to packaging waste by throwing anything away. Instead, I get only what I want- the game itself.

Even better, buying through Steam, the following people get my money:

• Steam (Valve)
• The game’s developer (In TF2’s case, also Valve)

I’ve got no problem with Steam taking a slice of the pie, they’ll let me re-download the games as many times as I feel like on any computer I happen to install Steam on. Their online community features are also awesome… so good for them. With the thousands of middle men out of the way, the actual developer is getting a much larger share of the game’s price tag. In this scenario, the people who deserve the money are exactly the ones getting it. No share of the profits go to rude retail teenagers, publishers who can’t even be bothered to include a real CD case, and the executives which will take larger bonuses this year because they decided to print the four page manual in black and white instead of color.

What’s even more amusing about this is when you buy the actual box, all you’re getting is a code to put in to steam and a couple discs with the same .gcf files could be downloading online. Nothing more.

I wish I could purchase every game through Steam. I love that when I re-install Windows or use a different computer all I have to do is download the Steam client and enter in my login information. Finally being able to toss my CD binder full of games and multiple index cards and text files filled with CD keys would be a great day indeed.

But… yeah, keep raging against Steam, I guess. Long gone are the days of full-sized PC game boxes with intricate neatly bound book-like full-color manuals, maps, real disc cases, pins, stickers, and/or other add-ins. There is absolutely nothing collectible at all about PC game packaging anymore and no reason other than the compulsive need to hoard cardboard to continue lining the pockets of the middleman when there are better alternatives available.

Love,
Eli

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