Steam started going down this path the moment it was born. There wasn't any one "thing" that caused it to go Full Capitalism. Gabe kept talking about how he was gonna do this and that we let him because it had the benefit of being consumer friendly.
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Steam's content policy is both arrogant and cowardly - Eurogamer
- Thread starter Deleted member 249
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Steam has is now the Wild West of PC, anything goes as long as money is being made.
Steam is a real shit show.
I definitely agree with Eurogamer here. No one with a brain would think Steam's new approach is in anyway moral. Trashy games have been hitting Steam for a while now, but they did nothing to stop that. The reason for all of this? It's all about managing resources and increasing profits. It's so much cheaper to have no vetting process at all like it is now. It's so much more money to let people spend money on trashy games. There are many traps and very cheap cash grabs out there. Steam just became the problem. I am definitely will try to buy all my games outside of Steam from now on. It might not be possible to avoid all purchases, but I have been noticing that game publishers have started making their own online services.
This comes across very hyperbolic. If you take this reasoning to it's logical conclusion a reasonable solution is a complete totalitarian control of all communication and speech.
No, the intent behind it is what's important. AIDS Simulator is not a game with any serious message (it's repugnant, but for "lulz").
Currently, Steam does not allow hate speech, so there's nothing I can point to as an example. Like I said, I'm honestly not sure what it will look like; we'll know it when we see it.
The irony is that the success of Steam was built on the obligation to sign-up on in when buying Valve physical games.
And how is it the "best decision ever"? Because you can find these racist filled games even easier?
That... has to be one of the least convincing arguments I've encountered. It's like when people complain that a game is broken or boring, and a creator's response is "Then go make your own game". I'm not here buying from you for my health. If I could fart our storefronts I wouldn't be here in the first place
No I'm not into this kind of games and people can filter them but I'm into some japanese games that were advised to get banned.
i think a better parallel would be steam as a co-op market. you can show up with moldy produce but it's mostly on you and you'll likely be booted, or best case scenario sitting at a station with mountains of unsold moldy produce
they bank on quality of service not quality of product
There is nowhere they say or imply this.
They say that laws vary by region, so titles need to be evaluated individually when it comes to legal issues. They say nothing about titles that don't raise any legal concern, nor do they even hint at any additional criteria for games being allowed on Steam (except the aforementioned "trolling").
Their current rules are relatively simple. If they were intending to keep those rules without change (in a blog post where they spend the entirety talking about how they plan to change them), you don't think they would simply list them out?
I agree completely. This article and articles like it are indicative of their own deluded trend of sort reeking of entitlement and a total misunderstanding of reality. These companies were never our "friends" they were just the corners where we copped. So to speak.
LOL what do you think is the reason that EA, Blizzard, Activision are making their own online services??
It's certainly not because they think Steam is immoral. Their reason is to avoid losing 30% and MONEY.
The very thing you're criticizing Steam for. So there's no difference.
I was being quite clear. Eurogamer does not seem to know the difference between ethics and morality. It's a problem in a lot of the reaction articles to Steam's new move.
What confuses me with arguments like this is...
How many racist/sexist/anti-LGBTQ games do people think there are going to be? The "asset flip" style games where the point is just killing minorities will still be kicked out on grounds of trolling. The "anti SJW" games that are sexist anti-feminist trash are still going to be kicked out on grounds of trolling. There's really only going to be more of these games on Steam if they're well-produced and appear valid - something like, say, Agony. Non-troll games aren't suddenly going to magic into existence overnight, because they're video-games - they take time(™). And the games that are trolling won't have a place anyway.
Yeah, Amiablepercy's post that you replied to isn't dog-whistling.
The water of 'Hey, Marky, please solve this problem if you can pretty please cause we can't that's for sure' ain't that hot.
Also yeah, one can freely get a gun for some school shooting action but can't get a game of school shooting action, that's almost funny.
User Warned: pejorative language to another group of people
Thank you Valve for not giving in to the Looney left, let me pick the games I want.
Let's not politicise this too much, hey? I'm sure there's people on both sides of the political spectrum who have varying opinions on this. I'm pretty damn Left, but am arguing that Steam is just approaching this like any other retailer. *shrugs*
Okay, now you're just spamming.
Edit: Also, if you insist on posting this picture as though it's an argument, wrap it in quote text so it minimises. Thank you.
Fine, I misread. But with all the dogwhistling in this thread, I unfairly latched to your post as a dogwhistle.
Yeah it's pretty funny, Valve can do whatever they want and they are doing whatever they want.
And anyway, when you have companies like Valve with products like Steam that are pseudo-monopolies is way better that they take this instance of "if is not illegal then its allowed" like the government would do (and of course the government has to take that no discrimination policy because of their monopoly power).
I mean, that was pretty blatant dogwhistling. I was going to start answering other quotes (I started even) but I saw that and well...if the shoe fits... Like "Loony Left"? Really?
Sure, but posting a picture doesn't do anything. Not to toot my own
Ms.is doing it....but as valve use their ownership to do their things ppl will accept the owner of the entire platform windows to do theirs?
Btw I'm totally with Eurogamer on this...steam as right now is tremendous
Which of the aids simulators that valve would have previously blocked are you now enjoying because of this change then?
Exactly. This entire demonizing of valve is just getting silly at this point.
I mean, we already have problems with these games like Agony or because a director is infamous for his views (Kingdom Come) to games which a clearly built with the alt right in mind (That cyberpunk game that was trying to argue that SJW's were making a dystopian future where being a man was wrong or that pick-up artist game). This stuff will allow even worse examples of this to show up because of the lack of curation.
The weird thing about people making the argument that "Valve can do whatever it wants so shut up" is that yeah no shit Valve can do whatever it wants, that's where the criticism comes in. Of course the irony is if say Valve decided to, with the power of doing whatever it wants, become a stronger more picky curator I doubt we'd be hearing "Valve can do whatever they want" from those same people.
I find it shocking at how many people on here can't comprehend this. I'm all for freedom of speech and self expression, but Valve have gone off the deep end with this. When you command a platform with so much reach and influence, you have to take more responsibility as the platform holder. Just like Facebook or Twitter, Steam is big enough that it can be used to deliver content that shouldn't exist in today's society.
It's kind of crazy that I see people on here drag platforms like Twitter/Facebook/YouTube through the coals with their lax policies that breed hate and toxicity on their platforms, and yet simultaneously see it fit that Valve is allowed to do be just as lax just because It's Valve/Steam. Even more funny when I see people criticise all the trash on the iOS store and say how Apple need to do a better job at curating that content.
If you're trying to copy me in an attempt to annoy me, it's not really working. I've already corrected myself on one of the people who wasn't dogwhistling.
Yes, sticking to the principle of having no principles.
How fucking noble of them.
The ignorance is astounding.
You mean those games that have just been blocked and will almost certainly continue to be blocked because they're
Rebut my argument then: Tell me how this change will mean there's going to be more and "worse examples" when Valve themselves are saying games that are (again)
are going to be kicked from Steam.
And, btw, what you're generally arguing for is a broad amount of creative censorship which in any other industry would be frowned upon. Many film-makers, photographers, writers are problematic, but that does not mean that their works are consistently banned from sale. Other mediums do just-fine separating art from artist, so gaming should step-up and do the same, if possible.
(Aside: Phew, there were quite a few typos there!)
People saying stuff you dont like so you just dismiss it as "dogwhistling"? and with a fucking picture nonetheless.
Why dont you say what you really mean and call them racist bigots? stop dogwhistling.
Because letting the place back up and become a septic tank is going to displease everyone.
I find it interesting that the support FOR censorship is so strong.
If you find something offensive, then push to make it illegal. Then Steam would block it.
If you don't like something, but it isn't yet illegal, then it is not Steam's problem that you are offended.
All this just proves that many people genuinely think their personal preferences are the ideal perfect arbiters of right and wrong. And that their own views are allegedly universal across the planet.
Like the poster in this thread talking about the case of a pro-Nazi game? That's literally illegal in Germany, and Steam would block such a game. If you want such a game to be blocked elsewhere, then push to make it illegal in your country of choice.
At this point I have accepted that literally hundreds of thousands of people think their own opinions are essentially word of God and that if they are disgusted about something, it should not exist. Nevermind that the hundreds of thousands of people have contradictory views of what should or should not be banned. The idea that there might be more than one preference, and that such a thing isn't going to destroy the world, is lost to these people.
Making Steam ban things that are perfectly legal but you personally dislike, is such an arrogant position that it is sad. And I am especially upset to see that ZhugeEX appear to have taken up that position according to his twitter retweets. I guess consider his familiar stance with China's censorship, that it is bizarre to him why Steam wouldn't control its store with an iron fist and ban anything it feels like banning.
If you find something offensive, then push to make it illegal. Then Steam would block it.
If you don't like something, but it isn't yet illegal, then it is not Steam's problem that you are offended.
All this just proves that many people genuinely think their personal preferences are the ideal perfect arbiters of right and wrong. And that their own views are allegedly universal across the planet.
Like the poster in this thread talking about the case of a pro-Nazi game? That's literally illegal in Germany, and Steam would block such a game. If you want such a game to be blocked elsewhere, then push to make it illegal in your country of choice.
At this point I have accepted that literally hundreds of thousands of people think their own opinions are essentially word of God and that if they are disgusted about something, it should not exist. Nevermind that the hundreds of thousands of people have contradictory views of what should or should not be banned. The idea that there might be more than one preference, and that such a thing isn't going to destroy the world, is lost to these people.
Making Steam ban things that are perfectly legal but you personally dislike, is such an arrogant position that it is sad. And I am especially upset to see that ZhugeEX appear to have taken up that position according to his twitter retweets. I guess consider his familiar stance with China's censorship, that it is bizarre to him why Steam wouldn't control its store with an iron fist and ban anything it feels like banning.
Not being allowed on Steam is not even close to being banned from sale on the open pc market.
I misspoke - I meant "banned from sale on Steam", but omitted the italicised because we're talking about Steam here, so it's implied.
Lolwat?
Literally no one criticizing valve is talking about censorship.
There's nothing wrong with Kingdom Come as a video game besides its technical jankiness. But I don't know anything about the other two games you're referencing
Nah, what's arrogant is a corporation subjectively deciding for the entirety of its consumer base what content is considered 'offensive' and should be banned.
This makes absolutely zero sense.
This makes absolutely zero sense.
Hmmm...
"Loony Left" "Picking games I want"
...oh no, let me guess, you're trying to get me banned for "name calling". Well, fine, Report if you want, but yes, this is blatant alt-right speak.
Similar to how Reddit and Twitter and Facebook have become festering pools of hate, by allowing games with such content on Steam with such flimsy filtering excuses you create an ecosystem where hate-filled communities can fester. And that is so easily bypassed. It can be as simple as making the message more subtle so they don't directly say such hate out loud (hence more overuse of the dog whistle). It's the paradox of tolerance and the filters they are using are not enough for Steam to clear the junk.
And they can still sell their game. Last I checked Steam isn't the only storefront in existence.