When Microsoft revealed its pre-180 plans for the Xbox One, some pundits theorised that it was trying to build a Steam-like digital network, complete with frequently discounted games and a user-friendly, retail-free interface. With news that the Xbox One isn’t actually going to be as digital as Microsoft wanted to be, we’ve all kind of assumed that the chances of Microsoft emulating Steam are rather slim.
But there’s some good news. Today in Executive Shuffling News brings word from GamesIndustry.biz that Jason Holtman, who ran Steam for eight years over at Valve, is heading to Microsoft to work on turning Windows into “a great platform for gaming and interactive entertainment”.
A-ha! While it’s unclear whether Holtman will be working on Xbox platforms as well — GI.biz speculates that maybe he will — this is good news for people who game on PC. Holtman is a fan of discounts. Maybe he’ll help make it so people don’t immediately groan when they hear the name Games For Windows Live.
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22 responses to “So Maybe Microsoft Does Want To Be More Like Steam”
I really hope they do drive a Steam-eqse style Store i.e. multiple REAL sales and excellent lineup with realistic pricing.
they already do have massive sales were they slash games by 20 -50%
Xbox does have the occasional sale, and you’ll occasionally find a hugely discounted game. But Steam sales are whole other league of discounts. They’re 10 times bigger than anything Microsoft does. You’ll see stuff like every game in an entire series for $5
They have sales every week. sometimes the discounts are huge, sometimes they’re ordinary.
Last week was Marvel games, not very discounted, this week Square Enix games, next week is Konami.
they’ve gotten a lot better at discounting this year.
There’s no doubt about it that they’ve gotten better. I check the sales regularly, even find myself buying stuff I don’t play, just because it’s cheap. They’re definitely moving in the right direction.
I get the feeling this guy is going to be working on the Windows Store/Metro side of things, not the desktop side. Which would be good because that needs a LOT of work.
Well, no-one was complaining about them moving towards a digital format, they were complaining that it was going to be solely digital. As long as they follow Valve’s ethos of offering value for money, then it will only be a good thing. Hopefully Sony take note though as the PS Store is still horrendous to use and only recently has realised that digital media should be cheaper than traditional media. They’ve both surely got to notice that the Steam Sales are hugely successful though. I’ll jump for joy when we get sales like those on consoles
. . . . it wasn’t going to be solely digital, you could still buy your games in disc format but it pretty much acted as transport for data cause the game was going to be installed on to the HD allowing diceless play.
I think all the Games On Demand sales on 360 over the last year could be a sign that Microsoft are aware that digital can work if the price is right on their platform.
Fingers crossed.
Pity they are still nowhere near having realistic prices. $110 for an old game that I can pick up on disc for $50.
Yeah, they’re sales might be good, but buying a game that’s not on sale can be sometimes double what it is in the store.
No doubt. But I was merely saying that the sales seem to indicate Microsoft is aware that good prices on digital equals lots of sales.
Microsoft’s prices on GoD for their first party titles aren’t exactly outrageous really. It’s the third party stuff that’s beyond ridiculous. Which Microsoft can’t really screw with too much given they’re their partners.
To be fair, if Steam is anything to go by, that’s set by the publishers.
If a publisher tells MS to update its price or agrees to take part in a sale, awesome — if not? Well, MS can’t do much without alienating the publishers they’re trying to get to take part in games on demand ‘n the like.
Some of the worst offenders were published by MS.
To me this is good news….i still liked the check in system best….no disk swaping but still get to have a disk……
Hasn’t Games for Windows Live been replaced in Windows 8?
I thought that, because Windows 8 is a ‘walled garden’ it’s obsolete?
And this is why shutting down the XBOX One was a good thing. Bringing on Jason Holtman is a clear indication that they intend to bring something better to the table. It may have delayed the digital age but it greatly increased the odds of it being a digital golden age.
It’s like the old saw: You can have it cheap, fast, or good. Pick two.
Kind of like the saying my Grandma tole me about women: Smart, pretty, or sane. Pick two.
*tugs sleeve* Is gaming getting better, Daddy? Are the mean men with their intrusive DRM, day-one/on-disc DLCs, and always-online/social bullshit going away? EA doing a humble bundle and Microsoft paying attention to a system that works?
Would be great if they do, the Console market needs it to compete.
The force back to more physical based media kinda hindered them, but i expect Xbox to make the move 1-2 years into the generation. And Playstation to follow suit soon after.
That’s awesome news! I think it was stupid for everyone to complain about the console making MS go “back” to Sony’s same approach which will make games expensive! If MS do it right and it works then prices will drop for games which should have happened ages ago!
They need a steam like service where you buy a licence of a game and can download and play on both xbox one and pc… that is what I want. Wouldnt be hard to do.. if you wanna play on pc your account wont sign in on xbox and vicer versa. Then you can play with console buddies and pc friends. Wont hold my breath but this would win them the race and then some…
Sigh, can’t .net and GFWL please just go die? Linux was running all the Windows games in wine until GFWL came along and spoiled the party.