Steam sells games, Steam sells software, Steam sells short films, Steam sells documentaries. Going by a SteamDB listing, Valve’s service is also about to start screening at least four big movies.
The listing (via xPaw @ NeoGAF) suggests that all the Mad Max movies are coming to Steam, from the 1979 original to 2015’s Fury Road.
It will be interesting to see whether this is a one-off to coincide with the new Mad Max video game, or whether it’s something Valve will be sticking with going forwards.
If so, I can’t wait for my 2016 stories about Steam selling books, baby clothes and phone cases.
Comments
7 responses to “The Mad Max Movies Are Coming To Steam”
Oh….moorrreee things on Steam to clog up the store
Not that it matters for Australians right now, due to this being US only, but they have offered a way to filter out films from recommendations on the store:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8699-OASD-1871#10
Why can’t they just offer it on a different service. So Steam is just games, then Steam Movies or whatever is its own thing. Along with Steam Greenlight.
I imagine that the imminent launch of Steam Machines is a big part of the reason. If you’re selling devices where the Steam client is the primary UI of the device, and that device is intended to be hooked up to a TV, supporting streaming video is a pretty desirable feature.
But apart from that, there is probably a lot of shared infrastructure, from the back end with user accounts and reviews, to the network of download servers, etc. There would also be a big overlap in the audience of people who want to buy games and people who want to buy movies.
Also, by having it all on one service they’ve been able to do things like offer a bundle of the Mad Max game together with Mad Max: Fury Road.
I’ve been saying for a long time that if Steam were to do a ‘Steam for movies’, I would never have any disposable income left, ever again.
And Steam has been doing movies!
But… not the way it does games.
It’s been incredibly disheartening to see movies lumped in there with games, confusingly similar in appearance. And only indie movies, at not-great prices. When I’ve dreamed of Steam for Movies, I’ve dreamed of themed specials, attractively-priced publisher packs, an unrivaled library, and social tools that enhance the experience.
At the moment, they’re just sort of stumbling into the party looking out of place and everyone’s asking ‘who invited that guy?’
Expect they’re not going to be on the Australian store. Who cares anyway I got them on UMD already. If anyone wants to borrow them send $5.
Now I can keep company the games I never play with the movies I never watch.