Steam - The Definitive Gaming Platform8537008
Gaming has redefined itself constantly more than the years, pushing boundaries by no means believed possible - Not just technically, but socially, economically and even spiritually.
Pc gaming has always been at the forefront of such advancement, although recently our beloved platform of choice has been often overlooked in favour of a more casual gaming audience - That of the common Console owner. Don't get me wrong, consoles are fantastic in what they can achieve and also have their fair share of enthusiast titles. The underlining issue is that the core gaming market is made primarily of casual gamers or the media's perception of what defines a core gamer. Nintendo's wii is a testament to how well-liked casual gaming has become.
Blizzard have been in a position to capitalise on the Pc as the premier MMORPG platform for its WOW franchise. Making full use of a PC's ability to establish numerous social networking services to compliment a game has definitely helped make WOW a massive success. Real Time Technique and to some extent, First Person Shooters are still each premier Pc gaming examples, though the advantage the Computer Gamer has in these areas is slowly evaporating.
Taking MMORPG's out of the picture, the state of Computer gaming is at a bit of a crossroads. Console Port after port, Infinite versions of The Sims, Poor retail sales for large Computer Franchises, It all appears rather ominous. Or does it?
Valve on many occasions have publicly embraced the Pc as their platform of option. Pushing the boundaries of modern gaming and gaining acceptance in the enthusiast neighborhood has not always been an simple task.* Early implementations of Steam were met with fierce opposition. People by their extremely nature do not like change, I am just glad Valve were persistent, pushing past the numerous bugs, bad press and competitors, making the Steam platform as it is today.
First we need to establish what Steam is in the first place. Valve defines Steam as the Nexus of Pc Gaming, and they are probably right. Nothing comes close in terms of functionality, appeal and usefulness to Pc gamers.
Merely place, Steam is an sophisticated digital distribution platform which allows gamers to download games, play on-line, produce and participate in multiple unique gaming communities all with the capability to auto update itself and any Steam supported game you have.
The seminal update ability and the way it has been implemented by Valve is probably the most unique and evolutionary aspect of the Steam platform. The Source engine has been able to continually evolve, powering games such as Group Fortress 2: A perfect instance of how a game can be influenced by the gaming community and continue to grow beyond the original implementation. This is all thanks to the Steam idea and the hardware it runs on.
