LogFAQs > #888884229

Zeus posted...

darkknight109 posted...

Zeus posted...

I can *kinda* see it but the problem is that Steam is really fringe compared to the mainstream gaming market.

Steam has 125 million active users, which - even accounting for bots and dummy accounts - is equivalent to a fairly successful console. I wouldn't really call them fringe.

The total userbase, while interesting, doesn't necessarily denote mainstream product knowledge or overall visibility. Steam's userbase is more widely spread across the world, its products aren't advertised on tv (as far as I've seen), and if you ask the man on the street what Steam is vs what a Nintendo product is, you're going to get recognition on the latter and a blank stare on the former. Hence why when a parent is shopping for something for his kid, he's not getting them a PC with Steam despite it being cheaper in some cases than a console.

I don't think Steam's userbase is any more or less spread out than any of the "consoles" - is there something that makes you think otherwise?

I agree that Steam does not have the brand-name recognition of Nintendo or Microsoft or Sony, although saying that their products aren't advertised is only half-true; I've seen plenty of ads for games that require installation of Steam in order to run (Skyrim, for instance).

I actually wish they were more explicit about that. I refuse to use Steam on principle, so there's been multiple times where I've gone to buy a game and had to jump through a tonne of hoops just to figure out if it requires Steam or not.
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