Around 70% of PC digital downloads are from Steam
People who commonly read my stories know that I love Steam. I love it because it does what I want it to, gives me freedom, and gives me amazing sales. Apparently, I’m not alone in my love for Steam as according to Bard Wardell, the man behind Impulse one of Steam’s biggest competitors, Steam has around 70% of the digital market share. Woah.
The breakdown, according to Mr. Wardell, is as follows:
“Our estimation is that Steam – as the current market leader – enjoys approximately 70 per cent of the overall digital distribution market with Impulse at 10 per cent and all others combined at 20 per cent in terms of actual dollars generated per month”
He also mentions that he’s worried Steam sort of monopolizes games by getting developers to sign on for Steamworks which requires an install of Steam. Other digital distributors were recently upset over this, rightfully, with Modern Warfare 2.
What do you think? Is it unfair for Valve to keep putting Steamworks in a game, effectively making the game a Steam exclusive? I don’t think it’s any less fair than an album being sold at only one retailer, which is actually pretty unfair…
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