In a way, streaming platforms aren’t truly competition because they’re founded on the idea of exclusivity. If they all had the same content, it would be good for the consumer.
As always, copyright rules cause innovation to be slowed, exactly the opposite of what capitalists claim.
Wouldn’t the ease of access for music piracy in comparison to video piracy be the true barrier keeping them in check? Audio doesn’t exactly have massive file sizes, and the ability to rip audio from any source has become more accessible than ever.
I wonder when streaming services may have their “Napster moment”.
We put the fear of death in the music industry with Pentium 2 computers running Windows 98 and 56k dial up modems. They try to pull too much shit and we WILL do without them.
I think everyone would just turn to piracy at that point since the way people consume music is a lot different than the way people consume movies. Maybe that could have worked before playlists were a common thing, but at this point I think there would be riots if suddenly everyone’s playlists were all ruined
Well that’s the problem. They segment more than they compete. They sure have to convince users to use their platform by having shows that people find interesting, but they don’t really share the shows. So each has their own little corner and they try to leverage FOMO.
Linux is free, so it’s not like they care too much about competition. It may put some pressure on SteamOS, but I doubt it as it is already way better than W11 for handhelds.
Last time I checked Valve controls a lot of the ecosystem. Right now Value is a pretty good company but if they get to much control they will follow the pattern of enshitification. Lots of options is good.
Right now I use a lot of Gog as there isn’t any DRM.
Valve will not change at least as long as Gaben is in command, and since it’s a money printing machine for the owner I’m pretty sure it will stay consumer friendly for quite a bit longer than Gaben. Enshittification is a direct consequence of a company being beholden to shareholders more than anything else, and in this case there are none.
It’s the personality change of the owner. From being happy with making a crap ton of money per year to now wanting to see the profit increase 10% every year.
Thats usually a consequence of fiduciary responsibility, no? If you’re not publicly traded, you have no such chains. Valve is privately held, and therefore untouchable in that regard. They also release their software to the public pretty often (OpenXR for VR, indirectly contributing to the Wine project via Proton, and now TF2 with a non-commercial license).
Unless the next head of the company makes an IPO, the path seems steady. And even if the IPO occurs, the momentum is already kickstarted, and we have access to the fruits of their labor (funded by our game purchases).
Let’s see if they can optimize W11 for this and challenge SteamOS 💪
Even if I root for Linux, competition is always good and drives Innovation.
/me gestures at the hundreds of streaming platforms
good for who?
In a way, streaming platforms aren’t truly competition because they’re founded on the idea of exclusivity. If they all had the same content, it would be good for the consumer.
As always, copyright rules cause innovation to be slowed, exactly the opposite of what capitalists claim.
That’s actually a good point and I hadn’t thought of that before. A bajillion streaming services would be fine if they all had the same content.
Music streaming services seems more like true competition. For the most part, they all have the same music.
The kicker is that music suffers from the exact same copyright system. The big labels could absolutely start their own walled garden if they wanted.
Wouldn’t the ease of access for music piracy in comparison to video piracy be the true barrier keeping them in check? Audio doesn’t exactly have massive file sizes, and the ability to rip audio from any source has become more accessible than ever.
I wonder when streaming services may have their “Napster moment”.
We put the fear of death in the music industry with Pentium 2 computers running Windows 98 and 56k dial up modems. They try to pull too much shit and we WILL do without them.
I think everyone would just turn to piracy at that point since the way people consume music is a lot different than the way people consume movies. Maybe that could have worked before playlists were a common thing, but at this point I think there would be riots if suddenly everyone’s playlists were all ruined
I don’t think all copyright is bad
The problem is when it is abused
I don’t think that’s competition, more IP holder rent-seeking.
Well that’s the problem. They segment more than they compete. They sure have to convince users to use their platform by having shows that people find interesting, but they don’t really share the shows. So each has their own little corner and they try to leverage FOMO.
Linux is free, so it’s not like they care too much about competition. It may put some pressure on SteamOS, but I doubt it as it is already way better than W11 for handhelds.
Last time I checked Valve controls a lot of the ecosystem. Right now Value is a pretty good company but if they get to much control they will follow the pattern of enshitification. Lots of options is good.
Right now I use a lot of Gog as there isn’t any DRM.
Valve will not change at least as long as Gaben is in command, and since it’s a money printing machine for the owner I’m pretty sure it will stay consumer friendly for quite a bit longer than Gaben. Enshittification is a direct consequence of a company being beholden to shareholders more than anything else, and in this case there are none.
It’s the personality change of the owner. From being happy with making a crap ton of money per year to now wanting to see the profit increase 10% every year.
Thats usually a consequence of fiduciary responsibility, no? If you’re not publicly traded, you have no such chains. Valve is privately held, and therefore untouchable in that regard. They also release their software to the public pretty often (OpenXR for VR, indirectly contributing to the Wine project via Proton, and now TF2 with a non-commercial license).
Unless the next head of the company makes an IPO, the path seems steady. And even if the IPO occurs, the momentum is already kickstarted, and we have access to the fruits of their labor (funded by our game purchases).