Steam(Software)
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About Steam
Steam is the world’s largest online gaming platform developed by the Valve Corporation.1 Valve is one of the most highly respected entertainment software and technology companies, founded in 1996 and based in Bellevue, Washington. It has become a service used world-wide, and with content servers on every continent. It is translated into 21 languages as follows: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai.
Steam changes any PC or Mac to a gaming powerhouse by providing quick access to a large library of titles. It is used to distribute games and related media online from small game developers to large software companies. Main publishers having catalogs on steam include id Software, Bethesda Softworks, Electronic Arts, and etc.2 The company's portfolio of entertainment properties consists of Half-Life®, Counter-Strike®, Day of Defeat®, Team Fortress®, PortalTM and Left 4 DeadTM. Over 1,200 games are now available to purchase, download, and play from any computer. As the current market leader, Steam enjoys approximately 70% of the market share of the overall digital distribution market for video games.3
As of Oct 12, 2010, there are more than 30 million active users around the world. The highest numbers of simultaneous players were over 3 million, while the highest numbers of unique players were over 6 million each day.4
In the past few years, Valve launched several features to enhance use for both game players and game developers:
- For Gamers
The main feature for gamers is the Steam Community.5 Users can join the Steam community for free to meet up with friends or find someone to play with; create, organize and connect with groups of people who have similar interests; schedule events, matches, and tournaments; and chat with groups or use a microphone to communicate in any games. In addition, Steam also automatically keeps users' games completely up-to-date. Therefore, users don't have to deal with unorganized websites to patch or download their games. Moreover, users can enjoy various promotions which the company regularly provides including Guest Passes, Free Weekends, and Weekend-Long Sales.
- For Game Developers
The main feature for game developers is the Steamworks.6 Developers can access every component of Steam's own developing software. They can connect to a huge community of game users for free. There are no licensing fees or charges for bandwidth and OEM distribution. Furthermore, developers can avoid the overhead and delay of certification requirements. They can distribute their games on their conditions as well as update all of them as frequently as they want.
Steam History
Steam was created out of Valve's need to address issues with updating their online games. Previously a patching to their system would result in the disconnection of the majority of the online users for a period of days. Valve's goals for this platform, eventually called Steam, were to update games automatically along with improving on anti-piracy and anti-cheat measures. Valve originally approached several companies to build a client around these features but each turned them down.7
During development, working titles for Steam included "Grid" and "Gazelle" but it is uncertain actually when development started.8 Steam was first introduced to the public during the Game Developers Conference. Demonstrating the technology was Microsoft's real-time strategy game Impossible Creatures.9
In May 2010, Steam was released for Mac OS X taking on cross-platform functionality. Any players who had previously purchased compatible products on Windows could now download Mac client versions free of charge in most cases.11 The Steam Cloud was also updated to be cross-platform compatible allowing multiplayer games to be played simultaneously by both Windows and Mac clients to play with one another.12 At E3 2010 Valve announced that Steamworks would arrive on the Playstation 3 with the much anticipated title Portal 2.13
• August 2006: PopCap Games announced that they have an agreement to deliver games via Steam.10
• November 2007: Sega joined with Steam with their lineup of new titles to include Universe at War: Earth Assault, The Golden Compass, Sega Rally Revo, Sega Rally, Worldwide Soccer Manager, Futbol Manager and more. 10
• January 2008: EVE Online the award winning massively multiplayer online game from CCP hit Steam with free game play trials for every user.10
• January 2008: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky was available for digital download worldwide exclusively on Steam.10
• May 2008: Atari, Inc. one of the world's most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher and distributor brought a variety of games to Steam.10
• July 2008: Gamecock joined Steam as yet another third party publisher to add to Steam's list.10
• October 2008: Memorable games to join Steam include Football Manager, World of Goo, and Galactic Bowling.10
• January 2009: Sony Entertainment kicks off 2009 arriving on Steam with hit MMO Everquest and Everquest II.10
• Febuary 2009: Square Enix joins Steam with THE LAST REMNANT.10
• April 2009: NCsoft, the world's premier publisher and developer of massively multiplayer online games announced their award winning catalog of MMO franchises will be available for download via Steam.10
• July 2009: LucasArts announced its coming to Steam with its popular classic gaming titles.10
In May 2007, Steam accounts reached the 13 million mark, with 150 games available for sale on the platform. A major update to Steam that included advancements in community features was launched in June of 2007. Players could now set up their own personal steam pages and profiles, create and join groups, schedule games with friends, review who they've played with, see how well everyone played, chat with groups, chat via voice, and more. February 2008 brought about a new milestone in surpassing 15 million user accounts and year-over-year sales growth of 158% through the holiday season. January 2010 brought about another announcement of extraordinary growth with active accounts now surpassing the 25 million mark. Steam now offers 1,000 games from over 100 developers and publishers around the world. With the arrival of Steam on the Mac October 2010 figures showed 30 million active user accounts. Growth continues with now over 1,200 games offered for download.10
Personal and Business Uses
Steam is best known as an online gaming platform; however, it has many more uses. These other uses range from personal to corporate.
Personal Uses:
• Gamers have instant access to their favorite games.
• Helps users find someone to play with, play with friends, and host matches and tournaments.
• Allows chat while gaming.
• Provides automatic game updates.
• Provides users with special offers.
• Allows users to search by genre.
• Allows users to post a question or discussion to get potential answers and posts from other users.
• Provides users with game statistics.
Corporate Uses:
• Game creators can provide demos of their games for potential users.
• Allows game creators to release their games online.
• Allows game creators to post a link to their official websites.
• Allows game creators to post news about their games or other business activities.5
How To Get Started With Steam
Windows XP, Vista, or 7 512 MB RAM 1 Ghz or faster processor
Intel Mac, OS X version Leopard 10.5.8, Snow Leopard 10.6.3, or later.
Two-button mouse strongly recommended
1GB HD space (recommended)
Internet connection (broadband recommended)
***Specific Game Requirements Vary on a Per Game Basis***
How to Install Steam:
Conclusion
From casual to hardcore, family to still living in your mom’s basement, Bejeweled to Call of Duty there is a game for everyone on Steam. With 1,200 games to choose from you may even find a few that interest you. With the low cost of no money down and no monthly payments why not give it a shot?
References
1 Company: There’s a lot going on at Valve. (2010) Valve Corporation. Retrieved Nov 28, 2010 from http://www.valvesoftware.com/company/
2 Steam (Software). (2010) Wikipedia. Retrieved Nov 28, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(software)#cite_note-3
3 Kris Graft. (Nov 19, 2009) Stardock Reveals Impulse, Steam Market Share Estimates. Gamasutra. Retrieved Nov 28, 2010 from http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=26158
4 Steam Surpasses 30 Million Account Mark. (Oct 18, 2010) Steam. Retrieved Nov 28, 2010 from http://store.steampowered.com/news/4502/
5 Steam, The Ultimate Online Game Platform. (2010) Steam. Retrieved Nov 28, 2010 from http://store.steampowered.com/about/
6 Steamworks 2010: A Proven Platform for Retail and Digital Distribution. (2010) Steam. Retrieved Nov 28, 2010 from http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/
7 Lee, James. "The Last of the Independents?". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
8 Steam Registers 13 million Active Accounts" Retrieved 2010-11-16
9 Walker, Trey. "GDC: Steam pushes software over Net". ZDNet. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
10 http://store.steampowered.com/news/?feed=steam_press Retrieved 2010-11-16
11 http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/63793 Retrieved 2010-11-16
12 http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62687 Retrieved 2010-11-16
13 http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6265808/portal-2-steamworks-ps3-bound-in-2011 Retrieved 2010-11-16