Game Sharing Code Found in New Steam Client Beta Update

[Amit]

Yes, indeed. Yesterday's beta update to the client has included some rather descriptive information about a system that Valve appears to be testing. I can't say whether or not this type of thing will actually become a feature of Steam, but it is certainly an eye-opening development after hearing about the new consoles and the library sharing capabilities of the Xbone. I imagine this is something Valve will want to implement eventually if they are to launch the "SteamBox" into direct competition with current and next-generation game consoles.

You may read a more descriptive look at it in this PC Gamer article (http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/06/19/steam-game-sharing-code-found-in-clients-beta-update/).

[Tnnaas]

I was talking with a friend about this yesterday and thought it would be a pretty cool thing to implement.

Personally, I like it because if there's a game I'm interested in, and a buddy of mine has it, they can loan me their copy for a time and I get to see if I want to buy it or not. I'm assuming that if I am using his or her copy of the game (since it is just one copy), no one else can at that time, and the owner can't play with me either. I'm sure he or she will have rights to kick me off of it though. If it's a multiplayer game, I would have to buy my own copy to play with him or her. /speculation

Still, I think it's a good idea. Way to go, Valve!

[Zeph]

RIP xbone

[Llama Juice]

Hahaha "RIP Xbone"

Implying that Console and PC gamers are even the same market group.

[Amit]

As much dislike I have for the direction that the Xbone is going, I thought that the "family share" feature was pretty cool. Major Nelson from XBOX LIVE was pushing it a bit too hard, but I was very intrigued to hear that people may share a certain game or piece of content with up to 10 family members to use when they aren't using it. I thought that was cool, but as a PC Gamer I had long since abandoned any idea of "sharing" any games that I have purchased in the past decade. What Valve appears to be doing here is the same thing, but not restricting it to family members. I think that is appropriate as the console is more family friendly than a single PC is. But, it does allow for more flexibility than Xbone's restriction.

It will be really interesting to see how the SteamBox fairs in the console market when Valve decides to release it. I don't want to push too much into another subject and potentially derail my own goddamn thread, but I feel that the two can be linked: This opens up the question of what kind of hardware Valve will push for in their release product. Are they more likely to use an AMD APU? Or stick with Intel's offering. As a developer of games and licensor of the Source engine, I'd assume that Valve already knew about the capabilities of the PS4 and Xbone before their details were released to the public (although, we still don't know too much about the Xbone). Processing power is important, but graphics processing is just as important. I think AMD is stronger in that aspect with their higher-end APUs.

[Zeph]

Hahaha "RIP Xbone"

Implying that Console and PC gamers are even the same market group.

They pretty much are now considering what they're made of (nintendo excluded cause they be stayin true).

Or are you implying that the COD kidlets are a market group?


Are they more likely to use an AMD APU? Or stick with Intel's offering.
I'm guessing they'll go with an AMD cpu and an nVidia 600/700 series gpu.
Keep in mind Gaben loves things like the Rift and Shield.
Processing power is far less important than it used to be until you get up to 1200/1440p+

[Warsaw]

As much dislike I have for the direction that the Xbone is going, I thought that the "family share" feature was pretty cool.

My entire reason for disliking the Xbone lies with the fact that they are providing the console almost solely to peddle Xbox Live subscriptions. No subscription, and I buy into the platform immediately. Steam doesn't have subscriptions, they make the money off of the game sales and micro-transactions within their own Free-2-Play offerings. That's what Microsoft should do, if it wants to put its money where its mouth is.