Posted February 16, 2019
The fact that Steam requires a custom, network-connected, closed source client to purchase and download their games means I will never buy from Steam, no matter how many Steam-exclusive games (or Linux non-wine ports of games) I'd love to play. Technically, it's not DRM, but it may as well be as far as I'm concerned.
As to why anyone would care where other people buy their games: Much like anything, when something is popular, it is supported more by third parties. A 3rd party can just point to the fact that Steam sells, and ignore everybody else. Much like a dev can point to the fact that enough people own Windows that they can make their money there, so why support anything else? People were also confused why I promoted the Amiga in its time, as well, even though I had no direct financial stake in it.
As to why anyone would care where other people buy their games: Much like anything, when something is popular, it is supported more by third parties. A 3rd party can just point to the fact that Steam sells, and ignore everybody else. Much like a dev can point to the fact that enough people own Windows that they can make their money there, so why support anything else? People were also confused why I promoted the Amiga in its time, as well, even though I had no direct financial stake in it.