140°

Valve Blocks Indie Game Paranautical Activity on Steam

Valve vetoes indie game Paranautical Activity from being published on Steam because it bypassed Greenlight by finding a publisher instead.

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gameskinny.com
dedicatedtogamers4020d ago (Edited 4020d ago )

This article is a very good (and very frightening) example of why Steam is killing true creativity within the indie gaming community.

Indie-heavy platforms like XBLA and Steam have become some of the worst platforms for indie gaming after they let their power go to the head, so it's no surprise to see indies seeking other avenues.

porkChop4020d ago

According to everything I've read in various articles, they first made a Greenlight page early in development. They never actually tried to promote the Greenlight campaign at all. Then Adult Swim promised the devs that they would get the game Greenlit for 40% of the profits. So Adult Swim then flew to Valve to pitch them the game and convince them to automatically Greenlight it.

Valve obviously said no, because that's not how Greenlight works. It's based on actual votes and reviews by Steam users. Adult Swim thought they could pretty much cheat the system and circumvent Greenlight.

I do feel sorry for the developers because they're just trying to get their game on Steam, and the game does look cool. They pretty much got screwed because Adult Swim thought they could make some easy cash. But the devs should have known better.

Soldierone4020d ago

Why doesn't Adult Swim just publish it then? They obviously want to do that, but undercut some money by keeping it as an "indie title" then? That way they don't need to pay Valve?

IF Adult Swim is publishing the game like a real publisher, then I see no reason Steam should block it. Thats the ultimate goal of an indie dev.... greenlight shouldn't stop that.

minimur124020d ago

I'm confused, my take on an indie developer is an INDEPENDANT studio, a studio without a publisher.

So they have a publisher, so it isn't really an indie game is it?

papashango4019d ago

That's exactly what an Indie Dev is. Had they gone the publisher route they would need to take same avenue of approach to steam as everyone else

MasterChief36244020d ago

I don't want to be "that guy", but other than this story, what else demonstrates Steam's lack of conviction for supporting true independent development?

This is the first I've heard of it, at least. To me, Steam seems quite amazing in this day and age of megapublishers. They actually care about their consumers, the products they offer, and being ahead of the "game", so to speak, in digital distribution. This story is but a mere coffee drip on the otherwise impeccably spotless shirt that Steam has proven itself to be. :)

mediate-this4020d ago

A mere drip still is uneasy for the eyes.

how long till something bigger happens ad then after that. could be a snow ball effect.

showtimefolks4020d ago

People give steam too much credit when it's starting to do some things which aren't what got steam so famous with us core gamers(they still put on the best sales from what I have read)

Ms did so much right with xblive and xblive arcade only to now restrict indie developers. After E3 if MS doesn't change it's stance watch how fast the indie community totally turns on Xbox live

Just because steam and xblive are big doesn't mean they can't be brought down.

Donnieboi4020d ago

They should show it to Sony. Sony will do the right thing. to hell with all this overabundance of red tape. Let the people play this game!

cyguration4020d ago

lol, and how many other games have seen success thanks to Steam? McPixel? Montas? Miramasa? FTL? Arma 3? Evoland? Papers, Please?

The list goes on.

Let's not forget about the modding community that Steam adopts. Heck, most of all the popular titles currently played on Steam are based on someone else's mod.

This bureaucratic slip-up is all this is and it could happen to anyone. The main thing is that there's no reason to rush as an indie dev. If your game is good it's going to be greenlit one way or another. Gamers recognize a fun game when they see one, as proven by most of the other games and software greenlit through Steam.

dedicatedtogamers4020d ago

FTL was a Kickstarter that was fan-funded prior to Greenlight ever existing. It also went to Gog.

If I was a developer and I read your comment, I would be insulted. Those games are successful on their own merits. Steam is a store. It's like giving Amazon - instead of Naughty Dog - credit for The Last of Us simply because Amazon sells the game.

cyguration4019d ago

No it's not giving Amazon credit for selling the game but it would be like -- in this case -- giving Steam the credit for making people aware of it.

FTL was Kickstarted yeah, but how many people outside of the niche audience who Kickstarted it knew about it?

Steam may be a digital portal but it's one of the biggest, most user-friendly out there. As most indies say, they make more on Steam then they will everywhere else combined. It brings awareness to their title.

Greenlight is good because, as Valve mentioned, they don't know which games people would like if it were up to them to Greenlight games on their own. I like that we the gamers can decide what WE want to play.

As insulting as it may seem, not every game deserves to be on the Steam store and gamers have so far been making all the right decisions on all the right games via Greenlight.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4019d ago
NameRemoved00174020d ago

Valve has greenlight because they only want the good indie games on the store that people will actually play.

porkChop4020d ago

Yup, that's exactly what it's meant to do. Steam has tons of games but a lot of them are very poor quality ones that don't sell well because no one wants to play them. Valve basically allows the gamers to sort out the crap themselves.

1nsomniac4020d ago

Has anyone actually read the article before posting & having a go at Valve?

How can you argue with them blocking a game that developers didn't want to further support & just wanted to give a bribe so they could fasttrack the game to sell to customers with no further QA..... and you people are arguing that Valve are out of order???

Strange people in the world these days.

Angeljuice4019d ago

Thats one point of view. But if the Greenlight system is broken, then you are only going to hear about the great games that made it through the system, not the great games that didn't. Popularity is one measure of a games worth, but its not the best one.

If I make an average game but have an army of friends on facebook, I'm more likely to be accepted than if I have a superb game and no facebook account. The system may seem to work because you are seeing good games float to the top, but if better games are sinking, surely a change is needed.

elhebbo164019d ago

Jesus whats with all these comments, does anyone here even know how Greenlight works? people vote on a game or show interest so valve could put it up on steam. if its crap then valve wont accept it. and the problem with this game was way more complicated (publishing problems with adult swim).

160°

Why is Steam Blocked in Vietnam? Government Shares Reason

Finally, the Vietnamese government has officially responded to Steam being blocked in the country.

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spieltimes.com
blacktiger2d ago

AMAZING! Thank You Gabe, stand for freedom of speech!!!!

PRIMORDUS2d ago

VPN to buy games, fuck that if it's allowed or not, or just use a VPN and torrent what you can.

seanpitt231d 19h ago

I just cannot believe we haven't had a game from them this generation nearly 4 years in.. crazy!

Knightofelemia2d ago

If the game is crap then yes there will always be negative feedback it comes with the territory. It's called word of mouth or welcome to the internet. Where the truth about a game comes out really fast whether the game is good or crap. If you can't handle the criticism because of a game then why publish the game. Why should people who never criticized or even played the game be punished? Vietnam has some really screwed up laws block Steam because they don't answer us rule. And going on a witch hunt with Steam please. Where's the proof, where's the evidence of this witch hunt. Somebody is butt hurt and has a Vietnamese Karen leading the witch hunt.

130°

What Happens to Your Steam Account When You Die?

The Outerhaven writes: While Steam has come out recently, stating that Steam accounts can't be transferred, we need to think about it since we all will eventually kick the bucket. But if Valve is denying transferring accounts, what can be done? Plenty, actually.

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theouterhaven.net
thorstein6d ago

It goes to my kids because I gave them the passwords.

To Steam: Missio has a song that conveys my feelings about you stealing my purchase after I die. It's called "Middle Fingers"

shinoff21835d ago

Pretty much. My son knows my info.

Abear215d ago

Yeah worrying about digital ownership when you’re on the other side of the grass seems a little strange, but also on brand for these millennial journalists to worry about.

qalpha4d ago

I'm sure Keith will be happy to hear he's a millennial journalist.

Goodguy015d ago

I suppose if I have kids, I'd just give em my account details by retirement age. If I die young then...idk lol.

CrimsonWing695d ago

Yea, I mean just give someone the password to your account. Is that difficult to do or something? Like, I’m legit asking because I don’t know.

anast5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

It's not difficult but It's against the policy. If they find out, they will lock the account permanently.

CrimsonWing695d ago

Ah ok, I had a feeling there was something like that. It seems kind of weird that you can’t just hand your account over to a family member or friend and let them take over the account.

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230°

Steam Account Transfer Via Will on Death is Not Permitted, Valve Confirms

In case you were curious, a Steam account transfer via will is not permitted according to an official response from Valve.

anast8d ago

The games are theirs. People just pay to ride the ride.

Skuletor7d ago

Would be nice if the article's writer looked into and reported whether other digital game libraries could be transferred over via will (Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo, EGS, EA app, GOG, Ubisoft Connect, Rockstar Launcher etc) instead of this half-baked piece but it's probably the same for all of them anyway

Kornholic7d ago

This seems like a way bigger issue than mandatory PSN account linking for PlayStation games.

So where is the outcry?

Skuletor7d ago

It's not like PlayStation is doing any different.

"You may not sell, buy, trade, or transfer your Online ID, Account or any personal access to PSN Services through any means or method, including by use of web sites."
https://www.playstation.com...

Kornholic6d ago

So you are that saying Steam is being very anti consumer with its policies. That's why I'm so baffled by the lack of outcry from the PC audience.

NotoriousWhiz7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

It's not like your account just stops working when you die. Include your email, account id, and password in the will (including the password to your email) and your survivors should have no problem using your games.

anast7d ago

PC gamers are a different lot. They don't mind renting their games forever, they don't mind spending money on overpriced equipment, and they don't mind fiddling with settings for hours before they even play the game, but linking a PSN account demands a riot. This is hard to understand, but then again, we all have to draw our lines somewhere.

Skuletor7d ago

You sure talk a lot of nonsense.Go look up the percentage of digital sales compared to physical sales of PS5 games, then tell me again about "renting" games.

mandf7d ago

Overblown funny and 100percent true

anast7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

There is no option at all to buy a physical copy of a PC game... And more people game on consoles for the reasons that make PC gamers a different lot.

VIK21217d ago

it's not so much the linking but the fact that certain countries aren't allowed to access psn...

VIK21217d ago

@anast I have a disc ps5 since launch, initially I bought some disc games, but I can't be bothered to walk to a physical store nowadays... I just buy the titles when they go on special sale or gray market store like CDKeys...

DustMan7d ago

PSN was a different story altogether. It kept people who bought the game from playing in countries that PSN wasn't supported. I never understood the issue anyway.

I don't know if PC stuff is overpriced considering that you can buy a new video card with the same amount of money you'd spend over 5 or 6 years paying to play games online with a console. I'll never pay double to use the same connection. That is what I'll never understand about console gamers. "let me pay an extra hundred & twenty dollars a year to use the same internet I pay for monthly and use on literally every device in my home for free....except for my Playstation"

Extermin8or3_7d ago

@Skuletor about 50-60% of sales are digital for most games. Meaning 40-50% are physical....

anast7d ago

@VIK

You might not but you are not the expectation that creates a universal.

Skuletor7d ago

@Extermin8or3_
Right and where are you getting that information from?
https://www.statista.com/st...

@anast

"Renting games"
In the fourth fiscal quarter of 2023, approximately 77 percent of Sony Corporation's PlayStation gaming sales were generated via digital downloads.

"overpriced equipment"
Some people are willing to pay a premium for better performance, the way you keep talking about the PS5 Pro on N4G proves you're a hypocrite in that regard but whatever, lol

"fiddling with settings for hours before they even play the game"
Most pc games will give the option to scan your system to choose recommended settings or start with moderate settings that will run the game fine but you're free to mess around at your own leisure, to improve performance or quality if you wish to. For those that don't want to, there's free software that can do that for you, such as Nvidia's Geforce or AMD's AMD Catalyst. Geforce Experience even gives you the option of choosing whether to prioritize performance vs image quality with a simple slider for easy optimization, it's not rocket science, like you try make it out to be.

"linking a PSN account demands a riot"
Playstation selling Helldivers 2 in regions without the legal means to create a PSN account by Sony's own standards, then telling people in those regions that already bought the game that they can no longer play the game, isn't a cause for concern? Though you've already heard about that but keep going along with your own narrative because of your weird vendetta against PC on here.

This is hard to understand, but then again, we all have to draw our lines somewhere.

PRIMORDUS7d ago

I don't rent I torrent to keep, if they take them down that's ok I don't care I have them LOL. I do buy PC games but very little as I want full control which is why I torrent to keep them in my collection, and I do not give a fuck what the devs or publishers want. I never did never will.

anast6d ago

@DustMan

Just like you can choose play games on low to barely mid settings for the price of a PS5, you can also choose not to game online on the PS5. So, now you are getting a better gaming experience and not paying extra for online.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 6d ago
thorstein7d ago

So just give your progeny the passwords.

OtterX7d ago

Keep the password sealed in the Will, only to be opened after death. :)

Aphrodia7d ago

Right? How are they gonna know you are dead?

FinalFantasyFanatic7d ago

The only way they will know is when an account is active for 300 years, lol.

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