As much as I agree that is too much in general, at least in steam it seems well justified compared to other platforms. We need other platforms to improve so they create good competition against steam and valve are incentivized to actually improve the platform, but the truth is all other platform holders haven't done squat to advance PC gaming:
- Epic's launcher is abysmal and lacks many QoL features, its been years, they dont get to use the "its a new platform" excuse anymore.
- EA has gutted and already gutless Origin and turned it for the worse with the new "EA app"
- Ubisoft Connect is lesser than just an intrusive DRM, it kills performance and it breaks its own apps!
- Rockstar Games launcher is very barebones and poor, not to mention the lack of games and the blatant anti-consumer practices
- Other lesser/niche platforms are not even in the running e.g. "Meta" (formerly Oculus)
In general GOG galaxy may get a pass since it is very consumer friendly and is adequate, but it would be a lie to say it is as feature rich as Steam.
Im surely missing some diamonds in the rough, but that is the issue right? They are rough. Steam is very polished even if some areas are still underdeveloped.
Lets just hope the competition is fierce enough that valve continues to make the cut have some value for developers, and lets support studios that push against steam's (and all other platforms) anti-consumer practices.
Thats right. I remember the engineering dept. of my university would hold "concrete boat" competitions to highlight this point exactly. Concrete is a mixture, and different mistures are used for different purposes. Im not a civil engineer, but I wonder how well would roman concrete perform in 100+ floor buildings or expansive multi-floor complexes. Even if it performs "well", is it cost effective? I doubt it will be better than a min-maxed mix determined by project/area/budget/etc
That Ad Block will become much less useful if google gets its way, even on iOS