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Valve "played capitalism so well they broke it" and now Steam can't be replaced (www.gamesradar.com)
submitted 4 days ago by [B] to c/hackernews@lemmy.bestiver.se
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[–] 6 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I don't think Steam would be considered a monopoly because they don't use anti-competitive practices. Maybe there's a technicality where the word "monopoly" fits because of their market share, sure, but they've done nothing inherently greedy or abusive in the market. They offer a great platform for gamers and game makers, and competitors have all failed to offer anything better or novel.

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  • [+] -6 points 4 days ago (3 children)

    If by technically you mean literally the definition then yes. It's not technically. It's just the thing. Its the actual definition.

    But on the other point anti-competitive practices don't have to be part of a monopoly. They're the easiest way to become a monopoly, steam just did it the hard way. This is what a lot of people fail to get. It's only about the market share. Steam has an overwhelming insurmountable market share, which is kind of the topic of the post that people didn't read I'm guessing.

    I'm glad people like Steam. I do too. It has absolutely nothing to do with the topic though. Steam is a Monopoly by definition.

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  • [–] 10 points 4 days ago* (2 children)

    You've avoided doing this built all your arguments on the very thing you refuse to provide, so I'll do it.

    exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action specifically : exclusive control of a particular market that is marked by the power to control prices and exclude competition

    The most popular and best does not mean only or exclusive. They made a better product, that's it.

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  • [–] -1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 child)

    Ugh. This is exactly what I was talking about. Every single fucking time.

    MONOPOLY DOESN'T ACTUALLY MEAN ONE!

    But you're right. I said i wasn't getting into it. That's enough.

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