Ponzi Steam
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You are currently reading a thread in /v/ - Video Games
You are currently reading a thread in /v/ - Video Games
Alright, so I recently looked up stuff about ponzi schemes (went on wikipedia) after watching on TV how some woman got scammed out of £300,00 by her mate.
That shit got me thinking
The way ponzi schemes are described, works eerily similar to the way Steam does
Before anyone throws a wobbler, let me explain, first how Ponzi schemes work, for those who can't be arsed to look it up
>scam artist will go to victim
>makes up bullshit and convinces them that if they invest money, they will get quick gains
>scam artist uses large sum initially given to give back to victim 1, acting as if that was the profit accumulated
>scam artist convinces victim 1 to get all their sheep friends to also donate all their sheckels
>it continues, with the scam artist continually paying initial returns from new investments and keeping the rest
>eventually, the scam artist pulls a Salmond Rushdie, with all the sheckels
Now, think about Steam, what if tomorrow we all decided to just not use it? Unless, I'm mistaken, if Steam goes down, we can't access any of our games, which we paid good Jew gold for
In other words, Ponzi schemes will require continuous donations and without them, all involved will not get their initial investment back, same goes for Steam, Valve needs constant cash, else they can't finance their shit and we'll lose our games (investment)
I don't hate Steam, I use it for all my PC gaming purchases (except for old games, GOG for that shit), just some shitposting.
autism
>>342541138
>just some shitposting
At least you admit it.
Nope that's not a Ponzi scheme. They make money by selling actual games that people play.
If no one used Steam tomorrow, they'd just wait for the next day.
>>342541138
By that logic every bank is a ponzi scheme because if people start withdrawing money en mass then most of them would be left with nothing because the bank collapsed.
European consumer laws have argued that valve has to provide a way to access games without their service, should they ever go down.
So it's a possibility, but not an immediate problem.
>>342541336
Why else would I come here to post this shit?
Gotta say, OP kind of has a point. Simple fact is that if Steam does ever go down due to not being financially viable, you will lose those games.
>>342541442
Maybe, the way banks collapse also is sort of similar to how a lot of ponzi schemes break down,
I'm not anti-banking or anti-capitalist or anti-steam (as I said before) , just observations really.
>>342541582
This is not news. Gaben has said that if that ever happens they will send out a patch to disable DRM on all your games but that won't help much with the 100+ games you don't have installed.
>>342541138
You don't understand ponzi schemes at all. You don't even seem to understand basic investing or the fundamentals of business.
Games are not an "investment" because there is not a reasonable expectation that they will gain in value. Furthermore, there was never a guarantee that steam would exist forever. If you can't live without the idea that access to your games are tied to the continued existence of a company, don't use it.
>>342541915
Did fat gabe said that ? Because i kept reading about people said fat gabe said that.
If that is true, you might wanna download not only the game but also its dedicated server files in case diy hosting requires. I presume this can be downloaded from the game dev.
>>342541138
>throws a wobbler
What the fuck are you even saying
>>342541138
>if Steam goes down, we can't access any of our games
Unless you've downloaded them and they aren't Steamworks games. The only games that actually require Steam to run are games that use Steamworks like the Total War series.
>>342541138
You are really dumb
>>342541442
By that logic, any business is a Ponzi scheme, because if people stopped buying their products they'd collapse. Anyway, mass-scale bank runs are nearly impossible today because deposits are insured and the central bank intervenes to keep banks afloat. Remember, banks' income comes from loans, and the only way to "run" on loans is to pay them back or refinance, so the things that're really important are keeping banks within reserve limits (not very important) and ensuring the interbank payments system doesn't collapse (very important), both of which the central banks want and are fully capable of doing.
>>342543825
>By that logic, any business is a Ponzi scheme, because if people stopped buying their products they'd collapse.
Not really. If you buy a car and the manufacturer goes out of business you still have the car.
If you buy a game on Steam and their service shuts down then you're left with nothing.
>>342541442
but banks are pnzi schemes
>>342541138
>The way ponzi schemes are described, works eerily similar to the way Steam does
No.
>>342542626
Not him but it sounds like "throw a wobbly" which is what Australians say. It means to throw a hissy fit or cry, since a baby's voice gets all wobbly when it starts crying.
>>342541138
Right idea, absolutely wrong focus. Valve's fundraising scam is what is a ponzi scheme. They give people digital goods, then keep a vast amount of the money, while giving a small percentage of a VERY large sum to the eSports winners.
>>342541442
Anon, banking itself is a scam. Bankers make investments using everyday Joe's money. When banks fuck up (like they did during the mortgage crisis) the entire US has to pay for it. While the crooked bankers whom invested in friends businesses, walk away free.
>>342541138
Why didn't you go for the obvious route and say Early Access is a ponzi scheme?
They just keep collecting money and encourage you to go tell your friends to buy the game too. And sometimes the developer takes the cash and leaves, or does a ridiculously sub-par job.
Anyone remember Space Base DF-9? From Double Fine of all people! They had fucking Pyschonauts!
>>342541138
The flaw in your thought is that Steam gives you an actual product, not a flimsy promise of possible monetary gain. They're a Ponzi scheme in the same way a grocery store is.
>>342541138
What if all the gas stations went out of business? Gasoline vehicles are just one big ponzy scheme.
I dont use Steam. Is that really true? You wont actually own your game? Holy shit. Thats nuts.
But well, at least theyre far from being bankrupt. We might even die earlier than Steam.
>>342541138
>Salmond Rushdie
It´s Salman, or Zalman.
How is his disappearance to not get killed by extremists connected to scamming?
>>342541138
Your entire post reeks of someone dumb coming to a false realization that he stumbled upon something smart.
>>342541138
Gaben is a billionare, he could personally pay to keep the servers up and serving for the rest of our lives.
>>342550127
dunning-kruger effect in full force
>>342549741
>You wont actually own your game? Holy shit. Thats nuts.
You don´t own any of the games you buy, regardless of platform, best case you own the medium it is delivered on, but the game and all the rights to it still belong to the publisher/developer.
If you ever read and understood the EULA, which no one does, you should know that you only ever buy a license to use, and there is always the clause that you might get denied the use of the license for whatever reason they can cook up.
>>342550392
Indeed, like I said.
>>342550435
Yah, but what I mean by not own is this
>what if tomorrow we all decided to just not use it
>we CANT ACCESS ANY OF OUR GAMES
anon, im a business law grad
>>342541138
>Before anyone throws a wobbler
>>342541442
>By that logic every bank is a ponzi scheme because if people start withdrawing money en mass then most of them would be left with nothing because the bank collapsed.
Congratulations, you now understand capitalism.
>>342547912
>banking itself is a scam. Bankers make investments using everyday Joe's money. When banks fuck up (like they did during the mortgage crisis) the entire US has to pay for it. While the crooked bankers whom invested in friends businesses, walk away free.
THIS
>>342544879
I can play games just fine offline.
>>342550435
Not him, but let me explain what this means.
Usually when you buy something, you can do whatever you want with it. It's entirely YOUR thing. If you buy an apple, you can eat it or throw it or draw on it, whatever.
When you buy a game, you don't buy the game itself. You might own the disc the game is in, but never the actual game. The actual game is all the coding and all the intellectual property and all that other stuff that makes up a game.
For example, you can't change the coding of a game. You can't say the game itself or the characters belong to you.
You can buy an apple and give it to someone but you can't buy a game and give them the data, that's piracy.
Think of a book. The book is actually just paper and binding and ink. The story, the real value of the book, is the ideas that are presented via the medium of paper and ink. When you buy a book you don't own the story. If you buy a Harry Potter book you can't start demanding royalties for "your" story.
It's all very retarded but it's an important distinction. It sounds bad but honestly it's pretty standard for most entertainment media. Games just have it worse since there is sometimes faulty DRM that may block your access to playing it even if you haven't done anything wrong.
>>342550758
What you meant and what you wrote are two very distinct differences, mister law graduate.
And considering that everyone big enough tries to suck up to steam, should the service ever struggle in some form it will be bought immediately, because even the amount of customers who would simply feel some form of obligation towards whoever "saved" their games and continues the service would be invaluable from a PR standpoint. EA would leap from one of the most reviled to the most beloved publisher instantly.
>>342551651
Well duh im on fucking 4chin
I try my best to talk like the cool kids
>>342551324
Why do I own an IKEA desk then when it's also been designed and has intellectual property and people's thoughts and whatnot embedded in it?
Even the apple almost certainly has a copyrighted genetic code in it.
>>342541138
>The way ponzi schemes are described, works eerily similar to the way Steam does
You're a fucking retard.
>>342552536
Go read the entire thread. We have armchair fedora landwhales having too much opinions on shit they don't understand.
>>342552098
You don't own the patent for the desk
>this thread has actual posts
>not just 100 replies of people greentexting >throws a wobbler
Fuck it I'm done with /v/ tonight
>>342553179
But I can still do whatever with it unlike the game.
