Screw Steam (The Jimquisition)

I actually still like steam and while their search features (esp. of my own by now uncomfortably large library). Their non-intervention is a bit extreme, but I much prefer it to the walled garden of even the most open of consoles. I do support them removing anything that explicitly advocates for real-world violence or discrimination against any groups of people (who are not themselves advocates for real-world violence or discrimination against any groups of people), but short of that I am actually kinda okay with their ambivalence, yeah there is some horrific shit on steam right now, but I remember when LGBTQI+ themes would bar the general console release of a game. I would rather a platform just stayed the fuck out of what is allowed on their platform. But, I understand that my opinion may be a minority, and I totally understand why someone would want Valve to remove certain games from Steam some of which are utterly horrifying. I just personally think removing them is not the right way to go. :/

Virtually none of them?

Afflickted

Hey Jim, dunno where the best place is for providing feedback/suggestions; tried tweeting at you but dunno if you saw it, so I figure might as well toss it here. <a href="https://twitter.com/buh6173/status/1103788362010263553" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/buh6173/status/1103788362010263553</a> I feel like this would be up your alley as it's an interesting analysis of the success and failure of Hubris vs Humility (plus you'd be one tick closer to 1000 Anthem videos or however many you're supposedly at now).

Hank Kleinberg

At this point, controversial in the internet practically means: "I do not like this thing that I do not nor willing to understand."

noxamillion

Thanking you kindly!

Jim Sterling

Thank you Emince! Yeah, a lot of people are misunderstanding what I said (some of them willfully), claiming I was "promoting" Epic or claiming the Metro shit is good (despite the video stating the exact opposite). I'm still a little puzzled that what I said was THIS controversial considering it mostly lays out pretty clear facts. People are acting like I cheered on everything Epic does, when I quite simply explained some of the reasons why the Epic Store offers a superior deal and why Steam needs to up its game.

Jim Sterling

Jim, thank you so much for saying this. I know that the hate train has descended on your video, but I understand, and I think most reasonable people understand, that you're not saying "it's great the Epic does stuff like snatching Metro: Exodus at the last moment!" You're just pointing out that when you put annoying exclusives next to Steam's misconduct, like selling a game called "Rape Day," Steam doesn't look so good.

Jesus people, stop acting like hating the Epic games store is tantamount to being a Nazi anti-SJW. Remember when people were accusing Jim Sterling of being alt-right because they happened to agree on some videogame-related issues? That's what some of you are doing.

BJams

The hazards of letting people do whatever they want unsupervised is they will. And a lot of people aren't the kind of people you want to be unsupervised.

Trevor Bond

Only a peek. I can stop anytime I want.

Twit In A Hat

Seriously, people? You're reading the Youtube comments? Has chemical abuse, self-flagellation, and voluntary exposure to reality television already gotten so stale?

Kraken

Screw Steam? you mean Screw you?

Michael Flores

"Your dislike of Steam means you're biased, so I won't counter your argument. Also you're clearly a shill for [competitor]." As predictable as the sunrise.

Twit In A Hat

There's a really good comment from the Reddit thread: <blockquote>“The Console Wars were followed by the Launcher Wars. Still the same bullshit "brand loyalty".”</blockquote>

Twit In A Hat

Going over the comments on YouTube and Reddit, I think people need a history lesson on Steam's early days. It used to be hated. People laughed that it would never become popular, because gamers would never willingly install DRM. Then it had some exclusives. So people installed it. 15 years later, here we are.

Andy

<i>"...and that might sound arrogant, that might sound self-aggrandizing, and it is!"</i> - <b>Jim Sterling's rigorously objective self-assessment (2019)</b> The "thumbs up/thumbs down" votes seem pretty evenly split at the time I posted this. What percentage of those negative voters were actual sex offenders, do you think?

Freakish Uproar

Minor error, Jim: that was <i>Air Control</i>, not <i>Airport Simulator</i>. There was a very different game titled <i>Airport Simulator</i> that gained notoriety for different reasons, so I think it'd be worth adding a correction to the video description.

Twit In A Hat

<blockquote>“you either curate all the games that come in and get hit with bias or free speech issues or don't and deal with "Rape Day" games once every 6 months.”</blockquote> Hmm, now which one of those options would generate less heat... <em>Hmmmmm...</em>

Twit In A Hat

All the love to you Jim from Saudi Arabia. I first saw you featured on another YouTuber's video a year or so ago, and I admit that I got a very negative connotation because of the context (and that person's agenda). But I've stumbled about one of your actual videos a couple of weeks ago. I will happily admit that I'm now a good 20+ hours binging your old videos. You're a gem, a gentleman and a scholar. I wish there was a higher Patreon tier that I could subscribe to. But I will do my best to promote you in my little tiny, super messed up crevice of the world, it's the least I can do. Indeed, thank God for you, Jim Sterling.

People have gone wildly to bat for Steam since games like AIDS Simulator and Gay World starting cropping up. It stopped being about marketing and started being about "free speech" for a lot of people since then. Plus, a lot of people seem to really, really hate Epic. In any case, I really don't think I said anything controversial. I pointed out some pretty clear facts about why devs are going to Epic and condemned Steam's attitudes. Pretty normal for me to do this, but lately people have gotten super radical over Steam.

Jim Sterling

I honestly like the relaxed attitude with Steam. They can't win, you either curate all the games that come in and get hit with bias or free speech issues or don't and deal with "Rape Day" games once every 6 months. I am, by far, not saying I approve of this game though. I have very low expectations of any "visual novel" type of games. I am just saying don't take my henti bullet hells away from me. Some of them are quite good honestly.

Paul Bruner

That's the most dislikes I've seen on one of your videos in ages. I sure am going to stay the hell away from the comments section.

Ben L.

I'd like to see more curation on Steam, if for no other reason than its sorting algorithms make it hard to find anything worthwhile that didn't come from a AAA publisher or within the limited gaze of a handful of stalwarts the individual trusts to provide filter for them. But at the same time, I'm leery of "what might cause a business trouble by association" as a standard for rejection. Some worthy ideas, works, and causes can easily get caught up in that filter; more, I have an increasing sense that people who work in PR are catching on that the outrageous can distract from things far more destructive and insidious, but less visible. Steam could definitely use some competition- it's been the de facto kingmaker for far too long. But in the wake of how Activision, EA, and the like are re-shaping the industry, how much faith can one really have in the "free market" as a tool of reform?

Kraken

I’ve been seriously eyeing the Epic Games storefront for a while now. Disappointing that most of my PC library is on Steam, but at this point fuck it, its worth it at this point to have multiple accounts. Thank god for you, Jim!

Score another one for Jim. People talk about "censorship" we'll hold on tight when a government steps in. Ugh. And the cynic in mean is thinking, "Just wait..." as it relates to the Epic Store reaching the point of Steam. I don't want to be right about that but it seems like everything that gets to a certain size no longer can or wants to moderate itself. I hope I'm wrong.

Perpetual Noob

Really good episode Jim I recommend The Reputation Game if anyone wants to see the extend of a PR problem <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36096621-the-reputation-game" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36096621-the-reputation-game</a>

Pedro Garcia-Huidobro