this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2026
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Ah yes the """platform""" that Sony is copying from...
But that's the neat thing, you aren't locked into just steam as your only store. You can use other stores, I recommend GoG for downloadable, DRM free, offline installers
You're expecting the average Sony fan to know about GOG? That's kinda cute. Steam subscribers don't care about GOG, if they even know about its existence.
But Valve's hardware still have no physical media, and their digital model is still what's inspiring Sony. How about being consistent and rewarding neither?
I think you're conflating a locked down system with an open one with one and the things that can and can't be done on each.
Console: locked down operating system and hardware with 1 store from the manufacturer incompatible with each other if from other companies and often not backward compatible
Computer: multiple stores with choice being given to operating system and hardware where great strides have been made to further open compatibility for software no matter what operating system and backwards compatibility that goes back nearly half a century.
Like I said though, GoG has downloadable, DRM free, offline installers. Download the installer yourself and make physical media. Mine physically exists in my NAS on the platters of my hard drives. I'll still buy from Valve just to reward them for helping the compatibility side enabling many of us to move off closed source Windows. Each has their place and we can move on from the stupid ass tribalism a la the console wars. There's no need to shit where we eat and buddy, eating is good on the pc gaming side on the software side minus the AI RAM winter.
Then you don't care about the Sony dropping physical media thing, since you're willing to give Valve a free pass despite literally paving the road Sony is going down on.
I'd expect people boycotting Sony over their decision to be better informed than that, and stay clear of Valve's dystopia, right? Right?
EDIT: also since you said consoles are locked down to 1 store yourself, I want you to make a guess how many PlayStation users are going to figure out that they can go buy their stuff from GOG on hardware literally branded after Steam, where as I established, its subscribers don't give a shit about other stores, much less GOG.
Dystopia? Brother, you need to understand that games were locked down to windows for the longest time. If you don't remember the shit show that was windows 8 and Microsoft shutting down games for windows live, then you don't understand how bleak the outlook was for PC gaming at that time. Valve has nearly single handily moved compatibility to other operating systems for nearly all games all the while keeping everyone's library available for nearly a quarter century. When Valve does shady shit, we'll call them out for it, but I'm not about to stop supporting them when they're making using a real alternative for a better OS a reality.
Not to mention the sales making PC gaming much more affordable than console gaming.
I wouldn't care if Sony dropped digital if there was another source to get games other than the official Sony PlayStation store, but since there is no alternative, it is bullshit. The loss of physical isn't the real fight here though, it's open competition. Why else do you think Google and Apple are fighting tooth and nail to keep other stores off their mobile phone platforms?
How will they learn about alternative stores? Like this.
I've used windows 8.1 and 8 itself briefly. All applications from previous eras of windows worked. I've no idea what you're on about now.
Oh really? You're not calling them out for the shady shit that I'm literally dangling right in front of you. All I've seen you do is credit other people's work to them and shift the topic away from the fact Sony is copying their homework from them. And you keep doing that.
The loss of physical is the loss of another venue for ownership, including the ability to resell or give away your copies - something not even GOG lets you do. Oh, and also it's something Sony themselves made an entire ad around...
The whole reason why SteamOS exists is because Microsoft introduced the Windows store with 8. It looked like at the time Microsoft was going to push that all software for the windows platform was going to have to go through their store.
Things like Proton, Fex, and SteamOS?
I really don't think you understand why people like Valve. I've explained it above, go back a reread my comments on gamers getting a real choice on running an operating system of their choosing.
Again, reread my comment where I call it bullshit. It wouldn't be a problem if there was another store from which to buy from.
Well, no. GoG isn't going to actively promote piracy. It isn't going to stop them from telling you exactly what I told you to do though. Whatever you do with your copy is totally up to you.
Ah yes. People panicked that Microsoft was going to somehow self-mutilate the ecosystem they have built, and Valve decided to opportunistically jump on the bandwagon and sell a "cure" to a non-existent problem, by porting their DRM to Linux, and wooed the world by... forking existing Linux distros with their DRM set to autoboot on big picture, and Wine? Damn, I'm impressed. /s
Rather there's nothing reasonable about liking them in the first place. American corporation paying taxes to the current regime, founded by an ex-Microsoft employee turned billionaire and owner of multiple yachts. Developed its own DRM, then found ways to monetize and enshittify it to make even more off PNGs and chat emojis. Singlehandedly killed used copies for PC games way before it crossed Sony's mind. A loot box pioneer. Also popularized the toxic F2P model from mobile to the PC world with TF2. Attempted to make paid mods with a hefty cut going to themselves. Didn't offer refunds for well over a decade until Australia forced them to legally - and yet their refund system remains subpar. I could go on...
Yes you keep shifting the topic. I'm talking about game ownership and physical copies, here you are talking about operating systems. I can run a fully libre system running GNU/Hurd and play GOG games all I want, it doesn't change the fact Valve made it so I don't own my digital PC games any more than Sony wants you to own them - they made it so GOG is unironically a store whose entire selling point is "we let you download offline installers for the few games we sell" which is IMHO dystopian - so why are we still rewarding them? Is it the shinies?
Here just to point out you're missing the huge amount of work Valve puts on Linux and open source. Go look at lwn and phoronix if you want. They could just make all a binary blob and force you to run SteamOS but instead they contribute upstream. "forking existing Linux distros with their DRM set to autoboot on big picture, and Wine? Damn, I'm impressed. /s" is unbelievably ignorant or dishonest.
Embrace, extend, extinguish. But I guess since Valve is doing it and not Microsoft, I'm the one called ignorant or dishonest for calling it what it is. For every minor contribution to Linux they made, they made multiples of regressions to the entirety of the PC platform and games sphere. Keep sweeping everything under the rug to convince yourself your favorite American corpo is the savior - not all the volunteers that made the hard work Valve latched on for free.
It's called a computer. C-O-M-P-U-T-E-R.
Though now it's sort of vendor locked in to AMD and Intel (plus whatever those few Chinese clones were) and a very specific combination of software components on Linux (or just Windows), with janky emulation and translation for everything else, but that's a separate issue.
You see, the avarage sony users won't care, they see an idiot proof interface and just be happy