Steam arguments, Garry'sMod sales figures

[Sacul15]

My opinion on the matter is that Gabe left Microsoft to start Valve because he was sick of working for those money grubbing assholes. My other opinion is that everyone eventually turns into what they hate. Gabe, please keep it fair for struggling indie devs!

I mean, just look at the recent campaign for L4D. Free on Steam, 7 bucks on Xbox. Who wants to bet it was Microsoft who wanted to charge for it more than Valve did?

Sorry to break it to you, but all companies are "money grubbing assholes." That's why they're companies and not non-profit organizations. The difference is that Valve seems to understand that it's better in the long run to get a loyal fan base through nice acts than to make a quick buck in the short run. If they seem to be changing their strategy it's because they think it will serve them better, not because they've decided they like money. And don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, either. In order to make money, they've got to provide a service that customers and developers like and continue to use. If Valve screws up, people would stop working with them and they would have to adapt back to what they were before. Really, everybody wins in the end.

[Dionysos]

God I'm so sick of the argument that just because a company is a company gives them the right to exploit or be "money grubbing assholes". Just because an organisation makes a profit to finance itself etc doesn't mean that should be its sole purpose. Actually, it's one of the things that have gone badly wrong in our time, the perception that making money is the goal.

[Sacul15]

Making money probably isn't the primary goal of the employees at Valve (or any other game company or company in general). I'm sure they love making games and watching them becoming successful. I'm not talking about them, but about the company itself. In order to keep making games, Valve has to remain a profitable company, so even though it isn't the final end of their work it must remain a primary goal. And any actions concerning putting indie games on Steam is definitely geared towards making money. I have faith in Valve that they will make good business decisions and not screw over their customers (meaning the developers), which would be bad for them in the long run. That's why I don't consider what they are doing to be immoral or foolish.