PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Download service Steam will be hosting software as well as games from September 5th.
Valve, the firm behind Steam, is set to broaden the type of titles available on the service, adding a range of software from creativity to productivity.
It apparently comes about due to consumer demand: "The 40 million gamers frequenting Steam are interested in more than playing games," said Mark Richardson at Valve. "They have told us they would like to have more of their software on Steam, so this expansion is in response to those customer requests."
Valve says that launch titles will take advantage of Steamworks features including easy installation, auto-updating, and the ability to save work to the Steam Cloud space.
New titles will continue to roll out after September 5th, and developers are also being encouraged to submit new software via new service Steam Greenlight (which enables the community to vote on what it wants to see published).
It’s an interesting move – will the site be redesigned to keep software easily accessible and not lost amongst myriad games titles?
And, more importantly perhaps, is this one more nail in the coffin for boxed software at retail? Tell us what you think.
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