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Vietnam bans Valve's monopolistic game platform Steam (www.eurogamer.net)

submitted 7 months ago by hello_hello@hexbear.net to c/games@hexbear.net

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However, as reported in Vietnam.net, it's possible Steam has been taken down in Vietnam after local game developers complained about the scope and size of Steam's vast portfolio of games, claiming Vietnamese devs cannot compete with Steam's releases given they are subject to government approval and thousands of international games on Steam are not.

Citing it as "an injustice to domestic publishers", Vietnamese studios reportedly say that local game development "will die" if Steam is able to keep releasing games without the same government scrutiny as domestic games.

Based Vietnam protecting its domestic games industry from American capitalists. :)

TLDR: the online game monopolies of Vietnam complains that they can't extort the market share our Lord and Savior Gabe Newell rightfully earned," said one unhappy Steam user.

Steam users are so fucking insufferable. They hate all capitalist game companies except this one which they will eagerly lick the boot of.

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[+] brainw0rms@hexbear.net 64 points 7 months ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

[deleted]

[-] SSJ2Marx@hexbear.net 59 points 7 months ago

This article makes it seem like more of a protectionist move than an anti-monopoly move, which I'm in favor of when China does it so why wouldn't I support Vietnam doing it shrug-outta-hecks

It sucks for Vietnamese gamers who will now be forced to use a VPN and change their computer's locale to play foreign titles, but if in ten or twenty years there's Vietnamese game devs who wouldn't have been able to exist otherwise it'll be worth it.

[-] highalectical@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 7 months ago

Hopefully this will help prevent the good people of Vietnam from catching the gamer mind virus.

[-] companero@hexbear.net 30 points 7 months ago

A common reason cited by g*mers for only using Steam is that they "want to have all their games in one place". They will literally never switch to anything else, no matter how good it is, if the majority of their "owned" games can only be accessed through Steam.

[-] booty@hexbear.net 42 points 7 months ago

A common reason cited by g*mers for only using Steam is that they "want to have all their games in one place".

I really don't think that sentiment is all that common. People like to use Steam because it's a good service, and always innovating new ways to be a good service. There's no reason for family sharing to exist, or for it to have recently been overhauled in such a way that it's even smoother and more pleasant to use. They just did it because it makes a better consumer experience. There's no reason for Proton to exist, or for Valve to push into linux gaming at all. Linux was such an insignificant, tiny market. But Valve is making it a significant market single-handedly and that's fucking awesome.

Of course Valve, just like any other company in a capitalist society, only wants money. But Valve, unlike most companies in a capitalist society, is guided by the principle that people will fork over their money if the service is good. And they're goddamn right.

If Epic made a good service, or if Ubisoft made a good service, or if EA made a good service, or if Rockstar made a good service, or if Blizzard made a good service, or if anyone else made a good service, they'd have no problems getting people to use their service and Steam. The problem is that any time somebody other than Valve makes a game store, the only selling point for it is "you can't play this game if you don't download our store." Nobody ever tries actually making something good.

[-] Beetle_O_Rourke@hexbear.net 16 points 7 months ago

There's no reason for Proton to exist, or for Valve to push into linux gaming at all. Linux was such an insignificant, tiny market. But Valve is making it a significant market single-handedly and that's fucking awesome.

Microsoft began making noises about wanting a cut of the Steam gravy train around the time development started on the failed steambox 1.0 project.

[-] StalinStan@hexbear.net 15 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I specifically feel that way. Steam is a resource and a convenience and it makes life more difficult to interact with games in a other way. Steam should be nationalized by vietnam.

[-] doublepepperoni@hexbear.net 12 points 7 months ago

I just hate Valve and CDPR much, much less than I do Microsoft, Ubisoft, EA and Epic

[-] dachshundwithadesktop@hexbear.net 6 points 7 months ago

Just curious, why? I'm not too into what goes on in the game world, so I don't know who has been doing what. I just remember the hatred for Microsoft for monopoly, EA for some kind of anti-consumer practice, and Ubisoft for making shitty open world games and the microtransaction lootbox bullshit. What did CDPR and Valve do?

[-] piccolo@hexbear.net 12 points 7 months ago

EA (and to some extent Valve) is also well known for profiting very heavily off of getting people addicted to gambling in the form of loot boxes. Also EA's former CEO said that they should capitalize on gamers in the heat of the moment to charge in-app transactions, like pay $1 to reload your magazine mid-combat in Battlefield. They're also notable for charging tons for DLC. Overall just very money hungry and gross.

Valve is not very good at censoring profitable fascist games from their marketplace (which goes in line with Gaben and his reddit-logo freedom takes). Valve also takes like 1/3 of the price of the game for themselves, which is pretty high, especially for indie game devs who don't yet have many sales, and given that they have a de-facto monopoly. They also tried really hard to break EU and Australian law and not allow for refunds on games beyond very limited circumstances. Their work culture is also notoriously sexist and transphobic.

I think Valve is probably the lesser evil of game companies but I think that their reputation is much much better than it should be given all this shit. That being said, as a tux enjoyer I'm happy they are trying to get gaming on Linux working better, even if it's just for their own selfish interests.

[-] doublepepperoni@hexbear.net 7 points 7 months ago

They're not as detestable than the other guys

[-] dachshundwithadesktop@hexbear.net 8 points 7 months ago

Oh shit! I just now realized I completely misread your comment. I thought you said you hate Valve and CDPR much more than the others. blob-no-thoughts

Sorry, pls disregard.

[-] RyanGosling@hexbear.net 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

That’s the thing. Valve hasn’t really done anything. They don’t make games anymore. They just sell you shit. They have some controversies but nothing really worth caring (wrt steam) about except that one time they allowed mods to be charged. As such, you don’t get too many reasons to hate it outside of principle, which is fine, but no one else cares enough to make an alternative.

[-] JohnBrownNote@hexbear.net 5 points 7 months ago

i hate making accounts and don't buy shit that makes me make a new account

[-] Taster_Of_Treats@hexbear.net 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

You also can't play steam games without downloading their store.

I don't think epic games is that bad as a game auto-uploader. I just wish it took less time to launch.

They also have a better revenue share for game devs, which is good because steam should be pressured to share more revenue.

[-] booty@hexbear.net 1 points 7 months ago

the only selling point

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[-] doublepepperoni@hexbear.net 30 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

These companies don't want to just sell games to you. They want you to interact with their apps and live in their ecosystem and I have zero interest to learn to use a shittier Steam where I have no games

If they just sold you no-frills installers like GOG does (with an optional Steam-like ecosystem I never use) I wouldn't mind, but of course they don't want to do that

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 18 points 7 months ago

I know a lot of people who refuse to use Epic because something something Tencent bad!

[-] RyanGosling@hexbear.net 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

It’s all just vibes. As long as your government connections aren’t visible and publicly talked about, you’re one of the good ones in liberals’ eyes

[-] barrbaric@hexbear.net 5 points 7 months ago

Meanwhile I don't use it because they had that giant data breach years ago and I don't want to risk another vector of my credit card getting stolen.

[-] Default_Defect@midwest.social 4 points 7 months ago

the epic app/launcher whatever was just bad to use, all the free games in the world could never make me want to wait for their junk to load and typically fail to load. IDK if its improved, but its too late now, I don;t even care to check in for the free stuff anymore.

[-] bitwolf@lemmy.one 13 points 7 months ago

I argue that is the case as well. Personally, I've been so dissatisfied with every alternative I have no desire to use a different service.

Steam also appears to be the only service that tends to do right by the customer so there is no push to seek an alternative.

[-] Owl@hexbear.net 3 points 7 months ago

Every indie game developer wishes gamers would use itch.io instead.

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[-] Frank@hexbear.net 48 points 7 months ago

Mixed feelings bc this is going to cut people off from playing a lot of games with folks in other parts of the world, which to me is one of the main draws of online gaming. But fuck steam 100%.

[-] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 27 points 7 months ago

Piracy is always an option

[-] Frank@hexbear.net 25 points 7 months ago

True, and VPNs exist. It's more of an access thing. Lots of people don't have hte technical knowledge and skills to do these things.

[-] RyanGosling@hexbear.net 9 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

A lot of Internet cafes in Vietnam already use pirated games. But cracked multiplayer games usually cannot play with legit players.

[-] Taster_Of_Treats@hexbear.net 1 points 7 months ago

Access to multiplayer games is no great loss to society, imo.

[-] JohnBrownNote@hexbear.net 39 points 7 months ago

Steam users are so fucking insufferable. They hate all capitalist game companies except this one which they will eagerly lick the boot of.

I don't like steam but shrug-outta-hecks the correct number of steam-like things is 0 or 1 and we already have steam.

[-] PKMKII@hexbear.net 36 points 7 months ago

It sounds like Steam just needs to subject itself to the same regulatory oversight as domestic developers are bound by. Which seems fair to me.

[-] OutrageousHairdo@hexbear.net 32 points 7 months ago

This story seems to be a bit exaggerated - a Vietnamese game developer I spoke to reported that people still have access to Steam and that the source for this story isn't super well substantiated.

[-] ThunderclapSasquatch@startrek.website 6 points 7 months ago

What I've seen says they can still use the library they have bought but can't use the store etc.

[-] OutrageousHairdo@hexbear.net 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I did only hear from one guy when I asked about this, so I'm not sure what the full extent of the situation is, but aforementioned singular Vietnamese developer called the provided explanation a "very wild theory" and that the quote seemed to just be speculation from a random guy, "...and as of today, people can access Steam normally."

[-] CredibleBattery@hexbear.net 20 points 7 months ago

expect the Gamer Color Revolution soon

[-] DEAD_YUCKY@hexbear.net 18 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

STEAM IS BAD AND THIS IS DUMB

IF STEAM JUST NEEDS TO SUBJECT ITSELF TO REGULATION THEN THIS IS IN FACT BASED.

[-] Beetle_O_Rourke@hexbear.net 18 points 7 months ago

And with the stroke of a pen, SEA became unable to ever win The International

[-] HumanBehaviorByBjork@hexbear.net 16 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

i fully agree with the banning of steam and the destruction of Valve as an entity, but i think it's worth noting that the limitation placed on domestic devs in this case is imposed by Vietnam. Like, I'm sure the leninists here could very eloquently explain it to me using words like "objectively" and "defense of the revolution" but I don't think it's actually necessary to require government approval for the publication of video games.

[-] SSJ2Marx@hexbear.net 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Death to Steam, long live GoG!

[-] Dirt_Owl@hexbear.net 7 points 7 months ago

GoG stays winning don't even need to log in to play my games.

[-] PoisonIvy@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 7 months ago

A friend of mine gave me their GOG copy of Baldur’s Gate the other day on a thumb drive and it just works. There was nothing else to it. They are the best store front by far.

[-] reverendz@hexbear.net 10 points 7 months ago

Not really the same, but apparently Netflix got busted distributing games.

https://english.thesaigontimes.vn/netflix-told-to-cease-distributing-unauthorized-games-in-vietnam/

[-] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 6 points 7 months ago

"Unauthorized games" yeonmi-park

[-] Dirt_Owl@hexbear.net 7 points 7 months ago

waow-based

[-] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Steams realeses? Of what counter strike and DOTA?

You can develop games just fine. You can sell your games on Steam. Steam is a storefront more than a competing developer. I don't get what the fear is?

Vietnamese devs cannot compete with Steam's releases given they are subject to government approval and thousands of international games on Steam are not.

So games released on Steam are not subject to government censorship and control. It isn't Steam so much as they fear the offerings through steam aren't in their control. Isn't this what the US is doing to TikTok?

Machine translation of the article.

Steam is releasing games freely into Vietnam, including violent games, adult games... but without having to ask for permission. This is an injustice to domestic publishers. This requires authorities to take management measures with this cross-border platform, otherwise, domestic game publishers will die," a representative of a game publisher shared.

According to PV VietNamNet's research, Steam is Valve's video game distribution service launched in 2003 as a software application, automatically providing games and expanded to distribute game titles. of third parties from the end of 2005 to present.

Steam offers a variety of features such as technical management, game server connection with Valve Anti-Cheat anti-hacking solution, social networks and Streaming services. Besides, Steam's application also automatically updates games, cloud storage, community features...

Steam is released globally, currently has more than 100,000 games distributed (including paid and free) as well as updating 6,000 - 8,000 games each year. This platform supports up to 24 languages and is easily accessible to all users around the world. According to VGC, 2023 has seen a series of games distributed on Steam, with 14,535 new games, an increase of nearly 2,000 games compared to 2022.

To use Steam is very simple, just download and install Steam Client, then register an account and proceed to buy games or play free games provided by this platform. Steam also has a built-in electronic wallet (Steam wallet) so players can recharge and pay for user needs (buy games, buy items on the market, items...).

As noted, a lot of shooting games are being released on Steam, which still leave the effect (red blood) intact. In Vietnam, games of the same genre must be edited, due to their violent nature, which affects the psychology of players. In addition, on this platform there are also games with adult content with revealing images, sexual intercourse...

In 2021, the Steam Global version was officially "banned" in the Chinese market, replaced by a Steam version specifically for China. The game library on this platform has just over 100 titles, most of which are Chinese games. Players can find some famous games like Dota 2, CSGO... but will not be able to find games rated 18+ which are very popular on Steam.

In addition to lacking about 110,000 game titles compared to the Global version, Steam China is also not allowed to have any community features, does not support Workshop, does not allow selling trading cards on the Community Market, and does not have a forum to Gamers communicate and support each other,...

New games that want to appear on this platform will also be strictly censored. Specifically, games released in China are not allowed to have blood, are not allowed to show images of "skulls and bones" and images that can hurt gamers.

According to sources from the management agency, with no contact point in Vietnam, the authorities are looking for solutions to prevent illegal cross-border services from being provided to Vietnamese users in the future. next time.

a lot of shooting games are being released on Steam, which still leave the effect (red blood) intact. In Vietnam, games of the same genre must be edited, due to their violent nature, which affects the psychology of players. In addition, on this platform there are also games with adult content with revealing images, sexual intercourse...

I didn't know Vietnam was so church lady prudish.

[-] cordlesslamp@lemmy.today 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

[-] Leon_Frotsky@hexbear.net 5 points 7 months ago

waow-based

this post was submitted on 12 May 2024

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