memes

Valve isn't in charge of CD production, they're just providing a digital storefront. Game publishers choose digital because it's more profitable when you can ignore logistics.

There's two main reasons why I like physical media:

1. Longevity. If the maker/publisher of the game doesn't want to support it anymore or goes broke, I still have the game.
2. Used game market. I've got a backlog of PS4 games I got cheap because they still existed after demand went down, so prices went down.

Steam meets both of those in different ways.

1. Any game I've purchased on Steam has remained available to install, even though some of them aren't available for sale anymore via Steam. If a publisher folds, Steam can still serve their files to people who bought the game before it folded. This might change in the future and there might be exceptions where a publisher went to court to stop Steam from serving the files (not that I know of any cases of this, just acknowledging the possibility exists here while it doesn't for physical games you already own), but so far so good.
2. Steam sales are often better than used game sales. Sure, not all publishers participate in them, but my steam backlog dwarfs my console backlog because I can often buy multiple games for the price of one used disc game.

They are both ultimately in it for greed, but a different kind of greed. Sony wants the short term make most profits this quarter every quarter, even if this quarter's strategy hurts next quarter, that's a problem for next quarter.

Valve seems to at least understand that not taking its users for granted and forcing shitty options on them to make a quick buck will mean they are more willing to continue spending money on their shit.

Also, Valve didn't come in trying to end physical media, they were a digital service from the start. Similarly, I had no problem with some games on the PS store not having physical releases and I've even bought a few. My issue is that the physical disc drive is one of the main reasons I even have a ps5, so saying they won't be doing them anymore mostly just means that the ps6 won't be as interesting to me. I'm not even really mad, just disappointed and moving on.

To be fair physical media for PC has always been a bit different than the "insert disc, play game" you get on consoles.

Right? Damn. That's why private companies are better

Microsoft pioneered the "your software is licensed, not owned" in the early 80s. Even before Steam, you didn't own your games. Even if they are on physical media, you don't own the software on the media; you just own the media it came on.

Idk man. I remember someone recommending spec ops: the line a few weeks ago, but said it's not available on steam any more. I bought it eons ago and had no problem besides controls getting it on my deck.

i still can download the crew

Valve did sell physical copies for quite some time you know

it's amazing to me how valve employees & gaben haven't become out of touch with their customers (i.e. ordinary people), despite how rich they must have gotten. it's documented phenomenon in psychology that the richer and more powerful you got, the less capacity you will have for sympathy. basically, as a company gets big and rich, they stop being able to understand what will piss their users off (think "dO yOu GuYs NoT hAvE pHoNeS?").

this hasn't seemed to have happened with valve yet, somehow. they still seem to be down to earth people. (btw, if you haven't watched any of the steam sales promotion videos, they are pretty fun, take a look).

They also profited like crazy from under age, unregulated gambling and did nothing to very little to curb it.

"When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."

-- God (In Futurama)