Fosscord changed to “spacebar” a while back. If you want a more Discord-like experience, try the Cinny or Comet Matrix client. And on mobile the SchildiNext Chat client. Although I really can’t recommend Matrix as a replacement at all.
Sure, but Steam can leverage their already-massive 132M userbase, just like Epic has (only much bigger). Put an announcement on the Steam store and client pages. Show a pop-up when someone opens the website from an Android device, etc. I mean certainly they wouldn’t achieve the same level of success as Google who has their store installed on literally every Android device, but even a tiny fraction of their revenue would be an enormous boon to Steam.
So if Steam starts to distribute games for Android, the Steam app would be thrown out from Google Play.
That’s not how that works. They only throw it out if you use the app in the app store to distribute other apps. They don’t ban the entire company from distributing any software.
They support games for Windows, Mac and Linux. And I’m sure they would support them for PS, Nintendo and Xbox if they weren’t created with explicit intention of not allowing that sort of thing. Android is the only market they could feasibly enter and choose not to.
Moving into a new market wouldn’t be trivial
No but it also wouldn’t be that difficult for a company with Valve’s resources, and would be extremely lucrative.
Google has put up a lot of barriers to make it especially difficult for a third-party app store to challenge their monopoly.
For the reason I mentioned in the OP. Because it’s been done before, several times. Including by Epic, with a fraction of Valve’s resources.
Amazon and Epic have both tried to launch their own Android storefronts
Everything I’ve read about the Amazon store indicates that it sucks on every level, for all parties.
The Epic Store is only a few months old. And they can’t even make a decent or profitable app for PC so I’d be very unsurprised if their mobile app is also trash.
That’s like saying Amazon has a “barrier” to online sales because they refuse to allow Target to sell products on their site for free. They’re competing services, why would they allow that?
I’d wager the majority of Android users have never downloaded an application other than from the Google Play Store.
Developers most often distribute software outside of official repos in Windows and MacOS, and they do so successfully.
It’s not that hard, you just follow the prompts on the screen.
What would you suggest they sell on their Android store that users would be so encouraged to install a new store and then what they want?
…games?
Steam already has a store on Android
Uhhhh they have an Android app which you can use to buy and manage PC games. That’s not what I’m talking about.
because most games on steam either already exist on the native google play store
…no? Even if they did you’d have to buy 2 licenses instead of 1. As I mentioned in the OP.
Most mobiles unlike a arm laptop, have no x86/amd64 emulator
I’m not suggesting emulation or translation (although that would be great as well), I’m suggesting an app store for selling and installing native Android games.
We’re not talking about installing an operating system. I’m not suggesting Steam create their own OS (although they’re also doing that). We’re talking about installing an app.
I don’t know, it’s only been around for a few months.
Valves strategy of not doing anything new in the last decade
That’s not their strategy. I mean, among other things you may have heard of this thing called the Steam Deck? Or Family Sharing? SteamOS? Shit there’s a new video every week about Steam Client updates and improvements.
I’m saying it’s easier to sideload apps on Android than it is on Windows and MacOS, where it is the primary distribution method used by average people every day.
That’s exactly my point. The current app lets you buy PC games despite being distributed through the store.
And they could continue doing so while also distributing a separate app independently that allows you to buy Android games.
Notice if you try to buy a movie from Amazon on Google TV they redirect you to the website. They could do the same or redirect you to the non-Google version.
I’m just saying I think there are reasons they haven’t done it (yet?)
I agree, I just find it very curious what those reasons are.
I’ve installed them all. FDroid, Obtainium, Aurora, Accrescent, along with a slew of other sideloaded independent apps, on several devices. That’s not how it works.
If you sideload an app, a pop-up will ask if you want to enable the current app to install the new app and give the typical warning about malware that you’ll get on any OS (for good reason). You click the pop-up, it redirects you to the proper location in the settings app, you toggle the switch and…that’s it.
I didn’t realize that but it doesn’t change the fact that:
The PC draws way more power than is needed
The PC must be powered on (mine draws ~40 watts at idle)
A monitor has to be plugged in and turned on.
The aspect ratio on the devices have to match or you’ll get letterboxing.
If your main display is 4k it will run the game at 4k even if you’re playing on a 720p display so you have to go in and change the graphical settings every time you switch devices.
In my limited experience it literally just doesn’t even work at all.
Even if you’re running over the web you’re limited to the strength of your data connection.
It just doesn’t work like it should, in my opinion. Hopefully they can fix this in the future with Steam Machines.
Well there is that but there’s also the example I gave in the OP where devs could potentially extend their existing games into a new market, increasing their potential audience. A single license would gain a new platform with potential sales opportunities.
Now that I’m thinking about it they’d probably have to de-list those cross-platform games from the Google app or make them unavailable, which would probably lead to a lot of confusion.
What are you talking about? Do you expect me to just reply to everyone who provides a response “Yes, you’re correct” and move on? Am I not allowed to participate in the discussion I started?
and the only reason for it to become a case, was the monopolistic position.
The reason it became a case is because Epic violated the ToS (intentionally).
That’s gone now, they’re free to refuse service to whoever they want, whenever they want, for no reason at all…
…what is gone, exactly? You think this settlement suddenly made them no longer a monopoly? That’s not how that works. Further, companies that are not monopolies ALSO have to comply with their own ToS, so I’m honestly very confused about what you’re trying to say here.
Really? You’re really going to pretend Windows and Linux are alternatives to Android? Can we just have an honest conversation, please?
It took a legislative fight with the eu and quite a few fines before they decided to stop being ass much of a bunch of assholes.
You’re mistaken. They’re still a bunch of assholes. If you specifically live in the EU you might be able to distribute your own apps but they still require Apple’s rubber stamp and Apple still gets to collect the vast majority of their tax. Not the case for Android (anywhere). And it’s been this way from the beginning.
loaded with spyware, ads, and shitty monetization practices
I mean that’s already the case with PC games…? Only slightly better because they are not Google and don’t allow straight-up ads for third-party products and services, which is what most of these “free” mobile games run on anyway. Valve has the potential to make a much better experience.
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