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[JaseC]

No need for scare quotes.


If you claim it is outdated then perhaps you should start demanding Valve update it. Unless you have a link to some part of store.steampowered.com that tells us of this guarantee or any other updated terms then I'm going to have to assume it doesn't actually exist.

Oh, Valve absolutely should update date it. As an(other) example, here's what a chargeback resulted in previously and here's what it results in these days -- account deactivation/termination is no longer policy.

 

[baterism]

No doubt that majority of account use Steam to only play Dota2 or other f2p. But Dota2 and other f2p are excellent entry point for people who don't know about Steam before.

Steam don't even need to win console gamers, they just need to win millions if not hundred millions PC gamers who pirate. Especially those from third-world country who, before Steam, have little to no access to get legal games at fair price.

 

[alexandros]

No doubt that majority of account use Steam to only play Dota2 or other f2p. But Dota2 and other f2p are excellent entry point for people who don't know about Steam before.

Steam don't even need to win console gamers, they just need to win millions if not hundred millions PC gamers who pirate. Especially those from third-world country who, before Steam, have little to no access to get legal games at fair price.

Steam doesn't need to win over console gamers but it can and it does. More and more people each day seem to decide that the distinction between a game console and a PC with Steam is an increasingly arbitrary one. All PC gaming really needs is a really good and affordable Steam Machine to serve as an entry point for those who don't feel like building a PC. If that happens, the sky is the limit.

 

[baterism]

Steam doesn't need to win over console gamers but it can and it does. More and more people each day seem to decide that the distinction between a game console and a PC with Steam is an increasingly arbitrary one. All PC gaming really needs is a really good and affordable Steam Machine to serve as an entry point for those who don't feel like building a PC. If that happens, the sky is the limit.

I'm excited with the idea of Steam machine, but not sure how big it can change the filed because PC gaming has been established as DIY area. Know what I even more excited at?

A handheld Steam Machine. Now it might be still out of reach, but who knows what technology will bring 3-5 years again? If Vita can float as indie machine and PS4 streamer, Nvidia or ASUS Steam handheld might have place someday.

 

[Nzyme32]

No doubt that majority of account use Steam to only play Dota2 or other f2p. But Dota2 and other f2p are excellent entry point for people who don't know about Steam before.

The active users have to have purchased a minimum of at least one game to be defined as such. So at a bare minimum these users play f2p and one other game/stare at it longingly.

 

[Knurek]

A handheld Steam Machine. Now it might be still out of reach, but who knows what technology will bring 3-5 years again? If Vita can float as indie machine and PS4 streamer, Nvidia or ASUS Steam handheld might have place someday.

Surface Pro exists, doesn't it?

 

[KHlover]

Surface Pro exists, doesn't it?

Since the poster mentioned Vita and the Shield im pretty sure he was thinking of a handheld where you don't have to sacrifice your firstborn to the devil to be able to afford it

 

[baterism]

The active users have to have purchased a minimum of at least one game to be defined as such. So at a bare minimum these users play f2p and one other game/stare at it longingly.

Ups, I missed that point. But, that might shown that Steam's f2p is a gateway drug. Nearly all my friends originally use Steam for Dota2 and pirate the rest, then they saw that legal games are not that expensive, then they started to contact me to buy games because they don't have CC. A friend just get FF13, and before another get Fable Anniversary (and he regret it, cause bugs). They all still college students (in Indonesia to boot), so going full-legal full-price is just out of question. But I'm sure when their purchasing power is increased, so does their spending for games.

Surface Pro exists, doesn't it?

I think something that similar to this : PFP from The World God Only Know, looking at the description, it fit what Handheld Steam Machine could be.

 

[SparkTR]

Still this 100 million user base can't beat (or compete) 15 million PS4/XB1for multi platform game sales.

Though it explains why there's a greater diversity of games on PC than on any console though, in order to support those many different types of games requires a large and thus diverse userbase, not a homogenous one that's tailored towards a handful of big publishers.

 

[Zarx]

Right, but I was speculating on the continued growth of Steam in terms of gaining new customers. "Active users," as Valve defines them, don't necessarily spend a significant amount of time playing games, nor are they customers, or even actual individuals - that chart's title is misleading because the numbers are still a measure of active accounts, not users. I'll add that if that chart were to address the equally important question of "Why" in addition to the "How," I would be surprised if the single largest driving force behind the significant increases of the past few years wasn't DOTA, which is, as we all know, a free-to-play. There are tens of millions of MOBA gamers ripe for Valve's taking, but just as we can't assume an equal ratio of Steam accounts to Steam users, neither can we reasonably expect all of those who play free-to-play games (who are, again, almost certainly the single greatest force acting upon recent growth) to be customers.

Make no mistake though, the number of active Steam accounts will increase every year for the foreseeable future. This number is prone to misinterpretation, however. For example, those who have used the number to draw hasty conclusions about the comparative success/popularity of Steam relative to Microsoft and Sony in the context of the next-generation console launch last year. To be clear - those individuals are comparing the rate of creation of free Steam accounts to the rate of purchase of $400 devices, an apples-to-oranges comparison, and drawing conclusions from it. Yikes.

Wait now you are claiming that accounts that have brought something though steam and log in at least once a month aren't customers? If you buy something you are a customer, so yes a chart that shows the number of people that have bought something and logged in the last 30 days is 100% reflecting customers. You are making crazy leaps of logic here. Are you really claiming that the same number of customers created 25 million extra accounts and brought something on each and keep logging into them? Again what evidence do you have to support this claim that Steam isn't adding active users while somehow adding active accounts that have brought something? And anecdotal "I know a someone that has 10 accounts that they remember to log into each month, and they add an extra account each year" doesn't count. Now don't get me wrong active users isn't 1:1 with individual core consumers of course,. But to claim that growth in active accounts has no relation to the size of the consumer base is just crazy talk.

As for the DOTA 2 point. I don't see how that is a negative. They still have to buy something to be counted even if it is a DOTA 2 item. Which still makes them a customer. And considering that they brought in $43.699.020 revenue just from sales of the DOTA 2 compendium this year. I would think that the growth from DOTA 2 makes Valve very happy.

 

[TyrantGuardian]

Just wait until the new Dota patch hits...

 

[biglittleps]

Though it explains why there's a greater diversity of games on PC than on any console though, in order to support those many different types of games requires a large and thus diverse userbase, not a homogenous one that's tailored towards a handful of big publishers.

It has diversity of indie games which are not pushing the PC hardware at all so we can say this PC user base different from hardcore games in Consoles who look for AAA games and interested in paying more day one than PC who always look for sales to buy games.

 

[Dolor]

Still this 100 million user base can't beat (or compete) 15 million PS4/XB1for multi platform game sales.

The fact that so many former console exclusives are now coming to Steam almost certainly means that PC can now compete in the same league as the consoles for multi-plats.

Of course, I am still falling for the arbitrary goal-moving going on here. I could just as easily say that consoles can't even come close to competing in strategy games or top-down RPGs (my personal favorites) because they have approximately 0% of those markets.

PC is increasingly becoming the home of niche titles that tailor to people's more specific preferences while AAA console games still go after the "everyman". They are different markets, but it is foolish to see anything in this but PC becoming a serious contender to consoles for console style games (as well as still being the best place for niche and PC-centric titles).

 

[Nzyme32]

It has diversity of indie games which are not pushing the PC hardware at all so we can say this PC user base different from hardcore games in Consoles who look for AAA games and interested in paying more day one than PC who always look for sales to buy games.

Sources

Conjecture et al., 2014
Generalisation et al., Cretaceous period

 

[SparkTR]

It has diversity of indie games which are not pushing the PC hardware at all so we can say this PC user base different from hardcore games in Consoles who look for AAA games and interested in paying more day one than PC who always look for sales to buy games.

These days the PC indie market is more akin to the mid-tier market, which is pretty much dead anywhere else (sans handhelds... for now). Pushing hardware or not (which is debatable considering stuff like ArmA 3, Wargame and Star Citizen, which all look fantastic) the main differentiator I've found is that the PC userbase can support games whose selling point is more complexity and depth. Stuff like Divinity Original Sin, Red Orchestra II, Wasteland 2, Age of Wonders III, rFactor 2, Mount & Blade, Crusader Kings II and Elite Dangerous.

There's still a big want for those 'AAA' experiences on there, but in an industry where pretty much everything is trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator, simplifying gameplay mechanics or are stuck in a few 'safe' selling genres it's refreshing that truly 'hardcore' games can still thrive like that (at least what I consider hardcore). The userbase is just wide enough to cover that AS WELL as most of the more mass appeal AAA stuff, that's the benefit of having a diverse userbase I guess, there's enough money spread around so that the AAA market isn't the be all and end all.

 

[UnrealEck]

PC success story threads always seem to attract the attention of non-facts and conjecture.

 

[algert]

Wait now you are claiming that accounts that have brought something though steam and log in at least once a month aren't customers? If you buy something you are a customer, so yes a chart that shows the number of people that have bought something and logged in the last 30 days is 100% reflecting customers. You are making crazy leaps of logic here. Are you really claiming that the same number of customers created 25 million extra accounts and brought something on each and keep logging into them? Again what evidence do you have to support this claim that Steam isn't adding active users while somehow adding active accounts that have brought something? And anecdotal "I know a someone that has 10 accounts that they remember to log into each month, and they add an extra account each year" doesn't count. Now don't get me wrong active users isn't 1:1 with individual core consumers of course,. But to claim that growth in active accounts has no relation to the size of the consumer base is just crazy talk.

As for the DOTA 2 point. I don't see how that is a negative. They still have to buy something to be counted even if it is a DOTA 2 item. Which still makes them a customer. And considering that they brought in $43.699.020 revenue just from sales of the DOTA 2 compendium this year. I would think that the growth from DOTA 2 makes Valve very happy.

According to the OP there's no purchasing requirement for a Steam account to be considered active. Yes, I absolutely believe the average number of Steam accounts per Steam user is a ratio of approximately 2:1. I stated that Steam is adding active accounts every year and will continue to do so. Growth in active accounts is related to the number of consumers and it's also related to the average number of accounts per user. Do you play DOTA or CSGO? I don't think you're familiar with the communities for two of Steam's most popular titles if it comes as such a shock to you that extra Steam accounts are made, it's a widespread occurrence in both communities.

 

[alexandros]

PC success story threads always seem to attract the attention of non-facts and conjecture.

Meh, facts are overrated.

 

[yuraya]

PC success story threads always seem to attract the attention of non-facts and conjecture.

Some people just refuse to believe.

 

[Turin Turambar]

It has diversity of indie games which are not pushing the PC hardware at all so we can say this PC user base different from hardcore games in Consoles who look for AAA games and interested in paying more day one than PC who always look for sales to buy games.

Hey, I have a 4770K overclocked and a 290x with 16gb of ram and 2/3 of the games I play are indies.

 

[Nzyme32]

According to the OP there's no purchasing requirement for a Steam account to be considered active.

To be classified as an active user the user in question must have purchased a minimum of one game as well as being active within the community in the period. This is well known and defined

 

[vazel]

To be classified as an active user the user in question must have purchased a minimum of one game as well as being active within the community in the period. This is well known and defined

It's owning something on Steam OR being active in the community in the past 90 days.