Exactly.  Which is why letting Steam have sole control over it, which is the status quo today, is a bad idea.

A unified key database that is jointly controlled by multiple competing distributors, and that takes either no cut or a trivial cut of sales, would mean that you could seamlessly play your entire library (or nearly so) from any software client, while still being able to buy that software from any storefront.

The thing is that, when you buy from other storefronts like Humble or GMG, you’re effectively still buying them from Steam. They more-or-less buy keys from Steam at wholesale prices, and Steam is still getting a significant cut of those sales. Their monopoly is perpetuated while providing the appearance of competition.

For folks that want to avoid store-exclusivity, what we should be demanding as consumers is a digital platform similar to Movies Anywhere, the successor to Ultraviolet.

I think that worry is misplaced. It’s highly unlikely that Epic’s exclusivity contracts will be sustainable in the long term. They’re likely a loss-leader deal to get some penetration into the market and build a customer base.

Again, though, it comes down to a cost-benefit equation. Developers know that exclusive titles can risk lowering overall sales. Clearly Epic is offering them enough that the developers think it’s worth the risk.

Considering the vast amount of greasy “silver” that Steam has taken in as a near-monopoly for PC games, I’m surprised it took this long for someone to compete on retail percentage.

Or they could simply reduce the percentage of game sales they demand from developers, thus eliminating the primary benefit of Epic’s exclusivity. 

Another important consideration: making difficulty modes that deviate from the core designed experience can be of benefit to a game, but not if they’re implemented poorly.

I have tried, and completely failed, to enjoy the FromSoftware genre, so take this as you will:

The best thing about dialup internet was that there was almost always a LOT of ISP competition.

It’s because Ben Carson, while very conservative, is likely a decent human being who actually cares about people.

The far more blatantly racist part of the film is the song “Happy Hearted Roustabouts,” in which faceless black men sing about throwing their pay away and refer to one another as “you hairy ape.”

Real quick:

It all depends. The rightsholders wouldn’t want *every* high school to start doing unauthorized plays like this, which is a valid worry. 

Maybe one that’s TV-connected only, and one that’s portable-only?

Adding to the legal complications was “Marvelman,” a comic made initially as a rip-off of Captain Marvel.

Well it might not impact prices, but it might give developers more freedom to take risks.

Should Stadia prove stable and successful, developers may bring exclusive titles to it in part because those titles would be exceedingly difficult to pirate. 

It looks quite a bit like the original “Wicker Man.”