Valve Announces "Steam" Content Delivery System [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters] [Detailed interview withe Valve here]

Wow. WOW. Valve has set up agreements and infrastructure to allow for direct downloading of their games and updates. Users have the option of either subscribing for $10.00 a month, or paying for games at a a flat rate. There is an IM client that lets players know when their friends are on line and what server they are on so that they can play together easily. The system is designed to accomodate both broad and narrowband users, and is similar to a P2P network in many respects. they can now sell games to their huge userbase without any middleman, and with massively reduced risk of loss/theft.

Brilliant.

Additionally they are licensing the tech to other developers so that they can use it for their games as well. So a starting developer could bootstrap their way into being a fully fledged development house by making a mod for an existing game, then rolling the revenue from that into developing their own games. Poof, Instant incubator, little to no need for a large corp to promote your games. part time developers could also get a leg up in this manner as well.

I wonder if any bands/labels will try to use this as a means of marketing their products, be it music, movies, videos, whatever it is they are trying to promote/sell. On demand pay per views as well as networked movie collections for personalized programing. How much would you pay for such an offer, commercial free movies and shows, no station DOGS in the corner, just straight up content when you wanted it?

11:38:10 AM