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A move that isn't entirely surprising due to how limited it was, Valve is moving back to focus on gaming more than anything else with non-gaming videos being retired.

From the news post:

For the past few years, we have worked on expanding Steam beyond games and software by building a video platform that supports paid and free video content. In reviewing what Steam users actually watch, it became clear we should focus our effort on offering content that is either directly related to gaming or, is accessory content for games or software sold on Steam.

As part of this refocus, we have retired the Video section of the Steam Store menu with an expectation that video content is discovered via the associated game or software store page, or through search, user tags, recommendations, etc.

Over the coming weeks a number of non-gaming videos will be retired and will no longer be available for purchase. Previously purchased content will remain available to owners.

Why is it not surprising? Well, it makes sense for multiple reasons. Did you ever buy and watch any movies (or other non-gaming videos) on Steam? I didn't, it's far easier to use a different service like Netflix, Google Play or practically any other where you could watch your content across pretty much any device and browser.

On top of that, Valve's bread and butter is gaming and since they now have more competition actually focusing on that is obvious at this point.

The dedicated Videos link on Steam has already been removed.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Steam, Valve
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Eike Feb 20, 2019
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Quoting: GuestClick baity nonsense title on that article but it does raise the very valid and very worrying point about how reliant we are on Steam. It is something I have been uncomfortable with for a while, being someone who really dislike monopolies.

You hit the wrong article with your answer, I guess.
scaine Feb 20, 2019
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Quoting: tuubi
Quoting: scaineMS fanbois desperate to re-enforce their Helsinki syndrome.
I think you mean Stockholm syndrome. They're our neighbours, but they can keep their icky syndromes.

You made me look it up, since I definitely meant Helsinki Syndrome. Turns out, they're pretty much one and the same... except that Helsinki Syndrome doesn't actually exist. Confused? Helsinki Syndrome was a (joke) reference to Stockholm Syndrome in the movie Die Hard.

Several google searches turned up evidence that Helsinki Syndrome is now accepted as a term, but the "medical" definition of where the captee/abused starts to sympathise with their captor/abuser... you're right, it's Stockholm Syndrome.

Every day is a school day, eh?
Whitewolfe80 Feb 20, 2019
Quoting: GuestVery nice, less crap to clutter the store. Maybe visual novels can be next? :P

Oh if you ban the fap games you'll get the extreme nerd rage from people claiming they have deep narrative strength and gameplay.
scaine Feb 20, 2019
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Quoting: Whitewolfe80
Quoting: GuestVery nice, less crap to clutter the store. Maybe visual novels can be next? :P

Oh if you ban the fap games you'll get the extreme nerd rage from people claiming they have deep narrative strength and gameplay.

I've already banned them using a filter in Steam's preferences (on the web page). Also, text-based adventures. And "windows", which I don't remember doing...
Draconicrose Feb 20, 2019
I... didn't even know this was a thing. I never see any videos promoted on the store page. I guess I do have one video it's Free To Play, the documentary, but the way it played in the UI I just assumed someone made a "game" with the Steam API which had the sole purpose of playing a video. O.o
commodore256 Feb 20, 2019
I bought the New Game Anime, it was cheap.
vector Feb 20, 2019
QuoteOver the coming weeks a number of non-gaming videos will be retired and will no longer be available for purchase.
I am of the opinion that removing non-gaming-related video and non-gaming-related software from Steam would be a good move.

I have bought and plan on continuing to buy gaming-related video from GOG.com and Steam (e.g. I just recently purchased Fechtbuch: The Real Swordfighting behind Kingdom Come on GOG.com), and I prefer that gaming-related films and series remain available for purchase, as usually gaming-related films and series are a lower priority than actual games on my wishlists, so I don't purchase these videos as quickly, but I do purchase them eventually. My reading of this announcement is that, indeed, gaming-related films (e.g. Indie Game: The Movie) and series (e.g. Amnesia Fortnight) will remain available for purchase on Steam.

My question is, where is the cutoff exactly in terms of what is considered gaming-related and what isn't? Would Dead Space: Downfall and Dead Space: Aftermath (distributed by Lionsgate) be considered gaming-related videos? They are not documentaries, they are companion stories to the Dead Space games that flesh out the games' universe. If Lionsgate's non-gaming-related catalog (e.g. John Wick, The Walking Dead, etc.) is removed from Steam, would these Dead Space titles be lost as well?

The Dead Space films are just examples, there are several titles I am wondering about. Will Valve give sufficient (preferably at least a week) notice for titles it will be removing (specifically naming the titles to be removed), or is this the extent of the notice? If I know some of the gaming-related films I want to buy are going to be removed, I will buy them now; however, if I know they will be available indefinitely, then I can prioritize my purchases accordingly.
pb Feb 21, 2019
Steam was the *only* online store I ever bought a movie from. And I bought a few dozen movies. Several reasons, but mostly fair prices and worldwide availability (there were some regional restrictions esp. on some series, but not that many).
dubigrasu Feb 21, 2019
In any case, you can still easily find all the movies using the Steam client in Big Picture mode, section Store > Videos. Check out for example Oats Studios movies (plenty of them free), some of them are really good, some of them downright funny, if somewhat disturbing...
Salvatos Feb 21, 2019
Quoting: pbSteam was the *only* online store I ever bought a movie from. And I bought a few dozen movies. Several reasons, but mostly fair prices and worldwide availability (there were some regional restrictions esp. on some series, but not that many).
Yeah, I was actually kind of hoping to see them expand their catalog since I don't really want to buy DVDs anymore but I'd like to show proper support to the few movies and series I watch nowadays, and every rental streaming service I've found seemed to not be Linux-compatible, be subscription-based, be more expensive than actually buying a physical medium or belong to Google and the likes.

At this rate I'll have to start walking to the store again *shudders* and hope the discs aren't borked on Linux.
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