STEAM

The Evolution of game purchasing

I don't think that anyone needs to be convinced that in the recent years the Internet has revolutionized the way people live, connect, share, access information, study and god knows what else. Well ever so subtly, the Internet also changed the way people shop - and with that, the emergence of digital purchases and downloads  has dramatically increased. 

Among many different ways that people can now purchase digital content from the web, Valve's STEAM has proved to be truly revolutionary. STEAM is essentially a digital distribution platform that allows users to purchase and download various games from many different developers and are able to play them instantly. Furthermore, even after the game is uninstalled it does not need to be re-purchased as it simply remains on the list for that particular user. As of 2010, there are over a thousand games available through STEAM that differ in genre and style. STEAM also allows to join virtual communities that further allow for socializing, connecting with people of similar interests and chatting. Recently, STEAM has also moved to Macs allowing for interconnecting between the two platforms which only further increased its popularity. 

As of today, STEAM claims to control over 70% of digital game purchases and there is no stopping it in site..