pros/cons of Steam vs. stand-alone desktop game?

I'm looking for opinions on the topic in the title.

All I can think of is: Steam might provide a bit more discoverability for your game. And, I guess if your game stores data, it can store it in the Steam cloud so that it's accessible from any computer; some gamers might find this convenient.

On the other side, some gamers (me for example) find launching Steam a nuisance and would rather just double-click a stand-alone executable.

Are there other pros and cons I'm overlooking?

Thanks,
- Joe

 

You can create shortcuts to the game executables. Steam simply needs to be running in the background.

 

A bit? I would say a ton.
Edit: Unless you're getting published by some big name company

 

Steam also provides protection for your game, I'm pretty sure. Prevents people from pirating and redistributing it.

 

Steam is really awesome from a developers perspective.

 

It only serves to prevent those who would simply hand their disc to someone else and allow them to install a copy on their computer. Same as any other form of DRM. It can be circumvented.

 

Voice chat, matchmaking, achievements, leaderboards, community forums, etc. If you decide to go Steam you have a pretty nice ecosystem ready to go.

 

Thanks for this feedback. What about pricing? Currently the standard price for mobile games has dropped to zero; for desktop games, however, people still seem willing to pay $20 or more. Where does the Steam market fall on this spectrum?

 

Updates. Betas open and closed....

It's way better than shipping a standalone.

You can even ignore the DRM and let users run your game without Steam running.

 

Good to know, I didn't know that (running without Steam) was possible.

Any insights on typical prices on the Steam platform? Is it having the same rush to the bottom that occurred on mobile, or not so much?

 

Definitely this. Even if you ARE being published, your publisher is going to be in the same position.

Like it or not, Steam is the place to sell PC games. If you're not on Steam, you're going to be getting only a fraction of the sales that you could be getting.

 

Does anyone know if the Steam API supports in-app purchases?

 

I don't think so. Not 100% sure though.

https://partner.steamgames.com/documentation/api

 

Yeah cos most games I've seen that are free 2 play go into their own client or seem to accept payment through their own websites, so was wondering.

 

Poking around in the Steamworks doco, there definitely doesn't seem to be any mention of an IAP mechanism. I'd go with "No" as the definite answer.

EDIT - there is a mechanism though to create multiple packages, bundles, etc - so I guess you would handle it more as "DLC" rather than "IAP".

 

If big boys release on steam, there's a decent reason for it. You need really massive shoes to say no, such as being EA or Ubi.

 

...or Minecraft or KSP. But I'm hearing you. Apparently my aversion to Steam (as a customer) is atypical.

I'm not hearing any comments on typical Steam prices, but I guess I could get off my duff and do that research myself!

 

As a gamer, I love Steam. Everything is right there at your fingertips and most games are cheaper (to some degree) on Steam than on other platforms. The big attraction though is the sales. I looovvveee the sales! And Steam makes it really easy for developers to get involved in them. It's almost a culture among users on there to Wishlist games ready to buy them all up at the next sale. Steam is as much a playground for game "Collectors" as it is for players. People are always looking for that bargain - the game that's down 15% this week only, etc - just so they can have it in their Library. There's even contributions to your "Steam Level" based purely on how many games you own. It's great for devs.

Price-wise (when things aren't on sale), there's a range obviously, but the bottom end doesn't seem to be anywhere near the rock-bottom that it is on the App Store. I'd feel confident making a bold statement like "Steam users are MUCH more willing to spend more on a game than iOS users", for example.

 

Thanks, that's really helpful.

If I could probe just a bit more: suppose KSP or Minecraft were on Steam rather than standalone. Would people still be paying $20-$30 per seat for these? Or would they need to be in the $5-$10 range, do you think?

 

I would imagine they'd be exactly the same price that they are in their "stand-alone" form. There's no rules though, I guess.

 

Also, what's KSP?

EDIT: If that refers to Kerbal Space Program, then that IS on Steam. Might be a good test case for you to compare prices.

 

Yeah I think that is Kerbal Space Program.

 

It's the same price, give or take during a steam sale.

 

Looks like they sell it for the same price ($30) everywhere (which makes the most sense), but right now for example it's on sale through the Humble store.

That's a smart strategy if you have the game available on multiple big stores - to rotate your sales. I put Coldfire Keep on sale recently in Steam's "Weeklong Deals" section. I sold 8x the average number of copies that week. If I then had put it on sale on Humble, then GOG, then stand-alone, then back to Steam, I could "share" that sale around to everyone despite their particular store preference and take advantage of those boosted sales figures all month long... maybe.

 

There is, but I don't know how complicated it is to use. Some games, most notably DotA 2 (but other non-Valve games as well), will allow you to make in-app purchases from your Steam Wallet.
Final Fantasy XIV is another that does this.

 

Pros: Access to a big, big chunk of the market. Bigger than other retailers combined (afaik)

Cons: Some people don't like steam

 

The reason I quit this pursuit originally was because nothing like Steam existed. If services like Steam went away, I would quit again. There's no other platform for an indie PC game developer who wishes to be taken seriously, imo.

 

Yes, sorry, by KSP I did indeed mean Kerbal Space Program — and I didn't realize it was available both on Steam and as a direct download. And for the same price too (module sales)! That seems like a smart way to go.

Thanks to everyone for all the input! This is a great community.