Here's Why Valve Won't Put Ads On Steam

Megalith

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You can probably add this to the list of reasons why Steam is awesome.

...Johnson said, "We tend to focus on long-term relationships." He added that advertisement programs of this nature actually cost money and create negative value in the eyes of the consumer. "It would be a bad business decision, let alone just dumb."
 
For the same reason they arent making games anymore, they're already making money hand over fist as a storefront, so why take a chance changing things up with their existing model?
 
No mention that the ads are indirect in how the games are listed on the new/hot/sales/etc pages?
 
For the same reason they arent making games anymore, they're already making money hand over fist as a storefront, so why take a chance changing things up with their existing model?

This. What did they make, a billion+ last year? Why shit up your site with a bunch of annoying ads when you've already got a money printing machine for a business?
 
For the same reason they arent making games anymore

Do you have some insider knowledge that they aren't working on any new first party games? Or are you just assuming that in the absence of hypermarketing and carpet bombed press releases for upcoming titles?

I have a feeling these types of comments will be hilarious to revisit in a couple months.
 
This. What did they make, a billion+ last year? Why shit up your site with a bunch of annoying ads when you've already got a money printing machine for a business?

Because "more".

I saw an interview where they asked a bunch of ultra rich individuals 'how much money would be enough?'. Most came back with a dollar figure. The last, and richest answered with one word, " more".
 
No mention that the ads are indirect in how the games are listed on the new/hot/sales/etc pages?

There's a difference between games on sale being given more visibility and placement in a game store, and a Doritos/Mountain Dew or Avengers movie ad on an Xbox homescreen. I'm sure you can appreciate the difference.
 
There's a difference between games on sale being given more visibility and placement in a game store, and a Doritos/Mountain Dew or Avengers movie ad on an Xbox homescreen. I'm sure you can appreciate the difference.

Sure I can appreciate the difference, in the same way that seeing trailers before a movie is a "targeted ad" versus introducing some new TV show on a channel (yeah I've seen this).

So if there was a banner that popped up and said "BUY BATTLEFIELD DUTY 12 NOW" would you simply say "eh, that's ok" ?
 
Sure I can appreciate the difference, in the same way that seeing trailers before a movie is a "targeted ad" versus introducing some new TV show on a channel (yeah I've seen this).

You know if you show up 10-15 minutes "late" ro a movie you never have that problem. Better yet just wait for it on HBO. Less $ and you don't even need to leave home.
 
You know if you show up 10-15 minutes "late" ro a movie you never have that problem. Better yet just wait for it on HBO. Less $ and you don't even need to leave home.

And if I show up "late" to a movie, I have to deal with whatever seats are left...
 
Sure I can appreciate the difference, in the same way that seeing trailers before a movie is a "targeted ad" versus introducing some new TV show on a channel (yeah I've seen this).

So if there was a banner that popped up and said "BUY BATTLEFIELD DUTY 12 NOW" would you simply say "eh, that's ok" ?

I know of no retailer that doesn't advertise the products it sells within its web site and/or B&M store. Walmart, Target, REI, Amazon, you name it... they all have product displays and advertising material for their own stock present during your shopping experience.

Movie trailers are not really comparable to Steam ads. A steam ad takes maybe 1-2 seconds to avoid. A movie trailer is literally unavoidable and they generally take 15-20 minutes of your time.
 
This won't change until there's a change in management, and someone who doesn't care about the business model starts making decisions. Earn short term income with ads, then dump the company with its new inflated value, and let the joe schmoe employees pick up the pieces and salvage what's left of their stock options. Hopefully it won't happen for another 20 years.
 
You can probably add this to the list of reasons why Steam is awesome.

...Johnson said, "We tend to focus on long-term relationships." He added that advertisement programs of this nature actually cost money and create negative value in the eyes of the consumer. "It would be a bad business decision, let alone just dumb."

Oh, they will have ads but, it will only be ads they place there and will only be relevant to them.
 
Do you have some insider knowledge that they aren't working on any new first party games? Or are you just assuming that in the absence of hypermarketing and carpet bombed press releases for upcoming titles?

I have a feeling these types of comments will be hilarious to revisit in a couple months.

So, you have proof of HL3? Or do you just take offense at everything you find the slightest bit disagreeable.
 
There's a difference between games on sale being given more visibility and placement in a game store, and a Doritos/Mountain Dew or Avengers movie ad on an Xbox homescreen. I'm sure you can appreciate the difference.

Says the person who does not own a XBox. Sheez, stop with the bullshit already, you have no idea what you are even talking about. And yes, I do take offense at made up bullshit just because you do not like something.
 
I fail to understand how placing third-party ads on Steam would earn Valve more money than the ads for the games they sell. There's no freaking way the revenue would be larger than the cut that Valve makes from each sale of a game.
 
So, you have proof of HL3? Or do you just take offense at everything you find the slightest bit disagreeable.

Did I mention HL3? No. Time to work out the kinks in the straw man department - you'll hit a good one eventually, I have faith!

No offense taken actually. Dude states "they aren't making games anymore" like its fact. Burden is on dude to support his statement. I wouldn't make statement as foolish as "they're making HL3" because I don't have anything to support it.
 
Says the person who does not own a XBox. Sheez, stop with the bullshit already, you have no idea what you are even talking about. And yes, I do take offense at made up bullshit just because you do not like something.

I guess my green Halo 3 edition 360 and black Elite 360 sitting in my A/V closet must be a hallucination then. Dust-collecting hallucinations.

Unless you have something specific that was "made up" in my statement, I'll invite you to enjoy your McDonalds Dollar Menu!

haven_custom_theme.jpg
 
I get an update every time i open up steam, that's already an ad.
 
This. What did they make, a billion+ last year? Why shit up your site with a bunch of annoying ads when you've already got a money printing machine for a business?

Why? Why not because they can or because there are other options? We can say why to a lot of things but I'm sure in the future it might be an option if GoG, Origin and others are irrelevant or go out of business. Why? Because of more money. This just looks like great PR/Marketing to me.
 
I know of no retailer that doesn't advertise the products it sells within its web site and/or B&M store. Walmart, Target, REI, Amazon, you name it... they all have product displays and advertising material for their own stock present during your shopping experience.
Kind of missing the point, I wasn't saying that they're listing stuff, of course they're going to list stuff it would be very inconvenient for shoppers if they did not list the prices of games and what not. But it's the order in which they list things, much like in a store, you put the brands you are trying to sell the most (which makes most financial sense) front and center, easy to see, and for Steam they get a piece of the pie for every sale they're going to maximize their dollars by having an intelligent way of having the games listed, it's a form of advertising for them. For instance you never saw the GTA 5 "sale" on page 28 of the steam sale page.
 
I guess my green Halo 3 edition 360 and black Elite 360 sitting in my A/V closet must be a hallucination then. Dust-collecting hallucinations.

Unless you have something specific that was "made up" in my statement, I'll invite you to enjoy your McDonalds Dollar Menu!

haven_custom_theme.jpg

Sorry but, there is absolutely nothing like that on my 360 at all. However, there is an ad for World of Tanks, a game and other games. Have proof that is your screen?
 
Kind of missing the point, I wasn't saying that they're listing stuff, of course they're going to list stuff it would be very inconvenient for shoppers if they did not list the prices of games and what not. But it's the order in which they list things, much like in a store, you put the brands you are trying to sell the most (which makes most financial sense) front and center, easy to see, and for Steam they get a piece of the pie for every sale they're going to maximize their dollars by having an intelligent way of having the games listed, it's a form of advertising for them. For instance you never saw the GTA 5 "sale" on page 28 of the steam sale page.

I'm not talking about listing stuff. Walmart puts certain products in big displays right at the entrance. They'll put up marketing materials for certain products, like mechanical displays for shavers or TV screens running ads for cereal.

I just hit Amazon and the huge banner at the top is scrolling between "ads" for their Echo, Timex watches, one of their TV series, and the Pentatonix on their streaming service. Search for a watch and you'll get sponsored listings.

Go to an REI and you'll see poster ads and featured displays for brands of bikes, headlamps, packs, and tents.

Steam is doing the exact same thing. All retailers feature certain products in certain ways to drive sales.

This discussion is about third-party ads advertising things that aren't Steam products.
 
You can probably add this to the list of reasons why Steam is awesome.

...Johnson said, "We tend to focus on long-term relationships." He added that advertisement programs of this nature actually cost money and create negative value in the eyes of the consumer. "It would be a bad business decision, let alone just dumb."
Another reason I like some of the headline decisions I hear Valve making, especially in light of some of the brain dead decisions Microsoft is making.

Valve - no ads on our storefront (when storefronts everywhere seem to do it (devalue themselves with ads, in my opinion). Microsoft - raises the bar in telemetry and data tracking (but Google and Apple are doing it, we're just "Scroogle"-ing it better), ads in the Windows Store, and reportedly ads on the START MENU!

And to think I once thought GabeN and Company were overreacting or reacting out of paranoid fear to their business model to the changes in Windows 8. I'm glad they're investing into Steam OS when the return is in no way guaranteed. It reminds me of companies sourcing two vendors for chips... you know, just in case (just in case Microsoft continues to be the new Microsoft, same as the old Microsoft of embrace, extend, and extinguish).
 
As has been stated before in this thread, Amazon advertises products available on Amazon's storefront, Wal Mart adversities for products available in it's stores and Valve advertises for products available on Steam.

It's strange that people praise Valve for doing the things that other distributors get shit on for.
And to think I once thought GabeN and Company were overreacting or reacting out of paranoid fear to their business model to the changes in Windows 8.
The Valve CEO claimed MS was going to lock Steam out of Windows, and then took his company on a quest to lock MS out of Steam. That push and the hardware they created is currently being panned by every single review site and tech blog out there.

It was absolutely an overreaction. One that's going to cost Valve a lot of money. Given how Valve nickel and dimes the hell out of it's customers with unending micro-transactions though, they can afford it. They'll just recoup the lost through crates, keys and paid TF2 updates. You have to pay to take part in TF2 events now, FYI.
 
I get an update every time i open up steam, that's already an ad.

Steam > Settings > Interface > UNCHECK "Notify me about additions or changes to my games, new releases and upcoming releases."

Or leave it checked so you can continue to complain about it.
 
As has been stated before in this thread, Amazon advertises products available on Amazon's storefront, Wal Mart adversities for products available in it's stores and Valve advertises for products available on Steam.
This has already been answered, but I will reiterate. When I go to Amazon, I see Amazon putting on its front page products I may be interested in. I do not consider this advertisement any more than I consider the placement of sodas (or pops or Cokes) and candy at the register of a store advertisements. Walmart places products at the front of aisles. I don't consider this advertisement. Walmart has TV screens placed on aisles playing advertisements for products with voice and video. I consider this advertisement. Amazon has two boxes (on the page when I visit it) served up by amazon-adsystem.com. I consider this advertisement. I don't mind it. I would rather it not be there, but I bought a Kindle book today. I'm not annoyed and am not taking my business elsewhere. Likewise, I do not consider products in the various sections on Steam to be advertisements. If Steam served up Adsense, Adwords, or now Amazon AdSystem ads, I would consider that advertisement. I wouldn't surprise me if they did in the future, but for now, I am glad they don't.

It's strange that people praise Valve for doing the things that other distributors get shit on for.The Valve CEO claimed MS was going to lock Steam out of Windows, and then took his company on a quest to lock MS out of Steam. That push and the hardware they created is currently being panned by every single review site and tech blog out there.

It was absolutely an overreaction. One that's going to cost Valve a lot of money. Given how Valve nickel and dimes the hell out of it's customers with unending micro-transactions though, they can afford it. They'll just recoup the lost through crates, keys and paid TF2 updates. You have to pay to take part in TF2 events now, FYI.
It may have been an overreaction, but it was also a way to protect their business and ensure their experience.

Yes, Steam Machines are getting panned by critics and reviewers, but I don't fault them for trying. How many times has Microsoft tried things that have ended up miserable failures (Microsoft BOB, Microsoft MSX, Microsoft Games for Live)? I don't fault them for trying.
 
As has been stated before in this thread, Amazon advertises products available on Amazon's storefront, Wal Mart adversities for products available in it's stores and Valve advertises for products available on Steam.

It's strange that people praise Valve for doing the things that other distributors get shit on for.

Um, have you ever walked to a clothing store, and complain about the clothes they put up on the store's window display? Of course not, that's just dumb.

Steam displaying games at the front page is no different than that. New products will be displayed at the front page for promotional purposes. But those are they products they are selling. They are not advertising about something they are not selling.
 
Sorry but, there is absolutely nothing like that on my 360 at all. However, there is an ad for World of Tanks, a game and other games. Have proof that is your screen?
I've seen taco bell/Doritos/pizzahut ads out the ass on the homescreen of the 360 and i barely use mine. I even use the mcdonalds theme that the ads offered because it really fits the console.
 
Sorry but, there is absolutely nothing like that on my 360 at all. However, there is an ad for World of Tanks, a game and other games. Have proof that is your screen?

Forgive me but chasing moving goalposts is getting a little boring. I mentioned ads on Xbox, you accused me of "making shit up", I uploaded a screen shot to the forum after calming myself down (30min deep breathing, ass cheeks clenched). Everyone's seen the junk food and fast food ads on the dashboard, swearing otherwise is like insisting the sky isn't blue. That's Loco. You never want to come across as Loco.

FWIW the Pizza Hut and Krispy Kreme tiles on the Xbox home screen never bothered me, I tuned them out. If MS has toned them down lately that's great, I haven't booted up in a while. But they were around for a long time historically.
 
Yes, read other posts :D but most people wont know to turn it off. it is still "targeted advertising"
 
Um, reality checking in...Steam is nothing but an advertising platform with a purchase engine under it. It's not awesome for not including advertising because it's just a giant ad program. It's just advertising a limited set of different products and services. DUUUUUH!
 
Yes, read other posts :D but most people wont know to turn it off. it is still "targeted advertising"

I don't turn mine off because it highlights new release and sales. But the point is, it highlights games that are being sold on Steam, the kind of stuff we use Steam for in the first place, which is to purchase these games.

It's like walking into a phone store and seeing the latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy on display at the front shelve. Of course, I came into a phone store, so I'm going to be seeing these phones being promoted. It's a phone store, what else would I expect to see.

If you want to call that advertising, fine, but it is merely a showcast of the product they are selling. You get that at every store you go to, physical or digital. I go to Amazon, I see a huge banner at the top advertising Kindle. Anything they put at the front page is going to be construed as advertising, if that's how you want to look at it.

But anyway that's not what this is about, and I have no idea how it even came up. This is about Steam showing ads for others.
 
Steam is a storefront.

It sounds like some are confusing a storefront for a warehouse. Imagine if you opened up Steam and were only presented with a search box and didn't know what they sold, what they had, or if they had what you wanted unless you typed into the search box. Is that what you want Steam to be?
 
It may have been an overreaction, but it was also a way to protect their business and ensure their experience.

Yes, Steam Machines are getting panned by critics and reviewers, but I don't fault them for trying. How many times has Microsoft tried things that have ended up miserable failures (Microsoft BOB, Microsoft MSX, Microsoft Games for Live)? I don't fault them for trying.

I've said from day one that this makes perfect business sense from Valve's perspective. I perfectly understand why they did this considering that Windows clients make up about 95% of their business. With Microsoft developing its own app store for Windows of course it makes to have a platform that isn't in the control of Microsoft.

The problem is that from a consumer perspective, a platform that isn't in Microsoft's control doesn't mean much to most folks that simply want to play games. And Valve is kind of making the same mistake that Microsoft made with one its disasters, Windows RT/Surface RT devices that didn't run Windows desktop apps. How do consumers not get confused by a Steam Box running Steam OS that doesn't run most Steam games? This has a big red flag of customer confusion written all over it.
 
I was going to say, the steam app news window pushing sales on me or what ever other "incentive" is not advertising how?

Because it's a store advertising its own products. It's not third-party advertising for other products, stores, or services.

This is NewEgg putting a big Surface Pro banner on its home page, not AnandTech putting a BlackPhone 2 banner on its home page.
 
I thought that games advertising in games, with games for sale, while selling games was the way they advertised:confused:
 
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