* Posts by seidr

1 publicly visible post • joined 17 May 2011

Popular gamers 'should play for free' – Valve boss

seidr
Black Helicopters

Not convinced

Is this actually a serious idea, or just a bit of 'look we're still nice guys' fluff in case anyone should be tempted to launch DDoS attacks on the Steam servers like we've recently seen on Sony and others.

I can't see it being in any way workable. For one, they'd be sued in an instant. For example, I've met a number of people online who are on the autistic spectrum whose condition could easily lead to them being considered 'unpopular' due to their difficulties managing social interaction. Is Valve prepared to start discriminating against people on the grounds of their disability, and risk the legal consequences? Some people are trolls and griefers, of course, but some are just socially inept - how do you tell the difference? And who tells the difference? There's a pretty big risk of abuse of the system if they'd plan to rely on players identifying who they like and dislike.

And how long before the shiny happy people who are playing cheaper, or for free, become viewed as little more than shills for the company? I'd certainly feel a little uncertain at a recommendation from someone who's discount relies on the company's goodwill towards them. And that's not good for the game developers either, if all the popular people playing their game become wary of criticizing it or pointing out flaws in case they suddenly find themselves paying full price again.