LAN Center Controversy

[CSN NewsBot]

Over at Firing Squad, the well-informed Jakub has posted a rant about Valve's LAN center licensing practices. The meat of the article (incorrectly) states that even though Valve requires LAN centers to use Steam on their computer, the customers need to already have a valid Steam account. Meaning that the customers already own the game and the LAN center is paying for, effectively, nothing:

Even that doesn't really matter in the end - the reason we didn't run the article is because there was little reason to question Valve or Blizzard's rights to charge license fees. They're quite draconian considering the hair thin margins that gaming cafes run on, but we're sure that in the future a compromise will be reached that would be equitable to the cafes and developers both. So why write about this at all?



Everyone who plays Counter-Strike at a gaming café is not only playing on the legal copy at the café, he's playing the very copy he already owns.

Or not. LAN centers own their own Steam account and each computer at a LAN center should have its own Steam login. So the rant's main point is entirely incorrect, but Jakub asks the most appropiate question in his correction: Well, uh, what if, uh, like the LAN guy, like, wants his users to be able to, uh, use their own Steam accounts, you know, for like, reasons or something? It's ok, buddy, we can't all be superstars.

[Doodleman3]

This was on Slashdot a couple of days ago, and heres the comments that people posted.



http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?si...id=204&tid=99

[itsMrHankey2u]

if its so incorrect and unfactual, its an isult to really post this as news.

[Tek]

classic.

[rizzuh]

itsMrHankey2u wrote..

if its so incorrect and unfactual, its an isult to really post this as news.

I would rather people know that the article is wrong than read it and assume it's all a-okay. I guess don't have much experience with this news posting thing!

[Dis Guy Here]

Everyone who plays Counter-Strike at a gaming café is not only playing on the legal copy at the café, he's playing the very copy he already owns.

lol, that just cracks me up. some people play on lan because they don't seem to have CS (or whatever game) at home

[^.j()$h.^]

Perhaps I'm not understanding something here. I've been wrong before - many times - and freely admit it. If there's a point on which I'm mistaken or being unclear, I welcome a representative from Valve to correct me. So Doug Lombardi, Gabe Newell, feel free to get in touch. If either of you would like to explain why Valve Software sees fit to charge gaming centers an extra licensing fee to permit gamers to play their legal licenses on the gaming center's legal installations, you know where you can contact me - look for the unanswered emails on this very subject I sent to you months ago.

Just maybe Valve charges the cafe extra fees because the cafe is developing revenue off of their product and Valve is getting nothing? I honestly thought that would be obvious. I guessed wrong.

[hiroya]

Edited by [user="152838"] @ [time="1087462431"]

^.j()$h.^ wrote..

Just maybe Valve charges the cafe extra fees because the cafe is developing revenue off of their product and Valve is getting nothing? I honestly thought that would be obvious. I guessed wrong.

I heard they charge a monthly fee for EACH computer in the cafe? I think that's a little too much. A lot of Cafes die because they don't make enough money etc.



OK I didnt some research and it costs 10 dollars per computer. So if you have 60 computers that's $600 going to Valve per month.



$10 x 20 PCs = $200 a month x 12 months = $2400 yearly



$10 x 30 PCs = $300 a month x 12 months = $3600 yearly



$10 x 50 PCs = $500 a month x 12 months = $6000 yearly



$10 x 75 PCs = $750 a month x 12 months = $9000 yearly



$10 x 100 PCs = $1000 a month x 12 months = $12,000 yearly

[itsMrHankey2u]

though it would take some more resources, i think itd be best if valve charged per player hour(dont ask me how much). that way the lancenters wont go out of business from a few bad months(finals, midterms, or even summer depending on the location)

[Deletable_Man]

Damn Jakub you got BURNED. BURNED DUDE, BURNED! Yeah BURNED~



"I didnt some research" - hiroya

EEEEEExactly!

[ukHazard]

The article is like a sitcom with one joke. that isn't funny.

[Wwv]

Well it was a rant, and it did bring some clarity in the end as rizzuh says, there's plenty of confusion about the licensing apparently even by people that seek such licenses seeing they even ask me about it and what do I know eh.



(don't answer that.. no DON'T)

[h0m3LeSShi7Man]

hiroya wrote..

I heard they charge a monthly fee for EACH computer in the cafe? I think that's a little too much. A lot of Cafes die because they don't make enough money etc.



OK I didnt some research and it costs 10 dollars per computer. So if you have 60 computers that's $600 going to Valve per month.



$10 x 20 PCs = $200 a month x 12 months = $2400 yearly



$10 x 30 PCs = $300 a month x 12 months = $3600 yearly



$10 x 50 PCs = $500 a month x 12 months = $6000 yearly



$10 x 75 PCs = $750 a month x 12 months = $9000 yearly



$10 x 100 PCs = $1000 a month x 12 months = $12,000 yearly

dude more then half of ALL businesses fail int the first year

and i think it was about 10% sSURVIVE 5 years

i kno this because my dad took over a deli and had these very ANNOYING businesses tapes on all the time in the car : ( lol

[[GH]-Paladin]

That dude got worked on the forums.

[GameHopper]

rizzuh wrote..

I would rather people know that the article is wrong than read it and assume it's all a-okay. I guess don't have much experience with this news posting thing!

it's okay rizzuh, not everyone can be a superstar.