Someone at Valve must read PLAY READ WRITE!

And just like that, some of my questions are answered! Who's to say there is no audience for PLAY READ WRITE? Valve released more information about Steam's displacement to the Mac platform today, Kotaku's Brian Crecente reported:

"'As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients,' said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. 'The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services.'

The Mac version of Steam will include all of the features of its PC counterpart, as well as a new feature called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the game on one platform to download and play it for the other at no additional charge."

I have to say, I'm very pleased with this news. When a game I've paid in-full for adds even more value, as many of Valve's titles are known to do, I am a happy consumer. While I still prefer to buy physical copies of games, including Valve's Team Fortress 2 a la The Orange Box, Steam offers a hefty amount of value propositioning in the form of a gaming/store-front client.

Obviously, developers everywhere are struggling with protecting their products from pirates while still making everything accessible to the consumers. With Assassin's Creed II suffering from DDoS attacks and consumers completely unable to connect/play the game, Steam's form of DRM doesn't seem so bad. With OnLive becoming a real threat through it's ability to perform on all platforms, Steam's need to diversify is becoming more and more necessary. Good thing Valve doesn't rest on its laurels.