What can be done to loosen card companies' grip on this? It has been a constant problem now for decades.
Choose a payment system by a company that is not as opinionated. Apple pay, for example.
Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
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Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#142Okay so is Steam enough of a money printer for Valve to say "well fuck you guys, we'll make our own credit card with hookers and bingo"? And hold out Half-Life 3 (only purchasable with the ValveCard) as a carrot?
The problem is if visa/etc say no, valve instantly loses ~70% of their sales. So it’s a bet they won’t win
Visa needs to be broken up.
Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#143Okay so is Steam enough of a money printer for Valve to say "well fuck you guys, we'll make our own credit card with hookers and bingo"? And hold out Half-Life 3 (only purchasable with the ValveCard) as a carrot?
That's basically what gift cards are isn't it? > Leaked internal slides peg Steam’s net revenue last fiscal year at just under $10 billion https://www.simplymac.com/games/3-5m-per-employee-how-valve-...
Steam gift cards are funded by traditional banking products and partnerships. They can’t live without the invisible hand of the banking and credit card industry.
Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#144Visa and Mastercard are the defacto world judges of the limits of porn.
they have their own banned topics lists and if you fuck up you lose your income
Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#145Okay so is Steam enough of a money printer for Valve to say "well fuck you guys, we'll make our own credit card with hookers and bingo"? And hold out Half-Life 3 (only purchasable with the ValveCard) as a carrot?
oh yes
Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#146The article calls out “certain adult games” which is vague. It is interesting to note that most of the delisted games were themed specifically around incest. https://bsky.app/profile/steamdb.info/post/3lu32vdlsmg27 Wondering if this will be a slippery slope towards pulling more anodyne stuff.
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Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#147Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There are some things that should not be normalized in society. That attitude has recently become normalized, and I find it Concerning(TM).
Yeah, who gets to decide whats too far? There's a similar issue with free speech - the moment you ban certain speech the door to banning your political opposition opens.
> Yeah, who gets to decide whats too far?
The ruling ethnic group, of course, as is tradition.
Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#149Okay so is Steam enough of a money printer for Valve to say "well fuck you guys, we'll make our own credit card with hookers and bingo"? And hold out Half-Life 3 (only purchasable with the ValveCard) as a carrot?
I am genuinely curious who can actually threaten Visa (I do not think it is Valve). Amazon, Walmart, Target and then increasingly unsure.
Mastercard?
Re: Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games
#150Okay so is Steam enough of a money printer for Valve to say "well fuck you guys, we'll make our own credit card with hookers and bingo"? And hold out Half-Life 3 (only purchasable with the ValveCard) as a carrot?
I mean a bank is literally a money printer.
On a serious side note, only certain banks get to print money.