Steam Ruins Gaming Companies' Monopoly Plans
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Monopoly!
Overview
This is a satirical gaming meme using crude stick figure and Wojak art. On the left side, 6 stick figures representing major gaming publishers and platforms (Ubisoft, EA, Nintendo, Epic Games, PlayStation, Xbox) each hold a gun that has backfired, shown by a red explosion from the gun's rear end, indicating their attempt to attack has failed. On the right, a calm, unbothered stick figure holds the Steam platform logo, completely unaffected by the failed attacks. Below this scene, a group of enraged, open-mouthed Wojak-style figures yell the word 'Monopoly!' in anger. The joke conveys the widely held gamer sentiment that large gaming companies attempt to enforce anti-consumer practices such as excessive pricing, exclusivity locks, and subscription mandates to build a monopoly over the market, but Steam's continued existence as a pro-consumer alternative prevents them from doing so.
Origin notes
This meme was originally posted on 9Gag, as stated in the provided source context. It taps into long-running discussions in online gaming communities criticizing large game publishers for anti-consumer policies, while praising Valve's Steam platform for offering more user-friendly policies, regular sales, and less restrictive terms compared to competing storefronts and console platforms.
