Comment on Steam Frame Release
rtxn@lemmy.world 2 weeks agoPlease suggest an alternative that prevents scalping and doesn’t only favor the specific demographic that you are in.
Oh no, the lottery is the most fair way to deal with expected demand far exceeding supply, no question about that.
I just long for a time when there was enough supply right from the start. I can’t remember having to queue or wait weeks for sought-after electronics in my youth. I don’t even blame Valve here, it seems to be more common everywhere now.
Even if we ignore the silicon shortage, it doesn’t make sense for Valve to set up the facilities and supply chains to fully satisfy the day-one demand, only to shut them down months later when the demand falls off and no longer justifies the expense of operating them. The up-front cost of setting up additional factories, especially for the custom high precision optics, would be a massive waste. The other option would be to build up a larger stockpile before the product is released, but then you’d still be waiting all the same.
In terms of hardware, Valve is not a significant player. They sell niche products meant for enthusiasts, and the lottery is the most pragmatic way to get them into hands.
Are you old enough to remember the retail shortages of gaming consoles when they released in the 90s? People were scalping them out of car trunks back then.
Linktank@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Certainly the device could register to a specific account and notify them if/when a different primary account takes control. If I’ve been playing steam games for 20 years using the same account I should be able to be verified as doing that and order hardware without them being concerned about scalping, especially if the hardware will only work if my account is the primary one allowed to use it.
teslekova@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
So this destroys one’s ability to easily resell the thing. Great.