Gabe Newell says no-one in the industry thought Steam would work as a distribution platform—'I'm not talking about 1 or 2 people, I mean like 99%'
Miles O'Brien @ SARGE @startrek.website Posts 5Comments 1,756Joined 12 mo. ago

Miles O'Brien @ SARGE @startrek.website
Posts
5
Comments
1,756
Joined
12 mo. ago
Yes, someone would have. Eventually.
But valve did it early.
It's easy to fill a niche once it's formed. Not so easy to do before, or as it's forming. Or predict if one will form.
I'm not saying valve or Gabe had some kind of foresight or wisdom, I still think it was a gamble. It just happens to be a gamble that worked.