Once again, Microsoft is jealous of another company’s success in a sector adjacent to their own, and is setting their crosshairs accordingly. Unfortunately this is one company that can’t be bought or properly imitated: Valve and Steam are firebrands in the gaming world, and have achieved over the years a level of trust and legitimacy among gamers that is nigh impossible for perhaps any other company to match. The success of Steam has made it the archetype for digital content distribution, and Microsoft doesn’t really expect to dethrone them there. Instead, they hope to grow a marketplace around things not currently offered by Steam, for example Games for Windows Live branded DLC, which would be made available exclusively by Microsoft. But is this really a sound plan?

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