If you're a PC gamer, chances are that getting stuff from Steam is a big part of your procurement process. I haven't bought a physical PC game in years. The vast majority of the stuff I buy digitally comes from Steam. There are a couple of exceptions - Stardock for Gal Civ II, Blizzard stuff and some things from other stores because they were cheap.

When EA were on Steam, they had a chance of getting some business from me. Now, on the PC, they may as well not exist. Now I'm not saying that I don't like EA's games. It's just that I'd rather play most on console. Steam's all about the impulse buy, so that's gone - and do I really want to install another store on my computer?

The answer is no, but I'll probably end up doing it anyway. See, EA are publishing Star Wars : The Old Republic soon. Battlefield 3 too. Games that you either cannot play on a console or historically, haven't travelled well on consoles ( compare Battlefield 2 : Modern Combat with its bigger PC brother and you'll know what I mean ). So yeah, EA might lose a few impulse sales from me, but ultimately, that store will be on my PC - and EA won't be paying a dime to Valve when I make my inevitable purchases. Another positive is that in a time when people are accusing the PC of being moribund, you've got a major publisher investing in its own digital distribution platform for a platform supposedly on the operating table.

Long-term, while having to install different stores for different games is going to be a chore for PC gamers, the only way that a publisher can get you to install that thing is by giving you a good damn gaming reason to do so. This may end up being a good thing for PC gaming overall. So, gross miscalculation that'll cost EA impulse sales or cunning plan to cut out the middleman? Time will tell. It really depends on whether EA can deliver the goods with their most anticipated games.