
2
Game Streaming:
A Planned Approach
Jeffrey Aydelotte and Amir Ebrahimi
2.1 Introduction
The game industry has gradually been shifting away from traditional boxed titles
and toward digital distribution. As of the writing of this chapter, Steam, a digital
distribution service operated by Valve, currently has over 1,100 titles available
through its service [Steam 10]. You might be hard pressed to find that many
titles on the shelves at your local retail store. It’s no surprise that this shift is
occurring, as the numbers are there to back it up. In early 2010, Valve announced
that it saw a 205% increase in Steam’s unit sales year over year [O’Connor 10]. ...