Valve have been trying something a little different this year with the introduction of “Steam Trading Cards.” While Valve are…
Valve have been trying something a little different this year with the introduction of “Steam Trading Cards.” While Valve are usually successful at anything they attempt to do, their trading cards have gone down pretty poorly.
Most Steam users have simply chosen to ignore the cards, despite having plenty gathered up from the ongoing sale. Many have flocked to Reddit, where users have expressed confusion, querying as to what exactly these trading cards are for.
While I myself chose to completely ignore the cards during the first few days of implementation, they soon started to pique my curiosity, as I had gathered ten or so without much effort.
Although it took a couple of reads, I found the information on this page pretty clear and easy to grasp. What I think has confused people, is just how many uses these cards have.
Players can choose to either keep, trade or sell their cards:
- Those who keep them can complete a set and earn a badge. Badges get you goodies such as coupons and profile backgrounds.
- Selecting to trade cards allows users to complete sets faster and earn rewards quicker.
- For those who want nothing to do with this new feature, they can simply sell their cards for cash.
The cards are a lot more complicated than anything Valve have added before. Steam used to be very simple. You’d buy some games, usually during a sale, and you’d go through the client to play them. Now, it seems, Valve are wanting Steam to be used as more of a social networking experience. Steam Trading Cards encourage users to interact and trade with one another and, when rewards are earned, they are often only used as a way of sprucing up one’s profile page.
In contrast to those who have ignored the cards thus far, some Steam users have already started to earn badges and rewards through the new system. There are even those who have invested money into completing sets, and have fully embraced the new way of earning Steam rewards.
Many games are offering cards as a reward for playing. As Steam is notorious for encouraging users to buy games that will often never be played, it is good that Valve have added a little incentive for gamers to revisit older classics.
I think, with a little more clarity from Valve, users will come to find that the trading cards are not as complicated as they initially seemed. Others have already embraced the system and are busy collecting sets.
What do you think of the Steam Trading Cards? Are you a fan?