Pachter sets record straight on Steam row
"I have NOT heard this from anybody."
Michael Pachter has insisted he has no idea what Valve plans to do with Steam after the Wedbush Securities analyst was reported as saying digital trade-ins were set to be introduced to the platform.
On Wednesday an online report based on an interview read, "Valve could be gearing up to offer Steam users the ability to trade in licenses, according to industry analyst Michael Pachter."
"Steam's about to let you do that supposedly - you know, like trade and exchange - but they're going to take a fee from it," Pachter was quoted as saying.
Yesterday Valve refuted the suggestion attributed to Pachter. Valve marketing chief Doug Lombardi told Eurogamer that Pachter's comments were fiction and no such plans exist.
"Untrue. We've never had a meeting with Mr Pachter," said Lombardi. "I'm not sure what else there is to say."
In a statement provided to Eurogamer, Pachter agreed with Lombardi.
"I saw the headlines yesterday, and honestly don't remember saying that Steam would sponsor trade-ins," he claimed.
"I can only surmise that the reporter asked the question that way ('Steam is rumoured to be considering taking digital trade-ins') and asked me what I thought. I have NOT heard this from anybody, and think it had to be the way the question was phrased.
"When I said 'supposedly', it's because the question was posed that way, and is an acknowledgement that I've never heard it before. I am pretty sure it was posed as a hypothetical question, and I was trying to be responsive.
"For the record, I don't know anything about Steam's plans to sponsor credits for games purchased in the past. Mr. Lombardi is entirely accurate that I have not spoken to anyone at Valve about this, and I did not hear anything from anybody other than from the reporter who interviewed me."
So there you have it. Is it the weekend yet?