Steam means that I have nearly 20 years of my gaming collection available from one source, and compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux computers. Yes, I also have a few other gaming clients, but that's mostly just because they have free or incredibly inexpensive games—not because of exclusivity. Yes, there are a handful of store-exclusive games.... but that's true of consoles as well, and I'd rather have to install another software store than buy a whole new console to play exclusives. Steam by itself has a bigger library of games than any one console, even if you don't include lower quality titles.I am more confident, that Apple will open this and other things up and after they do, 97.657% of their hardware users will still just the Apple app store for apps and payments.
Let me put it this way. If I want an app and it is not in the Apple app store and I cant pay for it in that store, without opening up another account with a vendor.....I will never use it.
I ditched PC gaming for console gaming in 2022 for a various reasons. I game less these days, current gen consoles have reached good enough for my needs, I pretty much HATE what Windows has become and I absolutely loathe having 5, 6, 7, 8 different gaming clients, each with a different account and different client software.
There are a few PlayStation and Nintendo exclusives I want to play, but if I had to choose only one store on one platform, Steam is an easy win.
If iOS/iPadOS were opened up, perhaps I could even install Steam there and play many of my games on my iPad without having to repurchase them, and my cloud saves would be available as well. (though I don't begrudge a developer selling a separate version for mobile devices, as it may require significant resources to port and maintain).
PC gaming can take more work, so I understand someone choosing a console for ease of use.