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News Epic reveals a strong year for the Epic Games Store

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by bit-tech, 15 Jan 2020.

  1. bit-tech

    bit-tech Supreme Overlord Lover of bit-tech Administrator

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    Read more
     
  2. Big_malc

    Big_malc Minimodder

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    Personally I still cant support a platform that's montra seems to be "competition by exclusivity". If i have to wait for things to be released on another platform I will wait
     
  3. bawjaws

    bawjaws Multimodder

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    Epic and their exclusives can spin.
     
  4. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

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    I don't have any truck with 'exclusivity' nonsense when it's entirely voluntary self-flagellation: it's only exclusive if you refuse to install the client, same as with every other digital distribution service that does not have a web-based download option (GoG or itch.io). Otherwise, treat it exactly like Steam: load the client, download the game, close the client, run the game. If a particular game gets its knickers in a twist because the client isn't running, bitching is to be directed at the developer (or more often, the publisher) for making a dumb decision.
     
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  5. greigaitken

    greigaitken Minimodder

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    for those wining about epic, just download it and get the free games, and don't buy any. then you win.
    for the record, i have not done this, as i'm not fussed about epic, i might though put it on my sons pc, and he can get some free games, but i doubt he'll stop playing fortnite
     
  6. Yaka

    Yaka Multimodder

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    this is very much it, everyne i know thier kids just play fortnite and just collect the freebies on the side
     
  7. perplekks45

    perplekks45 LIKE AN ANIMAL!

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    All the hate for a company that does what Steam has been doing for years... exclusivity, especially the kind that isn't really exclusive as @edzieba pointed out quite correctly, on PC is practically impossible unless they start charging customers for the right to install/use their launcher. Which, in turn, would pretty much immediately kill their launcher.

    I have it installed, grabbing all the free games (some real gems there, tbh) and every now and then I'll buy a game if I feel like it. I prefer having only Steam installed, but as long as you're smart enough (i.e. smarter than a cactus) to not have all the launchers in your auto-start, you can just start the relevant ones when you need them. Or you can basically never launch any launcher apart from Steam unless you want to download/buy an "exclusive" title from one of the others, then add them as non-Steam title to your Steam library. I honestly fail to see the issue here.
     
  8. Anfield

    Anfield Multimodder

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    Valve has never given any dev a single penny for exclusivity (the only times Valve had anything to do with exclusivity decisions was with their own games, also every single dev on steam is free to sell steam keys on humble bundle etc).

    Also the events surrounding World of Goo, Metro Exodus and Shenmue 3 didn't exactly help matters...

    The World of Goo Scumbag devs made an update for the game exclusive to Epic, so no one can claim games are equal regardless of store.

    The Metro Exodus Scumbag devs happily took preorder money on Steam, then pulled it from there days before launch after pocketing the Epic exclusivity bribe, then made Metro Exodus the first ever Metro game with a Scam Season Pass just to rub their utter disdain for customers in everyones face.

    The Shenmue 3 Scumbag devs pretended to be poor to scam people on Kickstarter out of their hard earned cash, then took money from a AAA publisher any way then on top of that took an exclusivity bribe from Epic.

    Are any of those three scandals the fault of Epic? Nah, but with the microscopic selection of games they sell it is very disturbing that they managed three scandals in such a short time.

    Also not one single dev has passed on one single penny of the higher cut from sales.

    Also there is the other consideration: We've let Valve get away with too much sh*t and we don't want to repeat that mistake with Epic.
     
    Last edited: 16 Jan 2020
  9. perplekks45

    perplekks45 LIKE AN ANIMAL!

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    Please don't take this the wrong way, but this sounds pretty bitter. Probably more against the sell-out culture in today's devs than anything or anybody else in particular.

    I get your point about Epic buying their way into the market and devs all too happy to sell their souls (and games) to them. The latest I know of to do that is Diabotical, which led to a wave of disgust and hatred in the arena FPS community. But, to be fair to Epic (and you mentioned it as well), they did not cause this behaviour from devs. They "merely used it", for whatever that's worth - i.e. is somebody knowingly using somebody else's weakness better than somebody knowingly using his dominating strength/position?

    Coming back to what I tried to say with my initial post: Steam did try to basically muscle other launcher/distributors out of the market by using its immense weight for years. And it seems to have taken quite a bit of money to push into this well-established market Valve carved out for themselves. Admittedly that's not perfect, but a lot better than the almost monopoly we had before. At least we have a choice of launchers now... in a way. It won't be "perfect" until we can buy each and every game on each and every launcher/platform, but that won't happen, will it? We still live in a world ruled by capitalism, after all. For further examples of markets not being available widely and nobody doing anything against it we need look no further than the movie/series/sports distribution platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Sky, etc.
     
  10. Omnislip

    Omnislip Minimodder

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    Look at those scumbag devs, how dare they make me install a different application in exchange for stability in their jobs, incomes, and lives! Don't they know the inconvenience of having an extra program installed on my machine? Scandalous!

    I assume everyone complaining about exclusive games is very happy to have a single monolithic incumbent dominating the scene? It's not as if Steam is especially good, anyway...
     
  11. monty-pup

    monty-pup Minimodder

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    Just added Observation to my Steam wishlist!!

    Have been waiting patiently to play it since before it landed on Epic launcher.

    :rock:
     
  12. fix-the-spade

    fix-the-spade Multimodder

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    You forgot the Mechwarrior 5 one, where Piranha were merrily taking Steam pre-orders up to the day before they announced EGS exclusivity for one year, then told all the pre-order customers that they now had a pre-order on the EGS and they would not be honouring Steam purchases.

    I can't fault Epic for playing hardball against Steam, Valve have let Steam go to wrack and ruin as asset flips, gambling and money laundering games flooded the storefront, they deserve a good hard kick up the arse. But I can't deny that the way many publishers and devs have gone about getting their deals has been pretty sour. It's put me off using the EGS mostly on the grounds of balls to those guys I'll get it in a steam sale next year.
     
  13. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

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    No, they just outright buy the dev team instead. Portal, Team Fortress, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Left4Dead, Alien Swarm, Dota 2: all a result of Valve acquiring developers prior to a game's release. The italicised ones are games that were previously free mods before being acquired by Valve.
     
  14. perplekks45

    perplekks45 LIKE AN ANIMAL!

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    Don't forget that DotA, the first one, was a WarCraft 3 mod.
     
  15. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

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    I left that off because that was more of a copyright spat between Valve, Blizzard, and the many different developers who worked on the original DoTA fighting over who gets to use the name. But yes, Dota 2 is in some respects a sequel to a free mod, though I don't think there was ever a free version of Dota 2 released by Icefrog prior to being hired by Valve.
     
  16. perplekks45

    perplekks45 LIKE AN ANIMAL!

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    True. DotA 2 never was free, but to be fair, the initial release was basically a stand-alone DotA 1 with more heroes/maps.
     
  17. Anfield

    Anfield Multimodder

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    Don't forget that Epic is only willing to curate against small devs, not big ones.
    When Ubisoft emptied their colostomy bag on to the Epic store and called it Ghost Recon Break Point Epic allowed it to happen in the exact same way Steam allowed No Mans Sky, Just Cause 4 or the Slaughtering Grounds.


    But honestly the biggest gripe for me is that we as consumers will never be permitted to benefit from any change in the games industry in any shape or form.

    Compare AAA launch prices on the Epic store to ones on console for example:

    Console has physical games that cost money to produce.
    Console has legal piracy (physical discs that can be lent / sold infinitely).
    Console games have to subsidise the hardware being sold at a loss.
    All three console digital stores take 30%.

    Then along comes the Epic store where none of those 4 problems apply, yet devs charge the same as on console.
     
  18. adidan

    adidan Guesswork is still work

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    Will I buy anything on Epic? Probably not, by the time I buy games it's generally over a year down the line - cheaper and bugs ironed out.

    I'm not saying I never would, I just can't see it.
     
  19. perplekks45

    perplekks45 LIKE AN ANIMAL!

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    That is not a problem specific to epic, is it? Steam asks for ridiculous money for old CoD titles. Just one example of others doing exactly what you described.

    Digital media should be cheaper than physical media. How long did it take the industry to make the average ebook cheaper than the respective paperbacks? How long for music downloads to significantly undercut physical CDs? Yet all those industries, including the gaming industry, celebrate record profits reach and every year. People are paying stupid money for pre-orders. Things won't change like this.
     
  20. Anfield

    Anfield Multimodder

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    As I said: It is the devs doing it.
    Valve and Epic aren't really at fault for that kind of behaviour, even if they refuse to implement rules against it.
     
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