Not going to derail this topic too much, but historically, in the 90's, many PC games shipped with both MS and nix install options.
Epic Store BUYS Psyonix, Rocket League Developers, Will Remove Rocket League From Steam
I hope Epic will provide the network infrastructure we have enjoyed with Steam. The consumer benefits too. Oh wait Epic....
In the early days, PC games usually came with their own operating system, regardless of the specific platform (not everything was IBM PC). Later games for IBM compatibles used DOS for hard drive access (but still did everything else on bare metal). When Windows took over, PC games lost their hardware edge against consoles.
I agree, I like steam, it’s not perfect but a lot better than many of the other options out there.
Latest Epic store news - they still dont have a "shopping cart" and you have to buy each game at once. They started a big sale and lots of folks were "blocked" for buying "too many games too fast". True story.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH9FxtuyCsE
Their "storefront" is so bad, such a huge turn off. I want many of the games they have, but there's no way I'm using them until they invest in their infrastructure and show that they have longevity. As it stands, the experience they offer is almost laughably pathetic.
Deleted member 110222
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Of course, I'm betting they keep the money after blocking you, amirite?
Has anyone ever maybe thought what if Valve with Steam decided to start buying exclusivity? They have the money, but they are open and let dev's do what they want.
If Steam did what Epic is doing all the people defending Epic would crucify Steam for the same behavior. The hypocrisy.
If Steam did what Epic is doing all the people defending Epic would crucify Steam for the same behavior. The hypocrisy.
Or not, since unlike Epic, Steam offers plethora of features to its customers. I think big part in "Epic hate" is the fact that they dont even have basic features like shopping cart and what not. But I could be wrong.
Agreed its just buying exclusivity that is painful. The fact devs are selling out to only offer you their games on such a half asp store front is telling of them also.
My main problem with the whole Epic store is actually just the fact that I don't want to have yet another storefront/game launcher installed.
My secondary reason is the slew of privacy concerns that surround their implementation.
The feature set is a factor, but only tertiary.
None of that stopped me from installing it though. I backed Phoenix Point and they gave me a backer beta key for the Epic Store. I also plan to get Borderlands 3 and Rebel Galaxy Outlaw. So, basically, I had to choose between games I want to play or my principles. Not a whole lot of games each year hit my "want to play list"....so it wasn't a hard choice.
As much as I hate what Epic (and the devs taking their money) are doing, I also can't ignore that Epic has flat out said they'd STOP doing it if Valve stopped being as greedy as they are: https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/25/18516039/epic-games-store-exclusives-steam-valve-tim-sweeney
Steam was pretty much the saviour of game development from publishers in the past, so I can't frame them as the bad guy in this current unfolding of events, but I also can't ignore that it IS their move now, not Epic's.
I don't know if you caught that but one of the of the most hilarious fails of Epic store happened during the "sales" (I'm using quotations, because it wasn't really a sale and the devs weren't even aware of that happening)
The Epic Store doesn't have a shopping cart. And if you buy too many (4) games in quick succession, they will temporarilly ban you to "prevent fraud". It was really entertaining to watch Youtube, for the last couple days.
As for Epic saying they'd stop the exclusivity if Valve match the revenue split .... I don't believe a single word Tim Sweeney says. It would seem that Valve/Steam don't believe him either (or they just don't care what he says).
I tend to agree with you there. But when playing Poker you have a choice even if you think the other person is bluffing. Fold, or call the bluff.
In Steam's shoes I'd call the bluff. Of course, that has massive profitability impact for them....so I totally understand why they don't.
I don't think this is about that, though.
It's a corporate world and real life analogies don't really apply. They don't care whether Epic is bluffing or not.
They have their earning numbers and unless those change, why would they change anything?
The only way they're going to force Valve do anything is impact their profits. Nobody at that level cares about words.
Sweeney is like a little kid in a sandbox, shouting he's going to build a bigger castle.
Oh, I absolutely agree, other than the part about Sweeney. I think he really, really wants to build a bigger castle and thinks that he can. He wouldn't be throwing so much money around (for the exclusives) if that weren't the case.
And, ultimately, impacting Valve's profits is exactly what he wants to do as well....by taking them for Epic (albeit at a reduced margin).
Only time will tell if the strategy works....and if that reduced margin remains as low once (if) Epic has a bigger foothold on the market.
If they do, having two major players on the market can only be good for a consumer.
But if Epic is going to "win", I don't believe it will be good. Quite the contrary. Epic is an extremely greedy company. Just look at their F2P monetization or UE licences.
If they're ever going to dictate the market, we're going to cry.
As for the Steam being "greedy". It's easy for Tim Sweeney to talk from a high horse, when he himself admitted, that the only way Epic can keep the 12% split is by not investing into the same infrastructure that Steam has. If their store would start having actual operating costs, I wonder how long the Fortnite money could last.
Not to mention their hypocrisy with the developer being front. There is a reason Klei and Paradox removed their games from the storefront while the sale is running. They forgot to ask the owners whether they want to participate and have their unreleased games devalued to a ridiculous level. So much for that.
Not to mention their hypocrisy with the developer being front. There is a reason Klei and Paradox removed their games from the storefront while the sale is running. They forgot to ask the owners whether they want to participate and have their unreleased games devalued to a ridiculous level. So much for that.