So as we are all aware EPIC seems to be pushing hard to become relevant in the gaming store space which I’m sure all of us would agree is a good thing for consumers baring the fact we have yet another launcher.
However I feel like the latest move EPIC made to get exclusive sales for some games is a step in the direction of Faust and the devil, if they are going to be the only place to buy a title then I would venture that they will eventually also just become another cash grab machine.
Diversity is a good thing. I’m really not fussed about having another launcher on my PC, when I want to play the game I just launch the platform and play it. I don’t even have Steam auto-running at startup.
When it comes to exclusives I suppose the big deal with Epic’s store is that for the first time 3rd party titles are being made exclusive to one storefront - whereas with Origin, Bethesda and Battlenet the exclusives are their own titles. So yes, this does further fragment things, but then how else do you really take on Steam’s dominance? I’ve got to hand it to them, nailing those big name exclusives does make one consider purchasing from their store.
The other things that I personally appreciate are the free games they are giving away (I’m really enjoying Subnautica!) and the fact that they have regional pricing (or at least are implementing it). I found myself purchasing less and less from Steam directly in the past, preferring 3rd party stores that gave Steam keys, until Steam introduced regional pricing that in most cases favoured us in South Africa, now aside from bundles I’ll buy a game on Steam just because the regional pricing works out so well. So regional pricing is a win.
Competition is fantastic, Steam has the lion’s share of the market and some developers may have felt that Valve’s “cut” was a bit steep. That being said, EA (through Origin) has a significant portion of the market and achieved this without trying to hard. Albeit this has been mostly with their own titles and they play nice with developers that utilize other platforms. EA aside, we have a number of entities competing in the same space with varying degrees of success.
However, what Epic is doing and has done with Metro is effectively a full on assault on Steam. One could argue that this is good from a consumer perspective with regards to pricing. But I have a problem, the problem being that I would prefer to be able to choose which store I buy from. I simply don’t trust Epic enough to fork over money for a title. I don’t trust that they have my best interests, as a consumer, in mind here. They are being disruptive and looking to fragment the market.
I honestly don’t believe they will be able to keep this up indefinitely, and then what?
Simple, better prices Like you said how many times do you jump around looking for the cheapest deals via greenman or humble etc I know I do that often.
its not, its also an assault on the consumers since now we don’t have an option to buy anywhere else, if they do that in future but the prices are high then what ?
EDIT: I wonder if we will be able to buy “EPIC” keys to redeem eventually
Bingo, once they’ve locked the developers in things could get sticky. “Oh you don’t like our platform, well guess we’ll just stop selling your games. PS - remember that 5 year exclusivity clause, you can’t selly anywhere else” <- Hope this crap doesn’t happen
I did some calculations using Metro Exodus as an example. If Epic takes a 12% cut from the $50 price, the devs get $44. Steam taking 30% from the $60 price gets the devs $42.
Was the backlash worth it?
Not sure Epic’s approach will be sustainable in the long run.
Indeed but the backlash might reduce that. Hard to predict really.
Had there been no platform exclusivity, many gamers would have skipped Steam to save $10.
I would imagine there are people who will not buy from Epic out of spite, and rather wait a year for it to come back on Steam. Maybe longer, for that inevitable Steam special.
As much as I detest having x amount of launchers and having to update each everytime I want to play a game, I think the competition for steam is a good thing. With the lunar year sale starting today, you’ll be given a full R35 discount. This is why I was against local pricing since the get-go, because we get the shortstraw and pricing is most of the time more expensive. Overseas users that have their steam stores in USD get $5 discount - south africans are not getting R65 discount that would’ve been equal, but $2.6 discount. Hopefully epic games can drive the monopoly that is steam back to acceptable pricing again.
Do people really want competition when it comes to digital games distribution platforms? I’m going to make a bold and contrarian statement and say “not really”.
The first complaint anyone anywhere on the internet makes when news of a new digital distribution platform comes to light is that it is another launcher they need to install. Another place where they need to store games. Another place to maintain games and updates and DLC. Another one. Not a lot of people seem to like the idea of another platform, yet many people are in favour of competition, stating that “competition is good”. And yes, while I completely agree to that statement, what good has any competition brought PC gamers?
While I understand that many people say that it is good for developers to get a bigger cut of the profits (I am one of them) it is not like us gamers suddenly have the developers best interests at heart with out sweet intentions and hope for higher income for them. It is in our best interests for most, if not all, games to be available on a single, easy to manage platform. And now that Steam is taking a smaller cut in some games profits, how are gamers going to react, by shunning any other platform in favour for Steam again? Perhaps this is indeed a good win from the perception of competition, but does it really make any difference to the lives of ordinary gamers? Do they even really care?
It’s also not like there isn’t any competition at all. EA Access to very well, but from the position of having a large library of very popular games. GOG is also extremely consumer-friendly, yet it’s market share is miles behind that of any idea of Steam. But nobody is reporting on a game not on GOG, or not on EA Access or Discord or any other kind of platform.
People are sheep. They don’t like change. And if they have the comfort of a system they’ve used for many years, and the convenience of a single platform for all their PC gaming needs, why would people change? Epic Games is the first platform to truly make a dent in the mighty and (almost) impossible to kill Steam, even if its just a needle prick. It is a prick big enough to stir some changes. But gamers don’t want change, and they don’t want competition. They want Steam to be the platform that every game is on.
got to break some eggs to make an omelette, I agree with what your are saying but if the price is low enough most people would more than likely buy on another launcher i’m talking a relatively large disparity though but that will be based on the individuals perspective, they will still complain but in the end money talks.
I think one of the reasons steam is so popular other than that its been around so long is that they have gamified the store with cards,levels and badges it might not appeal to everyone but it does to some.
I wouldn’t call uplay and origin competition because I think they contain more exclusive content than anything else.
In the end as long as there is a fight going on for our money its good for us, the thing I was originally worried about was that EPIC starts gaining more and more exclusives and jack up the price