Epic Games Store - 88% split goes to devs

[Nesrie]

Those are by definition NOT EXCLUSIVE.
We’re talking about exclusives. Otherwise, what are we even talking about? What is the ‘console-like’ part that you are bringing up?

They used to be EXCLUSIVES. They’re going the other way.

[WhollySchmidt]

Whooo boy, thread is on fire today.

Everyone remember to be nice to one another. :)

We solved this in the Star Wars thread by making it about Thanos.

[meeper]

There is zero reason to trust Epic at that point, and they earned that reputation with in just a matter of weeks.

Oh I’m not disagreeing. Valve has proven itself for the last 15 years (although it took me a few years to really buy into it).

I do think that we’re giving Valve a bit of a free pass here on that ‘pledge’ that frequently gets tossed around though. A library in Steam is only more secure than a library in EGS because of Steam’s history of doing business. Not because that ‘pledge’ has any value.

[legowarrior]

As a kid who grew up with a Sega Genesis, and not a Super Nintendo, I know exclusivity when I see it. Epic is not exclusive

Exclusives happen when all your friends are talking about their favorite Nintendo game, and you can’t participate.

This, this is a stupid argument.

[tbaldree]

They used to be EXCLUSIVES. They’re going the other way.

I give up! I don’t know how to respond to any posts you make.
You said that Epic was trying to make things console-like.
I said that’s not true because console-like exclusives are based on hardware.
Now you’re saying consoles are becoming less exclusive.

I have no idea where you are going with this or what happened to your original point!
Let’s just… let this one lie, all right?

[Fishbreath]

Some Steam users are scared that Epic’s success will eventually shut down Steam. I believe both stores can, and will, co-exist, but some people don’t believe in competition and can only see as far as their Steam wallets will let 'em.

(i.e., way to beat up that strawman)

[Ejosotoc]

Those of us in the industry can’t let the outliers dominate our thoughts. Some people will continually vomit emotional nonsense and they’re not a microcosm of reality. Most people will shop where they please, when they please, while a small but vocal minority will hold grudges and spout unsupported claims to validate their perspectives.

This is gibberish and… a voiced opinion.

[Lunarstorm]

I laugh at the current trend of supporting false information is to not provide data or facts, but to instead say “You research/Google it” or shout “strawman!”

[Shadari]

I brought up hardware because you said that Epic was trying to make a ‘console-like’ ecosystem.
Because they clearly are not.
Console-like exclusivity is based on hardware - i.e. you must have THIS hardware to play this game.
That hardware comes with a cost. I can’t play God of War if I’m an XBox One owner without buying a PS4.
That clearly does not apply to this situation.
I mean, that’s clear, right?

Their storefront is still a closed system and if it ever goes away you can kiss your games goodbye. So buying games on another (unproven) storefront is a risk in my estimation.

That’s why one previous argument (made by others I believe) where a certain brand of shirt, for example, is exclusive to a store isn’t a good comparison to games that are exclusive to a digital storefront. If my favorite brand of shirt is exclusive to JC Penny, I don’t lose the shirt when they (seemingly inevitably) go out of business.

[legowarrior]

I don’t know if it’s a strawman though. There seems to be a lot of fear when it comes to Epic. Not just hating the platform, but that it will directly impact the steam and the people with large game libraries on steam. At least that is what it feels like.

I am not sure I understand it.

[jsnell]

We solved this in the Star Wars thread by making it about Thanos.

I’ve heard a rumor that Tim Sweeney wants to wipe out half the PC games, selected at random.

[legowarrior]

But, your shirt will wear out eventually, so if you found the perfect shirt, it will go away.

[Lunarstorm]

I’ve heard a rumor that Tim Sweeney wants to wipe out half the PC games, selected at random.

Strawman!

[tbaldree]

Their storefront is still a closed system and if it ever goes away you can kiss your games goodbye. So buying games on another (unproven) storefront is a risk in my estimation.

That’s why one previous argument (made by others I believe) where a certain brand of shirt, for example, is exclusive to a store isn’t a good comparison to games that are exclusive to a digital storefront. If my favorite brand of shirt is exclusive to JC Penny, I don’t lose the shirt when they (seemingly inevitably) go out of business.

I… so you are saying that launching any other storefront is bad?
If you buy a game on Steam and it’s not exclusive, and Steam goes out of business, how is it not the exact same problem? Exclusivity isn’t part of it. You still have to buy it again.
And since Epic’s exclusives are TIMED, doesn’t that also neatly avoid the issue?
You seem to have more of an issue with the concept of digital goods than with multiple storefronts.

[Nesrie]

I give up! I don’t know how to respond to any posts you make.
You said that Epic was trying to make things console-like.
I said that’s not true because console-like exclusives are based on hardware.
Now you’re saying consoles are becoming less exclusive.

Exclusives, like Epic Games is doing, is not something we’ve hugely seen on PC. It’s been like that on consoles for awhile but due to cross-platform and other pressures we’re seeing that backed off just a bit.

I don’t know why you got frustrated with the hardware piece. That’s needed for your definition, not mine.

[meeper]

You seem to have more of an issue with the concept of digital goods than with multiple storefronts.

So much this.

[Paul_cze]

I give up! I don’t know how to respond to any posts you make.
You said that Epic was trying to make things console-like.
I said that’s not true because console-like exclusives are based on hardware.
Now you’re saying consoles are becoming less exclusive.

I have no idea where you are going with this or what happened to your original point!
Let’s just… let this one lie, all right?

Even without hardware the exclusivity is shit. Sure it doesn’t mean I have to spend 400 bucks on another redundant x86 box. That is good. But it means I get worse product with less features for my money. That is bad. And if it is true exclusivity with single place of purchase, there goes pricing competition as well. That is also bad.
At least Epic started supporting Humble. Hopefully they let devs generate free keys like Steam does with no extra cost and sell them on their own sites and other third party stores like GMG or Fanatical.

[Fishbreath]

[content-free blathering]

Sorry, I’m not going to let you weasel out of this. You said:

but some people don’t believe in competition and can only see as far as their Steam wallets will let 'em.

Show me someone making that argument, or admit you were wrong in making it.

I don’t know if it’s a strawman though. There seems to be a lot of fear when it comes to Epic. Not just hating the platform, but that it will directly impact the steam and the people with large game libraries on steam. At least that is what it feels like.

I am not sure I understand it.

Same request, but more politely phrased, because I feel like you, unlike Lunarstorm, are interested in a good-faith discussion.

I’m not even against the Epic store to the point that I won’t buy anything from it. (I have Satisfactory, I’ll probably get RGO. I’m unlikely to buy anything else there, but that’s mostly because I almost never buy games inside a year of release as it is.) From a consumer-friendliness/feature-richness perspective, though, I don’t see how you can equate Epic and Steam. KevinC, Nesrie, and others have adequately explained what Epic doesn’t have, so I don’t feel like I need to go over that ground again.

[tbaldree]

I don’t know why you got frustrated with the hardware piece. That’s needed for your definition, not mine.

There are plenty of exclusives on PC - they’ve been on Origin, HL2 was an exclusive. Exclusives have always existed.
When people talk about ‘console’ exclusivity they are traditionally talking about the hardware barrier that made it onerous for players - i.e. I have to buy this console if I want to play the game!
Exclusivity to a digital storefront is considerably less onerous. (and, you know, free)

But it means I get worse product with less features for my money.

What? How does exclusivity have antyhing to do with the game’s features and quality?

[Paul_cze]

What? How does exclusivity have antyhing to do with the game’s features and quality?

We are talking about storefronts here. If I buy a game on Steam, I get the game plus all the features Steam offers. If I buy a game on Epic, I get the game plus all the features Epic offers, which are none.