At the same time, given all that money, I think it’s completely fair for backers to expect to get all their money back. Epic is effectively becoming a publisher.
I very much doubt that is true. But we have no way to know.
I know it’s true. I have contacts in this case.
If people don’t like it, then don’t buy the game. If you don’t buy the game and Epic continues to lose a bunch of money on buying these exclusives than they will stop doing it.
Well taking you at your word, that’s a hell of an anti-competitive thing to do, and an expensive one to boot! Ultimately as I’m a consumer and don’t run a game storefront, I still think it’s fine.
My guess is 2019 will be the only year EPIC goes after dev’s with exclusive offers , if they can’t get a decent number of buyers on the store after 1 year of exclusive games its never going to happen. The Fortnite money train isn’t going to last forever.
I mean what about this huge Fortnite player base, why are they all not buying games left and right. They have so many players that EPIC shouldn’t even need exclusive games.
Fortnite *
I think there’s a big ethical problem in this kind of case though. Epic is effectively becoming a publisher/distributor for these games that it picks up. Kickstarted games don’t say, “we’ll use your money, and then we’ll go get a publisher”, as that’s an abuse of the system. They should be refunding every backer’s funds unless they are told otherwise.
Didn’t Fortnite already make so many billions that even if Apex took all of its userbase tomorrow, they could keep paying for exclusives for years if not decades?
Don’t most kickstarter games usually go get a publisher because kickstarter doesn’t provide nearly enough cash?
I am pretty sure both Battletech and Pathfinder has publishers. I am wrong?
2.4 Billion was a number google told me.
But no doubt management also want money in their pockets. So who knows how much of that is cash the company can toss at timed exclusives.
It’s Fortnite profits.
We ignore them, because the reason are so petty and disproportionate to the vitriol (and possibly racially motivated, apparently).
Wow. You really went there.
Honest quesions, are video games the only thing that it bothers people when there are exclusives? I mean, Target has exclusive versions of board games and Funko Pop figurines, does that upset people too? I seem to see this exclusive hate mainly in the video game world compared to other places.
No, Paul did.
He did? That is sad.
What if they already bought the game (through fig)?
I like to gripe because I like to whine about things online, and Epic store exclusives bother me, because of the generation or so of console or retail exclusive stuff was exhausting, and mostly gone in the newer consoles, but now Epic is bringing it back. It isn’t nearly as bad as Microsoft’s deals in the 360 era, as it is just an online store, but I can still make a stink about it online if I want.
But, selling one thing on a kickstarter or fig campaign, and delivering another is just a shitty thing to do to your fans who actually pre-paid for the game, they wanted it so much. Even if it is as simple as switching launchers, it wasn’t what they were originally sold. I think they are offering refunds, which is the least they could do.
As for the fig investors? I think this has to be good for them. Fig pays dividends, and I have to imagine the minimum sales guarantee from Epic is going to be part of that.
I’m perfectly fine with kickstarted games getting publishers. Vanishingly few games make enough money on kickstarter to actually finance the entire project. Vast majority of them do it for the publicity, to show gamers are interested in what they’re making, with the entire purpose being to find a publisher.
What does suck is if the kickstarter says the game will be on Steam and they they renege on that promise.
Yes, because the barrier to running a game from the Epic Store is insurmountable! /s
I don’t see how. If I back a project, I expect the company to fulfill its obligations to me (by providing a copy of the game or whatever other rewards), and I get the satisfaction of helping a project get off the ground that otherwise might not. Beyond that, I expect the company to make the best decisions they can for the health of the business, and I recognize that plans change with time and circumstances.
If those changes result in a change in platform (here or for projects that announced a Vita version and then had to cancel it), then giving a choice between a full refund or getting the game on another platform is a totally fair remedy, and there’s no need for hard feeling either way.