Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby shubla » Mon Dec 10, 2018 8:54 pm

wonder-ass wrote:GOG is by far the best, more people should use it and buy their games from there.

Gog has a problem, not enough games. And many people (like me) have lots of games on steam or other platforms, they dont want to switch to use some another one.
Would be cool if you could transfer games between platforms, but that will probably never happen.
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby wonder-ass » Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:52 pm

shubla wrote:
wonder-ass wrote:GOG is by far the best, more people should use it and buy their games from there.

Gog has a problem, not enough games. And many people (like me) have lots of games on steam or other platforms, they dont want to switch to use some another one.
Would be cool if you could transfer games between platforms, but that will probably never happen.


its slowly getting more and more games and id urge anyone that wants to buy cyberpunk to buy it from gog not another platform.
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby MagicManICT » Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:13 pm

shubla wrote:Gog has a problem, not enough games.

The problem is not enough AAA publishers using it like Ubisoft, EA, 2K, Take Two, etc. Several mid-sized publishers and lots of indies use it, though. There's also a feature where you can pull in games you own on Steam and get a license through GoG so you can have your game and play it DRM free, too (almost said "eat it!" :lol: )

Also, let's not forget about publishers that require you to buy entirely new hardware every few years so you can play their new games. That's been going on for about 40 years now... To me, all these different distribution platforms aren't a big deal compared to that. (And if you think Steam is a rip-off of developers, you should see the agreements with MS, Nintendo, and Sony. And then there's the whole movie distribution thing with theaters... it makes video game publishing look like a gold mine for content creators.)
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby shubla » Wed Dec 12, 2018 2:03 am

MagicManICT wrote:
shubla wrote:Gog has a problem, not enough games.

The problem is not enough AAA publishers using it like Ubisoft, EA, 2K, Take Two, etc. Several mid-sized publishers and lots of indies use it, though. There's also a feature where you can pull in games you own on Steam and get a license through GoG so you can have your game and play it DRM free, too (almost said "eat it!" :lol: )

Also, let's not forget about publishers that require you to buy entirely new hardware every few years so you can play their new games. That's been going on for about 40 years now... To me, all these different distribution platforms aren't a big deal compared to that. (And if you think Steam is a rip-off of developers, you should see the agreements with MS, Nintendo, and Sony. And then there's the whole movie distribution thing with theaters... it makes video game publishing look like a gold mine for content creators.)

I think that steam has reasonable cut that they take. After all, they offer a lot, distribution of the game, platform for community.
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby MagicManICT » Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:27 pm

I'm not sure who started the 30% standard, Apple or Steam, but it's ridiculous for one primary reason: they don't do anything for the developer other than give a platform for distribution. Apple is worth what they are not because they manufacture hardware, but because they sell a platform--iOS and related devices--and run the sole distribution network for said devices. It's the typical Apple marketing and monopolization scheme. The ONLY reason they don't get busted for it is you don't have to buy into the company at all.

Steam has gotten away with it as, as an indie developer, there is no better way to get your game (or whatever) in front of millions of potential eyes. However, until recently, it was hard to even get on Steam, so it meant there was something if you were there and a customer was shown the game. Now there's so much out there with only a few thousand units sold (or if even that) that people are flooded with choices that even some quality games don't get a chance to float to the top. Setting up and running a successful digital distribution platform has also been proven tricky as several developers have given up on the venture (Stardock, Daybreak Games as a couple examples).

Apple will be able to get away with their 30% for a little while longer as setting up competition here will be tricky and probably require some major legal battles. I don't know about the new Google... they might pull all the legal stops out to protect their interests, they might welcome the "friendly" competition. For Steam, though... if they don't significantly reduce rates, they're not going to last. There's no reason their publishing rates aren't up for negotiation. If you have a piece of software that's going to move a million licenses through Steam alone, there's no reason to even take that now 20% chunk other than to subsidize all those guys that want to make their own piece of art and publish it for $5. Even at Epic's announced 12%, they're going to be making pretty good bank.
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby MagicManICT » Thu Dec 27, 2018 3:34 am

Another bonus for Epic: They're giving away a free game every two weeks for the next year. Subnautica is on until tomorrow midnight (assuming local time for the company, PST, UTC-8).
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby shubla » Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:00 am

MagicManICT wrote:Another bonus for Epic: They're giving away a free game every two weeks for the next year. Subnautica is on until tomorrow midnight (assuming local time for the company, PST, UTC-8).

Origin also gives out free games.
Steam also gives free games sometimes.
So that is nothing new. Most games that epic gives away are probably some old cheap crappy games with not that much content.
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby bmjclark » Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:06 am

shubla wrote:
MagicManICT wrote:Another bonus for Epic: They're giving away a free game every two weeks for the next year. Subnautica is on until tomorrow midnight (assuming local time for the company, PST, UTC-8).

Origin also gives out free games.
Steam also gives free games sometimes.
So that is nothing new. Most games that epic gives away are probably some old cheap crappy games with not that much content.


Subnautica isn't a cheat crappy game with no content.
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby MagicManICT » Sun Dec 30, 2018 5:25 am

Origin ended the "On the House" program back in July.

Steam game giveaways for AAA and top end indie games are few and far between. GoG does some giveaways, and they have a lot of the classics for free already, but their "big" giveaways are few and far between. Epic so far has given away a few top notch indie games, SubNautica just being the first I saw. Super MeatBoy is available now. They're changing games every two weeks during 2019.

So far, the games available through Epic's giveaway are better than the titles I'm getting from Twitch Prime every month.

I will say as I've been reading news on games and such, I have been coming across some complaints, namely the lack of forums (which is by design). They want you to go to the game developer to get issues resolved, not blast it on yet another social media platform (though if that's what you want to do on Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit, it's your business) that the developer might not be able to use effectively for customer support.

Caveat: the number of times I've seen on Steam with someone complaining about how they got booted off one game developer's website or another because they were wanting a refund or having issues. If they behaved with the developer the way they were behaving on Steam, I'd have banned them from my site, too. Customer service doesn't mean bowing down to every whim of the customer, which is what some customers seem to think. (I think everyone should have to work six months to a year in customer service that can't treat company employees with some level of respect. You get fired? You have to start over from day 1.)

bmjclark wrote:Subnautica isn't a cheat crappy game with no content.

I've had it on my Steam wishlist for a while. I'm loving it.
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Re: Distribution Platforms - Epic Games Store vs Steam

Postby shubla » Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:24 pm

MagicManICT wrote:Origin ended the "On the House" program back in July.

Steam game giveaways for AAA and top end indie games are few and far between. GoG does some giveaways, and they have a lot of the classics for free already, but their "big" giveaways are few and far between. Epic so far has given away a few top notch indie games, SubNautica just being the first I saw. Super MeatBoy is available now. They're changing games every two weeks during 2019.

So far, the games available through Epic's giveaway are better than the titles I'm getting from Twitch Prime every month.

I will say as I've been reading news on games and such, I have been coming across some complaints, namely the lack of forums (which is by design). They want you to go to the game developer to get issues resolved, not blast it on yet another social media platform (though if that's what you want to do on Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit, it's your business) that the developer might not be able to use effectively for customer support.

Caveat: the number of times I've seen on Steam with someone complaining about how they got booted off one game developer's website or another because they were wanting a refund or having issues. If they behaved with the developer the way they were behaving on Steam, I'd have banned them from my site, too. Customer service doesn't mean bowing down to every whim of the customer, which is what some customers seem to think. (I think everyone should have to work six months to a year in customer service that can't treat company employees with some level of respect. You get fired? You have to start over from day 1.)

bmjclark wrote:Subnautica isn't a cheat crappy game with no content.

I've had it on my Steam wishlist for a while. I'm loving it.

Of course they begin with some cool game.
Super meat boy is 8 year old game that is -90% on steam. Its not necessarily bad, but giving away "free" game worth 1€ wont make anyone switch platforms.

Giving away games for free to get customers is a cheap strategy I think!!
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