Epic Games Store - the console war comes to PC

[Puteo]

Steam Lunar sale is on: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/lunar2019/

How does this relate to Epic?

Well, Steam is offering a new type of promotion that AFAIK they've never done before in the past two decades. 5$USD off any purchase over $35.

The key being any purchase, meaning that this is not a developer discount but steam taking a discount off their normal cut.

Looks to me like a direct result of Epic competing with them. Can't know for sure, but it's a fun coincidence.

Also, if you take $5 off of $35 that would mean Steam's cut for that purchase is only 13%. Another fun coincidence.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

lol this is like some gambling site, first deposit of 100$ gets you 100$ bonus.

 

[GrainWetski]

The blessings of the generous and merciful Tim Sweeney are already being felt throughout the industry.

Any of the local disciples of Epic have Tim Sweeney's paypal so I can send him some money as thanks?

 

[Alienman]

lol this is like some gambling site, first deposit of 100$ gets you 100$ bonus.

Yeah, the points deal seem like shit, but 5 euro discount if you buy for more than 30 is nice I guess. If only something was worth 30 euro currently.

 

[Turjan]

They won't be able to compete with my grandma without allowing external keys. They'll have to match Steam in this or they might as well pack the shop now.

How are the resellers supposed to pull off discounts larger than 5% with a 12% cut is the true mystery here.

Aren't most discounts triggered by the devs? I'm p. sure those -75 % sales on Steam have nothing to do with Steam's 30% cut.

But the up to 25% off base price for Steam keys from legit stores like GMG etc. get taken out of that 30% cut, which doesn't go to Steam in that case anyway.

Most of my games on Steam were not bought on Steam.

But you need to log on the Epic game store and that don't have offline mode. Until then it doesn't work like steam at all or any other store too.

I'm confused now, can you or can you not play (e.g)ashen offline, as in, no internet connection?

Yes you can. You don't have to log on anything. Just find the .exe, click on it and Bob's your uncle.

Same with Subnautica.

That seemed to have been a "mistake" with Subnautica. It has been strictly tied to the Epic Launcher since a recent patch.

 

[Devoidless]

The Steam Lunar sale is--interesting. As mentioned, you get $5 bucks off of every purchase of $30 or more. On top of that, you earn tokens with each purchase.

How can I get more tokens?
You can receive additional tokens by purchasing games during the Lunar New Year sale. You'll receive 100 tokens per $1 you spend (111 tokens per $1 for gifts). Note that any additional discounts applied in-cart will impact the tokens you are awarded.

You can use these tokens to buy an additional $5 dollars off for the cost of 15,000 tokens. But, assuming that you have no tokens, you need to spend at least $15 to get that discount. Yet what's the point of spending $15 when the initial discount doesn't kick in until the cart comes to $30 and the real cost is $25?
I'm not a huge fan of the whole 'Spend more, save more' marketing.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

There is nothing magical about store shelf and plastic box. Your limbic system neural network got hardwired to associate pleasure of gaming with a purchase in the store and you are not self aware person used to challenge your own programming, same issue as with steamtards.

You are right when it comes to games sold in plastic boxes, but you are wrong when they were sold in cardboard boxes.

Back then you did not need permission from a third party to play your game. If you had the game and the rig to play it, you were good to go. That's called ownership.

The digital distribution venue has not only imposed a third party that decides when and how you play, but also denies you ownership... at best you have a tenuous permission to play the game.

People that cannot (or will not) recognize the vast difference between these two concepts are the true 'tards.

 

[cvv]

But you need to log on the Epic game store and that don't have offline mode. Until then it doesn't work like steam at all or any other store too.

I'm confused now, can you or can you not play (e.g)ashen offline, as in, no internet connection?

Yes you can. You don't have to log on anything. Just find the .exe, click on it and Bob's your uncle.

Same with Subnautica.

So I redownloaded and tried all my games I got on Epic - Ashen, Subnautica, Super Meatboy, Party Pack and Edith Finch.
Ashen, Meatboy and Party Pack can be run without internet and without the launcher. They are 100% DRM-free.
Subnautica used to work DRM-free but it seems they patched it out or some shit. You now need the launcher.
Edith Finch needs the launcher.

 

[cvv]

Back then you did not need permission from a third party to play your game. If you had the game and the rig to play it, you were good to go.

True but old games were not DRM free. There has been copy protection since the dawn of videogames, from "type word 3, row 6, page 32 of the manual" to whatever Dungeon Master did to utterly fuck with hackorz' minds back in the day. There's no philosophical difference between that and Steamworks or Denuvo, only technological.

The digital distribution ..........ownership
...
People that cannot (or will not) recognize the vast difference between these two concepts are the true 'tards.

Books and papers have been written on the difference of physical and intellectual ownership. Maybe hundreds of them. We would need another thread to explore the difference but let's just say it's fundamental.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

So is the store getting any market at all?

 

[J_C]

Back then you did not need permission from a third party to play your game. If you had the game and the rig to play it, you were good to go.

True but old games were not DRM free. There has been copy protection since the dawn of videogames, from "type word 3, row 6, page 32 of the manual" to whatever Dungeon Master did to utterly fuck with hackorz' minds back in the day. There's no philosophical difference between that and Steamworks or Denuvo, only technological.

DRM does not equal copy protection. DRM locks the game to your account, so you can't sell it, and the publisher can revoke your right to play (e.g. when they shutdown the servers), and they can't be played by several people at the same time. With copy protection, you could sell or lend the game, if you gave the CD key/manual as well.

 

[cvv]

DRM does not equal copy protection.

DRM technologies try to control the use, modification, and distribution of copyrighted works

But the forums at GOG are constantly burning with debates over what is or is not DRM so anyone is free to use their own personal definition as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Cromwell]

We would need another thread to explore the difference but let's just say it's fundamental.

we dont. One one hand I have the game and can play it whenever I want nobody could take that away except stealing from me the physical copy, now I pay to "own" something but the use of it depends on a third party. Debating ownership and difference about physical and intellectual is just intellectual wankery because in the end its clear which of these two scenarios is better for me as a customer. Same goes for the definition of DRM, old copy protection still allowed me to give the game to a friend and let hin play it while I play some other game, which I cant now (going by steams sharing rules) debating if these old copy protections are drm or not is for idiots, for normal people the only thing that matters is the end result.

 

[cvv]

we dont.

*proceeds to prove we do*

 

[Cromwell]

*proceeds to prove we do*

Only if youre retarded. What matters is the end result for the consumer, if you call it DRM or any other name is irrelevant.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

We would need another thread to explore the difference but let's just say it's fundamental.

9 Same goes for the definition of DRM, old copy protection still allowed me to give the game to a friend and let hin play it while I play some other game, which I cant now (going by steams sharing rules)

You could do that when family share first came out, but not anymore.

There is new fad in normie land and it's Origin(EA) game Apex something. Epic's shop failure will be all more hilarious with Fortnite's death.

 

[glass blackbird]

We would need another thread to explore the difference but let's just say it's fundamental.

9 Same goes for the definition of DRM, old copy protection still allowed me to give the game to a friend and let hin play it while I play some other game, which I cant now (going by steams sharing rules)

You could do that when family share first came out, but not anymore.

There is new fad in normie land and it's Origin(EA) game Apex something. Epic's shop failure will be all more hilarious with Fortnite's death.

if you think apex (a game where you not only have to buy cosmetics but also individual characters to play as) is gonna defeat fortnite, the game that's free, you're an idiot

 

[unfairlight]

if you think apex (a game where you not only have to buy cosmetics but also individual characters to play as) is gonna defeat fortnite, the game that's free, you're an idiot

Dunno, Apex has had an amazing launch. I have a gut feeling this game will have some longevity since the gameplay looks really polished, tight and unique while Fortnite has already peaked and people are getting a bit bored of it. It's still very early so we'll see. Apex does appear to have a lot of great ideas since Titanfall had a lot of great ideas, issue is that Titanfall 2 was a bit of a flop even if it was pretty refreshing in a stale market.

 

[sullynathan]

People think fortnite will die in its prime? You've got to be joking

 

[BlackAdderBG]

We would need another thread to explore the difference but let's just say it's fundamental.

9 Same goes for the definition of DRM, old copy protection still allowed me to give the game to a friend and let hin play it while I play some other game, which I cant now (going by steams sharing rules)

You could do that when family share first came out, but not anymore.

There is new fad in normie land and it's Origin(EA) game Apex something. Epic's shop failure will be all more hilarious with Fortnite's death.

if you think apex (a game where you not only have to buy cosmetics but also individual characters to play as) is gonna defeat fortnite, the game that's free, you're an idiot

I didn't say this new game will kill it, just that casuals are playing new games and they live by the hype and die by it.

 

[Rinslin Merwind]

People think fortnite will die in its prime? You've got to be joking

People also think that defending (very hysterically and with insullts) an Epic digital store without even half of functionality (in comparison to their competitors) worth of their time. This thread is magical place, I must say.

 

[cvv]

and with insults

Gosh!

 

[LESS T_T]

Take Two CEO on Epic Store and the possibility of having their own store: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...ceo-on-epic-store-competition-is-a-good-thing

Take-Two views the arrival of the Epic Store as a potentially good thing for its business, but has seemingly ruled out launching its own download platform.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, CEO Strauss Zelnick says that it's important for the firm to be where the consumer is, rather than dictating to them to shop at a specific location. He was responding to a question as to whether Take-Two might follow in the footsteps of Blizzard, EA and Bethesda in selling their PC downloads directly to consumers.

"We think it's very difficult to try and attract consumers only through a wholly owned captive site," he tells us.

"That's not how consumers shop. To use an analogy that doesn't speak to our business, if you read Random House books, I presume you can get them directly through Random House, but you probably don't. You probably go to Amazon or other sites. So if you have something incredibly powerful, then I suppose you can say to consumers that it's only available here. But generally speaking, when it comes to broad-based entertainment offerings, you are better placed to be where the consumer is, rather than indicating to the consumer where they need to be. If your focus is solely on capturing retail margin, then you have to be very convinced you're going to be a great retailer. That's not something that's in our DNA. We make entertainment. We're really not a retailer."

As for the Epic Store: "From our point of view, we don't see another retailer as a disruption. We want to be where the consumer is, and if there's a competitive offering that benefits consumers, generally speaking, if the business model makes sense for us, we will support it. We want to be where the consumer is. We see competition on the retail side to be a good thing. It just means more distribution."

I wonder if this means they will release RDR 2 on Steam? Gabe, feels relived? Or not.

 

[cvv]

The consumer isn't where he is now because Valve was happy to be where the consumer was.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Didn't they had the Social Club or some shit with GTA4?