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Game News The Outer Worlds to launch on the Epic Games Store and Microsoft Store, only coming to Steam in 2020

jewboy

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Joined
Mar 13, 2012
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Oumuamua
If you like the game please support the developers by keeping the torrents well seeded upon release.
 

Mortmal

Arcane
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
9,158
Exactly , 12 months delay on steam but day one torrent. I hope the exclusive deal is well worth it for them and cover the lost sales. People will very likely use this as moral justification to torrent it.
 

Blaine

Cis-Het Oppressor
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Grab the Codex by the pussy
I don't give a flying fuck about morality or ethics. I'm able to download cracked games via torrents while avoiding detection through a professional VPN, so there's absolutely nothing they can do about it.

I've got my personal principles, that's all. I'm set for life when it comes to money and have no qualms paying for games, shows, and films—if the distribution vector is reasonable by my own standards. Bear in mind that I'm the guy who gave away twelve copies of Underrail simply because I love the game. It's not about the money. Until Genesis Alpha One went Epic-exclusive, I hadn't pirated a single game for something like a decade.

On the subject of waiting a year or two for a game to receive all of its bundled DLC, bug fixes, and so on, I've been doing that for many years already with regard to most titles. I generally make exceptions for indie incline (Underrail, Factorio), Kickstarter RPGs and adventure games (though not anymore; learned my lesson), and sometimes private server multiplayer games that I can play with buddies, since halfway-decent ones are as rare as tits on an eagle. Most consumers are incapable of being patient, though, and an additional year on top of today's typical massive delays before a game hits v1.0 is functionally identical to exclusivity. Apologists can stop bullshitting about that right now.
 

cvv

Arcane
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Kingdom of Bohemia
Codex+ Now Streaming!
Steam doesn't require, demand, bribe, or otherwise coerce developers or publishers to secure exclusivity.

Without any real competition you don't have to pay for exclusive deals. If Steam/Epic were closely matched opponents (like Sony/MS) and Steam still didn't stoop to paying for exclusives, now that'd be something to respect.

Plus I'm still yet to grasp what's the difference between 1st party and 3rd party exclusives. Some people seem to be ok with the former while the latter triggers the everloving fuck out of them even though the end result for the customer is exactly the same.

The very fact that the creation of DRM client exclusivity

First, if you try to think about it with a stone cold logic - could you realistically overcome 15 years worth of customer ecosystem with just "better features"? How many people would install and start using another launcher just because it's a bit prettier and has better trading cards when they already have 100+ games on Steam? Would you? Thought so.

And second, both Epic and Steam only offer DRM option to the devs and publishers. It's entirely up to the devs if they want to have their game DRM protected. There are scores of games on Steam that run without the launcher and same for Epic. I bought Ashen, it's a fantastic Souls-like and it's completely DRM free. And Outer Worlds will run without the launcher too btw.
 

Blaine

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Grab the Codex by the pussy
Steam doesn't require, demand, bribe, or otherwise coerce developers or publishers to secure exclusivity.

Without any real competition you don't have to pay for exclusive deals. If Steam/Epic were closely matched opponents (like Sony/MS) and Steam still didn't stoop to paying for exclusives, now that'd be something to respect.

Ah, a true Codex rarity—a reasonable and logical counterargument.

It's true that Steam is deeply entrenched, has almost all of the clout, and that carving out a slice of their digital distribution pie is guaranteed to be a near-vertical uphill battle. This is indisputable fact, and I'm well aware of it. Furthermore, something I've rarely (if ever) seen discussed is the hard reality that there are very few ways to meaningfully diversify within the gaming industry. Digital distribution of a wide variety and large number of games is by far the most attractive option for diversification, but the barriers to entry are obscenely high due to Valve's monopoly.

The very fact that the creation of DRM client exclusivity

First, if you try to think about it with a stone cold logic - could you realistically overcome 15 years worth of customer ecosystem with just "better features"? How many people would install and start using another launcher just because it's a bit prettier and has better trading cards when they already have 100+ games on Steam? Would you? Thought so.

This may not be obvious from the way I choose to phrase my arguments, but I don't think that Epic is wrong in any sense of the word. In actuality, using their substantial Fortnite loot to invest in diversification before the goose stops laying is probably the best possible move they can make. Bribing/coercing publishers into exclusive deals may even be the best way to brute-force their way into digital distribution.

However, I am not Epic. Their financial health and business strategies are none of my concern. I am what I am, namely a consumer—and like Epic, I'm first and foremost concerned with my own needs. Therefore, while I'm perfectly capable of understanding Epic's situation and motives, I'm by no means obligated to support or endorse their strategy, because as far as I'm concerned their chosen strategy is anti-consumer. Certainly, their strategy represents an annoyance and an inconvenience to me, and provides no clear benefit to me beyond vague aphorisms and inspirational quotes about competition being a good thing.

I really don't give a damn about the client's features, as long as it allows me to download, update, and launch the games I've purchased. I suppose at this point it is nice to have a friend list and basic chat function, but any client can implement that as easily as breathing. Therefore, the only possible benefits a different client can offer me are substantially faster download speeds (in my case, ~8 mb/sec through Steam) or even lower prices. Coercing me to register and install additional DRM clients because some other corporation wants more profits is a flat-out inconvenience and annoyance, and each new client also expands the odds that some Chilean will somehow gain access to my account and buy FIFA 2022 with my credit card info or whatever.

And second, both Epic and Steam only offer DRM option to the devs and publishers. It's entirely up to the devs if they want to have their game DRM protected. There are scores of games on Steam that run without the launcher and same for Epic. I bought Ashen, it's a fantastic Souls-like and it's completely DRM free. And Outer Worlds will run without the launcher too btw.

While technically true, that's like saying that you've merely offered slices of birthday cake to a roomful of five-year-old children. For the great majority of publishers and developers, the built-in DRM is a major or even the primary selling point.
 

cvv

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while I'm perfectly capable of understanding Epic's situation and motives, I'm by no means obligated to support or endorse their strategy, because as far as I'm concerned their chosen strategy is anti-consumer.

Perfectly understandable. But my take is basically: short-term vs. long-term. I choose to be an optimist and hope their undeniably anti-consumer exclusive policy today is a relatively small price to pay (since the clients are free) for an overall better market tomorrow.

Valve will almost certainly drop their revenue cut from 30% to a lower one which will result in a variety of beneficial effects downstream. They might also start actually making games again, shaken up from their slumber as they were. And it's already been leaked they're planning new features like dedicated servers for 3rd party games which is simply incredible.

In a few years this heightened competition could transform the market just as substantially as the competition in the telephone or ISP business years ago. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
 

V_K

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at a Nowhere near you
while I'm perfectly capable of understanding Epic's situation and motives, I'm by no means obligated to support or endorse their strategy, because as far as I'm concerned their chosen strategy is anti-consumer.

Perfectly understandable. But my take is basically: short-term vs. long-term. I choose to be an optimist and hope their undeniably anti-consumer exclusive policy today is a relatively small price to pay (since the clients are free) for an overall better market tomorrow.

Valve will almost certainly drop their revenue cut from 30% to a lower one which will result in a variety of beneficial effects downstream. They might also start actually making games again, shaken up from their slumber as they were. And it's already been leaked they're planning new features like dedicated servers for 3rd party games which is simply incredible.

In a few years this heightened competition could transform the market just as substantially as the competition in the telephone or ISP business years ago. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
I envy your optimism, but I don't see any ground for it. Sweeney said repeatedly in interviews that he believes Steam already has all the features a consumer needs - which basically translates to that they're not even planning to try competing with Steam in terms of user experience. Which in turn means that to win that battle Valve doesn't have to do a damn thing, but just wait out until Fortnite money well runs dry. I'm fairly certain that the new Steam features were planned long before Epic emerged just in a bid of increasing profits, without any fear of competition. If anything, all the backlash Epic has been getting should have told the Valve suits that they have nothing to fear.
 

cvv

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Sweeney said repeatedly in interviews that he believes Steam already has all the features a consumer needs - which basically translates to that they're not even planning to try competing with Steam in terms of user experience.

WCCFepicgamesstoreroadmap.jpg
 

V_K

Arcane
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Sweeney said repeatedly in interviews that he believes Steam already has all the features a consumer needs - which basically translates to that they're not even planning to try competing with Steam in terms of user experience.

WCCFepicgamesstoreroadmap.jpg
That's not competing, that's catching up. The fact that they started operation without at least half of them implemented only shows how pathetic a competitor they are.
 

cosmicray

Savant
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Messages
436
Steam doesn't require, demand, bribe, or otherwise coerce developers or publishers to secure exclusivity.
They do offer Steamworks, which I believe requires the game to be Steam exclusive in terms of DRM/client. On a technical level of course, not some legal contract.
 

Blaine

Cis-Het Oppressor
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Grab the Codex by the pussy
Steam doesn't require, demand, bribe, or otherwise coerce developers or publishers to secure exclusivity.
They do offer Steamworks, which I believe requires the game to be Steam exclusive in terms of DRM/client. On a technical level of course, not some legal contract.

Well, there's this:

Your product must use Steam Wallet for any in-game transactions.
This means that your product cannot link to other store pages that does not offer Steam Wallet.

I doubt that use of Steamworks requires exclusivity even on a technical level, though. Despite that stipulation, a F2P MMO (for example) with its own proprietary launcher and infrastructure separate from the Steam/Steamworks version need not offer Steam Wallet for transactions through the proprietary client. There are plenty of MMOs on Steam that also offer direct proprietary clients, although I'm not sure how many of them actually integrate Steamworks.
 

Sentinel

Arcane
Joined
Nov 18, 2015
Messages
6,633
Location
Ommadawn
Steam doesn't require, demand, bribe, or otherwise coerce developers or publishers to secure exclusivity.
They do offer Steamworks, which I believe requires the game to be Steam exclusive in terms of DRM/client. On a technical level of course, not some legal contract.
wut
there's plenty of games that stack other DRM AND clients on top of Steamworks (Ubisoft trash for example)
 

samuraigaiden

Arcane
Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Messages
1,954
Location
Harare
RPG Wokedex
Sweeney said repeatedly in interviews that he believes Steam already has all the features a consumer needs - which basically translates to that they're not even planning to try competing with Steam in terms of user experience.

WCCFepicgamesstoreroadmap.jpg
That's not competing, that's catching up. The fact that they started operation without at least half of them implemented only shows how pathetic a competitor they are.

And that's why they are buying support away from Steam.
 

cosmicray

Savant
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Messages
436
Steam doesn't require, demand, bribe, or otherwise coerce developers or publishers to secure exclusivity.
They do offer Steamworks, which I believe requires the game to be Steam exclusive in terms of DRM/client. On a technical level of course, not some legal contract.
wut
there's plenty of games that stack other DRM AND clients on top of Steamworks (Ubisoft trash for example)
I don't know how it works but supposedy you need Steam client for Steamworks API. You can release the version without Steamworks if you want, but that would be a different version.
 

Reinhardt

Arcane
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
29,228
Plus I'm still yet to grasp what's the difference between 1st party and 3rd party exclusives.
It's like difference between "i don't like you and i won't talk to you" and "i don't like him, don't you dare talk to him!"
 

Diggfinger

Arcane
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
1,200
Location
Belgium
That sucks ass.

Hopefully they (they = higher management, not Tim/Leon), will be dissuaeded from this stupid decision.
If not, guess I'll have to buy it on Windows whatever platform.

But wait! I'm getting the physical copy!
Shithead: you still have to download dolla dolla biils ya'll
 

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