Epic Games Store - the console war comes to PC

[Fishy]

... @@ did Goose Game really sell only 151k copies??? Based on how widespreaded the memes were, I legit expected it to do Cuphead's numbers.

151k on Epic. But it also sold on PS4, XBox and Switch.

 

[DalekFlay]

On the bright side, we have ammunition for The Outer Worlds Sale Analysis thread now

Because of GamePass, it really means nothing.

 

[Reinhardt]

If I were an impoverished teenager, you can bet I'd have an Epic account with 30+ free games that include some absolute gems.

Absolute gems for teenager playing fortnite?

 

[Fishy]

If I were an impoverished teenager, you can bet I'd have an Epic account with 30+ free games that include some absolute gems.

Absolute gems for teenager playing fortnite?

The ones that will only play shitty mp games will just keep feeding the company no matter what, they're irrelevant. The giveaways are securing the ones that actually have some taste.

 

[Reinhardt]

The giveaways are securing the ones that actually have some taste.

There is zero good games in Epic Store.

 

[Fishy]

The giveaways are securing the ones that actually have some taste.

There is zero good games in Epic Store.

I'm afraid I haven't been here long enough to tell if you're just pushing that line simply because you wish them to fail or because you actually have very specific tastes with regards to games. Just a quick glance at the list shows, amongst other things: Talos Principle, Hyper Light Drifter, Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, FTL, Celeste, Rayman Legends, World of Goo, The Witness, Axiom Verge, Super Meat Boy and Subnautica. It may be pretty bare with regards to RPGs but that's pretty solid games in their respective genres.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Red Dead Redemption 2 received a substantial boost after launching on Steam. Digital unit sales more than doubled from 406K in November to 1.0M in December. The game became available on Steam on December 5, one month after releasing elsewhere including the Epic Games Store and Rockstar Games Launcher. This brief exclusivity window was advertised in advance, so many players simply waited a short period to play the game on their preferred launcher.

https://www.superdataresearch.com/blog/worldwide-digital-games-market

 

[Volrath]

I predicted that the Epic Store will likely stick around for a long while, and seeing this I'm not so sure anymore

Imho they're here for the long run. Fortnite is Sweeney's Facebook: a huge, insane money spinner that ensures he can throw as much cash as he wants at his problems. And at the end of the day, gamers can very much be bought over. It's just a question of time, and they're playing it right. They already have a huge userbase with accounts that will grow up and start spending their own money in a few years, and with their continued giveaways, they ensure that your average gamer has a vast pre-existing Epic library which will make them less unlikely to purchase additional stuff there. GOG was super smart in sort of doing this with Connect, but Epic's wallet is just so huge it's a behemoth that will hardly stop. I have no doubt they'll secure their share of the market. The only thing that could stop them is Sweeney suddenly deciding (again) that only consoles are worth investing into and pc gamers are all pirating paupers.

If I were an impoverished teenager, you can bet I'd have an Epic account with 30+ free games that include some absolute gems. It's a no-brainer if you don't have the cash.

In 5 years nobody will even remember what Fortnite looked like

 

[Spectacle]

I predicted that the Epic Store will likely stick around for a long while, and seeing this I'm not so sure anymore

Imho they're here for the long run. Fortnite is Sweeney's Facebook: a huge, insane money spinner that ensures he can throw as much cash as he wants at his problems. And at the end of the day, gamers can very much be bought over. It's just a question of time, and they're playing it right. They already have a huge userbase with accounts that will grow up and start spending their own money in a few years, and with their continued giveaways, they ensure that your average gamer has a vast pre-existing Epic library which will make them less unlikely to purchase additional stuff there. GOG was super smart in sort of doing this with Connect, but Epic's wallet is just so huge it's a behemoth that will hardly stop. I have no doubt they'll secure their share of the market. The only thing that could stop them is Sweeney suddenly deciding (again) that only consoles are worth investing into and pc gamers are all pirating paupers.

If I were an impoverished teenager, you can bet I'd have an Epic account with 30+ free games that include some absolute gems. It's a no-brainer if you don't have the cash.

In 5 years nobody will even remember what Fortnite looked like

Bro, there's a generation whose entire childhood is defined by fortnite and minecraft. Get ready for fortnite nostalgia products for the next 90 years.

 

[DalekFlay]

This "I don't like Fortnite so it's a failure and irrelevant" mindset some have is truly baffling.

 

[J_C]

This "I don't like Fortnite so it's a failure and irrelevant" mindset some have is truly baffling.

Welcome to the Codex, where game are considered a flop if they don't adhere to the Codex standards.

 

[Dexter]

This "I don't like Fortnite so it's a failure and irrelevant" mindset some have is truly baffling.

of who exactly said that.

Fortnite is a fad game held aloft and propagated by PR and its own popularity, these usually have a shelf life from somewhere between 3-7 years, often cut short by the newest fad popping up and stealing all the lamplight/glory.

With 3 years under its belt, it's most likely already past its high point of popularity and down the slope of diminishing returns: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/07/22/decline-fortnite-hurting-microsoft-gaming-business.aspx

 

[ERYFKRAD]

This "I don't like Fortnite so it's a failure and irrelevant" mindset some have is truly baffling.

Welcome to the Codex, where game are considered a flop if they don't adhere to the Codex standards.

No, they're considered shit.

 

[Tacgnol]

Do some people really think Fortnite will be around forever?

Every big multiplayer title is thought to be "too big to fail" in its golden age. They always wane. Just look at titles like WOW that are mere shadows of their former profitable glory.

 

[Cromwell]

Just look at titles like WOW that are mere shadows of their former profitable glory.

That doesnt matter much since it still is the MMo with the most active users. Its still a money machine.

 

[Tacgnol]

Just look at titles like WOW that are mere shadows of their former profitable glory.

That doesnt matter much since it still is the MMo with the most active users. Its still a money machine.

It is nowhere near the money machine it was. Blizzard stopped releasing subscriber numbers to investors out of fear of people jumping ship.

 

[Cromwell]

It is nowhere near the money machine it was. Blizzard stopped releasing subscriber numbers to investors out of fear of people jumping ship.

yes I know but to my knowledge there isnt an MMo thats more profitable (I dont know about asian whalehunters). WOW started in 2004 thats 16 yers and it still makes a lot of money, Fortnite started in 2017. In Internet Time 16 Years may as well be forever.

 

[Tacgnol]

It is nowhere near the money machine it was. Blizzard stopped releasing subscriber numbers to investors out of fear of people jumping ship.

yes I know but to my knowledge there isnt an MMo thats more profitable (I dont know about asian whalehunters). WOW started in 2004 thats 16 yers and it still makes a lot of money, Fortnite started in 2017. In Internet Time 16 Years may as well be forever.

Possibly. I think MMORPGs probably have slightly more lasting power due to persistence.

My suspicion is Fortnite will be crushed by the next big fad/obsession, especially considering how young a lot of their fanbase are.

Time will tell.

 

[Dexter]

Do some people really think Fortnite will be around forever?

Every big multiplayer title is thought to be "too big to fail" in its golden age. They always wane. Just look at titles like WOW that are mere shadows of their former profitable glory.

I pointed out the inherently cyclical and fad-based nature of the Online PC Gaming industry since the 2000s in another thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...-goes-bankrupt-rip.121181/page-6#post-5575917

WOW is a good example, while it hasn't exactly been entirely forgotten due to constant attempts at rejuvenation with expansions, remakes and shit, it's long lost its cultural ubiquity.
It fell from ~12 million Subscribers in its heyday of popularity to under 2 million in 2018, likely headed to Sub 1 million soon:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/10/07/world-of-warcraft-reaches-12-million-subscribers
https://gadgets.ndtv.com/games/news...ubscription-numbers-battle-of-azeroth-1932930

Fortnite isn't even an MMO, but more akin to shooters and Survival games that seem to generally have a shorter shelf life. Anyone still remember when "DayZ" was "the thing"? Team Fortress 2 or Overwatch? Apex Legends, which was extremely short-lived? Remember when PUBG had over 3,2 million peak player count and was the shit everyone had to talk about in 2017 and now it's barely talked about/Streamed and often drops below 200k?

Afaik the only two Online Multiplayer genres with moderate longevity to them seem to be F2P MOBAs (League of Legends/DOTA 2), although they've also somewhat lost their luster and heavily competitive Shooters like Counter Strike, although they went through various iterations e.g. Counter Strike/Source/Global Offensive to refresh their playerbase. People who think that "Fortnite" will still be on people's minds 5 years from now are delusional.

 

[J_C]

Do some people really think Fortnite will be around forever?

Every big multiplayer title is thought to be "too big to fail" in its golden age. They always wane. Just look at titles like WOW that are mere shadows of their former profitable glory.

I pointed out the inherently cyclical and fad-based nature of the Online PC Gaming industry since the 2000s in another thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.p...-goes-bankrupt-rip.121181/page-6#post-5575917

WOW is a good example, while it hasn't exactly been entirely forgotten due to constant attempts at rejuvenation with expansions, remakes and shit, it's long lost its cultural ubiquity.
It fell from ~12 million Subscribers in its heyday of popularity to under 2 million in 2018, likely headed to Sub 1 million soon:
https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/10/07/world-of-warcraft-reaches-12-million-subscribers
https://gadgets.ndtv.com/games/news...ubscription-numbers-battle-of-azeroth-1932930

Fortnite isn't even an MMO, but more akin to shooters and Survival games that seem to generally have a shorter shelf life. Anyone still remember when "DayZ" was "the thing"? Team Fortress 2 or Overwatch? Apex Legends, which was extremely short-lived? Remember when PUBG had over 3,2 million peak player count and was the shit everyone had to talk about in 2017 and now it's barely talked about/Streamed and often drops below 200k?

Afaik the only two Online Multiplayer genres with moderate longevity to them seem to be F2P MOBAs (League of Legends/DOTA 2), although they've also somewhat lost their luster and heavily competitive Shooters like Counter Strike, although they went through various iterations e.g. Counter Strike/Source/Global Offensive to refresh their playerbase. People who think that "Fortnite" will still be on people's minds 5 years from now are delusional.

I'm not saying that Fortnite will be around forever, but there is nothing that indicates that it will crash in five or six years. As you said, there are games (usually free games) which are still around and kicking hard, like LoL and Dota2. There is no reason why Fortnite can be just as relevant in 5 years as now. CS managed to do the same, and you have to pay for that game.

 

[DalekFlay]

Fortnite is a fad game held aloft and propagated by PR and its own popularity, these usually have a shelf life from somewhere between 3-7 years, often cut short by the newest fad popping up and stealing all the lamplight/glory.

With 3 years under its belt, it's most likely already past its high point of popularity and down the slope of diminishing returns: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/07/22/decline-fortnite-hurting-microsoft-gaming-business.aspx

Being on the downslope doesn't mean it won't be incredibly profitable and relatively popular, as games like DotA2 and whatnot show. Also either way, it is such a massively popular thing it won't be dead and forgotten for a long fucking time. That's the idea I was responding to... "soon enough no one will care about Fortnite." Bullshit, in 20 years you'll have Fortnite nostalgia products like we do today for Jurassic Park. It was a cultural phenomenon for Gen Y or whatever we're calling them.

More relevant to the discussion is the fact Epic will have a war chest for quite a while to use in their quest to shove their dick in Steam's wife.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

If I were an impoverished teenager, you can bet I'd pirated everything I could lay my eyes on. It's a no-brainer if you don't have the cash.

ftfy.

 

[ultimanecat]

Rocket League developer Psyonix gets bought by Epic last year in May:

We expect to bring Rocket League to the Epic Games store and to leverage our new relationship to grow the game in ways we couldn’t do on our own before. We believe that bringing Rocket League to new audiences with more support is a win for everybody.

Rocket League developer Psyonix cancels support for the Linux and Mac versions of the game, which have been around since 2016:

As we continue to upgrade Rocket League with new technologies, it is no longer viable for us to maintain support for the macOS and Linux platforms.

"Grow the game in ways we couldn't do on our own"
"More support is a win for everybody"

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

You might think this is because Steam supports Linux and Mac. Rest assured, human, that this is not the case. There is nothing to be concerned about.

 

[Tacgnol]

You might think this is because Steam supports Linux and Mac. Rest assured, human, that this is not the case. There is nothing to be concerned about.

I swear Tim looks more and more bloated in every photo I see of him.

Does Tim think the key to Gabe's success is his diet?