Epic Games Store - the console war comes to PC

[Reinhardt]

Their store improved a lot actually.

So it got shopping cart?

 

[SionIV]

I'm happy that Steam put down their foot when it came to advertisement on their platform for games that are EGS exclusive.

Dear publishers, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

 

[passerby]

Well according to the quote below it's not new and Valve choose not to act on this point of their ToS yet.
On one hand it's an advertisement for these games while they are on Epic store, on the other it's a reminder that they'll be on Steam within few months.
These pages most proably do not affect much and it's unclear whether they cause more customers to seek out these games on Epic, or rather remind them to wait until they release on Steam.

The article people are commenting about is on their distribution agreement since 2017, it isn't news accordingly to some sources.

 

[Drakron]

On one hand it's an advertisement for these games while they are on Epic store, on the other it's a reminder that they'll be on Steam within few months.

Most sales are done in the first 2 weeks, six months later isnt going to push many sales.

And this is why Epic is doing what they are ... and Microsoft and Sony with timed exclusives, be it games or DLC since most sales are done on the first two weeks, Steam loses sales from those games because they are being driven to another store, of course until the first exclusive games run out its theoretical the differences of sales as how much Steam lost from timed exclusivity but that will only be known next year when the first batch of exclusives will cease to be such, Hades is December and its one of the earliest ones (and being EA doesnt really count).

Also being "new" is relative, Metro Exodus seem to been added 3 years ago as " Project Malta" as those agreements of games that gone exclusive might been done pre-2017, speaking of that I am seeing they changed/added packages on Steam for Metro Exodus - Gold Edition 21 days ago, that is of course the game + season pass + OST + Artbook, of course some games are definitely breaking it such as Hades that didnt even had a page and its still 3 months from release despite being sold in another store.

 

[Hirato]

I interpret it as such:
You're required to provide a build to steam in a time frame of (whichever is later)
a) Within 30 days of signing the agreement and creating the store page, or
b) On the game's release.
Let's face it, this stuff doesn't always go smoothly, so you need some leeway...


Then there's 4 basic ways it can play out, depending on how anal you (or Valve in this case) are about rules...
1. Adhere to the agreement and its spirit
a. You create the store page ahead of time to build hype, accept preorders, etc, and release the game as normal
b. You release as an epic store exclusive; a steam page is revealed for the first time 11-12 months later as the exclusivity deal is about to lapse.

2. Adhere to the agreement, but not its spirit
a. Metro Exodus is a prime example, they did a last minute bait and switch, but they are adhering to the agreement as they are honouring preorders and providing those people with a playable game, patches, and support.

3. Adhere to the agreement, but utterly violate its spirit
a. Release the game as an exclusive on other platforms, and maintain a steam store page (with preoders and sales disabled); a build is uploaded to steam and maintained in concert with the other platforms.
This technically fulfills the explicit requirements of the contract, as there is a build; but it isn't available to anyone to actually use or play with.
I'll be very curious to see if Valve will put a stop to developers exploiting this technicality.

4. Violate the agreement and its spirit
a. Release on epic and maintain a steam store page until the game's exclusivity period is up, without even maintaining a build that's inaccessible to the public.
Bonus points if "pre-orders" and stuff are available during this time.


There hasn't really been any need to enforce it before now, even with Metro Exodus.
But there's definitely going to be a need to be see that get enforced for say, The Outer Worlds.

 

[V_K]

3. Adhere to the agreement, but utterly violate its spirit
a. Release the game as an exclusive on other platforms, and maintain a steam store page (with preoders and sales disabled); a build is uploaded to steam and maintained in concert with the other platforms.
This technically fulfills the explicit requirements of the contract, as there is a build; but it isn't available to anyone to actually use or play with.
I'll be very curious to see if Valve will put a stop to developers exploiting this technicality.

The agreement says "submit Application to Steam for release", so there's no such technicality.

 

[LESS T_T]

Valve is putting an end to free advertisement for Epic exclusives.

https://www.lowyat.net/2019/193548/valve-new-stipulation-to-steam-distribution-agreement/

A Reddit user has found that Valve has added a new item in the Steam Distribution Agreement. It’s a complicated couple of sentences, but it essentially means two things.

One is that if a developer or publisher has not made a Steam page for its upcoming game, then when it does it will have to release the game at the same time as on other platforms. The second is that if a game is already released, then developers and publishers can create a page for it no earlier 30 days before its release on Steam.

Normally, this document will never be seen by the public, as you have to sign up as a developer first. But it implies that Valve want to stop developers and publishers from using Steam just to advertise their game. Metro Exodus comes immediately to mind as an example, following its last minute announcement as an Epic exclusive.

This game would be the case if that item has any effect. The store page is approved by Valve at some point:

Steam page live despite the Epic exclusivity:



This is supposed coming out May next year if it was the standard 1-year exclusivity. I guess the thing in the Steam Distribution Agreement is actually not a thing?

 

[passerby]

Either signing Steam Distribution Agreement is not necessary to have an inactive store page up, but only to actually start selling pre-orders for example, or Valve chooses not to enforce it.

I don't think they loose anything, imagine a normie that doesn't follow game industry news and doesn't know about timed exclusivity deals.
He learn somehow about the game, searches on Steam and doesn't find it, searches on Google and finds it on Epic.
With the page up he can at least find out it's coming to Steam eventually and consider waiting.

 

[Perkel]

In other news. Epic apparently has good customer service. I did refund of Borderlands 3 because friend bailed on me and said he won't play with me bl3 after all and i was not interested in playing it alone:

So what happens when developer/publisher violates said agreement?

They can ban developer/publisher from publishing their games on their store. Which wouldn't be huge issue if Steam was not a monopoly and didn't hold their balls in their hands. One more reason to have Epic or other competitors to shake market.

I can't wait to see how Kotaku will spin this as an evil and anti-competitive move on Valve's part against the poor, downtrodden Epic store.

Hmm almost as if Velve the biggest player on market that can be described easily as monopoly are forcing developers into give them special care or they won't be allowed to publish their games in order to fight it out with Epic.

Yeah evil and anti-competitive against downtrodden Epic store and every other store seems like good description.
Something like this happened between Sony and MS while back ago and back then Steam users were joking about retarded consoles and their practices. The irony is real that you can almost touch it.

If Epic will reach Steam status you would have a problem with such thing if they were the one who did that.

Hmmm, developer makes fake steam page, collect preorders and get hype going on for their game, lying to their customers, then sign exclusivity deal with epic

Man advertises his potatoes in Tesco and then he dares to sell them in Wallmart because Wallmart gave them better therms to sell their potatoes there. Now people who like potatoes are supposedly angry that they will have to go to store 1meter away.

 

[JarlFrank]

Hmm almost as if Velve the biggest player on market that can be described easily as monopoly are forcing developers into give them special care or they won't be allowed to publish their games in order to fight it out with Epic.

Ok so not abusing a storefront on which you are not going to publish your game during the exclusivity period as a free advertising platform is "giving Valve special care" now.

Brb gonna open up a small grocery store, then walk into my local Aldi or Lidl (or Walmart if I were Murrican) carrying a big sign that advertises my grocery store, without buying anything at the supermarket I'm strolling through.

If they throw me out I will complain.

 

[Volrath]

Perkel's doubling down and going full retard I see.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Perkel's doubling down and going full retard I see.

If he's doubling down, isn't he going double retard?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Hmm almost as if Velve the biggest player on market that can be described easily as monopoly

 

[Perkel]

Perkel's doubling down and going full retard I see.

Steamtards are not learning creatures and communism flows in their blood. Hard to explain to communist how full plate and full store shelves look like. They need to taste it themselves to believe it.

I hope 10 more Epic like stores will open up and render Steam new releases only to RPGmaker games and endless shovelware.
One, it would make steamtards absolutely hilarious, Two i would get sales all year without need to wait and since there are sales all year someone will figure out to drive prices even more down trying to out-compete someone else from market.

The bigger news is Valve having marketing people.

Well they have competition now so... If they want to compete hiring someone for marketing is probably good move.
They will also have to think about giving away free games, extra store credits, extra sales, game promotion to make developers and customers happy. Amazing thing that thing called competition.

Anything that breaks a monopoly is good. Sure it would suck to have multiple softwares and launchers to run games, but at least it will ensure lower prices.

There is critical point at which having to many stores will force developers into using store strictly as store not as social platform. Which means we would be back to good old days of not giving a fuck in which store you buy what and your games not attached to some retarded store like in case of GOG.

It won't affect prices at all in the long run. Prices of an intelectual property with no replication cost are determined primarily by what consumers are willing to pay. Stores competition may result in smaller cut acros all stores, that will statistically result in more profit per copy for publisher, not smaller price which is set by publisher to maximise revenue depending on what customers are wiling to pay.

Nigga please. What does "sales everyday" sounds to you ? Because that will force prices down. Stores also will have to spend money on promotion because they will have to fight with eachother. Which means, free games, discounts on hot games and so on.

Food market in most of nations operate on 2% margins and yet they hire more people, run physical spaces and buildings, fleet of cars and still have time to make wicked promotions as they HAVE to compete with other stores.

Steam mostly improved because they fought with retail not with digital competition. But they won that battle and now they are in field with no competition.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Food market in most of nations operate on 2% margins and yet they hire more people, run physical spaces and buildings, fleet of cars and still have time to make wicked promotions as they HAVE to compete with other stores hire desperate people and pay them nearly nothing.

FTFY.

Steam already has multiple competitors, look up a game on isthereanydeal.com and you'll find most games being sold on a bunch of other platforms. Though they often include a steam key if it's available. It's not as though steam is sitting around never putting anything on sale because nobody else will sell games. Digital distribution is dirt cheap. Digital publicity... not so much. And that's what steam brings besides it's other features, and there it's got competition from huge platforms that don't even sell games.

Epic is like a lamprey latched onto steam's belly, signing exclusive deals on the unifnished betas of games so they can do a proper release on steam once their game isn't shit any more. It's success will hinge on whether people prefer to play a game ASAP or in it's best state.

 

[JarlFrank]

I hope 10 more Epic like stores will open up and render Steam new releases only to RPGmaker games and endless shovelware.
One, it would make steamtards absolutely hilarious, Two i would get sales all year without need to wait and since there are sales all year someone will figure out to drive prices even more down trying to out-compete someone else from market.

Yeah, because devs are going to sell their games for 5 bucks year round just because there are more stores

nigger do you even reality?

 

[JarlFrank]

There is critical point at which having to many stores will force developers into using store strictly as store not as social platform. Which means we would be back to good old days of not giving a fuck in which store you buy what and your games not attached to some retarded store like in case of GOG.

GoG has forums and nothing stops developers from interacting with the community in their game-specific GoG subforum.

 

[Andhaira]

GoG really fucked up big time. They started out only a realtively short while after Steam, and they could have ended up being huuuuge, a legitimate threat to Steam despite being Eastern European rather than in first worldia, but they shortchanged themselves by only trying to appeal to a niche of a niche of a niche market.

 

[Perkel]

There is critical point at which having to many stores will force developers into using store strictly as store not as social platform. Which means we would be back to good old days of not giving a fuck in which store you buy what and your games not attached to some retarded store like in case of GOG.

GoG has forums and nothing stops developers from interacting with the community in their game-specific GoG subforum.

I am not talking about stupid forum.
I am talking about store APIs for multiplayer, friends lists and other garbage that should not be tied to store.

If there will be 10 big stores there simply won't be enough players to create their own gardens and multiplayer games will die off like they do on GOG. This will force developers to completely ditch store APIs and use cross one or their own. Again people will be able to play together.

Epic is like a lamprey latched onto steam's belly, signing exclusive deals on the unifnished betas of games so they can do a proper release on steam once their game isn't shit any more. It's success will hinge on whether people prefer to play a game ASAP or in it's best state.

Is metro exodus beta ? Is BL3 beta ? Steam loses players with every game not released on their store to Epic. People use Steam to buy and play games if they can't do that they will leave steam for other stores. Simple as that.

Epic also once reaches good market penetration won't serve anymore those hot deals but at that point they will have enough grunt and userbase to compete with steam on stuff that matters for end users.

Well steam made its own bed. They should have seen this coming when EA pulled out their games. Then some of the developers and publishers. IT signaled to other players that Steam makes aweful amount of money on their cuts and the could probably take part of that cut. Ergo how Epic store opened and some other stores.

The difference between Epic and GOG is that Epic has huge war-chest and has Sweeney huge nerd behind it who is not afraid to use it. I would love to see GOG to do exactly that.

GoG really fucked up big time. They started out only a realtively short while after Steam, and they could have ended up being huuuuge, a legitimate threat to Steam despite being Eastern European rather than in first worldia, but they shortchanged themselves by only trying to appeal to a niche of a niche of a niche market.

And they didn't have huge warchest behind them. Epic is able to compete with steam because of Fornite. TW3 is big success but establish new store that can competee is serious money, much more serious than TW3 sales.

FTFY.

Steam already has multiple competitors, look up a game on isthereanydeal.com and you'll find most games being sold on a bunch of other platforms. Though they often include a steam key if it's available.

Which means they are not stores but flea markets. Aka not really a competition.

 

[Perkel]

Speaking of Epic not leaving steam fanboys at peace.

Coming next week

Either this is mistake by Epic or they will be giving out all of WB batman games in bundle.

• Lego Batman 1-3
• Arkham Asylum
• Arkham City
• Arkham Knight

Liked the first one but never get around playing city and knight.
My Epic store balance is still 0 and i got already nice amount of free games.

Seems like a win for me.

 

[Gerrard]

Anyone who admits to buying BL3 should get the Cuck tag. You are literally sucking Randy's rancid cock at this point.

 

[JarlFrank]

Is metro exodus beta ? Is BL3 beta ? Steam loses players with every game not released on their store to Epic. People use Steam to buy and play games if they can't do that they will leave steam for other stores. Simple as that.

At this point, Steam still has the better and larger collection of games compared to Epic, and people already have libraries with 100+ games on Steam so nobody will "leave" it.

 

[Perkel]

At this point, Steam still has the better and larger collection of games compared to Epic, and people already have libraries with 100+ games on Steam so nobody will "leave" it.

I mean that is why you have such an outrage. If Epic did not take important games they wouldn't care much like they don't care that humble bundle or Discord have their own exclusive games.

People rage because they know it is effective. Because sooner or later there will be game that would make them bend the rules. And we know how gamers are keeping their rules:

Imagine for a second that OtherWorlds get announced as Epic store exclusive. 3/4 people in this thread would suddenly go quiet.

Thread name is exactly right. This is effectively console fanboy war from time of PS3/X360 but without actually exclusive games as you can just play all games on your pc.

 

[V_K]

Imagine for a second that OtherWorlds get announced as Epic store exclusive

If you mean Outer Worlds, it has been announced as an Epic exclusive long ago, yet the thread is still here.
If it's not a typo, I don't have a clue what game you are talking about - as I suspect does half the thread.

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Imagine for a second that OtherWorlds get announced as Epic store exclusive

If you mean Outer Worlds, it has been announced as an Epic exclusive long ago, yet the thread is still here.
If it's not a typo, I don't have a clue what game you are talking about - as I suspect does half the thread.

Both Outer Wilds and Other Worlds are epic exlcusives....