Epic Games Store - the console war comes to PC

[Wunderbar]

fug, should have pre-ordered =(

You can still pre-order
https://store.steampowered.com/app/412020/Metro_Exodus/
Get ready for a technical mess though

quick, preorder this before it gets pulled from steam! that'll teach those greedy publishers!

 

[DeepOcean]

Unfortunately, can't buy it on steam anymore, well, well... going to the piratebay store for this one.

 

[HoboForEternity]

well into the trash it goes. shame.

hello old friend pirate bay

 

[Belegarsson]

On the bright side, I can save money for Sekiro now

Btw don't THQ Nordic own Deep Silver? I can't fathom how a GOG friendly publisher let their pet dog get away with shit like this. Pull the leash guys.

 

[DeepOcean]

So, if Epic succeeds here with its shameless bribing operation, well, we will soon have five or more stores, each one with their own launchers and each one with their own exclusives so you will need to keep browsing five different storefronts and having five different passwords you will have to remember, of course, if because of the competition, one of those stores goes under, then you will lose all your games you paid for on that store as I don't see at all other stores recognizing your purchase you did on the other stores.

I used steam out of convenience and the good deals, if things are going this way, fuck this noise and I will use crackers to preserve my sanity. Yay, all of sudden PC gaming became an incredible thing. If this reality materialize, well... it will be GOG and piratebay store for me, at least this way I can guarantee I can keep my games.

 

[unfairlight]

THQ Nordic own Deep Silver?

They do, but DS still has control over on how they deal with their shit. I hope they do something about DS because they've been consistently retarded for about 3 years now. Maybe just merge it with THQ Nordic.

I cannot fathom how this timed exclusivity deal could work out for 4A Games here. Alright, great, they get a bigger cut of the profits. But how many people are actually using the Epic store and are going to actively go out, download the installer, make an account and buy the game from there in comparison to having probably 10 times as much paying customers on Steam? The Epic store is a colossal fucking mess right now regardless, it doesn't even have a search bar yet, I'm not kidding.

 

[JDR13]

cdkeys.com still has some Steam keys

 

[kalganoat]

I'm worried about sekiro and dying light 2

 

[cvv]

five different storefronts and having five different passwords you will have to remember,

A bone chilling vision. Life becomes literally unplayable.

 

[Urthor]

I'm going to suggest something that some might find outrageous and weird, but have you all considered launching a game from a desktop icon in the year of our lord two thousand and nine-teen and not giving the remotest fuck about who the storefront/seller sold it to you?

The only ones who are actually worse off are the ones who need regional pricing to afford the game, and while I sympathise with their plight for it is genuine let's be real, how many of those who post on the Codex were going to legitimately purchase this specimen of video entertainment?

 

[frajaq]

You caught me, the last time I spent money on a videogame was last year with PoE 2, and also some money for stashes in Path of Exike. I just love some fake outrage like many people.

 

[waterdeep]

ACTUAL competition would be putting the game on both stores and letting the market decide for themselves.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Piratechads win again

Gaben says piracy is a service problem and there may be something to that since I'm not feeling served by Metro being Epic exclusive. I guess I'll see what happens when the game releases.

I'm going to suggest something that some might find outrageous and weird, but have you all considered launching a game from a desktop icon in the year of our lord two thousand and nine-teen and not giving the remotest fuck about who the storefront/seller sold it to you?

The only ones who are actually worse off are the ones who need regional pricing to afford the game, and while I sympathise with their plight for it is genuine let's be real, how many of those who post on the Codex were going to legitimately purchase this specimen of video entertainment?

I mean I buy a lot of videogames. I've even bought games that were exclusive to Origin due to being EA-published. But that's different than bribing third party publishers with promises of jars of delicious, delicious Chinese honey.

 

[RapineDel]

Last time I bought a full price AAA game was... less then a week ago with Resident Evil 2. If it was an Epic store exclusive I wouldn't have bought it. For one I'm in Australia so I was able to buy a key for $56 AUD (40 USD) while Metro Exodus is around 70AUD even with a key so it's a price hike already.

The issue is not with installing a piece of software, it's that the Epic store does not have a single feature or benefit to it. The only reason they're getting a sale is because they've taking a game hostage thanks to a greedy publisher. To actually go and buy it and make excuses for it is a terrible idea because other publishers will be watching. Bethesda, EA, Ubisoft etc. will be looking with glee if these games sell well as it gives them more motivation to hide their games behind a single storefront as well (which they're already starting to do). It's not just a simple buy and play thing either, every one of these launchers are filled to the brim with separate advertisements/marketing, anything and everything to keep you buying everything from them which makes the experience awful.

They talk about more options and competition but all it will mean is everyone hiding behind their own store, if anything games will get more expensive as these practices become accepted as if you want the game you have no choice. It's only a matter of time before you buy a game on Steam, only to find out if you want to play the latest expansion of something you'll need the exclusive Epic Store edition.

 

[RapineDel]

Piratechads win again

Gaben says piracy is a service problem and there may be something to that since I'm not feeling served by Metro being Epic exclusive. I guess I'll see what happens when the game releases.

He's right. A lack of service effectively killed the music industry in the early 2000s when Napster etc. were providing a good service that just happened to be free. Things like Itunes were tedious and inconvenient (basically DRM for music) and anyone with sense was just grabbing things off Rapidshare and torrent to get the more user friendly experience. People are too used to it now and with things like YouTube there's not turning back. The only good service was exclusively free for far too long for them to ever really turn it around to being profitable again, thinks like Spotify don't change that.

 

[cvv]

They talk about more options and competition but all it will mean is everyone hiding behind their own store

Yes, that's the general idea of competition. And considering how "hidden" Metro is everyone was able to sniff it out p. quick.

 

[Cyberarmy]

 

[RapineDel]

They talk about more options and competition but all it will mean is everyone hiding behind their own store

Yes, that's the general idea of competition. And considering how "hidden" Metro is everyone was able to sniff it out p. quick.

That's not how they described it. GOG doesn't get ridiculed because it actually offers a point of difference. You have the option of getting the game DRM free.

With the Epic store you're guaranteed to have a worse experience, there's not a single feature for the benefit of the purchaser compared to Steam (which in itself certainly isn't perfect). Again, actually buying this game from the Epic store makes the industry worse so there's no "Piracy is wrong" here, it's the way to go.

 

[cvv]

That's not how they described it. GOG doesn't get ridiculed because it actually offers a point of difference. You have the option of getting the game DRM free.

Oh sure, that's why I'm GOG fanboy and buy everything there if possible.

But in case you haven't noticed GOG sells almost exclusively old or smaller titles. That's the price for DRM free - big publishers don't like it. So it's not a real competition for Steam and never will be.

 

[RapineDel]

That's not how they described it. GOG doesn't get ridiculed because it actually offers a point of difference. You have the option of getting the game DRM free.

Oh sure, that's why I'm GOG fanboy and buy everything there if possible.

But in case you haven't noticed GOG sells almost exclusively old or smaller titles. That's the price for DRM free - big publishers don't like it. So it's not a real competition for Steam and never will be.

The issue that really needs to be tackled is the games library issue. Anyone defensive about Steam couldn't give a toss about Gabe, the Steam launcher of anything like that, it's their library, achievements, friends list being in one place. and mixing things around undermines that for a lot of those people. What there really needs to be is some sort of third party software that captures all that, all games, regardless of store can be stored on it (and will run without having to download anybodies launcher). The challenges of that are well over my head and I'm aware DRM would still need to work just as well (sadly) but that's the real solution to killing Steam, not a few random exclusives for games that can't really be considered mainstream.

If the actual game purchasing was kept to linking to a publishers website I don't think people would care, it's having to keep multiple clients scattered around your computer with countless friends lists and passwords that rubs people the wrong way.

 

[cvv]

Neither multiple clients nor passwords are a problem if you launch games from your desktop.

Exclusives are not a problem either, people will be dragged to Epic kicking and screaming just like they were dragged to Steam, uPlay, Battle.net, Origins, PS or XBOX. Most people who swear today to never touch Epic will be using it within a year, it's always like this.

But I do get the concern about achievements, friends, reviews, forums etc. I agree Epic won't start truly threatening Steam unless they drop the simplicity approach and start doing what Steam has been doing.

 

[Paul_cz]

Fuck Epic Fail Store. I canceled the aurora edition preorder aftera I learned it will use it. Wanted the steelbook/artbook, but fuck em. Got the steam version instead.

Will most likely refund that and go to the bay though. I hate being jerked around by these fuckwads.

 

[Doktor Best]

I was looking forward to this game, but sometimes it is more important to torch a leech.

Its not like there arent any other games to play...

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamer.com/metro-exodus-epic-store-steam/

Epic declared war on Steam today
Another day, another heist: Epic has given Metro Exodus' name another meaning.

To challenge a platform synonymous with PC gaming, the Epic Store needs its own games. That's what I said last year, and I think it remains true, but for crying out loud, Epic, stealing Metro Exodus from Steam 18 days before launch? Maybe take a sip of water and finish what's on your plate—like, say, adding cloud saves—before going back to the buffet. What a coup.

I figured Epic would start 2019 slowly, focused on playing feature catch-up with Steam, adding library sorting tools or community hubs, which it still lacks. After revealing Satisfactory, Maneater, Journey, Hades and others as exclusives last year, I didn't expect it to throw even more Fortnite V-bucks at the problem of taking on Steam. At least not so soon, and without adding new features.

But not even a full month into 2019, Epic did just that, and it's hitting so hard that Valve has actually responded for the first time. It's bizarre to see Valve on the defensive: the architect of modern PC game distribution makes declarations, not appeals. But this clearly stung. Not only did 4A Games and Deep Silver unexpectedly pull Metro Exodus from Steam—the platform both have succeeded on for years—they announced this defection on the Steam store itself. Imagine if Metro had occupied shelf space at GameStop for six months, then announced at the last minute, visibly on that same shelf, you could only buy the game at Target. Yikes.

Valve rarely responds to insults (I know, because I insult Valve all the time and they never want to talk to me), but for once it's licking its wounds publicly:

"We think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period," Valve wrote on the Metro Exodus store page. "We apologize to Steam customers that were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date, but we were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know."

War isn't fair, and as of today, Epic has properly declared it. Valve's response is pouty in comparison, a reflection of how secure Valve's walls have been until this point. It lost EA to Origin, Call of Duty to Battle.net, and now Bethesda has its own platform, but publishers defecting to first-party launchers was emigration—losses, minor rivals, but not an assault on its heartland. Epic is different: it's taking big third-party games, including The Division 2. It's putting holes in the fortress, where GOG and itch.io have only grazed it with anti-DRM discourse. Worse, Metro is cheaper on the Epic Store than on Steam, at least in the US. Brutal.

Metro is front and center on the Epic Store, naturally.

No one has ever done this
In part by being the biggest, Valve has bagged a lot of customer loyalty, but developer and publisher loyalty is for the first time being seriously called into question. Deep Silver and 4A used Steam like a storefront window display and then split. That's cold, but Valve isn't faultless: its 30 percent on-store cut, surprise announcements, and 'anything goes' Steam Direct policy have seemingly fostered the perception that Steam is a utility—a thing to be used however is convenient. What relationship Deep Silver has with Valve I don't know exactly, but the bond wasn't stronger than Epic's offer. (To be fair, we don't know how much money Epic is throwing at these exclusives, and we hope to find that out to determine just how much a defection costs.)

Right now, all it means for us is a few more decisions: whether or not we enter our credit card information into another launcher, whether we play Metro Exodus this year or next. In the long term, though, we may remember 2019 as a turning point for PC gaming.

Over a decade ago, Steam's digital distribution and auto-updating changed what was possible for games—and in doing so, it changed the kinds of games that were being made. Fast forward: DLC, microtransactions, Steamworks, Early Access, Steam Workshop, Steam Greenlight, Steam Direct, discoverability algorithms, wish lists, curators, and everything else that Steam was and is played a part in determining what we're playing today. Would there be a PC version of the Resident Evil 2 remake had Steam not been Steam? Would Euro Truck Simulator exist? We can't test the butterfly effect without a time machine, but it's no stretch to say that platforms matter. Even outside of Steam and away from the PC, the Xbox Live Arcade affected PC gaming by pushing certain indies into the mainstream spotlight. It's fitting that Super Meat Boy Forever, the sequel to one of those games, is an Epic Store exclusive.

What Epic and Steam do now—beyond crying 'no fair!'—will change the games of our future. As one consequence of Epic's onslaught so far, it teamed up with Improbable to put $25 million into transitioning SpatialOS gamesaway from Unity, which can't mean nothing.

Although we bemoan some of the inconveniences of corporate giants fighting over the games we play, PC gaming has always been in a state of fragmentation and competitive flux. Maybe it's more surprising that it took this long for Steam's nemesis to emerge. In another timeline, it might've been Riot Games or Blizzard or CD Projekt—and it'd be wrong to count out any of those companies, even as Valve and Epic dominate the ring today.

At the moment, inconvenience is all this means for us. Steam isn't going down because of Metro Exodus or The Division 2. But there'll be ripples—no one has done this before!—and anything we thought was certain about the next five or so years in PC gaming is far hazier than it was yesterday. Steam changed everything once, and it feels a lot like we're on the verge of another metamorphosis.

 

[fantadomat]

So they decided to go for denuvo on a game that could run well on 5%-10% of rigs and on platform that only fortnite players visit.......ROLF!

I wouldn't be surprised if the game flops,what a bunch of retards.