Epic Games Store - the console war comes to PC

[Reinhardt]

Fuck multiplayer games. (co-op games are ok though)

Co-op is far, far worse than competitive multiplayer.

I don't want to rely on other retards when I play a game in multi. I want to fight against other retards. Co-op vs AI is shit and not fun.

Solution: find some friends who are not retards and play co-op with them. I can't even imagine why would anyone play co-op with random strangers.

I tried once to play icewind dale 2 with 3 friends. It was one of the most retarded things i did in my life.

 

[JarlFrank]

Fuck multiplayer games. (co-op games are ok though)

Co-op is far, far worse than competitive multiplayer.

I don't want to rely on other retards when I play a game in multi. I want to fight against other retards. Co-op vs AI is shit and not fun.

Solution: find some friends who are not retards and play co-op with them. I can't even imagine why would anyone play co-op with random strangers.

I prefer playing PvP with friends, it's more fun than co-op vs AI.

Or co-op vs other players in team PvP.

 

[Perkel]

I prefer playing PvP with friends, it's more fun than co-op vs AI.
Or co-op vs other players in team PvP.

I think i should be more clear. Multiplayer with friends not some randos from net.
Whatever you play against or with, playing with randos is total crap.

 

[JarlFrank]

Eh, I had some fun playing on decent RO2 servers and playing AoE2 1v1 vs randos.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/devolver-boss-defends-steam-amid-epic-store-and-ex/1100-6470544/

Devolver Boss Defends Steam Amid Epic Store And Exclusivity Controversy
"Competition is going to come along at some point."

One of the most talked-about developments in gaming over the past year has been Fortnite developer Epic establishing a new digital store and its pursuit of exclusives--of which there have been many. In addition to paying for exclusives, Epic's store gives creators 88 percent of revenue compared to 70 percent on Steam and others. Publisher Ubisoft no longer releases new titles on Steam because they believe the 70/30 revenue split is "unreasonable."

Now, one of the founders of boutique game publisher Devolver Digital (Hotline Miami, Genital Jousting, Fall Guys) has spoken up to defend Steam and call for a "reset" of the wider conversation that can at times paint Steam as the bad guy.

"I feel like this conversation needs to be reset," Graeme Struthers told GameSpot at PAX Aus. "The conversation never really took place properly in my opinion."

Struthers said the launch of Steam more than a decade ago changed the landscape of PC gaming. Steam was an integral part of the success of Devolver and other studios, he said.

One part of what made Steam appealing then and continues to now is that developers are paid every month, which is not the case with every store.

"Every month we were getting paid, and you were being paid accurately," he said. "We've all got our horror stories about doing audits on our publishers and finding huge discrepancies about what was being reported in sales. Here's Steam--every month, accurate, straightforward, and transparent."

Regarding the revenue share model, Struthers pointed out that Steam's 30 percent cut was a more generous offering than others at the time. The payment scheme that Steam offered allowed publishers to offer more favorable terms to developers, Struthers said.

"To come out of a model [before Steam] where we were, as a games publisher, maybe making 25 percent, and that's if you were successful. To be in a 70/30 relationship, it was transformative in every sense," he said. "And that led to realignment with relationships with developers. If there is more money and it's more frequent, you can have better terms with developers."

With the launch of competing game stores--including Epic's--developers have more options, and this competition is good overall for the industry, Struthers said. At the same time, Struthers stressed that comparing Steam to Epic directly is not fair or helpful.

Steam has been around for more than a decade; it's a refined platform with important toolsets and features for developers and consumers alike that make for a better overall experience, Struthers said.

"Competition is going to come along at some point. Epic have taken a view that their way of bringing content to their platform is far more generous revenue share and obviously they've been pushing exclusives--that's great," he explained. "And it's giving developers and publishers a choice. You can't compare the two things however as like for like. Steam has invested I don't know how many hundreds of millions of dollars in their platform; Epic have yet to do that. I'm not saying they won't, and hopefully they will. In terms of the features and in terms of the toolsets for developers, there's a ways to go. But competition is good."

Finally, Struthers said all the drama and controversy over Epic paying for exclusives "doesn't really hold up" because exclusivity has been a part of gaming since the beginning.

"The rise about developers and publishers going to Epic and exclusivity, it doesn't really hold up," he said. "I play games on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, and Devolver--we've done console exclusives with Sony, with Microsoft--I think it's good, but I think we have to respect Steam for what they've done. Without them, none of this would have been a conversation in the first place."

In addition to paying developers a larger share of revenue, Epic gives studios money up front to convince them to release games exclusively on the Epic Store. Games like The Division 2, Metro Exodus, and Borderlands 3 are all currently exclusive to the Epic Games Store (apart from publisher-specific stores), though they will also release on other PC stores at a later date. The next big exclusive for Epic is The Outer Worlds from developer Obsidian; it launches on October 25.

 

[Biscotti]

I was with him until the part where he mentions exclusivity and then uses consoles as an example. Gee, what could've possibly been the outlier here before EGS came along? One has to wonder.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

"More than a decade ago", "more than a decade ago"... Steam's been around for 16 years, for fuck's sake. Is that too hard to grasp?

The thing I take away from that article is that now that game dev/publishers finally have a stable (but monopolized) platform to release PC games from, they've gotten greedier than ever and want moar.

 

[JBro]

The thing I take away from that article is that now that game dev/publishers finally have a stable (but monopolized) platform to release PC games from, they've gotten greedier than ever and want moar.

Of course. Everyone thought publishers were the big bad guy, but it turns out developers aren't better. In many ways they're worse, because how many times have you seen some subhuman like Rami Ismail try to convince people that Steam is the bad guy? Meanwhile, he wears his contempt for all of us on his sleeve. Fuck developers. I hope they never get unions.

 

[MuscleSpark]

I hope they never get unions.

I understand the sentiment, but on the other hand unions would balloon budgets to such extents that it might result in an industry crash overnight.

 

[Tacgnol]

The thing I take away from that article is that now that game dev/publishers finally have a stable (but monopolized) platform to release PC games from, they've gotten greedier than ever and want moar.

Of course. Everyone thought publishers were the big bad guy, but it turns out developers aren't better. In many ways they're worse, because how many times have you seen some subhuman like Rami Ismail try to convince people that Steam is the bad guy? Meanwhile, he wears his contempt for all of us on his sleeve. Fuck developers. I hope they never get unions.

Sadly, it's rare for people to keep their principles intact when money is on offer.

 

[DalekFlay]

Sadly, it's rare for people to keep their principles intact when money is on offer.

It's almost like their goal is to make money and "sell it on the store I like" isn't a heroic moral stand.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/surviving-the-aftermath/valve-epic

Paradox won’t pick sides between Valve and Epic, and considers both to be great partners

Paradox Interactive’s grand strategy games have been mainstays on Valve’s Steam storefront for many years. But the company has formed a partnership with the new kid on the block, the Epic Games store, offering Surviving the Aftermath‘s early access version exclusively through Epic’s storefront. From Paradox’s perspective, it’s a matter of the more, the merrier.

Speaking to us at PDXCon, Paradox CEO Ebba Ljungerud said Epic has been great to work with.

“[Epic is] really good to work with,” she said. “They’re very open and attentive. They’re a partner – as is Steam. So it’s been great so far working with them.”

Both Ljungerud and Paradox chief business development officers Shams Jorjani agreed that having more options in the gaming space means better options for both players and developers.

“Probably the best thing to happen to PC gaming in the past 15 years is Valve, hands down,” Jorjani said. “They’re our most important partner and we have a great working relationship with them, but that doesn’t change the fact that, the more things that happen in the industry, the better.”

“Having an ecosystem that is alive and well and moving about is great for everyone,” Jorjani continued. “There’s more technology and engines and platforms to build stuff on and get it out, but that equally makes it incredibly hard to succeed. And if you have only one storefront on one platform, that makes it really hard for a bunch of developers.”

As Jorjani sees it, massive hits like PUBG, Fortnite, and Pokemon Go are all great news, even for a company whose specialty has been relatively niche historical strategy games.

“More people in this space is a force of good,” he said. “It just brings in a ton of more people into gaming, and that’s good for everyone.”

Surviving the Aftermath will be available in early access later today on the Epic Games store.

 

[Squid]

Paradox won’t pick sides between Valve and Epic, and considers both to be great partners

But the company has formed a partnership with the new kid on the block, the Epic Games store, offering Surviving the Aftermath‘s early access version exclusively through Epic’s storefront. From Paradox’s perspective, it’s a matter of the more, the merrier.

BETRAYAL!!!! RAGE!!! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SURVIVING THE AFTERMATH IS!!!

 

[Reinhardt]

From Paradox’s perspective, it’s a matter of the more, the merrier.

exclusively in one store

 

[ZVERMIX]

Paradox won’t pick sides between Valve and Epic, and considers both to be great partners

But the company has formed a partnership with the new kid on the block, the Epic Games store, offering Surviving the Aftermath‘s early access version exclusively through Epic’s storefront. From Paradox’s perspective, it’s a matter of the more, the merrier.

BETRAYAL!!!! RAGE!!! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SURVIVING THE AFTERMATH IS!!!

 

[V_K]

From Paradox’s perspective, it’s a matter of the more, the merrier.

They were probably talking about money. The more money, the merrier.

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

I hope they never get unions.

I understand the sentiment, but on the other hand unions would balloon budgets to such extents that it might result in an industry crash overnight.

Unions, likely followed by government intervention and/or more regulations. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/satisfactory/epic

Satisfactory dev says Epic is “trying to make it better” for indie studios

Earlier this year, Coffee Stain Studio announced that open-world factory-building game Satisfactory would be an Epic Games store exclusive. Like many studios that have made a similar decision, the team came under some fire for the choice. Believing the nay-sayers to be only a small part of the player-base, Coffee Stain Studio explain some of the benefits of taking the deal.

On becoming an Epic exclusive, Nathalie Verwei, UI/ UX designer at Coffee Stain Studios, says that doing so took a lot of financial worry off the developer’s shoulders. “I think as an indie studio it’s nice to have that security that you know that your game is going to get out there and you don’t need to worry about making certain financial deadlines,” she told us. “You can just focus on making a good game. Of course, we had some backlash but I think it’s a loud minority.”

She goes on to say that what Epic is offering is something that allows more studios to make better games. “I think it’s a good thing that Epic is trying to do,” explains Verwei. “Of course, the users will only see the end of, ‘oh, it’s another launcher, it’s another store’ but Epic is trying to do something for game developers to make it better for them so we can deliver better quality of products, basically.”

Since launching in December 2018, the Epic Games store has been the target of ire from a subset of players that believe the marketplace is somehow hurting their consumer rights. Announcements of exclusivity have been met with hostility, developers often getting harassed as a result.

Many developers before Coffee Stain have been vocal about the value of the investment Epic offers. Games can be delivered sooner, and of better quality, giving the studios more breathing room around launch to make the titles the best they can be. Being on the Epic store hasn’t slowed Satisfactory’s sales down any, at the very least.

Satisfactory is available in early access on the Epic Games store now.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/wolfenstein-youngblood/epic-store

Wolfenstein devs believe Epic and Steam competition is “good for the industry”

The digital storefront war continues to rage, with multiple clients now probably installed on most people’s PCs. These digital storefronts include heavy-hitters such as GOG Galaxy, EA’s Origin, and Ubisoft’s Uplay all the way to publisher-only stuff like Bethesda.net and Rockstar Game Launcher – however, of course the biggest deal is the current rivalry between Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Now MachineGames – the developer of the Wolfenstein series for Bethesda since Wolfenstein: The New Order – has weighed in on the abundance of digital stores and the competition between Epic and Steam. We spoke to Kristoffer Kindh, senior level designer at MachineGames, who told us “competition is good for the industry. It’s good for everybody, because competition just makes us be better.”

Kindh added that “certain people don’t really appreciate it,” having this competition and these multiple storefronts. “They just want to have Steam because that’s what they’re used to. For myself it doesn’t really bother me that much at all, it’s just another store for me. I just have to remember all the passwords!”

The designer believes that this isn’t a new thing, and that it’s normal based on how many games there are these days. “The game market gets bigger, with more games getting released every day. My personal opinion is that it’s a natural growth, compared to how much game development is actually happening. ”

At the moment there are no Wolfenstein games on Epic Games Store – although that may happen in the future. Bethesda has its own storefront, where games such as Rage 2 and Fallout 76 were supposed to be exclusive on PC – but eventually went to Steam, and now Bethesda has seemingly given up on storefront exclusivity, at least towards its own client.

As for the Wolfenstein series itself, the series’ first co-op title Wolfenstein: Youngblood released earlier this year – and Wolfenstein 3 is “absolutely” is development, according to Bethesda’s Pete Hines.

 

[Fishy]

Newsflash: people directly benefiting the most from controversial move argue move is good for everyone.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

The benefits will be short-lived if people don't catch on, so they need to shill fast and hard.

 

[fantadomat]

Speaking of epic,it seems that fortnight hype is dying out. Most of their games are filled with bots. My nephew and his friend are constantly annoyed that it is filled with mindless bots,and think of dropping the game.

I am curious at how much more money they could burn on exclusive flops before they burn out.

 

[Fishy]

My nephew and his friend are constantly annoyed that it is filled with mindless bots,and think of dropping the game.

I'd take this one with caution. See World of Warcraft for how "I can quit when I want!" tends to work out with single-game gamers. All Epic have to do is launch some equivalent of a wow expansion and they'll all be back.

 

[fantadomat]

My nephew and his friend are constantly annoyed that it is filled with mindless bots,and think of dropping the game.

I'd take this one with caution. See World of Warcraft for how "I can quit when I want!" tends to work out with single-game gamers. All Epic have to do is launch some equivalent of a wow expansion and they'll all be back.

Nah,he is a bulgar like me. They mostly get hammered after world and play a match or two. Also they made some money selling off skins and shit.

 

[ultimanecat]

For some reason we keep getting articles about how Epic are helping out indies with their store written as if it’s the store and its features they are benefiting from when they clearly mean it’s the free money Epic gave them for exclusivity. Even the retarded devs seem to think Epic will be handing out paychecks to indies forever.

Epic is not running an indie developer welfare program, and if one of either 1)Fortnight slowing down or 2)EGS hitting some sort of critical mass where enough people use it and prefer it or 3)Epic decides to fuck off happens, then the handouts are going to stop. The feasibility of any of those three outcomes is up for debate but one of them will happen within the next few years.

 

[Jezal_k23]

Speaking of epic,it seems that fortnight hype is dying out.

What do you mean? They just had that massive event where 1.6 million people watched on Twitch. It looked pretty alive just a few weeks ago.