Epic Games Store - the console war comes to PC

[VonHoffenHeimer]

I'm not sure i get the correlation?

 

[Valky]

EA running back to Steam is pretty telling IMO.

Steam changed their policy toward AAA games and they can now have 20% officially and probably less unofficially. If 10 more like Epic stores will open and they will all ask for 10% instead of 30% then Steam will have to drop completely 30%.

GOG Galaxy 2.0 is basically trying to be that too.

yup, using it atm. Which is why whole Steam vs Epic stuff deoesn't concern me. I just hit play, epic/steam launch and after i am done with game it closes. They lately even added to see status of steam/epic etc friends and what they do atm. Probably chat will go next.

Back in my day I just made a folder with shortcuts to the executables of my games, still do. Launchers are needless middlemen bloat.

 

[Perkel]

Free Game: Bridge
Next Week. Farming Simulator 2019

 

[Dexter]

Epic Games today offered an update on the growth of the Epic Games Store. Launched in December of 2018, the store to-date has racked up $680 million in spending from 108 million PC customers.

While much of that total can be accounted for by Epic's own hit Fortnite, the company noted that $251 million has been spent by players on third-party PC games.

I find these numbers rather hilarious for what they attempted. Remember they put untold millions into their "Excl000sives" scheme and threw around Free Games every week to try and trick the faint of mind and the results seem to be very disappointing for them. The entire Sales volume for third party games that they managed during their critical first year where they splurged money left and right is lower than what retards paid for Star Shitizen .jpg's. The money they actually made with their 12% cut of that is ~$30 million and they likely paid a lot more into "Excl000sive" deals than they made back, let alone for "Free games".

If this is anywhere close to true they might have made their Sales guarantee money back on the Top 4-5 titles which are also responsible for the bulk of their profits, but everything else was them essentially subsidizing developers (and also waiving their Unreal Engine licensing fees, losing even more money in the process) for near to no personal gain whatsoever while wasting lots of cash and pounding sand (which might explain why we haven't heard about many new "Excl000sives" lately): https://wccftech.com/borderlands-3-sold-an-estimated-two-million-copies-on-epic-games-store/

Also consider that these numbers allegedly include Pre-Orders, Retail copies and Key Redemptions, which might be a large part of the likes of Borderlands 3 or Metro: Exodus Sales, for which Epic likely gets nothing. It also tells us that games like Control, The Outer Worlds, as well as many other games like Journey, Ancestors, Operencia, Rebel Galaxy, The Sinking City, Phoenix Point, Ashen, all the Quantic Dream shit (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human) etc. were massive flops not only for Epic that bribed their developers, but for the devs themselves that would have likely sold a multitude more during the critical launch period of these games if they had launched on Steam instead, since there were dozens of Indie games that sold Borderlands 3/World War Z/Metro: Exodus numbers over there (and even those would have likely sold a lot more there). Developers that don't think their game is doomed and will not sell anything will also be a lot less likely to take these deals going forward.

I predicted that the Epic Store will likely stick around for a long while, but seeing this I'm not so sure anymore, it might well go the way of GfWL. It'll depend on what they'll do in the next 2-3 years till their Fortnite money runs out, but they can't be too happy with the results given what they've put in and are splurging on more Game Giveaways out of desperation. LOL at all the people that were panicking and saying stuff like "STEAM NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING NOW!" or that the "Fortnite audience will swoop in and save Epic!" though.

 

[Belegarsson]

... @@ did Goose Game really sell only 151k copies??? Based on how widespreaded the memes were, I legit expected it to do Cuphead's numbers. Same with Outer Wilds, the kind of sleeper hit indie that Youtubers won't shut up about so it blows up with the audience.

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

 

[Perkel]

One side of looking at this is that this is failure because they didn't sell more games than Steam.
The other way of looking at it is that they sold millions of games in just first year of their store thanks to their policies, promotions etc.
The whole point of EPIC money splurge is to force users to use their store. I don't think they targeted being 1st in first year of their store.

I wouldn't trust that data though.
Data is supposedly taken out from XBOX API.

The obvious question is what does XBOX API has to do with some of those games which don't log into xbox or use any xbox api stuff.


Edit:

Also 2mln copies sold on EPYC of borderlands kind of proves that exclusivity works. I don't think Steam version would do 3-4 mln in such short time frame at 60$.

BL2 has is between 10 and 20 mln on steam but that game was released years ago and was sold for as low as 3-4$ multiple times.

It will be interesting to see Steam sales after BL3 period ends with Epic.

 

[Fishy]

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.

 

[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.