Epic Games Store - the console war comes to PC

[Blaine]

I wonder how long it will be before every single major franchise has its own DRM store... maybe even its very own console. Call of Duty Box, Elder Scrolls Pad, Assassin Creed Station, etc.

The sad thing about all of this bickering is that it's largely irrelevant, because mobile games are still king of the mountain. PC games have made a huge comeback (in terms of market share vs. the combined market share of console games) over the course of the past decade, but this is a Pyrrhic victory, because they've done so via the stratospheric success of mass-appeal cash shop/F2P games such as League of Legends and Fortnite (and Fortnite's faddish predecessors). Additionally, consoles have lost a greater proportion of market share to the mobile industry.

For well over a decade, people argued about which MMORPG would be the "WoW killer," but WoW wasn't killed by another MMORPG—it was ultimately killed, in large part, by a Defense of the Ancients clone. How ironic for Blizzard. It's as though everyone had been betting for years on which weasel or mink would finally take down a legendary old hare in its dotage, but a freakishly large eagle swooped down and nabbed it instead.

My point is that PC games, and even console games, face a similar exterior threat. The real competition isn't PC vs. PC, or PC vs. console, but mobile games vs. everything else. It's been this way for a while now. Almost everyone on the planet has a smartphone on them at all times now, they nearly all tootle away on some game or another (ESPECIALLY industrialized Asians) on a daily basis, and the technology continues to inch forward, allowing yet more sophisticated games to run on the things.

 

[J_C]

I wonder how long it will be before every single major franchise has its own DRM store... maybe even its very own console. Call of Duty Box, Elder Scrolls Pad, Assassin Creed Station, etc.

The sad thing about all of this bickering is that it's largely irrelevant, because mobile games are still king of the mountain. PC games have made a huge comeback (in terms of market share vs. the combined market share of console games) over the course of the past decade, but this is a Pyrrhic victory, because they've done so via the stratospheric success of mass-appeal cash shop/F2P games such as League of Legends and Fortnite (and Fortnite's faddish predecessors). Additionally, consoles have lost a greater proportion of market share to the mobile industry.

For well over a decade, people argued about which MMORPG would be the "WoW killer," but WoW wasn't killed by another MMORPG—it was ultimately killed, in large part, by a Defense of the Ancients clone. How ironic for Blizzard. It's as though everyone had been betting for years on which weasel or mink would finally take down a legendary old hare in its dotage, but a freakishly large eagle swooped down and nabbed it instead.

My point is that PC games, and even console games, face a similar exterior threat. The real competition isn't PC vs. PC, or PC vs. console, but mobile games vs. everything else. It's been this way for a while now. Almost everyone on the planet has a smartphone on them at all times now, they nearly all tootle away on some game or another (ESPECIALLY industrialized Asians) on a daily basis, and the technology continues to inch forward, allowing yet more sophisticated games to run on the things.

Does it really matter? We know there there are lots of enthusiest and talented developers who make indie gems in all genres, and there will always be developers who prefer PC opposite to mobile. So what if the mainstream PC market will shrink, we will always have great games. The worst we can lose are the AAA games, and for the most part it is not that big of a loss.

 

[Paul_cz]

My point is that PC games, and even console games, face a similar exterior threat. The real competition isn't PC vs. PC, or PC vs. console, but mobile games vs. everything else. It's been this way for a while now. Almost everyone on the planet has a smartphone on them at all times now, they nearly all tootle away on some game or another (ESPECIALLY industrialized Asians) on a daily basis, and the technology continues to inch forward, allowing yet more sophisticated games to run on the things.

Mobile market is completely irrelevant. I mean sure, billions of people are playing shitty games on mobiles. And shitty developers are making them. Who cares? There are still plenty studios making PC and console games because that is what they want to make and it still makes enough money, and that ain't gonna change. PC and console is going to offer more power and higher-end experience than mobile for a long time. Simply due to physics of its larger space and wattage allowed. Maybe mobile games will look like Uncharted 4 in a couple years, but by then PC will have photorealistic raytraced stuff in full virtual reality.

And if one day mobiles will be powerful enough to run photorealistic stuff, then so what? At that point there is no reason not to play on them, if they can be connected to TV/Projector/VR like PC can.

 

[DalekFlay]

My point is that PC games, and even console games, face a similar exterior threat. The real competition isn't PC vs. PC, or PC vs. console, but mobile games vs. everything else.

This is an old clickbait panic idea that has pretty much zero merit. Everyone thought consoles were dead because of "mobile" and then the PS4 sold like 80 million units, and PC has been a revenue bonanza. Mobile gaming is an add-on, an addition to other gaming, not a replacement. The only actual threat people should be worried about is subscriptions/streaming.

 

[Jezal_k23]

Hell, I still remember how the PC itself was supposed to just die out as a platform because of the consoles back in the early 00s. Look how that turned out.

 

[Reinhardt]

Hell, I still remember how the PC itself was supposed to just die out as a platform because of the consoles back in the early 00s. Look how that turned out.

Maybe it should have?

 

[Black Angel]

The sad thing about all of this bickering is that it's largely irrelevant, because mobile games are still king of the mountain. PC games have made a huge comeback (in terms of market share vs. the combined market share of console games) over the course of the past decade, but this is a Pyrrhic victory, because they've done so via the stratospheric success of mass-appeal cash shop/F2P games such as League of Legends and Fortnite (and Fortnite's faddish predecessors). Additionally, consoles have lost a greater proportion of market share to the mobile industry.

For well over a decade, people argued about which MMORPG would be the "WoW killer," but WoW wasn't killed by another MMORPG—it was ultimately killed, in large part, by a Defense of the Ancients clone. How ironic for Blizzard. It's as though everyone had been betting for years on which weasel or mink would finally take down a legendary old hare in its dotage, but a freakishly large eagle swooped down and nabbed it instead.

My point is that PC games, and even console games, face a similar exterior threat. The real competition isn't PC vs. PC, or PC vs. console, but mobile games vs. everything else. It's been this way for a while now. Almost everyone on the planet has a smartphone on them at all times now, they nearly all tootle away on some game or another (ESPECIALLY industrialized Asians) on a daily basis, and the technology continues to inch forward, allowing yet more sophisticated games to run on the things.

The grain of truth in this is far too big to ignore, actually. Yeah, J_C, it ultimately doesn't matter since many great games are still coming out on PC, but that's only within a very small bubble like our Codex. But you can't just ignore how bloated mobile 'games' industry is getting. Just look at Raid: Shadow Legends ridiculous marketing gimmick.

And then there's a personal experience of mine, in this country. Only a bit more than a decade ago, when I was in high school, internet cafes and game centers are a YUGE thing in the whole country, especially the two cities I lived. My family moved out between few homes in these two adjacent cities, and my biggest childhood memories back then was playing on internet cafes and game centers with my friends. Ragnarok Online, Counter Strikes, localized regional MMOs whose name I completely forgot now, and obviously the DotA custom map for Warcraft 3, these are some games that dominated the PC game market in my country back in the day, if only we played them in internet cafes and game centers.

And then, within a mere decade these game centers starts closing AND at the same time EVERYONE and their mothers possessed mobile smartphones, and in the last two-three years mobile games like Mobile Legends, Arena of Valor, PUBG Mobile, etc etc starts getting released AND literally those EVERYONE in my country are playing those games. And in most recent times there are mobile releases for Ragnarok, Auto Chess and the likes, etc etc, and this year the very same friends whom I've played with in game centers years ago are anticipating the mobile release for League of Legends, after years of playing the PC version together.

 

[Spectacle]

I really don't get why mobile gaming is so big. Mobiles suck for gaming, their only saving grace is that they let you easily play on the train, during lunch at work, etc. But it seems that far more mobile gaming happens at home in the sofa. Why don't these people get at least a console or a gaming laptop?

 

[Tacgnol]

I really don't get why mobile gaming is so big. Mobiles suck for gaming, their only saving grace is that they let you easily play on the train, during lunch at work, etc. But it seems that far more mobile gaming happens at home in the sofa. Why don't these people get at least a console or a gaming laptop?

The amusing thing is phones and tablets seem to be getting bigger all the time. I'm just waiting for some company like Apple to start pushing the desktop again and pretend it's some new trendy thing.

 

[Alphons]

I really don't get why mobile gaming is so big. Mobiles suck for gaming, their only saving grace is that they let you easily play on the train, during lunch at work, etc. But it seems that far more mobile gaming happens at home in the sofa. Why don't these people get at least a console or a gaming laptop?

My younger cousins are really into mobiles. They really like to play them and use the in-game "share with friends" option when, for example they drop some rare skin from loot crate.

My aunt also doesn't like spending money on stupid things like computer games (but everyone needs a phone even if they don't use it to call others), so they mostly play those brain-dead freemium games.

 

[Rahdulan]

I really don't get why mobile gaming is so big. Mobiles suck for gaming, their only saving grace is that they let you easily play on the train, during lunch at work, etc.

You answered your own question. Asians spend untold hours commuting in public transit compared to westerners.

 

[Spectacle]

I really don't get why mobile gaming is so big. Mobiles suck for gaming, their only saving grace is that they let you easily play on the train, during lunch at work, etc.

You answered your own question. Asians spend untold hours commuting in public transit compared to westerners.

That could explain why mobile gaming is popular, sure, but not why it's twice as big as all other gaming combined.

 

[Tacgnol]

I really don't get why mobile gaming is so big. Mobiles suck for gaming, their only saving grace is that they let you easily play on the train, during lunch at work, etc.

You answered your own question. Asians spend untold hours commuting in public transit compared to westerners.

That could explain why mobile gaming is popular, sure, but not why it's twice as big as all other gaming combined.

I suspect mobile gaming isn't seen as "gaming" by a lot of people. That's why you see old folks playing games like candy crush despite hating "gaming".

Another way to look at it is mobile very much has the casual market cornered.

 

[Reinhardt]

I really don't get why mobile gaming is so big.

They are updated almost weekly with new heroes, events, lootboxes etc, so there is always something new to do.

 

[DalekFlay]

I suspect mobile gaming isn't seen as "gaming" by a lot of people. That's why you see old folks playing games like candy crush despite hating "gaming".

Another way to look at it is mobile very much has the casual market cornered.

Yes, my wife is now considered a "gamer" by these investor metrics, because she plays Candy Crush and 2048 randomly when she's bored. Yet this same woman has whined for years about my PC gaming hobby, telling me video games are juvenile and I should have stopped playing them by now. But yeah, sure, she's totally a "gamer."

My wife's occasional silly hypocrisy aside though, it's all about revenue. Yes I'm sure some Popcap and Blizzard fans switched to mobile and never looked back. However has traditional PC revenue really taken a hit? Has console revenue? Like I said above, the PS4 surprised everyone by selling 80 million units and all I read about PC revenue is glowing reports. This year is the first one it fell at all in forever, and it was only 2% and almost surely due to a weak release slate. Traditional gaming isn't going anywhere, just because other revenue streams open up. I mean... maybe in a few decades, when people die off and kids raised on Fortnite and VR take over more, but not anytime soon.

 

[Tacgnol]

I suspect mobile gaming isn't seen as "gaming" by a lot of people. That's why you see old folks playing games like candy crush despite hating "gaming".

Another way to look at it is mobile very much has the casual market cornered.

Yes, my wife is now considered a "gamer" by these investor metrics, because she plays Candy Crush and 2048 randomly when she's bored. Yet this same woman has whined for years about my PC gaming hobby, telling me video games are juvenile and I should have stopped playing them by now. But yeah, sure, she's totally a "gamer."

My wife's occasional silly hypocrisy aside though, it's all about revenue. Yes I'm sure some Popcap and Blizzard fans switched to mobile and never looked back. However has traditional PC revenue really taken a hit? Has console revenue? Like I said above, the PS4 surprised everyone by selling 80 million units and all I read about PC revenue is glowing reports. This year is the first one it fell at all in forever, and it was only 2% and almost surely due to a weak release slate. Traditional gaming isn't going anywhere, just because other revenue streams open up. I mean... maybe in a few decades, when people die off and kids raised on Fortnite and VR take over more, but not anytime soon.

Worst case traditional gaming becomes more niche and gets less AAA titles.

Considering how shit most AAA titles are, I don't think we'd lose that much.

 

[J1M]

I wonder how long it will be before every single major franchise has its own DRM store... maybe even its very own console. Call of Duty Box, Elder Scrolls Pad, Assassin Creed Station, etc.

The sad thing about all of this bickering is that it's largely irrelevant, because mobile games are still king of the mountain. PC games have made a huge comeback (in terms of market share vs. the combined market share of console games) over the course of the past decade, but this is a Pyrrhic victory, because they've done so via the stratospheric success of mass-appeal cash shop/F2P games such as League of Legends and Fortnite (and Fortnite's faddish predecessors). Additionally, consoles have lost a greater proportion of market share to the mobile industry.

For well over a decade, people argued about which MMORPG would be the "WoW killer," but WoW wasn't killed by another MMORPG—it was ultimately killed, in large part, by a Defense of the Ancients clone. How ironic for Blizzard. It's as though everyone had been betting for years on which weasel or mink would finally take down a legendary old hare in its dotage, but a freakishly large eagle swooped down and nabbed it instead.

My point is that PC games, and even console games, face a similar exterior threat. The real competition isn't PC vs. PC, or PC vs. console, but mobile games vs. everything else. It's been this way for a while now. Almost everyone on the planet has a smartphone on them at all times now, they nearly all tootle away on some game or another (ESPECIALLY industrialized Asians) on a daily basis, and the technology continues to inch forward, allowing yet more sophisticated games to run on the things.

It doesn't really matter if the casuals are playing consoles or match-3 scams on their phones. The enthusiast PC market is growing as more people realize that consoles are for tourists.

The sooner the industry accepts what we have been saying for years, that the market is gamers and non-gamers who sometimes pass the time with games, the better.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Kingdom Come: Deliverance free on 13th February.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

And Astez, but I don't know that one. This week it's two board games by Asmodee, Ticket to Ride and Carcassone. Looks like they're back to giving out two games, I thought they moved into an one-game model after the initial push to attract people.

That could explain why mobile gaming is popular, sure, but not why it's twice as big as all other gaming combined.

Everyone already has the required hardware.

 

[DalekFlay]

Own it on GOG, but happy to give the Kingdom Come guys a few extra bucks by clicking a button. Assuming Epic pays them something per copy, which is how I'd imagine it works.

 

[Irata]

Did Epic wise up and start adding DRM to their giveaways? I've noticed that everything they've released since the beginning of the year needs the Epic launcher to run. Adding -EpicPortal does nothing for me.

 

[J_C]

Own it on GOG, but happy to give the Kingdom Come guys a few extra bucks by clicking a button. Assuming Epic pays them something per copy, which is how I'd imagine it works.

Smejki , could you clarify how does this work on the Epic Story? I know you can't share numbers, but maybe you can share a few details.

 

[Smejki]

We are not paid per copy.

 

[J_C]

We are not paid per copy.

That's good to hear. One less reason to get this on Epic. I'd rather get it on GOG.

 

[DalekFlay]

Did Epic wise up and start adding DRM to their giveaways? I've noticed that everything they've released since the beginning of the year needs the Epic launcher to run. Adding -EpicPortal does nothing for me.

They added it to Tetris Effect and Control before, so wouldn't surprise me.

We are not paid per copy.

Interesting, thanks for saying (hope you got a nice flat fee then). Well then never mind about clicking it, my GOG copy is infinitely better.