Community MetaSteam | December 2024 - Top Men Belong in a Museum

Kyougar

No reviews, no Buy
Nov 2, 2018
3,315
11,818
113
I'm not sure what point you are making or what prompted this, but I think 80k (actually ~90k peak) for Dragon Age really was very good. I was surprised at how well it did -- and positively so, because regardless of the merits of the game itself at least EA did everything on a meta level right for once.
The point is, that Fanboys always find a narrative to downplay hard facts regardless if its 100k 10k or 1k CCU. The point of Dragon age was to show that the whole narrative is also used for games that only make 10k ccu or 600 CCU.
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,330
12,284
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In my opinion, it is neither weird nor pointless. It is one of the very few accurate real-time metrics we get in an otherwise stupidly secretive industry.
My problem is that it's a pretty bad estimator for the number people care about, which are sales. PC games can often have a different life span, especially smaller indie hits, than on console, which are pretty fire and forget in the AAA space. So CU can show you constantly low numbers, even if a game sells really, really comfortably well and has great legs. Meanwhile, you could have a game that is super front loaded and then just falls off a cliff, so very high CU, but overall weak sales.
 

STHX

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2021
1,338
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Italy
I think CCUs are a good way to see how well a game is doing specifically at launch (but no more than that), especially when comparing past games in the series or similar games released the same year
DQIII doing better than DQXI shows there is growth (even if it's mostly because of an increase in JP Steam users, which still means growth in the end)
The Romancing SaGa 2 remake doing noticeably better than all other SaGa games shows the series can hit bigger numbers if the games also look "bigger budget"
If you check all Gundam games released on Steam you see each one had a better launch than the previous one, which again shows how the series is growing on the platform
Console focused series like Persona and Like a Dragon launching well on Steam day one shows that the fanbase is also willing to show up day one too, meaning there is no "dislike" for series that were previously unavailable
This is a more interesting one for me, but I always find it fascinating when a game that apparently didn't have much discussion before (and in some cases even after) release ends up launching very well, like with Nine Sols this year (to make an example). It shows that you don't need conventional advertising to do well, and it's also another reminder there is more to the game industry than america
And lets be serious, you can't really "ban" CCU discussion because it's all publicly available information. Most people see it through sites like steamdb but you can also see it directly through Steam. Customers are not complete fools: you don't need CCU numbers to declare if a game is worth buying/investing or not
The only issue is that CCU numbers have been heavily weaponized by opposing factions, especially this year. But this kind of "malice" is everywhere, it existed before CCUs and it will exist in another form after. Media Create threads became a true no man's land before salesERA had enough and left, but users still use sales for their petty wars
 

yuraya

MetaMember
May 4, 2019
2,813
6,437
113
Yea those Indiana Jones concurrent #s aren't great. But it is a singleplayer 70$ game. And it is Indiana Jones which was never some super profitable franchise either. Its just a straightforward adventure ip for boomers.

Most importantly the user reviews are good so with discounts overtime and PS5 release they should still be able to at least break even.

And Gamepass has to factor in as there are millions of people who use that service.

The positive reception for IJ just shows MachineGames continue being great game devs.

TNO and TNC are some of the best run n gun FPS games of all time imo. Also very funny games.
 

NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
9,210
25,751
113
I don’t think you can judge Microsoft published games by sales alone. Ultimately, what they want is everyone having a Gamepass sub, and as long as that line keeps going up, retail sales are basically a bonus for them.
 

Hektor

Autobahnraser
Nov 1, 2018
6,154
16,737
113
Finding out that the Healthcare assassin was literally a developer on CIV VI as if he couldn't become anymore based
 
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Soma

Junior Member
Dec 21, 2018
19
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3
Indiana Jones shows up as free in Humble Store, however I get an error when completing the cart Buy Indiana Jones and the Great Circle from the Humble Store

Maybe it will work for someone else
It worked until a hour or so ago, I was able to get a key for the normal edition (then noticed the premium was also listed as free, but oh well). I expect this to be revoked in a matter of days, but if they don't it'll treat it as a unexpected christmas gift lol
 

NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
9,210
25,751
113
Everytime I want to switch console some stupid shit happens that I end back up in PC. I was playing Indy on Gamepass and suddenly my Xbox kicked me out of the game and wanted me to sign in again with the account I have gamepass for. I only have 1 account, so I suspect this is some stupid DRM check, which in that case I'm out, like I just paid you my sub bro!!!
 
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Alexandros

MetaMember
Nov 4, 2018
2,853
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My problem is that it's a pretty bad estimator for the number people care about, which are sales. PC games can often have a different life span, especially smaller indie hits, than on console, which are pretty fire and forget in the AAA space. So CU can show you constantly low numbers, even if a game sells really, really comfortably well and has great legs. Meanwhile, you could have a game that is super front loaded and then just falls off a cliff, so very high CU, but overall weak sales.
I will repost what I wrote on Resetera on the topic:

1. Different genres have different CCU ceilings. For example, RPGs and action RPGs generally do very well on Steam and hit CCU numbers that are not easily achievable by other games except multiplayer juggernauts and viral hits.

2. CCU numbers at launch are greatly affected by the hype and anticipation a game has managed to build up. Sleeper hits that build hype after launch through word of mouth or big games with weak marketing won't have high CCU numbers.

3. Steam is a much more global platform compared to a games console, in that it has a strong presence in regions that consoles do not. As such, to hit really high CCU numbers a game basically needs global appeal across east, middle and west.

4. Excluding games with really low numbers for their genre and production level (like Concord), CCUs are a better indicator of success than they are of failure. For example, if a full-price singleplayer game hits 100K+ CCUs you can be reasonably confident that it had a successful launch. On the other hand, a similar game hitting low CCUs isn't as clear an indicator of sales underperformance for the reasons discussed earlier (hype, marketing, word of mouth, genre etc).

Now, for Indiana Jones specifically, the number does seem rather low but there are a number of caveats. There wasn't much hype before release, the game had a staggered launch with the early-access version and it was on Game Pass day one. It is quite possible that good reviews and word of mouth will lift the game to meaningfully higher sales than launch CCUs would suggest.

How would we be able to tell if Indy has legs on Steam? Since it is a roughly 15-hour singleplayer game, if the CCUs we see now don't drop that much in the next two weeks then that would most likely mean that new buyers are coming in and keeping the CCU number up as others finish the game and move on.
In my opinion, CCUs are an incredibly useful tool to have and I am very strongly opposed to the idea (which seems very popular on Resetera) that anything that isn't 100% positive or might be misrepresented by shitposters should be banned. Instead of educating the userbase or punishing the bad-faith posters, let's just ban discussion altogether. It really drives me up the wall.
 

NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
9,210
25,751
113
I finally decided to install Bazzite in order to get rid of Windows, until I found out that my WiFi adapter doesn't work with Linux. Wired is not an option for me, so I guess I keep using Windows... :(
As someone who really tried to use Linux, it's not worth the pain in the ass unless you do a ton of prep work beforehand.
 

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,695
22,408
113
45
Paris, France
lepertti.com
Everytime I want to switch console some stupid shit happens that I end back up in PC. I was playing Indy on Gamepass and suddenly my Xbox kicked me out of the game and wanted me to sign in again with the account I have gamepass for. I only have 1 account, so I suspect this is some stupid DRM check, which in that case I'm out, like I just paid you my sub bro!!!
That sounds more like an error, that has only happened to me when there were issues with the backend at xbox. Thankfully those issues are usually gone quickly.
 
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edin

Coffee, Controllers, etc
Sep 30, 2024
129
560
93
I will repost what I wrote on Resetera on the topic:



In my opinion, CCUs are an incredibly useful tool to have and I am very strongly opposed to the idea (which seems very popular on Resetera) that anything that isn't 100% positive or might be misrepresented by shitposters should be banned. Instead of educating the userbase or punishing the bad-faith posters, let's just ban discussion altogether. It really drives me up the wall.
Yea I 100% agree with the data being useful and I'm glad we have those things public (also thanks to SteamDB graphics etc). The problem is when you have some people who don't know enough that start extrapolating based on 1 or a limited data point to imply a game is super successful or a flop without context. My issue is the bad faith posters in those discussions ruin things. I agree with your quoted post from what posted on there as well.
 

Mivey

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2018
4,330
12,284
113
I will repost what I wrote on Resetera on the topic:



In my opinion, CCUs are an incredibly useful tool to have and I am very strongly opposed to the idea (which seems very popular on Resetera) that anything that isn't 100% positive or might be misrepresented by shitposters should be banned. Instead of educating the userbase or punishing the bad-faith posters, let's just ban discussion altogether. It really drives me up the wall.
I don't say it should be banned, it just annoys me that most use it as a one to one stand in for sale numbers with zero nuance on how player numbers across the globe and behaviour will obviously not correlate with sales in a trivial and direct manner
 

Alexandros

MetaMember
Nov 4, 2018
2,853
12,257
113
Yea I 100% agree with the data being useful and I'm glad we have those things public (also thanks to SteamDB graphics etc). The problem is when you have some people who don't know enough that start extrapolating based on 1 or a limited data point to imply a game is super successful or a flop without context. My issue is the bad faith posters in those discussions ruin things. I agree with your quoted post from what posted on there as well.
I don't say it should be banned, it just annoys me that most use it as a one to one stand in for sale numbers with zero nuance on how player numbers across the globe and behaviour will obviously not correlate with sales in a trivial and direct manner
The things you both mention about people not understanding the topic they post about (or posting in bad faith about) is why I often insist (on Resetera) that everyone should take full responsibility of the things they post. Over there they have become way too comfortable with relying on moderators to police discussions and the result is that every thread is comprised of 90% garbage posts and 10% of meaningful discussion because the moderators only check the handful of posts that get reported.

It's a stark contrast to Metacouncil. Here, if you behave like a shithead and make bad posts, it's on you. There's no mod team to hide behind. You accept the responsibility as an individual to contribute in a productive manner.
 

Dinjoralo

None shall remember those who do not fight.
Dec 6, 2018
964
1,973
93
I finally decided to install Bazzite in order to get rid of Windows, until I found out that my WiFi adapter doesn't work with Linux. Wired is not an option for me, so I guess I keep using Windows... :(
That's odd... What kind of wifi adapter do ya have?
 
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EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,442
12,569
113
Chunky 2GB update hit Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader just now. Looks like it's the long awaited v1.3 update.

Going to have to check which mods are impacted and hopefully i can remove some of the mods that fix actually mis-applied or non-applied perks/starts/skills etc.

 
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crimsonheadGCN

MetaMember
Jan 20, 2019
3,057
8,310
113
41
Clifton, New Jersey
www.resetera.com
That person who killed the CEO had excellent training by playing "Among Us."


Luigi Mangione, who was arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, once belonged to a group of Ivy League gamers who played assassins, a member of the group told NBC News.

In the game, called "Among Us," some players are secretly assigned to be killers in space who perform other tasks while trying to avoid suspicion from other players.
 

Arc

MetaMember
Sep 19, 2020
3,028
11,428
113
I remember when the news blamed Doom for the Columbine shootings uhh...checks calendar...twenty-six years ago. Some things never change.

It's a bit amusing to see the media scramble largely fruitlessly to find something, anything to make that pesky public start behaving appropriately and be shocked and appalled at a US health insurance CEO being killed.
He had chronic back pain. Obviously nobody knows the whole story, but that's as good a motive as any.
 

STHX

MetaMember
Sep 20, 2021
1,338
4,882
113
Italy
Back into my PC, I guess I'll never leave.
I wish consoles never tried to be a pc. I don't mind online or patching as long as it's as straightforward as possible, but the idea a console needs to be this megabox with streaming, socials, account management, a paid subscription and OS updates every month made me lose all interest I had in them
If a console is not a plug and play box I connect to a tv then at this point I might as well move to pc since I get the same thing but with more functionality. Which is what happened 10 or so years ago
 

NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
9,210
25,751
113
I wish consoles never tried to be a pc. I don't mind online or patching as long as it's as straightforward as possible, but the idea a console needs to be this megabox with streaming, socials, account management, a paid subscription and OS updates every month made me lose all interest I had in them
If a console is not a plug and play box I connect to a tv then at this point I might as well move to pc since I get the same thing but with more functionality. Which is what happened 10 or so years ago
I will freely admit that I'm still baffled and salty to be kicked out of a game because my Internet went offline for like 5 seconds. That has never ever happened to me before.
 
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LEANIJA

MetaMember
May 5, 2019
3,254
7,951
113
Austria
TP-Link Archer TX20UH.
from some googling, it seems like there is a community-written driver for this, but it would require some getting-your-hands-dirty; and it might be less of a hassle to get a wifi stick that works guaranteed with Linux
but if you do wanna give it a look, i found this ( as always, use at your own risk)
 
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kio

MetaMember
Apr 19, 2019
1,634
5,248
113

I'm taking the biggest hit of HL3 hopium right now.
Why would valve waste money on a slot at the show? They have no need to advertise there, just put a banner on steam and be done with it. Realistically it doesn't even need to get to that point, just create the store page and some bot will scrub it in half a second.

This will be something related with Fromsoft, possibly that game that shall not be named but I wouldn't hold my breath.
The second thing will either be nintendo hardware, extremely unlikely, or some PS sequel like last of us, uncharted or god of war.