News Epic Games Store

Chudah

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store.steampowered.com
Gamesupply is great because gaming has never been better but its left us with large backlogs and a ton of starving artist devs and dev/consumer relationships that have never been shittier.
I'm not saying it's a good thing, just that it's not something that can be easily fixed by having consumers throw more money at the industry. Especially in a world where wages continue to stagnate and income disparity is increasing at an alarming rate.
 

Trisolarian

Junior Member
Jul 12, 2019
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I'm not saying it's a good thing, just that it's not something that can be easily fixed by having consumers throw more money at the industry. Especially in a world where wages continue to stagnate and income disparity is increasing at an alarming rate.
Its something that Epic thinks they can fix by throwing money at it. Or at least pick the winners and losers rather than consumers.

(games should/probably need to cost more but nobody is willing to pay more for all the reasons you listed.)

relax, i'm not trying to guilt-trip you :p

just explaining what's the most likely reason for those free games (especially since they already bragged about that exact thing at GDC)

i'm sure JaseC has more info about that saved somewhere :p
Oh good.. I was just able to email Epic support with an apology... :p

Ah JaseC is here! Cool.
 
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lashman

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Its something that Epic thinks they can fix by throwing money at it. Or at least pick the winners and losers rather than consumers.
honestly? i don't think they give a single fuck about any of those developers (or publishers)

they're only doing this to hurt volvo ... and to make themselves the only store on PC (which, by the way, Tim already said ... i'm not even guessing, he literally said that)

Oh good.. I was just able to email Epic support with an apology... :p
oh you ;)

Ah JaseC is here! Cool.
indeed, JaseC has been here for a long long time :) he just doesn't like us very much, so he barely posts :p j/k, lol
 

goat

Mass Erect
Jan 21, 2019
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And another one bites the dust.

Another developer on my blacklist too.
I do the same thing. As soon as a pub/dev announces a deal, I go on Steam and block them. Petty? Sure, but I don't give a rat's ass.

Another thing, and it may not be a popular opinion but I don't care about publishers and developers financial issues. It's not a consumer's responsibility to keep your company afloat. Want to make money in a business that is flooded by releases everyday? Make something that people want to buy, reign in your bloated project goals, or don't open your studio in Silicon Valley, but I'm not here to listen to your sob stories and prop your company up. It's like me asking Activision to pay my electric bill.
 

Tizoc

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Want to make money in a business that is flooded by releases everyday? Make something that people want to buy,
That is a pretty broad and vague term. A developer, or indie developer, has the right to make the game they want to do, should be allowed their vision to become real and make it available to others to experience.

Like take Falcon Age that released on EGS recently; this is a game where the protagonist isn't white and incorporates a culture and theme that is central asian. The game was released initially on PS4, but who knows if it managed to sell well on there or not.

Is the goal post to be moved to give such a particular indie special treatment or make them a special case, based on what you wrote? No, I don't think so, so it's not proper to say 'make something people want to buy', because that'd come out as an insult to indies and insult to predecessor indie devs who opened the gates and showed there to be an opportunity for one to make the game they desire and not run of the mill corporate mandated products.

I will not however take in any form of sob story defensive silliness they would spout; because you're richer than me, fam, and you didn't do that out of your product actually selling.

EDIT: I had posted prior that if an indie dev is going in it to make their dream game, then they ought to accept the risk of their game not guaranteeing them sales, be it due to competing nature of the platform, or otherwise.
My above sentence still stands though.

Really if Epic straight up and smacked their name as PUBLISHER for these games, we wouldn't even have such a thread.
Epic not doing so, just shows how little they care about the platform, and makes them come off unprofessional.
 

goat

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That is a pretty broad and vague term. A developer, or indie developer, has the right to make the game they want to do, should be allowed their vision to become real and make it available to others to experience.

Like take Falcon Age that released on EGS recently; this is a game where the protagonist isn't white and incorporates a culture and theme that is central asian. The game was released initially on PS4, but who knows if it managed to sell well on there or not.

Is the goal post to be moved to give such a particular indie special treatment or make them a special case, based on what you wrote? No, I don't think so, so it's not proper to say 'make something people want to buy', because that'd come out as an insult to indies and insult to predecessor indie devs who opened the gates and showed there to be an opportunity for one to make the game they desire and not run of the mill corporate mandated products.
Hey, if an indie wants to make a game that appeals to no one, more power to them. Everyone is free to do whatever they want. Just don't come crying to me that your game doesn't sell or try justifying selling out for a bag of cash. If you want to make money, you have to make something that people want to buy. Nowhere did I knock someone for making something artistic.
 

Tizoc

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Hey, if an indie wants to make a game that appeals to no one, more power to them. Everyone is free to do whatever they want. Just don't come crying to me that your game doesn't sell or try justifying selling out for a bag of cash. If you want to make money, you have to make something that people want to buy.
Nowhere did I knock someone for making something artistic.
This post reads as you knocking them down though.
Yeah, sure, and we have the right to not buy it.
Dunno if 'right to something' is the proper term, more like, this I believe is what goes in one's mind when they see a game that may interest them: 'Do I want this game? Does it interest me?' That kinda thing.
I mean hey I want Bloodstained, doesn't dictate I have a right to want it or not. @_@
 
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goat

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This post reads as you knocking them down though.
I'm not. If I was, I'd be blunt about it like "fuck that artsy fartsy indie game". I don't dance around and try to hide agendas in my words. I know we are used to places that do that, so no harm, no foul. My entire point, which looks like your point too (just worded differently) is don't whine about not making money or try to place blame on consumers or Steam.
 

gabbo

MetaMember
Dec 22, 2018
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Kinda funny how some people on ERA think it's only a group of people on ERA and here complaining about EGS exclusivity.

Look at MechWarrior5s FB site (must log in to see comments): Security Check Required
They dont want to admit their baseless claims are just that. I mean, in most cases, that is a healthy skepticism to have regarding web forums, as they tend to be bubbles that are disconnected from the greater whole of society. In this case, pc gamers pretty unanimously seem to dislike EGS, so PCEra was on the money from day one.

I admit i had to see the light at first too, but i was able to see my own mistakes.
 

GrrImAFridge

Your friendly neighbourhood appliance
Jan 26, 2019
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indeed, JaseC has been here for a long long time :) he just doesn't like us very much, so he barely posts :p j/k, lol
Haha, while I don't keep an active eye on the forum, I did have alerts set up for when I made my account. That setting must've reset when I deactivated my account back in April. I've ticked those boxes again.
 

lashman

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Haha, while I don't keep an active eye on the forum, I did have alerts set up for when I made my account. That setting must've reset when I deactivated my account back in April. I've ticked those boxes again.
that's good to hear :)

also - love the new avatar, haha

:wd_heart:

 

CommodoreKong

Mercenary in the Badlands
Jun 15, 2019
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Kinda funny how some people on ERA think it's only a group of people on ERA and here complaining about EGS exclusivity.

Look at MechWarrior5s FB site (must log in to see comments): Security Check Required
Even at my workplace when I talk to PC Gamers they're all pretty much like "Fuck Epic". One even told me how he was happy The Outer Worlds was coming to game pass so he wouldn't need to buy it on the Epic Store.
One person is pretty neutral towards it, I last I heard from him he hasn't bought any games but redeems the free ones.
 

Arsene

On a break
Apr 17, 2019
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Even at my workplace when I talk to PC Gamers they're all pretty much like "Fuck Epic". One even told me how he was happy The Outer Worlds was coming to game pass so he wouldn't need to buy it on the Epic Store.
One person is pretty neutral towards it, I last I heard from him he hasn't bought any games but redeems the free ones.
Same. Pretty much everyone I know that plays PC is openly against Epic. I think only 1 of my friends bought anything from it.

I was kinda shocked tbh, I was fully expecting to have to tell everyone about the dumb shit Epic does but they all already knew. Guess its more widespread than I thought.
 

ISee

Oh_no!
Mar 1, 2019
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The whole thing seems like one final great grift from Piranha games.
And the final nail in the coffin of the franchise (of pc games).


Edit: I wasn't present during the AMA, but apparently Russ (company founder) got frustrated and asked:"Do you all think I'm just interested in money?"
And the whole discord exploded with yes. Must have been quite beautiful.

Edit 2: and sorry for bothering y'all with my Mechwarrior 5 rage. I'll try calming down.
But I'm p* off!
At least my refund was granted. And they'll do the same for everybody. Independent of mwo credits or discord access. It's the bare minimum.
 
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m_dorian

Ούτις
May 22, 2019
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Isn't Piranha Bytes a THQN company; Because this would explain the partnership with assholes.
 

Doctor Ironic

Junior Member
Mar 18, 2019
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A VR falconry game is an amazing concept and it does hurt that it’s exclusive.

I think that and Control are the only really upsetting exclusives for me. God, I wanna play Control so bad.
 

ISee

Oh_no!
Mar 1, 2019
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Dunno if 'right to something' is the proper term, more like, this I believe is what goes in one's mind when they see a game that may interest them: 'Do I want this game? Does it interest me?' That kinda thing.
I mean hey I want Bloodstained, doesn't dictate I have a right to want it or not. @_@
What people really mean when they say "I have the right to not buy" is: I don't have an obligation to buy a game.
Independent of its quality, of the financial risk the studio is in, the amount of passion that was put into it, the political inclusiveness, the message or my love for the franchise/studio.
As you said: Does the game interest me (for whatever reason) and am I fine with the circumstances around the game are the only two important factors here.
And yes if Epic would be buying game ideas and help to develop them from day one, this thread would not be as big as it is. But they aren't and they've stated many times that it's their right to buy games as exclusives, no matter how close to release it is. So naturally people answer with, it's my right to not buy it though. It's kind of a good answer to a provocation, because nobody was saying that Epics doings are illegal, they are just shitty. They just came out with this typical, smart-ass answer of: But it's not illegal, you can complain but not stop us. It's a bit childish.

I don't know how fair it is to go down on specific semantics like "having rights to buy or not" tbh. The message behind those words is very easy and clear to understand.
"Your actions might be legal, but you won't force me to buy the game from the store I dislike".
It's good enough of a statement to make imo.
 

lashman

Dead & Forgotten
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As expected the Mechwarrior community is in uproar. The message from most people is clear: you've chosen epic over us, the community.
People seem to be refunding, a lot. The site went even 404 for a while.
good

Edit: I wasn't present during the AMA, but apparently Russ (company founder) got frustrated and asked:"Do you all think I'm just interested in money?"
And the whole discord exploded with yes. Must have been quite beautiful.
also good
 

Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
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Belgium
Edit: I wasn't present during the AMA, but apparently Russ (company founder) got frustrated and asked:"Do you all think I'm just interested in money?"
And the whole discord exploded with yes. Must have been quite beautiful.
Hilarious :D

I've read a tldr of the AMA, and it seems one of the major reason why he took the exclusivity deal is that Epic has data to prove that EGS exclusives sell even better than their sales projections for Steam.

No doubt Epic is only talking about games like Satisfactory and WWZ, but still, this proves my point that I was trying to make yesterday: by buying games in Epic's Store, you are actually helping Epic to succeed with their moneyhatting strategy, resulting in even more exclusivity deals!
 

lashman

Dead & Forgotten
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No doubt Epic is only talking about games like Satisfactory and WWZ, but still, this proves my point that I was trying to make yesterday: by buying games in Epic's Store, you are actually helping Epic to succeed with their moneyhatting strategy.
that probably also extends to redeeming free games ... i have no doubt epic have a "here's all the active users we have ... all of them are your potential customers" slide in their moneyhatting presentation
 

Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
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that probably also extends to redeeming free games ... i have no doubt epic have a "here's all the active users we have ... all of them are your potential customers" slide in their moneyhatting presentation
Exactly. It's very clear that Epic is going all in on exclusivity deals after the success of WWZ and Satisfactory. At their current pace, they will have over a hundred exclusivity deals from some of Steams most popular devs and publishers by the time EGS is 1 year old. People still claiming that what Epic is doing is good for competition are out of their mind.
 

lashman

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here are the AMA notes in a form that's more suited for humans instead of ants (also - quotable :p):

AMA Notes:

  1. They signed with Epic a long time ago, no specific date stated.
  2. Claims he was truthful about not knowing for sure they were signing with EGS when he was asked about it in a previous AMA.
  3. 12% with EGS was a major reason.
  4. In April he started talking to an Epic rep, didn't finalize until end of April.
  5. Deal settled by E3.
  6. Claims going to the EGS isn't a short sighted decision on his part.
  7. EGS is a better chance for MW5 to succeed because it will be more "discoverable"
  8. Says being discovered on Steam is hard. (Personal note: Doesn't explain why PGI doesn't do any independent advertising.)
  9. Says there's evidence that small games that go to Epic are more successful.
  10. Expects sales to be the same or higher on the EGS.
  11. Complains about the 30% cut they give to steam for a while.
  12. EGS is safer for their company in terms of profit. (no shit)
  13. Says 20 years 10 times, decides not to explain why the company is still tiny after 20 years
  14. Moved the release date because they were scared of big games releasing around the same time.
  15. More time for localization, german, french and russian languages confirmed
  16. They now have a marketing budget (that isn't small)
  17. Says they had no other choice but to go to the EGS
  18. Completely knew they were stepping into a shitstorm of fan backlash, the "facts" were that this decision was the best decision for the game. No mention about what is good for their players naturally.
  19. Basically said they weren't willing to try and fight people on their pre-order bonuses for MWO.
  20. Refunds with no questions asked. It's the only thing I think they've done right. Refunds are coming out of their own pockets, not Epic.
  21. 20,000 preorders for MW5. "pretty great" in comparison to MWO back in 2012.
  22. 700 requests for refunds by the time the AMA started. More expected.
  23. They want to sell a million units of MW5.
  24. They think they can make it if they can release the game at their desired quality level.
  25. Someone wants more hud colors. No, it's up to modders.
  26. Q. How do you plan on winning back the community? A. Decision isn't just about the bottom line (sure) Pretends EGS is the best choice for the customers. Complains about getting attacked on twitter for 0 marketing for MW5 last week. Claims selling out to EGS will lead to more Mechwarrior titles in the future. Acts like this is the best decision for the players.
  27. Claims again they didn't plan on working with Epic since Mechcon. Says the deal didn't feel like it was going to happen until they started talking again in April.
  28. They want the best performing game possible. Admits they fucked up with performance on MWO at the design level. Engineers spent 2 months optimizing for MW5.
  29. Played the game on a gaming laptop with a 1070 (missed the processor) and got 60-80 fps at max settings
  30. Hired a new lighting artist for the RTX lighting shit
  31. No steam keys. Someone brought up that they would be willing to wait a year for a steam key but basically said just get a refund
  32. Co-op question. Use EGS overlay to join co-op games just like steam overlay.
  33. Someone asked a really long fucking question. Russ talks about more people using the EGS because of other games releasing on EGS before MW5 is released. Masturbates over Metro:exodus's sales numbers
  34. Talks about connecting over LAN. Says it's probably possible but doesn't know for sure.
  35. Brings up you can bypass the EGS with the game's .exe
  36. Talks about bringing Mechwarrior 3 and 4 to GOG. Is interested but it's very low on the priority scale.
  37. Development started in 2016. Closed beta on nov 5th will be instant action only.
  38. Answers a redundant question. Talks about the co-op system more, it's a peer to peer connection. (no shit)
  39. Modding will be "different" from steam for obvious reasons. They plan on releasing an editor for modders, basically says we're on our own for sharing mods with each other until the EGS mod workshop is up.
  40. Declines the steam and epic debate. Claims again that no one on steam can see their game. Once again says Epic is better for visibility. "I choose to believe in it"
  41. Says a Sarna.net article that claimed PGI was in dire financial straits is wrong. Claims they weren't desperate for money, re-iterates EGS was the best choice for them and us.
  42. Epic money helped them a lot. Admits it expanded the localizations and marketing
  43. BL3 release date affected their decision to delay.
  44. Q. Why shouldn't we refund? A. The main reason for going to EGS was to ship the best game they possibly could, pls understand ;_;. (I do agree that it is the best decision for PGI and the game, just the worst fucking decision for us)
  45. Q. Has pre-order info, login info, etc been shared with Epic? A. No, we have your data, but we haven't shared it with Epic.
  46. I might have heard this wrong, but "user friendly aspects will lag behind steam"
  47. Q. So really this decision is based on your need for money? A. (sounding stressed out) Nuh-uh
  48. There's another AMA in the morning, 10am
  49. Q. Is there any extra incentive to stick with your pre-order? A. IDK, maybe something for MWO lol
  50. They want to do an AMA every month.

Buggered off. Next one is 10am pacific time.
 

Rosenkrantz

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Well, I'm not surprised that some games are selling more than expected on EGS. For starters they had a huge sale where even unreleased games were heavily discounted (despite devaluing being a major point against Steam).
 
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Ge0force

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"Claims again that no one on steam can see their game. Once again says Epic is better for visibility."

I'm curious if this guy did any research about this other than reading clickbait articles on Polygon. Steam has the best discovery tools out there, and these tools - in combination with user reviews and Steam sales - are almost mandatory for selling the game long term..
Well, I'm not surprised that some games are selling more than expected on EGS. For starters they had a huge sale where even unreleased games were heavily discounted (despite devaluing being a major point against Steam).
Don't forget how Epic paid everyone €10 for buying games on EGS, resulting in ridiculous low prices in many regions.
 

ISee

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This is the fifth game after almost 20 years of the last one and not some indy adventure maker project.
The steam visibility argument is pure bullcrap.
It is.

They managed to make 50k people pre-order on their website. Without any kind of steam visibility, a rather bad company reputation (because of MechWarrior Online) and practically no marketing, besides a couple of trailers on a YT channel with 5k subscribers and ~27k views for the pre order announcement trailer.

That's at least 2.5 million dollars for the brand recognition alone (probably more). Mech5 would have done great on Steam and GoG (gog was often mentioned).
As said the Battletech (Mechwarrior Universe) Turnbased Stratetgy game sold ~250k in its first two weeks and probably around 1 million till today. And that's even more niche and received even less marketing.


edit:
Oh, Hi JaseC
;)
 

prudis

anime occult member
Sep 19, 2018
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The Kingdom of Beer and Porn
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Overall, I am really curious for 2020

all those Eggscloosier for me are in 90% cases of "this really intruiges me but probably gonna be rough mess" (which is quire visible in their current videos)
and they collectivelly claim that the 🥚💰🎩 will make the games much better!

So with the "years time" I might be in for a treat on much lower price ,that i was originally willing to play with potentionally polished roughness , without the need to deal with rough messes that are certain to happen on EGGS launch (to name a few Ancestors, Control , Outer World or Phoenix point)
 

lashman

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It is.

They managed to make 50k people pre-order on their website. Without any kind of steam visibility, a rather bad company reputation (because of MechWarrior Online) and practically no marketing, besides a couple of trailers on a YT channel with 5k subscribers and ~27k views for the pre order announcement trailer.

That's at least 2.5 million dollars for the brand recognition alone (probably more). Mech5 would have done great on Steam and GoG (gog was often mentioned).
As said the Battletech (Mechwarrior Universe) Turnbased Stratetgy game sold ~250k in its first two weeks and probably around 1 million till today. And that's even more niche and received even less marketing.
they are probably basing that shit on MWO ... which they just randomly dropped one day on steam without any marketing and like 5 years after it actually came out
 
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Tizoc

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What people really mean when they say "I have the right to not buy" is: I don't have an obligation to buy a game.
Independent of its quality, of the financial risk the studio is in, the amount of passion that was put into it, the political inclusiveness, the message or my love for the franchise/studio.
As you said: Does the game interest me (for whatever reason) and am I fine with the circumstances around the game are the only two important factors here.
And yes if Epic would be buying game ideas and help to develop them from day one, this thread would not be as big as it is. But they aren't and they've stated many times that it's their right to buy games as exclusives, no matter how close to release it is. So naturally people answer with, it's my right to not buy it though. It's kind of a good answer to a provocation, because nobody was saying that Epics doings are illegal, they are just shitty. They just came out with this typical, smart-ass answer of: But it's not illegal, you can complain but not stop us. It's a bit childish.

I don't know how fair it is to go down on specific semantics like "having rights to buy or not" tbh. The message behind those words is very easy and clear to understand.
"Your actions might be legal, but you won't force me to buy the game from the store I dislike".
It's good enough of a statement to make imo.
Ah fair enough, they are entitled to that then.
I misworded my post as I never considered it as a right for me myself. Sorry if my initial response to it came off rude or such.

I'm not. If I was, I'd be blunt about it like "fuck that artsy fartsy indie game". I don't dance around and try to hide agendas in my words. I know we are used to places that do that, so no harm, no foul. My entire point, which looks like your point too (just worded differently) is don't whine about not making money or try to place blame on consumers or Steam.
On that final part we can agree yes.
This is the risk any indie dev has to deal with on Steam and they just need to realize that already, but alas there are those who do not.