Developer of 'Steam Marines' talks sales, Linux represented 2% over the lifetime of it

WorthlessBums, thank you for all your clarifications. From time to time some people complain about the lack of transparency behind some of the developers' decisions, and seeing you here taking the time to address every single comment is something really remarkable. Besides, all the information you provide helps to bring some light about the main and current problems we have to address to finally become an accessible and profitable platform for game developers.

On a related note, by reading all the comments I had an idea (that I'll post here so that you can Like it if you agree): what about giving these communicative developers a special badge, like the "GOL Supporter" and the "Contributing Editor" ones? Not only it would be a gesture of respect for caring about our community, but also it would be easier to find the developers' responses among the huge number of comments in articles like this. It would only take a single mail to verify the identity and that should be enough.

Quoting: liamdaweI don't agree with the argument that Linux having less games, means each game will have more sales. We are still normal people with limited incomes, so we won't buy literally everything, we still have to pick and choose what games we are interested in to pick up. Just having less options, doesn't mean we are likely to buy more, it just means we have less to choose from (and in certain genres like this, we have tons), I don't see it any other way.

But the logic is correct. It's not like we buy more games, but it's more likely we buy game X.
Imagine everybody buys 2 games. There's 10 games for Windows and 4 for Linux. Distribution between games is even. Then every game get's 0.2 sells per Windows user in average, but 0.5 sells per Linux user in average. Let there be 1000 Windows users and 10 Linux (1%), each game available for both platforms sells 200 Windows copies and 5 Linux copies - not 2, as to be expected by the OS share.

Quoting: WorthlessBumsI admit I am curious if Linux builds would do better if launched on day one

There are reasons to think so. Whatever publicity your game gets, it gets it around release, not half a year later. A game doesn't even show up in the recent releases for Linux on Steam if the Windows release is older. (Something they should fix.)


Last edited by Eike on 9 November 2016 at 8:06 am UTC

Quoting: Eike

Quoting: liamdaweI don't agree with the argument that Linux having less games, means each game will have more sales. We are still normal people with limited incomes, so we won't buy literally everything, we still have to pick and choose what games we are interested in to pick up. Just having less options, doesn't mean we are likely to buy more, it just means we have less to choose from (and in certain genres like this, we have tons), I don't see it any other way.

But the logic is correct. It's not like we buy more games, but it's more likely we buy game X.
Imagine everybody buys 2 games. There's 10 games for Windows and 4 for Linux. Distribution between games is even. Then every game get's 0.2 sells per Windows user in average, but 0.5 sells per Linux user in average. Let there be 1000 Windows users and 10 Linux (1%), each game available for both platforms sells 200 Windows copies and 5 Linux copies - not 2, as to be expected by the OS share.

Or you might not buy anything and invest your money somewhere else, like go to cinema.

This is not closed competition between games themselves, they must compete next to other form of entertainment as well. I don't have 50$ budget for half year to spend on games and only games, so I would have to divide it amongst existing games.

Hey guys,

im the new one that is reading comments and articles about a year or so.

b2t:

i think its cool when somebody supports a plattform that isnt exactly a cash cow. But to be honest that game is not my cup of tea or coffee. and i think a lot of players will think the same. then again the game isnt exactly cheap. for 20€ i can go and grap the f1 2015 for steam at our local shops. thats an triple aaa title from the last generation vs and indie title.

Quoting: WorthlessBumsI admit I am curious if Linux builds would do better if launched on day one

i think so BUT i dont think it would be huge difference. i for myself never believed in a Deus Ex: Mankind divided Linux Version. So i picked up a Windows Version. Yes i love linux but my main rig has windows and linux on it. I need a few Adobe Tools and as long as they dont be ported i cant switch... so thats why my steamlibary fills from time to time with a windows only game. Same happened to me with Alien and Grid: Autosport.

So i have a bad conscience because feral ported the games to my favorite os. But i supported a lot of games with a linux buy as a excuse. :D

The biggest issue with this is the fact that Linux users are almost always not 100% Linux users. Even if you don't dual boot. For example for a very long time I almost always bought my games on Steam or GOG or Humble on a Windows work laptop my work gave me, and since it was just always there when I saw a sale or bundle. I used it purely for the convenience of it.

Now I generally only buy Linux supported games and play them on my Linux machine, however those sales more than likely counted as a sale for Windows not Linux.

Now this is only my scenario however I'm sure there are tons of these scenarios where Linux sales get counted as Windows sales, and these types of developers need to realise this.

Quoting: Colombo

Quoting: EikeBut the logic is correct. It's not like we buy more games, but it's more likely we buy game X.
Imagine everybody buys 2 games. There's 10 games for Windows and 4 for Linux. Distribution between games is even. Then every game get's 0.2 sells per Windows user in average, but 0.5 sells per Linux user in average. Let there be 1000 Windows users and 10 Linux (1%), each game available for both platforms sells 200 Windows copies and 5 Linux copies - not 2, as to be expected by the OS share.

Or you might not buy anything and invest your money somewhere else, like go to cinema.

This is not closed competition between games themselves, they must compete next to other form of entertainment as well. I don't have 50$ budget for half year to spend on games and only games, so I would have to divide it amongst existing games.

Of course, there's a thousand other variables and unknowns. But when you take just these two, OS share on Steam and Linux game share on Steam, the expected result of sales is higher than the OS share due to less choice for Linux gamers.

Quoting: EikeOf course, there's a thousand other variables and unknowns. But when you take just these two, OS share on Steam and Linux game share on Steam, the expected result of sales is higher than the OS share due to less choice for Linux gamers.

No its not, I just explained you why. You can't just take an important part from equation and behave like nothing happens and you can treat this problem in isolation.

First, you would have to prove that it is truly enclosed system and that market behaves like that. Understand your assumptions, verify them or try to explain why results of your model are relevant even if your assumptions are wrong.

Quoting: WorthlessBumsYou're referencing behavior I haven't really seen evidence of: that people would buy a game for Windows and a year or so later buy the same game again but for Linux. I've only seen this behavior when there is a full re-release like a special edition or GOTY or something of that nature, something with a substantial update and not merely a port.

No, this was exactly my point. Additionally, people won't play the Linux version after its release because the game has past its lifespan for those users. That was the point. That may also explain why you have less sales than you would expect to have.

To give you some comparison: I recall both Feral and Aspyr have already broken even on their Linux ports and are making a profit. Their release times are usually near the original release date of the game and the games they are porting are expected to have a much longer lifespan. So depending on what you indie devs are doing, Linux may not be a profitable platform for you (yet). This is also why a day 1 is something I would prefer to see, as that would negate the above scenario and thus my argument (granted you don't get enough sales). And I'm also sure that regardless of outcome, it would put a lot of minds here at ease.