While this might not be specific to Linux gaming, it's still something interesting I've wanted to talk about. Metro Exodus from 4A Games and Deep Silver has jumped ship from Steam to the Epic Store.
I waited for the situation to become clear before saying anything on this, as it got a little…ugly.
Last night, the team behind Metro Exodus announced the change saying that "the digital PC version of Metro Exodus will now be available to purchase solely through EpicGames.com". In their official announcement, nothing about it being a timed exclusive was mentioned and so a lot of people were left quite unhappy.
This led Valve, to actually put out a statement on the Steam store page, which reads:
Notice: Sales of Metro Exodus have been discontinued on Steam due to a publisher decision to make the game exclusive to another PC store.
The developer and publisher have assured us that all prior sales of the game on Steam will be fulfilled on Steam, and Steam owners will be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through Steam.
We think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period. We apologize to Steam customers that were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date, but we were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know.
Soon after this, the Metro team put up an announcement on Steam where it does actually mention that Metro Exodus will come back to Steam "after 14th February 2020". To do this so close to release, feels really off.
I've seen a lot of arguments both for and against the Epic Store across the net, with wildly varying opinions on each side of the argument. For gamers, competition between stores can be a really good and helpful thing and we all know Steam could do with a little competition. Valve have dragged their heels on so many things over the years, I firmly hope this is a good kick up their backside to do better.
However, the way Epic is going about it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. I don't think forcing and annoying people into using another launcher is a good way to go, at all. Rather than compete on customer service, value for money, features and so on Epic are forcing people to look at them. For developers, the short-term gain might be good but do they really, honestly, expect the free to play Fortnite audience which is Epic's bread and butter to translate into sales for AAA games? I've become a lot more sceptical of this recently and I think it's largely the reason Epic is throwing money around to try and force a change.
As Epic Games continue throwing money at developers and publishers, I expect things to get even uglier as the year goes on. For us, it's not a good thing, as time and time again Epic Games have shown how little they care about Linux (we're not even on the damn roadmap) and that's sad as we will be the ones losing out.
For Valve, the more they lose like this the quicker they will need to react. I'm going to end up sounding like a broken record here, but they need to seriously get back into their own IP. Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal and so on. Especially after Artifact basically failed them, although they again said they're "Still in it for the long haul" in the most recent update to it.
Not just that, reducing their cut from developers may be inevitable too, it would certainly show they understand the market is changing considering how many developers feel Steam's 30% cut isn't worth it. The most recent "GDC State of the Industry report" showed that only six percent of developers thought Valve were doing enough for it. I don't think Valve need to match Epic on the cut either given how popular Steam already is, even a 5% reduction could be massive for smaller developers.
Linux gamers might think differently on that point though, since Valve help to fund various open source projects and that would likely reduce their ability or enthusiasm to do so. We're not a big enough audience for them to put more of their eggs in our basket—yet.
No matter what happens, I can't imagine Valve just rolling over and allowing Epic to set up shop on their lawn. I'm very curious to see what they have up their sleeves. A competitive Steam is good for everyone!
At least by the time Metro Exodus comes back to Steam, we will see if they made any sort of decision on Linux support (as they currently won't say—likely a no). If not, that's a long time for Steam Play to mature for those who use it.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
TobyGornow Jan 30, 2019
Quoting: NeverthelessQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowMaybe the Orange box was the wrong example ( still an exclusive, You could install Half life 1 without Steam ), take Yakuza 0 instead : you cannot buy it physically, in any way, even if you could you'll be kindly invited to connect on Steam. You can buy it on Humble or elsewhere, sure... and activate it on Steam. In any case, you'll end up on Steam. That's why I said it's time that Valve gets a taste of his own medicine, there is a lot of exclusive on Steam that are not Valve's IP.
That's the publisher's fault for not releasing it anywhere else. That's completely different from what Epic is doing. Other devs release their games on multiple stores.
Same thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
And in Epic case, they just made a cash proposition to Deep silver that was accepted, it's just fair business against a competition using the same tools and again no emotions in business. I repeat it : Deep Silver should suffer a massive boycott of their games but it won't happen, people are sheep waiting to be shaved and then put down. Epic is not at fault here, they are just competing against an enemy in an almost monopolistic position and they need big guns in order to do it. Valve is not a Care Bear, they deserve some hard competition.
Compare it to the only supermarket in town. It has a good relationship with other, smaller stores in the neighborhood, and it even develops stuff usable by them too. Still it might be the only store who sells bananas in the whole area you live in. When someone else opens up a supermarket next to it and claims the whole banana market for itself (say for the next year, prunes is forever), you really think that's the same?
Man, thanks for dumbing it down for me... My Turn : Metro exodus bought on Amazon (or Wherever) and forced to be activated on Epic Store = Exclusivity / Yakuza 0 bought on Gog or Humble (or Wherever) forced to be activated on Steam = Exclusivity.
And because you like to play on words : They are not claiming the whole Banana market just a new variety they PAID for. And again, YOU are right those methods are digusting but common practices in retail or others market, Valve is no stranger to those.
Edit : The friendly local supermarket you described fu***ng killed physical distribution of Pc gaming, nice relationship if you ask me.
Quoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowSame thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
It's not the same thing. They just chose to go there and use Steam, while you can still buy the game at many other stores.
And I'd be happy for other stores to get Yakuza without the Steam-connection. THQ is doing that for example. You can buy Darksiders 3 pretty much everywhere, which is something Valve promotes.
You can buy Metro Exodus on Amazon or at your local supermarket but will be forced to activate it on Epic Store. Deep silver chose to go with Epic like Sega decided to go with Steam.
Guys, I'm on your side here, just saying that Valve is not the nice player you want him to be and, from my point of view, Proton / SteamPlay is just Valve trying to scrap the bottom of the pot for the last crumbs giving you the illusion they care about you: they are not, they answer only to dollars. Those company are not giving anything for free, believe me I work for one of those big global retail company. And remember you still have your free will to not eat banana, I know it's good but you can live on prunes or apples. Eat local.
Last edited by TobyGornow on 30 January 2019 at 8:06 pm UTC
0 Likes
But they ARE nicer. They do a lot for PC gaming in general, because it benefits them.
1 Likes, Who?
Mohandevir Jan 30, 2019
Quoting: TobyGornowQuoting: NeverthelessQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowMaybe the Orange box was the wrong example ( still an exclusive, You could install Half life 1 without Steam ), take Yakuza 0 instead : you cannot buy it physically, in any way, even if you could you'll be kindly invited to connect on Steam. You can buy it on Humble or elsewhere, sure... and activate it on Steam. In any case, you'll end up on Steam. That's why I said it's time that Valve gets a taste of his own medicine, there is a lot of exclusive on Steam that are not Valve's IP.
That's the publisher's fault for not releasing it anywhere else. That's completely different from what Epic is doing. Other devs release their games on multiple stores.
Same thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
And in Epic case, they just made a cash proposition to Deep silver that was accepted, it's just fair business against a competition using the same tools and again no emotions in business. I repeat it : Deep Silver should suffer a massive boycott of their games but it won't happen, people are sheep waiting to be shaved and then put down. Epic is not at fault here, they are just competing against an enemy in an almost monopolistic position and they need big guns in order to do it. Valve is not a Care Bear, they deserve some hard competition.
Compare it to the only supermarket in town. It has a good relationship with other, smaller stores in the neighborhood, and it even develops stuff usable by them too. Still it might be the only store who sells bananas in the whole area you live in. When someone else opens up a supermarket next to it and claims the whole banana market for itself (say for the next year, prunes is forever), you really think that's the same?
Man, thanks for dumbing it down for me... My Turn : Metro exodus bought on Amazon (or Wherever) and forced to be activated on Epic Store = Exclusivity / Yakuza 0 bought on Gog or Humble (or Wherever) forced to be activated on Steam = Exclusivity.
And because you like to play on words : They are not claiming the whole Banana market just a new variety they PAID for. And again, YOU are right those methods are digusting but common practices in retail or others market, Valve is no stranger to those.
Edit : The friendly local supermarket you described fu***ng killed physical distribution of Pc gaming, nice relationship if you ask me.
Quoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowSame thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
It's not the same thing. They just chose to go there and use Steam, while you can still buy the game at many other stores.
And I'd be happy for other stores to get Yakuza without the Steam-connection. THQ is doing that for example. You can buy Darksiders 3 pretty much everywhere, which is something Valve promotes.
You can buy Metro Exodus on Amazon or at your local supermarket but will be forced to activate it on Epic Store. Deep silver chose to go with Epic like Sega decided to go with Steam.
Guys, I'm on your side here, just saying that Valve is not the nice player you want him to be and, from my point of view, Proton / SteamPlay is just Valve trying to scrap the bottom of the pot for the last crumbs giving you the illusion they care about you: they are not, they answer only to dollars. Those company are not giving anything for free, believe me I work for one of those big global retail company. And remember you still have your free will to not eat banana, I know it's good but you can live on prunes or apples. Eat local.
Is there something special with Yakuza?
Usually Valve never asks for any kind of exclusivity. If Yakuza is only available on Steam, it's on the publisher who decided it was the way to go. Nothing prevents them, tomorrow to publish the game somewhere else. That's the major difference with Metro: Exodus and Epic's deal; cash was laid to make sure the game won't be on another store for a complete year.
That's how Valve works, usually, unless there is something special with this game?
Proof of that: If Valve had exclusivities of any forms, Epic wouldn't have been able to make that deal with Deep Silver and Metro: Exodus would still be on Steam.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 30 January 2019 at 8:51 pm UTC
4 Likes, Who?
Quoting: MohandevirQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: NeverthelessQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowMaybe the Orange box was the wrong example ( still an exclusive, You could install Half life 1 without Steam ), take Yakuza 0 instead : you cannot buy it physically, in any way, even if you could you'll be kindly invited to connect on Steam. You can buy it on Humble or elsewhere, sure... and activate it on Steam. In any case, you'll end up on Steam. That's why I said it's time that Valve gets a taste of his own medicine, there is a lot of exclusive on Steam that are not Valve's IP.
That's the publisher's fault for not releasing it anywhere else. That's completely different from what Epic is doing. Other devs release their games on multiple stores.
Same thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
And in Epic case, they just made a cash proposition to Deep silver that was accepted, it's just fair business against a competition using the same tools and again no emotions in business. I repeat it : Deep Silver should suffer a massive boycott of their games but it won't happen, people are sheep waiting to be shaved and then put down. Epic is not at fault here, they are just competing against an enemy in an almost monopolistic position and they need big guns in order to do it. Valve is not a Care Bear, they deserve some hard competition.
Compare it to the only supermarket in town. It has a good relationship with other, smaller stores in the neighborhood, and it even develops stuff usable by them too. Still it might be the only store who sells bananas in the whole area you live in. When someone else opens up a supermarket next to it and claims the whole banana market for itself (say for the next year, prunes is forever), you really think that's the same?
Man, thanks for dumbing it down for me... My Turn : Metro exodus bought on Amazon (or Wherever) and forced to be activated on Epic Store = Exclusivity / Yakuza 0 bought on Gog or Humble (or Wherever) forced to be activated on Steam = Exclusivity.
And because you like to play on words : They are not claiming the whole Banana market just a new variety they PAID for. And again, YOU are right those methods are digusting but common practices in retail or others market, Valve is no stranger to those.
Edit : The friendly local supermarket you described fu***ng killed physical distribution of Pc gaming, nice relationship if you ask me.
Quoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowSame thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
It's not the same thing. They just chose to go there and use Steam, while you can still buy the game at many other stores.
And I'd be happy for other stores to get Yakuza without the Steam-connection. THQ is doing that for example. You can buy Darksiders 3 pretty much everywhere, which is something Valve promotes.
You can buy Metro Exodus on Amazon or at your local supermarket but will be forced to activate it on Epic Store. Deep silver chose to go with Epic like Sega decided to go with Steam.
Guys, I'm on your side here, just saying that Valve is not the nice player you want him to be and, from my point of view, Proton / SteamPlay is just Valve trying to scrap the bottom of the pot for the last crumbs giving you the illusion they care about you: they are not, they answer only to dollars. Those company are not giving anything for free, believe me I work for one of those big global retail company. And remember you still have your free will to not eat banana, I know it's good but you can live on prunes or apples. Eat local.
Is there something special with Yakuza?
Usually Valve never asks for any kind of exclusivity. If Yakuza is only available on Steam, it's on the publisher who decided it was the way to go. Nothing prevents them, tomorrow to publish the game somewhere else. That's the major difference with Metro: Exodus and Epic's deal; cash was laid to make sure the game won't be on another store for a complete year.
That's how Valve works, usually, unless there is something special with this game?
No, he just doesn't seem to get that. And it's not even "usually." It's always. Valve never asks for exclusive deals.
Back when they announced the Source 2 Engine (which they still have to release, but that's another topic) they said it will be free for everybody to use, with the only requirement that any game using it ALSO has to be sold on Steam. That's it. That's the opposite of exclusivity.
4 Likes, Who?
Mohandevir Jan 30, 2019
Quoting: kuhpunktQuoting: MohandevirQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: NeverthelessQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowMaybe the Orange box was the wrong example ( still an exclusive, You could install Half life 1 without Steam ), take Yakuza 0 instead : you cannot buy it physically, in any way, even if you could you'll be kindly invited to connect on Steam. You can buy it on Humble or elsewhere, sure... and activate it on Steam. In any case, you'll end up on Steam. That's why I said it's time that Valve gets a taste of his own medicine, there is a lot of exclusive on Steam that are not Valve's IP.
That's the publisher's fault for not releasing it anywhere else. That's completely different from what Epic is doing. Other devs release their games on multiple stores.
Same thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
And in Epic case, they just made a cash proposition to Deep silver that was accepted, it's just fair business against a competition using the same tools and again no emotions in business. I repeat it : Deep Silver should suffer a massive boycott of their games but it won't happen, people are sheep waiting to be shaved and then put down. Epic is not at fault here, they are just competing against an enemy in an almost monopolistic position and they need big guns in order to do it. Valve is not a Care Bear, they deserve some hard competition.
Compare it to the only supermarket in town. It has a good relationship with other, smaller stores in the neighborhood, and it even develops stuff usable by them too. Still it might be the only store who sells bananas in the whole area you live in. When someone else opens up a supermarket next to it and claims the whole banana market for itself (say for the next year, prunes is forever), you really think that's the same?
Man, thanks for dumbing it down for me... My Turn : Metro exodus bought on Amazon (or Wherever) and forced to be activated on Epic Store = Exclusivity / Yakuza 0 bought on Gog or Humble (or Wherever) forced to be activated on Steam = Exclusivity.
And because you like to play on words : They are not claiming the whole Banana market just a new variety they PAID for. And again, YOU are right those methods are digusting but common practices in retail or others market, Valve is no stranger to those.
Edit : The friendly local supermarket you described fu***ng killed physical distribution of Pc gaming, nice relationship if you ask me.
Quoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowSame thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
It's not the same thing. They just chose to go there and use Steam, while you can still buy the game at many other stores.
And I'd be happy for other stores to get Yakuza without the Steam-connection. THQ is doing that for example. You can buy Darksiders 3 pretty much everywhere, which is something Valve promotes.
You can buy Metro Exodus on Amazon or at your local supermarket but will be forced to activate it on Epic Store. Deep silver chose to go with Epic like Sega decided to go with Steam.
Guys, I'm on your side here, just saying that Valve is not the nice player you want him to be and, from my point of view, Proton / SteamPlay is just Valve trying to scrap the bottom of the pot for the last crumbs giving you the illusion they care about you: they are not, they answer only to dollars. Those company are not giving anything for free, believe me I work for one of those big global retail company. And remember you still have your free will to not eat banana, I know it's good but you can live on prunes or apples. Eat local.
Is there something special with Yakuza?
Usually Valve never asks for any kind of exclusivity. If Yakuza is only available on Steam, it's on the publisher who decided it was the way to go. Nothing prevents them, tomorrow to publish the game somewhere else. That's the major difference with Metro: Exodus and Epic's deal; cash was laid to make sure the game won't be on another store for a complete year.
That's how Valve works, usually, unless there is something special with this game?
No, he just doesn't seem to get that. And it's not even "usually." It's always. Valve never asks for exclusive deals.
Back when they announced the Source 2 Engine (which they still have to release, but that's another topic) they said it will be free for everybody to use, with the only requirement that any game using it ALSO has to be sold on Steam. That's it. That's the opposite of exclusivity.
I used "usually" because sometimes, my knowledge is lacking, but I was pretty sure it's "always". :)
This said, maybe Valve should require that once your game page is up, you have to engage yourself to sell your game on Steam for a minimum of a complete year, not including pre-sales or early access, on day one of official launch. You may sell it elsewhere but you must sell it on Steam with these terms. This would probably prevent other Metro: Exodus messes.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 30 January 2019 at 9:32 pm UTC
4 Likes, Who?
TobyGornow Jan 30, 2019
Quoting: kuhpunktQuoting: MohandevirQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: NeverthelessQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowMaybe the Orange box was the wrong example ( still an exclusive, You could install Half life 1 without Steam ), take Yakuza 0 instead : you cannot buy it physically, in any way, even if you could you'll be kindly invited to connect on Steam. You can buy it on Humble or elsewhere, sure... and activate it on Steam. In any case, you'll end up on Steam. That's why I said it's time that Valve gets a taste of his own medicine, there is a lot of exclusive on Steam that are not Valve's IP.
That's the publisher's fault for not releasing it anywhere else. That's completely different from what Epic is doing. Other devs release their games on multiple stores.
Same thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
And in Epic case, they just made a cash proposition to Deep silver that was accepted, it's just fair business against a competition using the same tools and again no emotions in business. I repeat it : Deep Silver should suffer a massive boycott of their games but it won't happen, people are sheep waiting to be shaved and then put down. Epic is not at fault here, they are just competing against an enemy in an almost monopolistic position and they need big guns in order to do it. Valve is not a Care Bear, they deserve some hard competition.
Compare it to the only supermarket in town. It has a good relationship with other, smaller stores in the neighborhood, and it even develops stuff usable by them too. Still it might be the only store who sells bananas in the whole area you live in. When someone else opens up a supermarket next to it and claims the whole banana market for itself (say for the next year, prunes is forever), you really think that's the same?
Man, thanks for dumbing it down for me... My Turn : Metro exodus bought on Amazon (or Wherever) and forced to be activated on Epic Store = Exclusivity / Yakuza 0 bought on Gog or Humble (or Wherever) forced to be activated on Steam = Exclusivity.
And because you like to play on words : They are not claiming the whole Banana market just a new variety they PAID for. And again, YOU are right those methods are digusting but common practices in retail or others market, Valve is no stranger to those.
Edit : The friendly local supermarket you described fu***ng killed physical distribution of Pc gaming, nice relationship if you ask me.
Quoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowSame thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
It's not the same thing. They just chose to go there and use Steam, while you can still buy the game at many other stores.
And I'd be happy for other stores to get Yakuza without the Steam-connection. THQ is doing that for example. You can buy Darksiders 3 pretty much everywhere, which is something Valve promotes.
You can buy Metro Exodus on Amazon or at your local supermarket but will be forced to activate it on Epic Store. Deep silver chose to go with Epic like Sega decided to go with Steam.
Guys, I'm on your side here, just saying that Valve is not the nice player you want him to be and, from my point of view, Proton / SteamPlay is just Valve trying to scrap the bottom of the pot for the last crumbs giving you the illusion they care about you: they are not, they answer only to dollars. Those company are not giving anything for free, believe me I work for one of those big global retail company. And remember you still have your free will to not eat banana, I know it's good but you can live on prunes or apples. Eat local.
Is there something special with Yakuza?
Usually Valve never asks for any kind of exclusivity. If Yakuza is only available on Steam, it's on the publisher who decided it was the way to go. Nothing prevents them, tomorrow to publish the game somewhere else. That's the major difference with Metro: Exodus and Epic's deal; cash was laid to make sure the game won't be on another store for a complete year.
That's how Valve works, usually, unless there is something special with this game?
No, he just doesn't seem to get that. And it's not even "usually." It's always. Valve never asks for exclusive deals.
Back when they announced the Source 2 Engine (which they still have to release, but that's another topic) they said it will be free for everybody to use, with the only requirement that any game using it ALSO has to be sold on Steam. That's it. That's the opposite of exclusivity.
Geez... I never said Valve asked or paid for exclusive, they worked as a mandatory gateway for consumer without needing to pay a dime for it thanks to their quasi-monopolistic position, and Yakuza was just a prime example that I bought on Humble. If I have to register my game on this platform, only this platform, and I don't have a choice about it if I want to play it, it become an exclusive for this platform in my books, Valve paying for it or not, am I right ?
IMO nor Epic nor Steam is the culprit here, Deep Silver is the filthy prostitute, is that clear ? But you can't blame Epic to take action in order to get a slice of the pie, it's just simple business, they are paying to get a product the others don't have in order to get more customers, again & again & again you are right 100% about the disgusting move but it's business 101. Valve didn't have to pay or ask for exclusives in their store, they were coming by themselves (hence Yakuza 0 example), Tencent is just cranking up the heat and it's just fair game, if valve wants exclusive they will NOW have to pay for it.
Please, I beg you, stop saying Valve is nice or nicer than Epic it hurts. They are crooks with their 30% cut, Quasi-monopolistic positon for years, they killed physical distribution with more than aggressive pricing, Steam can be considered as a DRM locking down pc gaming to their platform, and let's wait and see if source 2 Engine games will be distributed outside Steam, announcement has been made 2 years ago when they were still undisputed. Unreal Engine is free to use too don't know about their distribution politics tho.
Let's time decide if Steam is a lesser evil than Epic. And again I'm on your side, I hate exclusives, I was pissed when I learned that Bloodborne was not coming to PC.
0 Likes
TobyGornow Jan 30, 2019
Quoting: MohandevirQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: NeverthelessQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowMaybe the Orange box was the wrong example ( still an exclusive, You could install Half life 1 without Steam ), take Yakuza 0 instead : you cannot buy it physically, in any way, even if you could you'll be kindly invited to connect on Steam. You can buy it on Humble or elsewhere, sure... and activate it on Steam. In any case, you'll end up on Steam. That's why I said it's time that Valve gets a taste of his own medicine, there is a lot of exclusive on Steam that are not Valve's IP.
That's the publisher's fault for not releasing it anywhere else. That's completely different from what Epic is doing. Other devs release their games on multiple stores.
Same thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
And in Epic case, they just made a cash proposition to Deep silver that was accepted, it's just fair business against a competition using the same tools and again no emotions in business. I repeat it : Deep Silver should suffer a massive boycott of their games but it won't happen, people are sheep waiting to be shaved and then put down. Epic is not at fault here, they are just competing against an enemy in an almost monopolistic position and they need big guns in order to do it. Valve is not a Care Bear, they deserve some hard competition.
Compare it to the only supermarket in town. It has a good relationship with other, smaller stores in the neighborhood, and it even develops stuff usable by them too. Still it might be the only store who sells bananas in the whole area you live in. When someone else opens up a supermarket next to it and claims the whole banana market for itself (say for the next year, prunes is forever), you really think that's the same?
Man, thanks for dumbing it down for me... My Turn : Metro exodus bought on Amazon (or Wherever) and forced to be activated on Epic Store = Exclusivity / Yakuza 0 bought on Gog or Humble (or Wherever) forced to be activated on Steam = Exclusivity.
And because you like to play on words : They are not claiming the whole Banana market just a new variety they PAID for. And again, YOU are right those methods are digusting but common practices in retail or others market, Valve is no stranger to those.
Edit : The friendly local supermarket you described fu***ng killed physical distribution of Pc gaming, nice relationship if you ask me.
Quoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowSame thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
It's not the same thing. They just chose to go there and use Steam, while you can still buy the game at many other stores.
And I'd be happy for other stores to get Yakuza without the Steam-connection. THQ is doing that for example. You can buy Darksiders 3 pretty much everywhere, which is something Valve promotes.
You can buy Metro Exodus on Amazon or at your local supermarket but will be forced to activate it on Epic Store. Deep silver chose to go with Epic like Sega decided to go with Steam.
Guys, I'm on your side here, just saying that Valve is not the nice player you want him to be and, from my point of view, Proton / SteamPlay is just Valve trying to scrap the bottom of the pot for the last crumbs giving you the illusion they care about you: they are not, they answer only to dollars. Those company are not giving anything for free, believe me I work for one of those big global retail company. And remember you still have your free will to not eat banana, I know it's good but you can live on prunes or apples. Eat local.
Is there something special with Yakuza?
Usually Valve never asks for any kind of exclusivity. If Yakuza is only available on Steam, it's on the publisher who decided it was the way to go. Nothing prevents them, tomorrow to publish the game somewhere else. That's the major difference with Metro: Exodus and Epic's deal; cash was laid to make sure the game won't be on another store for a complete year.
That's how Valve works, usually, unless there is something special with this game?
Proof of that: If Valve had exclusivities of any forms, Epic wouldn't have been able to make that deal with Deep Silver and Metro: Exodus would still be on Steam.
Nothing special with this game, just the fact that they had exclusives all the time without paying for them, they were alone and the mandatory platform to be if you want to sell your game. Now, Epic is showing that Valve is not alone anymore and they'll need to write some check if they want the latest title. It's console war exclusive all over again.
Last edited by TobyGornow on 30 January 2019 at 10:15 pm UTC
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Nevertheless Jan 30, 2019
Quoting: TobyGornowQuoting: NeverthelessQuoting: TobyGornowQuoting: kuhpunktQuoting: TobyGornowMaybe the Orange box was the wrong example ( still an exclusive, You could install Half life 1 without Steam ), take Yakuza 0 instead : you cannot buy it physically, in any way, even if you could you'll be kindly invited to connect on Steam. You can buy it on Humble or elsewhere, sure... and activate it on Steam. In any case, you'll end up on Steam. That's why I said it's time that Valve gets a taste of his own medicine, there is a lot of exclusive on Steam that are not Valve's IP.
That's the publisher's fault for not releasing it anywhere else. That's completely different from what Epic is doing. Other devs release their games on multiple stores.
Same thing dude, Yakuza is tied to Steam as much as Exodus is tied (temporarily) to Epic store, that's simple exclusivity for me, Valve made us and dev captive for too long, today your a big publisher you have to put your catalog on Steam otherwise you'll sell peanuts.
And in Epic case, they just made a cash proposition to Deep silver that was accepted, it's just fair business against a competition using the same tools and again no emotions in business. I repeat it : Deep Silver should suffer a massive boycott of their games but it won't happen, people are sheep waiting to be shaved and then put down. Epic is not at fault here, they are just competing against an enemy in an almost monopolistic position and they need big guns in order to do it. Valve is not a Care Bear, they deserve some hard competition.
Compare it to the only supermarket in town. It has a good relationship with other, smaller stores in the neighborhood, and it even develops stuff usable by them too. Still it might be the only store who sells bananas in the whole area you live in. When someone else opens up a supermarket next to it and claims the whole banana market for itself (say for the next year, prunes is forever), you really think that's the same?
Man, thanks for dumbing it down for me... My Turn : Metro exodus bought on Amazon (or Wherever) and forced to be activated on Epic Store = Exclusivity / Yakuza 0 bought on Gog or Humble (or Wherever) forced to be activated on Steam = Exclusivity.
And because you like to play on words : They are not claiming the whole Banana market just a new variety they PAID for. And again, YOU are right those methods are digusting but common practices in retail or others market, Valve is no stranger to those.
Edit : The friendly local supermarket you described fu***ng killed physical distribution of Pc gaming, nice relationship if you ask me.
No dumbing down (sorry if that sounded like it) .. just trying to make myself clear.
The way I see it:
Valve invented online stores the way steam is. More and more developers and publishers marketed their games on Steam, because more and more gamers wanted to purchase their games on Steam. Some more online stores came up, mostly to publish their own games, but some offer third party games. Valve never gave anyone money to offer their games on Steam only. A lot of developers and publishers still choose to offer on Steam only, thats true, but this is not Valves doing. They are open to competition. They even develop tools, APIs and standards in an explicitly open fashion.
People say Valve needs competition, and it's true, but what Epic does is something different, because there is no competition for exclusive deals. They seek multiple micro monopolies, while talking about fairness and openness. If they can only be sustainable when beeing unfair, then Steam has to become more unfair to be able to compete. I don't want that!
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Nevertheless Jan 30, 2019
Quoting: sbolokanovI have the craziest idea!
Let's do Metro Exodus Pirate Fest!
I prefer Metro Exodus pass up fest, until it is on Steam next year, without Denuvo and running platinum on Steam Play or even native.
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