You can now easily run the Epic Store on Linux with Lutris, Epic suggests applying for a grant

Quoting: kneekooHow about we look at the Epic Games Store (EGS) like it's something new? How about acknowledging the need for a business to establish a new product first, and later evaluate expansion opportunities? How about considering the fact that opening the EGS client for Linux-based operating systems also means dealing with a different set of other customer support issues?

My point is that whatever their plans are, it makes perfect sense for them to be cautious with a market that they're new to. It's only logical to take smaller steps and see where it leads, while making sure what is built can sustain itself, because no one wants to burn money just because they have a lot of it.

As a Linux user for nearly 2 decades now, I also want more software available on my distros of choice - or at least the most popular ones. But we know a long list of reasons why Windows still has a large market share and how that impacts the decisions of other software makers. So why not leave them to do whatever they have planned and see where everything goes, without any kind of drama? We can still criticize the exclusive games, in a civilized/mature manner, without throwing them under a bus for not supporting Linux early on.

Aren't we supposed to be "smarter" than the average PC user because we're aware of, care for and uphold privacy and software freedom? Let's also try to be better people, not just more informed. I'm tired of all the drama we see all over the internet. Let's make our community a better one, for fun's sake.

1000x this. Everyone here is like "oooh epic bad", "exclusives bad". Steam has exclusives, origin has exclusives, battle.net has exclusives, uplay has exclusives. I don't like exclusives either but this is the world that we live in right now.

Everyone is ragging on Epic because it's the new cool thing to do, not thinking of all the money Epic are getting to Devs by taking less of a cut than Steam. It's Epic taking a financial hit here, I'm sure they could have entered the market taking a teeny bit less % than Steam. But they've come in waaayy below steam. And you know what that means right? More money spent of making a good, fun game.

Don't get me wrong I love steam and all the work they have done in getting Linux gaming to the place it is now. But everyone here seems to think that competition to steams store model is a bad thing which it is not.

I also saw comments on here saying that Epic was trying to pay off Lutris with a less than working wage for getting the epic store working on Linux with the grant. I'm sorry but whoever you are that thinks this, you are an idiot.

Quoting: riiskyy

Quoting: kneekooHow about we look at the Epic Games Store (EGS) like it's something new? How about acknowledging the need for a business to establish a new product first, and later evaluate expansion opportunities? How about considering the fact that opening the EGS client for Linux-based operating systems also means dealing with a different set of other customer support issues?

My point is that whatever their plans are, it makes perfect sense for them to be cautious with a market that they're new to. It's only logical to take smaller steps and see where it leads, while making sure what is built can sustain itself, because no one wants to burn money just because they have a lot of it.

As a Linux user for nearly 2 decades now, I also want more software available on my distros of choice - or at least the most popular ones. But we know a long list of reasons why Windows still has a large market share and how that impacts the decisions of other software makers. So why not leave them to do whatever they have planned and see where everything goes, without any kind of drama? We can still criticize the exclusive games, in a civilized/mature manner, without throwing them under a bus for not supporting Linux early on.

Aren't we supposed to be "smarter" than the average PC user because we're aware of, care for and uphold privacy and software freedom? Let's also try to be better people, not just more informed. I'm tired of all the drama we see all over the internet. Let's make our community a better one, for fun's sake.

1000x this. Everyone here is like "oooh epic bad", "exclusives bad". Steam has exclusives, origin has exclusives, battle.net has exclusives, uplay has exclusives. I don't like exclusives either but this is the world that we live in right now.

Everyone is ragging on Epic because it's the new cool thing to do, not thinking of all the money Epic are getting to Devs by taking less of a cut than Steam. It's Epic taking a financial hit here, I'm sure they could have entered the market taking a teeny bit less % than Steam. But they've come in waaayy below steam. And you know what that means right? More money spent of making a good, fun game.

Don't get me wrong I love steam and all the work they have done in getting Linux gaming to the place it is now. But everyone here seems to think that competition to steams store model is a bad thing which it is not.

I also saw comments on here saying that Epic was trying to pay off Lutris with a less than working wage for getting the epic store working on Linux with the grant. I'm sorry but whoever you are that thinks this, you are an idiot.

Again, Epic can only take 18%, because they sell user data. I simply don't understand why consumers (I hate the word) use the 18% as an argument for EGS, when they do not profit from it at all. On the contrary, prices for exclusive deals (and no, Steam has no exclusive deals other than their own games) will create high prices, and your data (what you play, how long and when you play, what you do when you play) will be their data mining product on top of that! The 18% are the reason why Epic has to sell your data, where it will not only be used for commercial purposes, but will also feed deep learning machines figuring out how human crowds can be managed and exploited more easily.
Epic already don't take their customers more seriously than Google, Microsoft, Facebook, or their chinese counterparts.
I loved the idea of Linux support in the Epic store at first, but that was when I didn't know about everything else they would do.


Last edited by Nevertheless on 19 April 2019 at 9:06 am UTC

Their store doesn't even have a bloody shopping cart, something considered generally integral to all online transaction design in the modern world and thereby a day one requisite feature for an online storefront, and their own roadmap targets that as six months or more out with a store page redesign as a near term project (three months or less) taking the priority. To me, that whole roadmap screams "we're still in alpha here" (as they haven't finished implementing all the basics most people expect of a modern online storefront yet) and they are *already* negotiating exclusives out from under other stores. I personally wouldn't want them trying to support Linux themselves at this point when they haven't even figured out how to handle UX for a store yet let alone becoming a true competitor to any of the existing storefronts.
In short, I find their business priorities suspect when they're more focused on growing their customer base than presenting an experience their existing base wants to repeat (the lifeblood of this type of business).

Epic Game Store: "Love early access games?"

"no.."

Epic Game Store: "Then you'll love the first early access store!"

"no thanks.."

Epic Game Store: "Too bad, that game you were going to buy is now exclusively on our store!"

"please stop"

Epic Game Store: "We're here to save the PC gaming market from Valve and Steam who were wrecking it!"

Ugh..

Quoting: kneekooHow about we look at the Epic Games Store (EGS) like it's something new? How about acknowledging the need for a business to establish a new product first, and later evaluate expansion opportunities? How about considering the fact that opening the EGS client for Linux-based operating systems also means dealing with a different set of other customer support issues?

I see no reason to consider squat. I'm not a charity. If I were, megacorporations with slush funds of literal billions of dollars would not be what I gave charity to. Let's be clear on the relationship here: They are supposed to be offering things which consumers want enough to give them money for. The consumers then give them money to get what they want. Well guess what? As a consumer, I'm a Linux user. If they consider it too difficult or expensive to cater to my wants, needs or interests that's understandable but not a reason for me to give them money or even hesitate to speak ill of them.

And further, corporations are legal entities established for the express and, these days, sole purpose of extracting money from the public. They have no emotions or consciences or ethics. And their executives are basically sworn to take that same viewpoint. I have some responsibility with normal fellow human beings to give them some benefit of doubts, to not speak too ill of them, to take into account their point of view and so forth. That responsibility does not extend to corporations and is seriously diminished when it comes to their executives while in an official capacity.

Quoting: kneekooHow about we look at the Epic Games Store (EGS) like it's something new? How about acknowledging the need for a business to establish a new product first, and later evaluate expansion opportunities? How about considering the fact that opening the EGS client for Linux-based operating systems also means dealing with a different set of other customer support issues?

My point is that whatever their plans are, it makes perfect sense for them to be cautious with a market that they're new to. It's only logical to take smaller steps and see where it leads, while making sure what is built can sustain itself, because no one wants to burn money just because they have a lot of it.

As a Linux user for nearly 2 decades now, I also want more software available on my distros of choice - or at least the most popular ones. But we know a long list of reasons why Windows still has a large market share and how that impacts the decisions of other software makers. So why not leave them to do whatever they have planned and see where everything goes, without any kind of drama? We can still criticize the exclusive games, in a civilized/mature manner, without throwing them under a bus for not supporting Linux early on.

Aren't we supposed to be "smarter" than the average PC user because we're aware of, care for and uphold privacy and software freedom? Let's also try to be better people, not just more informed. I'm tired of all the drama we see all over the internet. Let's make our community a better one, for fun's sake.

Yeah, no. I'm not willing to touch any store that's openly anti-consumer and proud of it, regardless of their stance on Linux and/or whether you think it's "smarter" or not (yes, I took the bait, but still I think it decidedly unwise to give money to a company doing their best to undermine open competition, consumer rights and have been caught stealing personal data, but hey, whatever floats your boat).

Regardless, well done Lutris team, I hope this brings free games to many penguins.

Wow, 6 whole pages of pure hatred in the comments. In the meantime, some of us are silently playing the excellent Satisfactory on Epic with zero issues (thanks Lutris team!).

Do I think Epic is being extremely aggressive with their store? Yes. Do I think there is any other realistic way of ending Steam's dominance? No. Do I think they should spend time officially supporting Linux? In the future, maybe. Right now they need to be laser-focused on Windows and that's fine by me.

Quoting: callciferDo I think Epic is being extremely aggressive with their store? Yes. Do I think there is any other realistic way of ending Steam's dominance? No.

Why would we *want* to end Steam's dominance? For a regular PC gamer that makes no sense but it makes doubly so no sense for a Linux gamer..


Last edited by gradyvuckovic on 20 April 2019 at 5:48 am UTC

Quoting: callciferWow, 6 whole pages of pure hatred in the comments.

Yeah, you could say stuff like that. Or you could go to the trouble of engaging any of the substantive points made on their merits.

Quoting: callciferWow, 6 whole pages of pure hatred in the comments. In the meantime, some of us are silently playing the excellent Satisfactory on Epic with zero issues (thanks Lutris team!).

Do I think Epic is being extremely aggressive with their store? Yes. Do I think there is any other realistic way of ending Steam's dominance? No. Do I think they should spend time officially supporting Linux? In the future, maybe. Right now they need to be laser-focused on Windows and that's fine by me.

So arguments against Epic are "pure hatred"? No wonder you see Valve as some kind of oppressor!