Umm, so I guess it's time to talk about fragmentation of PC gaming storefronts. Maybe.

[Heysoos]

I don't really mind. If it's a game I want to play, I'll buy it and download whatever platform they're on. That said, I'm a lot less likely to try out new games if they only exist in certain platforms that I only use for a game or two. Where I would probably more open to them since Steam is really the only one I consistently browse.

 

[Wrellie]

The fact that so many people are so upset that some 3rd-party games are not going to be available on Steam, and there are so many comments about "I'm not using another launcher besides Steam and GoG, I'm good" proves exactly how necessary it is for a company to money hat 3rd-party exclusives and give away great games like Subnautica to be able to bring a new storefront to the PC. Been gaming on PCs all my life. If it's a game I want, I'm going to buy it, period. Enjoy your free Subnautica and Super Meat Boy and then another free game every 2 weeks and think long-term how this can be good for gamers. Valve is essentially Amazon right now, where if you want to buy something online, nearly everyone goes to the same place. More options can be good long-term.

 

[jotun?]

Unless I'm mistaken, these PC launchers are free, so you can have 1 or 20 launchers, it won't cost you anything.

Click to shrink...

Cost doesn't necessarily mean money

Each additional launcher means more logins/passwords to deal with, more bloat on your PC, and general hassle keeping track of what game is where.

Having many launchers is simply a worse PC experience than having everything in one place. It devalues the ability to have all your games updated in the background, it devalues your friends lists...

 

[Pargon]

I posted it in another topic yesterday, but this is what the experience of trying to play a Uplay game with a controller is like on PC:

• Two UAC prompts that require a password to be entered via a keyboard (Steam's on-screen keyboard can't work on the protected desktop).
• A prompt from Uplay which requires keyboard & mouse interaction to launch the game, that appeared behind the Steam window. There is often another one for a 2FA code as well.
• This process broke the Steam Overlay from being injected, so I cannot use Steam Input with it (Steam Controller/DualShock 4 with gyro aiming). Sometimes it does work, for whatever reason.
• Quitting the game kicks me back to a blank Uplay window overlaying the screen, rather than taking me back to Steam. Uplay will often display a pop-up ad after quitting games too.

Don't tell me that "it's just another launcher" as if that alone does no harm to the experience of even just trying to get into the game.
It took more than two minutes before I was even at the menus, while Steam games launch in seconds without any of that hassle.

And that's ignoring all the other problems with these games being exclusive to a much worse storefront, as removing consumer choice is never a good thing for us.

 

[Chris Best]

There really is no benefit to this. Still holding out for Mass Effect 3 to be on Steam at some point so I can finish the trilogy. If not meh.

 

[Deleted member 8408]

The fact that so many people are so upset that some 3rd-party games are not going to be available on Steam, and there are so many comments about "I'm not using another launcher besides Steam and GoG, I'm good" proves exactly how necessary it is for a company to money hat 3rd-party exclusives and give away great games like Subnautica to be able to bring a new storefront to the PC. Been gaming on PCs all my life. If it's a game I want, I'm going to buy it, period. Enjoy your free Subnautica and Super Meat Boy and then another free game every 2 weeks and think long-term how this can be good for gamers. Valve is essentially Amazon right now, where if you want to buy something online, nearly everyone goes to the same place. More options can be good long-term.

Click to shrink...

So tell me, how is subnautica going to work in VR via the epic games store?

Since this is such an amazing thing surely the Epic games store version will match the features that are available when you buy it via steam right?

Like with amazon, you do realise there's a reason steam is the most popular option? Or are you going to ignore the facts because partaking in underdog fetishism gets you going?

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Tencent owns both Riot and Epic right? If they somehow unite both logins so you are launching LOL via Epic game store then how many millions of user is that?

 

[Derrick01]

Tencent owns both Riot and Epic right? If they somehow unite both logins so you are launching LOL via Epic game store then how many millions of user is that?

Click to shrink...

They own around 45% of Epic so not enough to make majority decisions. But still enough to cause problems and not want to trust Epic with your information (besides Epic getting hacked routinely too)

 

[Wrellie]

So tell me, how is subnautica going to work in VR via the epic games store?

Since this is such an amazing thing surely the Epic games store version will match the features that are available when you buy it via steam right?

Like with amazon, you do realise there's a reason steam is the most popular option? Or are you going to ignore the facts because partaking in underdog fetishism gets you going?

Click to shrink...

Underdog fetishism...wow...just wow...

You are literally complaining about a great game being given away for free because it's not compatible with a feature that less than 1% of PC gamers would even have access to. And the store has only had non-Epic games for a week.

Again, you are complaining about being given a free game that is great!!!

This kind of talk is even worse than people complaining about free games in PSN+ or Xbox Games with Gold because it is (one more time) LITERALLY FREE.

 

[Wulfric]

I welcome it. Considering the retail value of some of these digital collections, keeping all your games in one basket seems like a big risk if the store goes defunct or you decide to chargeback.

 

[Ganado]

I posted it in another topic yesterday, but this is what the experience of trying to play a Uplay game with a controller is like on PC:

• Two UAC prompts that require a password to be entered via a keyboard (Steam's on-screen keyboard can't work on the protected desktop).
• A prompt from Uplay which requires keyboard & mouse interaction to launch the game, that appeared behind the Steam window. There is often another one for a 2FA code as well.
• This process broke the Steam Overlay from being injected, so I cannot use Steam Input with it (Steam Controller/DualShock 4 with gyro aiming). Sometimes it does work, for whatever reason.
• Quitting the game kicks me back to a blank Uplay window overlaying the screen, rather than taking me back to Steam. Uplay will often display a pop-up ad after quitting games too.

Don't tell me that "it's just another launcher" as if that alone does no harm to the experience of even just trying to get into the game.
It took more than two minutes before I was even at the menus, while Steam games launch in seconds without any of that hassle.

And that's ignoring all the other problems with these games being exclusive to a much worse storefront, as removing consumer choice is never a good thing for us.

Click to shrink...

I'm guessing this was with a non-Steam version right?

So tell me, how is subnautica going to work in VR via the epic games store?

Since this is such an amazing thing surely the Epic games store version will match the features that are available when you buy it via steam right?

Like with amazon, you do realise there's a reason steam is the most popular option? Or are you going to ignore the facts because partaking in underdog fetishism gets you going?

Click to shrink...

You will most likely be able to start the VR mode with Steam VR. Which is pretty lulz but w/e.

I welcome it. Considering the retail value of some of these digital collections, keeping all your games in one basket seems like a big risk if the store goes defunct or you decide to chargeback.

Click to shrink...

Well, good thing Steam is actually one of the few platforms that doesn't kill off your account if you chargeback. It will get locked for new activations and store purchases etc but your games are still available.

 

[Pargon]

I'm guessing this was with a non-Steam version right?

Click to shrink...

Yes, I got the Uplay version bundled with my GPU. I don't buy games on Uplay and the terrible user experience is a large part in that.
Ubisoft games on Steam are barely any better. The first and last game that I bought which was a Uplay-required game on Steam was Far Cry 3.
I have sent them feedback, with some back and forth between us so that they actually understood the issues, and received a response that they are "working on it" but they haven't done anything to improve this situation in years.

 

[Grain Silo]

As an avid user of Steam for over a decade, I'm disappointed but resigned about its apparent fading relevance in the PC gaming market. Its convenience as a one-stop platform is hard for me to let go of but these are changing times. We just have to keep multiple storefronts going now. If there are games I want on the Epic Store, the extremely mild imitation of hopping between ecosystems won't stop me.

 

[Deleted member 8408]

Underdog fetishism...wow...just wow...

You are literally complaining about a great game being given away for free because it's not compatible with a feature that less than 1% of PC gamers would even have access to. And the store has only had non-Epic games for a week.

Again, you are complaining about being given a free game that is great!!!

This kind of talk is even worse than people complaining about free games in PSN+ or Xbox Games with Gold because it is (one more time) LITERALLY FREE.

Click to shrink...

What's funny about this is the fact that catering for the 1% is what has enabled Steam to be in the position it's in today. 1% care about VR, 1% care about regional pricing, 1% care about trading cards, 1% care about steam workshop features, 1% care about controller remapping, 1% care about big picture mode, etc, etc, etc. When you cater to the many 1%'ers then suddenly you are catering to a wide range of people in a meaningful way that nobody else is.

It doesn't matter that they have only been doing this for a week, what matters is that they are doing this now. They are not competing in a vacuum where they are competing against an ancient version of Steam that is only 1 week old, they are competing against the Steam of today. So that means when people are deciding whether they should use the Epic launcher or not then it comes down to whether they think their experience will be better there or at any of the existing alternate options.

If a new luxury car manufacturer released a car today without a reverse camera and blind spot monitors are you going to excuse them because they have only been selling cars for a week?

You want a new TV? I can make and sell one to you. 720p is the only option and there's no remote control. Sorry mate, I've only been doing this for a week, please buy it and don't be too hard on me.

So yeh, it's great the game is free but the fact is that it will lack a number of features (some that the developer themselves spent time implementing and support) that are available if you were to purchase the game via the steam. Just because its free it doesn't mean its automatically the better option dependant on what you look for in your gaming experience.

So I'll tell you what's more necessary than Epic offering inferior versions of literally free games and pushing for games to be exclusive to their launcher: getting their shit together, stepping up and offering a PC gaming platform that is at the very least on par with the competition.

So yes, it is underdog fetishism, because I can't think of any other reason to push so hard for your fellow consumers to support inferior options.

 

[Pargon]

[…] Again, you are complaining about being given a free game that is great!!!
This kind of talk is even worse than people complaining about free games in PSN+ or Xbox Games with Gold because it is (one more time) LITERALLY FREE.

Click to shrink...

These games being given away temporarily are incentive for people to sign up, install the client, and build a library on their store. It's marketing.
They aren't just giving away free games for no reason, and they aren't the first store to have done this.

 

[Nessus]

Don't you have to have UPlay on in order to play Ubisoft games? Or does your post mean you don't play Ubisoft games?

Click to shrink...

Heh, it means I only own two Ubisoft games that use U-Play.

I own tons of older Ubisoft games on both console and PC (some of my favourite games of all time actually), but just haven't been as into their more recent stuff, the semi annual Far Crys and Assassin's Creeds.

 

[Deleted member 3196]

I wish there was a third party launcher tool that would just let you consolidate all your store front accounts into one launcher or something.

Like outlook but for all these libraries i have spread out.

I wouldn't have as much of a problem with all of this if i could just have one way to launch it all.

But obviously this isn't viable since the launchers are basically DRM

Click to shrink...

Playnite is trying this, and they are pretty good for desktop users.

If you use your PC as a 10ft UI or use in-hom streaming, it's not ideal. Their big picture mode is disappointing, and they don't have the incredibly useful controller configuration support that Steam does.

 

[Ryuichi Naruhodo]

Personally for me , I don't mind dealing with 100+ launchers , More options is better for me and I usually go with the cheapest price for a game as long as the launcher is at least " average "

PC is an open platform so literally if every company in existence made its own launcher , there is nothing to blame them

The only thing that makes me worry if a game is exclusive in a launcher that I personally see that it isn't good and that is of course outside the Launcher's company own games

 

[i hate cheaters]

once i switched to a password/account manager, i basically stopped caring about whether something required a separate account

 

[VX1]

Imagine turning on your Playstation/Xbox/Switch and having to open about 6 different launchers to play your games.

Click to shrink...

On consoles ( and iOS) publishers don't have a choice.On PC they do.

 

[MillionIII]

It's just a launcher, why is everyone freaking out?
Can't play major aaa games on steam anymore because devs don't want to put their games there, it's their games and their choice.

 

[Fishook]

It doesn't bother me in slightest , its still a lot easier than it was 20 plus years ago with Boot Disks and such. Different launchers also make it a damn sight easier for my Nephew to play my games collection if he want's. It's only because people have bought loads of bundles over the years and are tied to Steam. I admit if CD Keys or GMG didn't exist I would be buying a lot less AAA games.

 

[Pedetemptim]

Plurality of stores is not a problem. Plurality of clients (i.e. sugar-coated DRM solutions) is. Nobody would complain about this if every store (including Steam) followed the GOG model and allowed you to download DRM-free installation files through your browser, which you could then indefinitely store in a Games folder on your HDD, regardless of where they had come from.

Nobody complains about having to use different accounts in order to buy clothes from different online stores. That's because you don't have to log into some bloatware every time you put on your sweater.

 

[Nooblet]

I mean, Cdkeys and GMG are just key resellers, are they not? I don't personally buy games from Steam very often, but almost all of the keys I buy on those sites (and trust me, I have a giant bookmark folder of every single key reseller out there) are used on Steam. When it comes to actual other platforms, I perfer GOG and Origin in usability and visual appeal, I always have, but again, almost every key I buy ends up on Steam.

Click to shrink...

They may be resellers but where do you think the keys come from? The keys they sell are keys that Devs/pubs generate for free. Steam doesn't make a penny off those keys. A sale on Cdkeys/GMG means not paying steam in any way whatsoever at any point in sale that looks like competition to me.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Yeah it wouldn't be an issue if all the storefronts had a user friendly approach like GOG. I only use Steam and GOG for PC gaming, I ignore the rest of the clients and either play the games on the console or don't buy them at all.

 

[Gelf]

I worry about the future when some of these stores inevitably fail and close because the market can't contain all of them. Exclusives to these clients could be lost to everyone but pirates.

 

[BeI]

I posted it in another topic yesterday, but this is what the experience of trying to play a Uplay game with a controller is like on PC:

• Two UAC prompts that require a password to be entered via a keyboard (Steam's on-screen keyboard can't work on the protected desktop).
• A prompt from Uplay which requires keyboard & mouse interaction to launch the game, that appeared behind the Steam window. There is often another one for a 2FA code as well.
• This process broke the Steam Overlay from being injected, so I cannot use Steam Input with it (Steam Controller/DualShock 4 with gyro aiming). Sometimes it does work, for whatever reason.
• Quitting the game kicks me back to a blank Uplay window overlaying the screen, rather than taking me back to Steam. Uplay will often display a pop-up ad after quitting games too.

Don't tell me that "it's just another launcher" as if that alone does no harm to the experience of even just trying to get into the game.
It took more than two minutes before I was even at the menus, while Steam games launch in seconds without any of that hassle.

And that's ignoring all the other problems with these games being exclusive to a much worse storefront, as removing consumer choice is never a good thing for us.

Click to shrink...

This kind of thing is a dealbreaker for me. I care about controller options (the ones Steam provides) and no other launcher seems to show any interest in such a thing, and quite a few prevent Steam's overlay from working.

 

[Candescence]

The notion of there being "competition" against Steam, or anyone intending to meaningfully compete, is an absolute farce.

GoG is the only potential contender for that title, due to their two particular niches - a large and increasing library of old titles and being completely DRM-free. At one point, Origin had a better refund system, but now that's a moot point.

These launchers are basically just storefronts with built-in friends list and chat clients. That's about it. Steam is so much more, and Valve is expanding on that even more. It has multiple interfaces for desktop and console-like use, and even a complete VR interface with its own built-in virtual 'lobbies'. It has universal controller support and jaw-dropping customisation. Valve are going out of their way to try and make as many games Linux-compatible as possible via Proton. Hell, they're even developing entire APIs for certain things like 3D audio and making them free for developers to use without strings attached, just because it'd be cool and actually improve the quality of games.

"Valve is complacent". Anyone who basically says this has no credibility, not when Steam is actively being improved and expanded. If anything, almost every 'competitor' is. Epic even confirmed it by stating they don't plan on improving their shit any further. Steam isn't perfect, but nobody's actively trying to position themselves as being an improvement to Steam with those specific issues. Valve and CD Projekt seem to be the only bunch actively trying to improve the PC space, while everyone else is fragmenting it purely to line their own pockets.

Having a bunch of launchers, I'm okay with, even if it's a hassle and just unnecessary bloatware. But if those clients aren't gonna play nice with features like the Steam Controller stuff, then that's bullshit.

 

[shoptroll]

One problem though, Epic is a curated store which means you have to wait for there approval first. If you get on it then great but if not then you are left out in the cold.

Click to shrink...

They're not left out in the cold. You can go to Steam, GOG, Humble, and Itch. Or hell, Big Fish if you're doing something in their wheelhouse. You can even self-publish if you want to. I'd still take multiple stores over consoles or iOS where if you can't get a deal with the platform holder you're done until they eventually relent or you give up.

Sure you have steam, but now steam isn't so big anymore, now some gamers are on origin playing battlefield, there on uplay playing assassins creed, there on bethseda's launcher playing Elder Scrolls 6, some gamer's are on epics new service etc. When you fragment the market on all these different services it becomes much harder to gain traction and exposure which is essential for the low to mid tier developers.

Click to shrink...

These launchers aren't mutually exclusive. I would like to think people are smart enough to know where certain games can or cannot be found and will seek them out wherever they currently live.

We are now many years away from the early days of Steam where there was only one or two games getting released a day or week and the holiday sale catalog was maybe 100 games tops. Very few games are breaking out via Steam discoverability alone these days due to the flood of content and the shift in how games are promoted on the front page. Word of mouth (ie. social media, streamers, and traditional coverage) remains the key route to success and that works regardless of market fragmentation (Fortnite, League of Legends, Hearthstone, etc.).

 

[nekkid]

More stores should mean more competition, more options, a better consumer experience.

Not like this.....

 

[JLP101]

They're not left out in the cold. You can go to Steam, GOG, Humble, and Itch. Or hell, Big Fish if you're doing something in their wheelhouse. You can even self-publish if you want to. I'd still take multiple stores over consoles or iOS where if you can't get a deal with the platform holder you're done until they eventually relent or you give up.



These launchers aren't mutually exclusive. I would like to think people are smart enough to know where certain games can or cannot be found and will seek them out wherever they currently live.

We are now many years away from the early days of Steam where there was only one or two games getting released a day or week and the holiday sale catalog was maybe 100 games tops. Very few games are breaking out via Steam discoverability alone these days due to the flood of content and the shift in how games are promoted on the front page. Word of mouth (ie. social media, streamers, and traditional coverage) remains the key route to success and that works regardless of market fragmentation (Fortnite, League of Legends, Hearthstone, etc.).

Click to shrink...

You make a good point, and those are all valid forms of exposure, I will still contend though that a game on a service with 1 million people is not the same as a game on 4 different services each with 250,000 people. My point is that its easier to gain traction/momentum when more people are using a singular service.

*old man rant incoming* In my day we used magazines and watched gaming shows to tell you about whats hot or not....now kids these days with there youtube and streams bah.....

 

[Deleted member 47843]

It doesn't bother me. I just play a game or two at a time and don't care about maintaining a unified library since I rarely replay things. More stires can equal lower prices, more sales and so on through increased competition.

I'm also stockpiling tons of free/"free" games through various giveaways on GoG, Humble Bundle, Steam, uPlay, Twitch Prime (have Prime for shipping) etc. and soon Epic. So that's a nice benefit.

 

[freakybj]

The notion of there being "competition" against Steam, or anyone intending to meaningfully compete, is an absolute farce.

GoG is the only potential contender for that title, due to their two particular niches - a large and increasing library of old titles and being completely DRM-free. At one point, Origin had a better refund system, but now that's a moot point.

These launchers are basically just storefronts with built-in friends list and chat clients. That's about it. Steam is so much more, and Valve is expanding on that even more. It has multiple interfaces for desktop and console-like use, and even a complete VR interface with its own built-in virtual 'lobbies'. It has universal controller support and jaw-dropping customisation. Valve are going out of their way to try and make as many games Linux-compatible as possible via Proton. Hell, they're even developing entire APIs for certain things like 3D audio and making them free for developers to use without strings attached, just because it'd be cool and actually improve the quality of games.

"Valve is complacent". Anyone who basically says this has no credibility, not when Steam is actively being improved and expanded. If anything, almost every 'competitor' is. Epic even confirmed it by stating they don't plan on improving their shit any further. Steam isn't perfect, but nobody's actively trying to position themselves as being an improvement to Steam with those specific issues. Valve and CD Projekt seem to be the only bunch actively trying to improve the PC space, while everyone else is fragmenting it purely to line their own pockets.

Having a bunch of launchers, I'm okay with, even if it's a hassle and just unnecessary bloatware. But if those clients aren't gonna play nice with features like the Steam Controller stuff, then that's bullshit.

Click to shrink...

I don't think Valve would be making so many improvements if there weren't competing services like Discord, Origin, Uplay, etc. Mulitple launchers are inconvenient but I don't think they threaten the open nature of PC gaming.

 

[Pryme]

Imagine turning on your Playstation/Xbox/Switch and having to open about 6 different launchers to play your games.

Click to shrink...

I turn on my PS4 and click on an icon to play a game.

I turn on my PC and click on a game icon and it launches the game.

I'm not seeing the friction.

Seems you're fine with a console like single source for games on PC?

 

[Ge0force]

I don't think Valve would be making so many improvements if there weren't competing services like Discord, Origin, Uplay, etc. Mulitple launchers are inconvenient but I don't think they threaten the open nature of PC gaming.

Click to shrink...

Multiple launchers are good for competition. But store owners moneyhatting devs to keep their games away from competing storefronts goes straight against healthy competition. If every storefront starts doing this, competition may actually cease to exist.

 

[Bjones]

I turn on my PS4 and click on an icon to play a game.

I turn on my PC and click on a game icon and it launches the game.

I'm not seeing the friction.

Seems you're fine with a console like single source for games on PC?

Click to shrink...

Huh? No way.. more like you click on a icon on pc it launches the third party launcher. You have to sign in because you haven't used that launcher in a while. For the same reason it has to download an update for that launcher. Then maybe you get to play the game unless it has to update as well.

 

[Khrol]

I'm not primarily a PC gamer but I do dabble in that space more often than not. At this point I'm so invested in the Steam ecosystem, the thought of switching over to several other ecosystems and having my library fragmented makes PC gaming super unappealing. It's not that having multiple launchers and multiple accounts is difficult. It's just that don't care enough to bother with it.

I've had an Origin account for ages and a handful of games but I never think about it. I'm not invested in Origin so I never think about installing the launcher to play them.

 

[freakybj]

Multiple launchers are good for competition. But store owners moneyhatting devs to keep their games away from competing storefronts goes straight against healthy competition. If every storefront starts doing this, competition may actually cease to exist.

Click to shrink...

I don't see the issue. The money provided to devs can help them release the game much like how consoles pay devs for exclusive games which help them release it. Despite the game being on a different launcher, you'll still be able to play on PC. When Microsoft announced Play Anywhere I was just happy I could play Xbox games on PC. The Windows Store was just an inconvenience that could be overcome. And developers often have good reasons for avoiding Steam (e.g. to avoid Steam taking a cut of sales, lack of quality control on storefront, etc.).

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Plurality of stores is not a problem. Plurality of clients (i.e. sugar-coated DRM solutions) is. Nobody would complain about this if every store (including Steam) followed the GOG model and allowed you to download DRM-free installation files through your browser, which you could then indefinitely store in a Games folder on your HDD, regardless of where they had come from.

Click to shrink...

This is exactly how I feel. The core issue is having these games tied to clients in the first place. I just want standalone EXE's that I can then run without a launcher, or add to whatever launcher I choose later, etc.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

I worry about the future when some of these stores inevitably fail and close because the market can't contain all of them. Exclusives to these clients could be lost to everyone but pirates.

Click to shrink...

Ashen doesn't have DRM

 

[Border]

PC is the one open platform in a world full of walled gardens, and people are basically demanding that everything be handed to Valve because "Oh no I don't want to have to use multiple launchers".

Valve has been insanely lazy for years -- refusing to curate, refusing to run any basic sort of quality control, refusing to establish any kind of consistent content rules, refusing to prevent Greenlight abuse. Why they should have a god-given right to carry any and all games is beyond me. I am more than happy to see if legitimate competition will prod them into improving their platform.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Ashen doesn't have DRM

Click to shrink...

^^ Not only does it have no DRM, it has no DRM including for online play! That isn't true even on GoG, where online play requires the Galaxy client!

I literally bought Ashen last night because of this. I downloaded it in a Virtual Machine, so Epic's launcher will never touch my Windows install.

 

[Terraforce]

Makes me glad that I'm a mostly console gamer. Already enough of an inconvenience to have to swap between Steam, EA, and the Twitch launcher. Epic games and whatever else is in the mix only make it that much worse.

 

[Cecil]

PC is the one open platform in a world full of walled gardens, and people are basically demanding that everything be handed to Valve because "Oh no I don't want to have to use multiple launchers".

Valve has been insanely lazy for years -- refusing to curate, refusing to run any basic sort of quality control, refusing to establish any kind of consistent content rules, refusing to prevent Greenlight abuse. Why they should have a god-given right to carry any and all games is beyond me. I am more than happy to see if legitimate competition will prod them into improving their platform.

Click to shrink...

People are not requiring everything to be sold just on Steam.
Valve doesn't curate anymore, because the market demanded that they stop.
People want the games on Steam as well as other Store fronts, because that's the situation that's best for the consumer - a sitaution where we can chose were to buy a game.
No one is against competion, as long as it doesn't limit the choices customers have.

 

[wbloop]

All I would ask for is that I can buy any game on multiple platforms, so I have everything in one place. Yes, put it on Epic Store and Origin, but don't let out Steam where the majority of my library sits.

This shit is making me quit PC gaming after more than ten years. I was fine with having Origin and uPlay, in the case of the latter especially because I still could buy and launch games on Steam. But now with the crappy Bethesda launcher and Epic? I'm out, to be honest.

 

[Deleted member 27471]

All this has made me question whether or not I want to get into PC gaming. I mean theres so many benefits, but in an era of people preferring digital downloads so they dont have to switch disks, why would people want several stores to access different titles.

I think its great to have competition, but this isn't even good competition. Having exclusive games on publisher store fronts is the biggest issue. They literally serve no purpose beyond selling you their own game. Now if that games was accessible everywhere than it's not an issue. These publisher stores dont even have access to a good amount of other content.

The whole epic thing is just bizarre. Yeah the ratio is good, but it seems like dev's are going there now in Hope's they make more money and yet I cant help but think it's going to backfire. Epic says it's about exposure, yet they would have more if the game was all over other stores too.

The whole thing with rage 2 being exclusive to Bethesda store is just bagging for people to pirate that game. That game is going to have shitty PC sales.

These are the moments I appreciate owning a console. I dont want several stores with several accounts, with personal information across all of them, and licenses tied to all of them.

 

[VX1]

Think like this: this eight years or so of Steam dominance and benevolent monopoly were always an anomaly, not what's normal. We now return to normality.

Click to shrink...

This.
Big publishers are simply cutting out the middleman.It's expected and logical business decision cause on PC they can do that,on consoles and iOS they can not.

 

[BeaconofTruth]

Zero issue with anyone trying to keep Steam honest. I'll primarily buy my stuff on steam, but if I can get a better deal from epic store, or discord, or gog, I'm always cool with going there for that specific game.

I don't care for the exclusivity nature of some of it, but the end game has to be what's the benefit to me. Steam coasts on its big ass eco system for me and my big ass library of games I'll never play, but maybe someday I'll play one of them ;_;

GoG is a bit more specialized with old games, no drm, and still puts cdpr stuff on steam.

Epic the only boon I see is that devs get more money, which as an enthusiast of the medium I appreciate on some level, but what about me yo?

As far as too many things to click open, I can deal with that.

 

[Zem]

It's mad.

I use GoG and Battle.net far more than I use Steam so I'm not averse to using other clients. I barely use Steam at all tbh. Yet reading Bethesda now have a launcher is like reading something from The Onion. They're having a laugh if they think I'd ever use that thing and / or ever enter any personal details into it. As for the Epic store, it offers nothing other stores do except some moneyhatted timed exclusives. Pass.

It's such a bad time for these indie Devs to try and go exclusive when there's dozens of games released each month that are top quality that people can just play instead. Would I like to play RAGE 2 on PC? Of course, do I care if I skip it? Not really, my backlog is huge and there's new games coming out every week that I want to play.

At this point in time I'm looking for reasons to skip games because there's just too many I want to play, it being exclusive to a shitty launcher is like the easiest reason ever.

 

[Border]

People are not requiring everything to be sold just on Steam.
People want the games on Steam as well as other Store fronts, because that's the situation that's best for the consumer - a sitaution where we can chose were to buy a game.

Click to shrink...

You can't really have the former without the latter though. If Valve wants to have everything they'll need to earn it, just as every other retailer would. Even then, are they going to put their games on other storefronts so consumers can have choice?

It seems like this ship sailed long ago, with the advent of the Battle.Net launcher and League/Riot launcher.......then continued onwards with Origin, UPlay, etc. The single ubiquitous PC storefront never really existed.