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Would you consider buying a game on the Epic Store over Steam?
- Thread starter Bungie
- Start date
Nope, I buy games on Origin, Uplay, Steam everywhere except Epic, I've grown to loath both Tim Sweeney and Galyonkin and the thought of buying something from them irritates me. I'd rather support Steam anyway, they're putting the money into the PC platform with Proton and other projects while Epic is trying to carve out a slice of the pie.
No but I rarely buy stuff on Steam anyways.
Just dislike all the DRM shit and til this day don't use Origin, uPlay or anything else.
Just dislike all the DRM shit and til this day don't use Origin, uPlay or anything else.
No.
There are a few pretty terrible storefronts/clients out there, but only two I refuse to support. The Epic Store and the Windows Store. These two aren't just abysmal, but through their policies, company agendas, and leverage to disrupt represent dangers to the platform. Microsoft has made a few positive moves lately, but they have a long way to go on PC if that is their intent.
There are a few pretty terrible storefronts/clients out there, but only two I refuse to support. The Epic Store and the Windows Store. These two aren't just abysmal, but through their policies, company agendas, and leverage to disrupt represent dangers to the platform. Microsoft has made a few positive moves lately, but they have a long way to go on PC if that is their intent.
No, I wouldn't say never because we can't know what tomorrow will bring but unless something drastically impactful happens with Steam, the answer will stay the same. Gotta say though, if a game that I want to support launches on Steam and GOG, I might double dip. Otherwise, Steam is where I'm at.
I've used Steam for the last decade, and honestly I don't feel like splintering my game library any more than I already have with GOG and Origin. I'm sure it's great for devs and I feel for them, but I don't need a new launcher.
Epic has proved they don't have the consumer's best interest in mind. I'll stay far away from them, and any devs that accept their exclusivity deal. Heck, I might boycott the devs that give free games there.
No, and I never will.
Steam has all the features (VAC, Workshop, Trading cards, big picture, etc) which are necessary from the get go and allows users from China to buy from their store.
With EGS? Exclusives aren't a real incentive to buy from there. Also, If you're trying to get a game from there in China? You're fucked. The store is not available there. Then what's the point of having the store available in simplified Chinese? Also, good luck finding which multiplayer game has anti cheat because the store pages don't tell you the anti cheat the game uses. The only good thing about the store are the free games and even then, I rather play on Steam.
Even GOG is better than EGS feature wise.
Steam has all the features (VAC, Workshop, Trading cards, big picture, etc) which are necessary from the get go and allows users from China to buy from their store.
With EGS? Exclusives aren't a real incentive to buy from there. Also, If you're trying to get a game from there in China? You're fucked. The store is not available there. Then what's the point of having the store available in simplified Chinese? Also, good luck finding which multiplayer game has anti cheat because the store pages don't tell you the anti cheat the game uses. The only good thing about the store are the free games and even then, I rather play on Steam.
Even GOG is better than EGS feature wise.
No.
Not only has the epic store literally no features other than downloading data (well, other than scanning my data it has not business to) but epic is making the pc platform actively worse with their exclusive bullshit AND more expensive. So no, fuck em.
Not only has the epic store literally no features other than downloading data (well, other than scanning my data it has not business to) but epic is making the pc platform actively worse with their exclusive bullshit AND more expensive. So no, fuck em.
Nope. I have a large backlog of games so nothing on Epic Game Store will ever sway me. Definitely not with their disgusting practices.
At the expense of other (smaller) storefronts like GOG, I guess. It will be a sad day when Valve pays for exclusives to compete.
People keep repeating that line over and over in defense of EGS but they never explain how, how will Steam being taken down benefit me? Benefit PC gaming? We get cheaper prices thanks to Steam and their willingness to resell their keys on GMG and other sites as opposed to EGS, Steam managed to attract console exclusives like Dark Souls and Yakuza, Steam and Valve is investing heavily in PC as a platform. So how would EGS gaining a foothold, a company that is priding itself as pro dev instead of pro consumer, benefit me?
I don't really see a reason to, even without all their shitty behavior Epic's store is simply inferior and I don't want games stuck on a store that may end up shutting down like Desura did (at least that had Steam keys for most games so you could save a good bit of your library but Epic doesn't seem like they'd do that).
Competition being good doesn't mean you should buy an inferior product, it means the opposite in fact! If you want to prop up a Steam competitor go with GOG or something.
Competition being good doesn't mean you should buy an inferior product, it means the opposite in fact! If you want to prop up a Steam competitor go with GOG or something.
I literally just installed Playnite as a means of organizing both all the games that I have gotten through the various storefronts over the years (thus meaning that I have no particular reason to favor specifically using the steam launcher over any other, and in fact have used this to remove games from my active Steam library and replace them with, say, the GOG versions). In that sense the Steam client offers nothing to use over another service, though for games to play I still need to be logged in with the program opened to launch some of them.
As regards the question of moneyhatting devs, I'd like people to remember that in the earlier days of Steam and Origin the companies involved did about the same thing for exclusive game distribution, as I posted in the thread about that non-infringing XCom game:
Where I am given pause is in the discussion about what data the launcher gathers, and how the service uses it. I've had the launcher installed for a while in order to do Fortnitey things, so it's probably too late for me anyway. Nonetheless it's scummy enough behavior couched in such weird defenses that I don't feel comfortable recommending the program to anyone. I would make a GDPR complaint were I a Eurozone person, if only for the dark-patterns they use for communication registration (i.e., receiving e-mails) let alone what the program does even when no selection for sharing information is made. This bothers me much more than guaranteeing a payout for devs they want to put their games the service, since the former -- while by no means a good thing -- is one that the entire industry, indeed most industries under capitalist systems, engages in.
As regards the question of moneyhatting devs, I'd like people to remember that in the earlier days of Steam and Origin the companies involved did about the same thing for exclusive game distribution, as I posted in the thread about that non-infringing XCom game:
Where I am given pause is in the discussion about what data the launcher gathers, and how the service uses it. I've had the launcher installed for a while in order to do Fortnitey things, so it's probably too late for me anyway. Nonetheless it's scummy enough behavior couched in such weird defenses that I don't feel comfortable recommending the program to anyone. I would make a GDPR complaint were I a Eurozone person, if only for the dark-patterns they use for communication registration (i.e., receiving e-mails) let alone what the program does even when no selection for sharing information is made. This bothers me much more than guaranteeing a payout for devs they want to put their games the service, since the former -- while by no means a good thing -- is one that the entire industry, indeed most industries under capitalist systems, engages in.
I would buy from wherever is cheaper tbh
Also the appeal to get away from the toxic steam community is *very* high right now
Also the appeal to get away from the toxic steam community is *very* high right now
Because the scenario offered gives me no reason to. 20 cents, say, is worth more than nothing.
No way, I invested too much in my steam library, and it's by far the best platform right now, so I don't see why I would by a game on EGS in case it is available with the same price on Steam, hell I might as well be willing to pay a little bit extra for the connivance of Steam.
Definitely. No loyalty to big companies here. I DO have loyalty for the creators behind the games though, so with Epic store giving them a bigger cut that's good news to me. I already buy Assassin's Creed games on Uplay over Steam for that exact reason.
It'll take a monumental shift to get me off of steam to any other store. All my friends and games and saved $$$ are there, and my backlog and wish list are so big there's little reason for me to pop out of the bubble and go through the effort of embracing another client.
Similarly unless the PS5 is backwards comparable it's unlikely I'm going to jump in for a few years. I have enough as is.
Similarly unless the PS5 is backwards comparable it's unlikely I'm going to jump in for a few years. I have enough as is.
What is with all of this "loyalty" stuff? As if being loyal to Valve is a bad thing. Is this some kind of new EGS talking point?
Valve has earned PC gamers loyalty by investing in the PC platform. Maybe Epic should think about how they could earn our loyalty instead of trying to force people to shop where they don't want to.
Valve has earned PC gamers loyalty by investing in the PC platform. Maybe Epic should think about how they could earn our loyalty instead of trying to force people to shop where they don't want to.
I would. I don't use most of Steam's ancillary features, and I'd prefer to support the devs more than the platform.
Nope. And this would have probably been different if it wasn't for what they've said and done.
There was a barrier from the start due to Fortnite being a huge target for "hackers" combined with reports of significant security issues in the past. I am growing tired of having to give my personal information to more and more and more companies. So when EGS launched with games that were exclusive for just one year I didn't really see a reason to give them my information. Then things were said, things that had been said before got dug up and it all looked very dumb. Then other things happened that has been talked about in many threads here and now we're at a point that they could try to give me the game I am most looking forward to for free and I would still not install EGS.
I have no problems buying exclusives on Origin and Uplay for example, even tho they lack the features Steam have. It's no longer about what EGS offers in terms of games, features and prices, it's about me not wanting anything to do with all that shit they've said and done.
There was a barrier from the start due to Fortnite being a huge target for "hackers" combined with reports of significant security issues in the past. I am growing tired of having to give my personal information to more and more and more companies. So when EGS launched with games that were exclusive for just one year I didn't really see a reason to give them my information. Then things were said, things that had been said before got dug up and it all looked very dumb. Then other things happened that has been talked about in many threads here and now we're at a point that they could try to give me the game I am most looking forward to for free and I would still not install EGS.
I have no problems buying exclusives on Origin and Uplay for example, even tho they lack the features Steam have. It's no longer about what EGS offers in terms of games, features and prices, it's about me not wanting anything to do with all that shit they've said and done.
The thing about being pro-dev is that the games aren't made in a vacuum and the general labor practices of the industry are fucked. Anything that helps to ameliorate that is at least worth a look in my book, though obviously I think skepticism of Epic's larger set of behavior is strongly worth investigation. While I do like the ways that inevitable major price reductions on games makes it easier for me to participate in the games, the behavior built from this expectation helps lead down the path of the race to the bottom we've been seeing for the industry at large the past few years. The "price value" of a creative product is never anything different from what people are willing to pay for it, and is wholly disconnected from artistic merit -- but that's art market behavior that's hardly unique to games.
Ideally one other reason to remove Steam's grip on the PC gaming market is to force them to start excising the more toxic groups that use their service and which alienate more casual users. This includes groups like nazi recruiters, misogynist review bombers, and developers putting up cheap exploitative content like the school shooter simulator or rape day. While this is by no means a guaranteed step (and the sort of action Valve only does when there is too much attention to ignore), it would go a long way to reducing the toxicity of this hobby, and be a major step in global deplatforming of advocates for abhorrent views. This is something that's good for everyone -- except Nazis, I suppose, not that they're worth considering.
Epic isn't trying to earn anyone's loyalty; they are just buying it. Sweeney has literally said that he's not planning to compete with Steam by delivering more or better features. Instead, his strategy is to convince devs to sell their games exclusively at Epic's Store. This won't change when the store is becoming more popular.
Unless pc gamers start voting with their wallets now, these exclusivity deals are here to stay. And other storefronts will react to this by moneyhatting games as well. That's really not how I see healthy competition for pc gaming, and I'm baffled to see that so many people are fine with this.
I also see several people talking about choosing a store based on the price. Makes sense, I'm doing this as well. But it seems many people are ignoring the existence of 3rd party keystores. Almost every game on Steam can be found cheaper on several competing keystores. Meanwhile, keys for Epic Store exclusives are nowhere to be found, and Epic's deal with Ubisoft is leading to keys for the division 2 being pulled from all official keystores. This results in significantly higher prices than we are used to pay.
Nope, didn't even bite for the free games they offered close to launch. Their customer support and their client needs a hell of a lot of work before I even consider buying games on their service over Steam or GoG. Especially their horrendous security issues.
the problem is identical in price to me.
if epic is taking a smaller share for the developers some of that savings should be passed to the customer meaning that the price should be cheaper.
I'm in the steam ecosystem far more, so if they are identical I will just go with steam.
if epic is taking a smaller share for the developers some of that savings should be passed to the customer meaning that the price should be cheaper.
I'm in the steam ecosystem far more, so if they are identical I will just go with steam.
After reading up a bit more on this whole Steam user data collection thing they've been embroiled in, and what they've said they do not lining up with what they've been found to be doing, I'm going to change my answer to a hard no. I really have no interest in their storefront at this time.
Promising a trilogy of episodic games, failing to deliver, then refusing to even say the name of their company-founding franchise for over a decade.
Companies that value their fans tend to communicate better.
The Steam client and ecosystem offers so much more in terms of features than the Epic store.
Also, there's no evidence of Valve moneyhatting exclusives or harvesting my personal data.
Also, there's no evidence of Valve moneyhatting exclusives or harvesting my personal data.
There is only Steam and Oculus that support my current interest in gaming (VR) and I don't like facebooks connection to Oculus! So in order to secure my own interests I obviously want Steam to be successful and since the other companies seem very disinterested in VR I not only want Steam to be successful, I want them to become even more relevant than they already are. Epic has nothing to offer me, I don't care about free games or third party interests and market dynamics, I'm not a shareholder, I'm just a customer!
I don't blame devs/pubs for taking fortnite money in exchange for exclusivity tho. I'd probably do the same if I'd be offered such a deal, but as I said, my interests as a customer are more important to me and this is not a charity!
I don't blame devs/pubs for taking fortnite money in exchange for exclusivity tho. I'd probably do the same if I'd be offered such a deal, but as I said, my interests as a customer are more important to me and this is not a charity!
What Valve has done for the games industry is worth much, much more than any sequel.