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Steam, Origin, uPlay, Bethesda, Epic, W10 Store, Rockstar Social Club, GoG Galaxy, where's the line?

Kraken3dfx

Kraken3dfx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,992
Denver, CO
I've seen a lot of Epic Store defenders in different threads since last night's TGAs. I'm definitely no "No Steam, No Buy" extremist, and I fully believe from a publisher/developer/consumer standpoint, Valve could use a kick in the ass to battle their own complacency, but I'm starting to wonder how many digital platforms PC gamers are going to have to create, input their personal and billing information into, and maintain before PC gaming just kind of breaks. All of these clients require a client installation, take up a storage and memory footprint, a lot of them even when you quit out of them. All of these, on top of invasive DRM like Denuvo that hinders performance.

I just wonder what kind of reaction console gamers would have to being treated similarly by these publishers and developers if they had to juggle half a dozen or more digital platforms in order to enjoy their hobby. This isn't unlike what we're seeing in other digital entertainment like movies, TV and music, and while there are constant articles about how fracturing the consumer's ability to see or hear what they want and breaking their wallet in the process, it sounds like PC gamers at large are just expected to take it.

So when people are looking at the complaining about the Epic Store, know that it's not just about the Epic Store, it's about the merry-go-round that PC gaming is turning into, and it's not getting any better.
 
Angeal78

Angeal78

Game Producer at MistWall Studio
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
324
Im tired of Launchers++ I unistalled everything excep Steam and Uplay, everything that is not there is a no go for me on PC...
 

Deleted member 11370

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,494
Put the game on as many platforms as you can and let customers decide based on what they think the best offer is.

That's how you avoid monopolies. Making games exclusive to one platform or another only fragments the market and severely reduces consumer choice.
 
Ikuu

Ikuu

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,294
Just think of how great the competition would be if every publisher had their own store and launcher!
 
Hektor

Hektor

Community Resettler
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,884
Deutschland
Personally, i draw the line at clients that work reliably in full function.

I'm ok with using uplay, gog, battle.net and origin in addition to steam.

Everything else is a nope from me, nopes in different strengths, but nopes nonetheless.
 
808s & Villainy

808s & Villainy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
43,139
I fear this is becoming like streaming services where everyone stopped having their content on Netflix and decided they needed their own service. It's a pain as a consumer
 

Deleted member 49804

User requested account closure
Banned
Nov 21, 2018
1,868
Right now we're in a phase of expansion. There will come a phase of consolidation after.
Steam was a phase of consolidation by the way.

Give it some time. Not any store will and should survive.
 
Brass Body Dave

Brass Body Dave

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
16,568
There is no line, competition is good and needs to be there and yall gotta just deal with it if its less convenient. This is why we have multiple stores in, yknow, real life.
 
Coolade

Coolade

Member
Oct 27, 2017
434
There is no line. Make the shortcuts and put them on your taskbar or put them in a folder on your desktop. It's not hard.
 
Grimminski

Grimminski

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,214
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
I don't see why it's even a problem, other than something else for gamers to bitch about.

I've got Origin, Steam, Twitch, Uplay, Galaxy, Battle.net, and Epic installed. They all take less than 30 seconds to boot. It's really not a big deal.
 
dex3108

dex3108

Member
Oct 26, 2017
23,133
Brass Body Dave said:
There is no line, competition is good and needs to be there and yall gotta just deal with it if its less convenient. This is why we have multiple stores in, yknow, real life.
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If something exclusive to one store that is not competition for 1000000000000000000 time. For the love of god learn what competition means.
 
Complicated

Complicated

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,419
I suppose it's possible to have so many game stores on your computer you run out of space to install games. Doesn't seem like a realistic concern to me though. Bring on the stores, and let developers and consumers reap the benefits.
 
Hamster Plugin

Hamster Plugin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,850
There isn't any line any more. Take-Two is hosting Rockstar Social Club the digital distribution store with ONE GAME on it (GTA V) since 2014.
 
ghibli99

ghibli99

Member
Oct 27, 2017
18,141
On PC, I actually don't think it's the number of launchers that is the issue, because it's not like I'm paying anything extra to play exclusives from one store or the other. When I look at subscription-based streaming, that brings with it monthly costs. When I look at console exclusives, that generally involves not only the cost of the console itself, but a subscription on top of it if there is an MP component or other functionality. You can dive into launcher functionality, but with Epic's being so new, I'm sure it'll evolve over time into something more robust. And out of all the launchers I have installed, I use Steam every day, GOG occasionally, Twitch barely ever, and basically none of the others, so if Epic's turns out to be a great option that I use more? Fine.

I remember seeing some comment about the need for a Trillian-like app for all these launchers. That's an idea I can get behind. LOL
 
mephixto

mephixto

Member
Oct 25, 2017
306
I don't know, I have installed Steam, Origin, Uplay, Epic, Bnet, Discord, Twich and Galaxy but only Steam and Discord launch with windows (somehow Origin from time to time decides to do it on his own)
 

Sandersson

Banned
Feb 5, 2018
2,535
Nassudan said:
I can't handle all this competition!
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Locking games behind launchers is not competition.

The best would be if the launchers would actually compete ie. You can decide what launcher/launchers to use and which storefronts to buy from. That way the launchers would actually compete against each other and customers could pick and choose what is best for them while at the same time developers would continue to compete against each other.
 
inner-G

inner-G

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
14,473
PNW
I like having my library all in one place

Anything I can't get from Steam I add to it as a non-steam game, and I never use any online features or do any purchases through the b-tier ones like uplay and origin.
 
Cien

Cien

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,606
I will never understand why some individuals cherish the thought of having one store front. People lose their minds (for good reason) when they dont have a choice of ISP, or when something is exclusive to one console. Yet, the idea of Steam having a monopoly on PC gaming is something they welcome. It is baffling.
 
Brass Body Dave

Brass Body Dave

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
16,568
Cien said:
I will never understand why some individuals cherish the thought of having one store front. People lose their minds (for good reason) when they dont have a choice of ISP, or when something is exclusive to one console. Yet, the idea of Steam having a monopoly on PC gaming is something they welcome. It is baffling.
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Yes. It's very stupid.
 
Soundtrack2chaos

Soundtrack2chaos

Member
Oct 31, 2017
1,261
The Blocc
Gowans said:
The great thing about PC gaming is there is no line, all the way to individual games having their own launchers.
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I have to install a different launcher for all of these games and deal with a different refund policy from each one? When does it end?

So far I only use Steam, Battle.net and Uplay. I have games on GOG as well but I've never really played anything but Gwent from them.
 
dex3108

dex3108

Member
Oct 26, 2017
23,133
Brass Body Dave said:
Let's pretend it's REAL HARD to use multiple storefronts. That's a baby's opinion. Baby-tier thinking.
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It's not about stores it is about your statement that competition is good. Yes it is good when it is competition but this isn't. And reason why it isn't is because Steam would win every time if choice was left to the customer.
 
Nassudan

Nassudan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,375
Sandersson said:
Locking games behind launchers is not competition.

The best would be if the launchers would actually compete ie. You can decide what launcher/launchers to use and which storefronts to buy from. That way the launchers would actually compete against each other and customers could pick and choose what is best for them while at the same time developers would continue to compete against each other.
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It was a joke, I hate having different launchers (and different store policies across the boards) the same as anyone else.
 

Deleted member 2507

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,188
808s & Villainy said:
I fear this is becoming like streaming services where everyone stopped having their content on Netflix and decided they needed their own service. It's a pain as a consumer
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Yeah, this is my take on this.

I don't mind multiple storefronts on paper. Different features, different pricing, all that creates, or at least should create, competition, which should nominally improve things.
But at worst, it just leads publishers to sticking to their own store, which isn't conductive for improvement.
I suppose it boils down to that publishers don't want to put any money into actually making things better and attracting customers that way, rather they just keep status quo "because people are gonna buy it anyway".
 
Vincent Alexander

Vincent Alexander

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,975
Sandersson said:
Locking games behind launchers is not competition.

The best would be if the launchers would actually compete ie. You can decide what launcher/launchers to use and which storefronts to buy from. That way the launchers would actually compete against each other and customers could pick and choose what is best for them while at the same time developers would continue to compete against each other.
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That would be ideal, but that requires changing the whole landscape. That isn't on any one storefront. It's on all of them. I'm with you and would love this, but until then, this is competition that we're seeing, at least how it can be defined in this landscape.
 
GeoGonzo

GeoGonzo

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
4,399
Madrid, Spain
The line is the Store that is integrated into the OS and whose' success could lead to a less open PC. The line is the Windows Store.

GoG is also beyond the line, but exclusively due to their garbage social media.
 
defaltoption

defaltoption

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
11,589
Austin
Brass Body Dave said:
There is no line, competition is good and needs to be there and yall gotta just deal with it if its less convenient. This is why we have multiple stores in, yknow, real life.
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This argument doesn't fully work here, I can buy Pepsi at 40 stores and choose where to buy it based on multiple factors but right now on PC we don't really have that in the same way, we have two or three stores that sell Pepsi and then 10 more that all sell one soda brand each. That isn't the competition you're describing. Imagine having to buy a new console to just play ea games then another to play Ubisoft games then another Bethesda and Sony and Microsoft and Fortnight that's what we have here. Of course it isn't that black and white or simple either but it isn't as easy as saying deal with it because competition.
 
violent

violent

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,678
Digital distribution is becoming more and more popular and publishers want a piece of that pie. When the market begins to oversaturate, companies will pivot their presence to better stand out.
 
Hektor

Hektor

Community Resettler
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,884
Deutschland
Cien said:
I will never understand why some individuals cherish the thought of having one store front. People lose their minds (for good reason) when they dont have a choice of ISP, or when something is exclusive to one console. Yet, the idea of Steam having a monopoly on PC gaming is something they welcome. It is baffling.
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Brass Body Dave said:
Yes. It's very stupid.
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You both clearly lack very basic understanding of the pc gaming market.

A game that is on steam has many hundred storefronts i can buy it from. Especially when it's also on other platforms like uplay or origin.
A game that is epic exclusive, i can not.

That is less choice, not more.
 

Joco

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,447
So much crying about this. Isn't the advantage of PC gaming that you can choose what you want to do instead of being limited to a single storefront like on consoles? Support who you want to support and play the games you want to play. The better services will win out.
 
Soundtrack2chaos

Soundtrack2chaos

Member
Oct 31, 2017
1,261
The Blocc
Cien said:
I will never understand why some individuals cherish the thought of having one store front. People lose their minds (for good reason) when they dont have a choice of ISP, or when something is exclusive to one console. Yet, the idea of Steam having a monopoly on PC gaming is something they welcome. It is baffling.
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I don't need 10 different launchers, steam already has enough competition. I've spent slightly more money on GreenManGaming than I have on steam since I've had a PC.

I have 333 games, so you can do the math but I believe it's over $1k on both platforms. Plus fanatical, Voidu and a few others. Why does competition have to be a launcher?
 
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