I did not realize they were trying to compete in the first place.

  • VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    116
    ·
    3 days ago

    Epic also generated a lot of bad blood by scooping up Kickstarter projects and ordering the devs to cancel the Steam releases, releases that had already been paid for by backers. A bunch of potential customers refused to buy from Epic on principle after that.

    • 9point6@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      78
      ·
      edit-2
      3 days ago

      The timed exclusivity deals are what did it for me

      Bringing that bullshit to the PC gaming market guaranteed I’ll never spend a penny on their storefront.

      If the carrot they’re leading with is limiting choice, I’m not going to hang around waiting to find out what the stick might be if they get successful

      • m-p{3}@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        32
        ·
        2 days ago

        Epic is doing me a favor, I get to keep my money while I play my backlog, then I buy the game on Steam / GOG for cheaper later on.

    • pivot_root@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      52
      ·
      2 days ago

      I’m one of them. For all their trash talk about Steam being a monopoly, Epic Games sure pulled some hypocritical, anticompetitive shit in their attempt to replace one monopoly with an objectively worse, consumer-hostile one.

      • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nz
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        2 days ago

        Epic Games is creating a monopoly in PC gaming - they keep making bad decisions and leaving Steam as the only good option

        • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          6
          ·
          edit-2
          2 days ago

          Look at market shares, Steam is in a monopolistic position, they can turn around and fuck up the whole market whenever they want, and people like you are encouraging it.

          You realize that they’re anti DEI over there? I don’t think drag would ever be hired by Valve!

    • Baggie@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      27
      ·
      3 days ago

      Yeah that one rubbed me particularly wrong. Valve can be a bit hit and miss sometimes, but they’ve not actively monopolized games from other devs.

    • LNRDrone@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      2 days ago

      Yup, that and pushing “exclusive” bs in general made sure I will never use Epic.

      • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        21
        ·
        2 days ago

        So you want all devs to just play the lottery and hope that some Twitch star picks up their game to make it popular?

        • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          12
          ·
          2 days ago

          He wants games to release on all platforms. Where is the ‘lottery’ rhetoric coming from?

          • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nz
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            8
            arrow-down
            3
            ·
            edit-2
            2 days ago

            The Epic bros think that businesses shouldn’t have to compete on the market to sell their product, they should just get a big grant from Epic Games for making their game exclusive.

            That’s some pretty communist rhetoric coming from a group worshipping a corporation. Epic Games are not your communist revolutionaries.

            • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              2
              arrow-down
              4
              ·
              edit-2
              2 days ago

              No, I believe that devs should have the choice to take a chance and just hope their game sells OR sign and exclusivity contract in exchange for money that guarantees then they won’t have worked for nothing if the game is a flop.

              Releasing a game these days is a gamble because there’s so many being released every day, you can make an awesome game and it just won’t sell while an average game gets picked up by a couple of Twitch streamers and the dev becomes a multi millionaire.

                • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  3
                  arrow-down
                  4
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  2 days ago

                  Only the very wealthy should make games is what you’re saying.

                  I’m sure that will be good for the consumers!

                  I’m sure you don’t mind the monopoly as long as it’s only on Steam that the games are released though :)

                  Do you also expect everyone to be freelance in their job because “it’s better for the consumers”? Do YOU work freelance or you have a single employer paying you because you want a steady income you want to be able to rely on?

                  • baines@lemmy.cafe
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    arrow-down
                    1
                    ·
                    2 days ago

                    If you can’t afford game making as a job it’s called a hobby

                    I too wish to make millions doing my hobbies

          • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            4
            arrow-down
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            2 days ago

            The exclusivity contract comes with guaranteed funds for the devs. That’s like choosing between a job where you work 100% for commission or one where you’re salaried + bonus, not everyone wants their income to be 100% dependent on sales, especially if those sales will probably be based on the luck of the draw rather than the quality of the product they’re selling.

            You can make an awesome game, if no streamer picks it up it will all be for nothing. Last year 18935 games released on Steam, that’s 52 games a day, being successful in that space isn’t just about making a quality product.

            Also, you can have the greatest idea for a game but not have the budget to just drop everything and start working on it for the years to come.

            • baines@lemmy.cafe
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              3
              arrow-down
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              2 days ago

              I don’t care about the devs profits. I’m not fucking myself over so you can stay in business.

                • baines@lemmy.cafe
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  arrow-down
                  1
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  2 days ago

                  lmao again fucking consumers so you can profit

                  not really seeing why I should care what you think my ‘takes’ are like

                  like most creative endeavors in life most games on steam are complete shit

                  make a better product, stop fucking with steam and consumers to support shit games and game companies

            • .Donuts@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              2 days ago

              You can make an awesome game, if no streamer picks it up it will all be for nothing. Last year 18935 games released on Steam, that’s 52 games a day, being successful in that space isn’t just about making a quality product.

              Yep. Best example I can think of is Among Us: 2018 release that got massively popular due to content creators during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

              I do not blame developers for accepting funds to carry out their dreams instead of being thrown into the ocean of “let’s see if our years-long investment will pay itself back”. Epic grants guarantee that the game gets made.

              If you want to play a game only on Steam, you’ll just have to wait. Can’t have it both ways.

              • baines@lemmy.cafe
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                2 days ago

                I sure blame them. Multiple games have lost sales from me, only they know if it’s worth it long term.

                Exclusivity is cancer, fuck right off back to consoles, please take loot boxes with you.