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Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

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Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#211

Post by krageon »

belltaco wrote: post #127
DuskStar wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can say with confidence that I am much more willing to drop $5 on a game via Steam than . Aside from the obvious "is this a scam" aspects, Steam means that I will have the game even when the dev goes under in 5 years, that my save states will be backed up, and that at least some of the reviews might not be faked. That 30% might be painful, but at the same time Steam provides a LOT of utility to the buyer.

How is the Epic launcher 'a random third party site' ? Especially someone that already has Fortnite or has heard of it enough to know its maker is not going to be a credit card skimmer.

It is a random third-party site to anyone that doesn't play Fortnite, which is a lot of people.

Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#212

Post by Insanity »

tomc1985 wrote: post #207
ryandrake wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Achievements - Friends lists - Voice and text chat - Family sharing - Streaming - Multi-drive support - A decent refund policy - User reviews - An easy-to-use mod workshop - Cloud saves - User-generated tags - Independent curators Do people really care about this stuff? I've started holding my nose and grudgingly using Steam, and really all I want is a way to buy a game and get it on my hard drive. I don't need a…

So the shift-tab thing feature was copied from a chat program called Xfire, which back in the days of AIM and such was a neat way to be able to talk to your online friends while in a full-screen game. Steam copied that feature and added a web browser, and the rest of those interactions some time after. I agree that it feels like marketing BS but it is cool to be able to chat with out-of-game Steam friends in-game.

I remember that for quite a long time, Xfire also did it way better than steam did.

Xfire worked quite well accross all games - they had a nice variety of skins you could install (compared to Steam's 3 skins including the default one, IIRC).

It saved your screenshots and videos in 'the cloud', had some neat 'join server' feature that worked in almost every game and it mostly worked without any issues.

You could also use their server browser so you didn't have to even launch a game beforehand, you could just browse for your servers in their program and then jump right into the game.

Seeing Xfire mentioned brought some nostalgia to me, thank you :D

(Also, Xfire changed to a tournament system and eventually died. Which is a shame but steam does probably everything and more than Xfire does nowadays. Except custom skins?)

Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#213

Post by wDCzI78WRQaC1e3 »

ryandrake wrote: post #206
CivBase wrote: post #173

They've made their argument for why developers should publish there. Now, why should I want to use the Epic Games Store as a launcher? Don't get me wrong. There's plenty of room for Steam to improve. I want launchers to compete for its users , but all they ever seem to compete for is publishers . For all of Steam's problems, people love it because it offers a huge feature set out of the box. - Achievements - Friends…

> - Achievements - Friends lists - Voice and text chat - Family sharing - Streaming - Multi-drive support - A decent refund policy - User reviews - An easy-to-use mod workshop - Cloud saves - User-generated tags - Independent curators Do people really care about this stuff? I've started holding my nose and grudgingly using Steam, and really all I want is a way to buy a game and get it on my hard drive. I don't need a…

> Do people really care about this stuff?

The short answer is yes. I don't care that much about achievements, but things I've used and value in Steam certainly include a friends list, a decent refund policy, user reviews, an easy way to install mods and cloud saves.

Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#214

Post by hardwaresofton »

I absolutely welcome the competition, but it's going to take a lot for me to trust the Epic Games Store as much as I trust Valve.

Lots has been written about Valve (employee handbook, supposedly-not-there-but-actually-just-hidden political hierarchies), but I don't think of them as a normal for-profit company though they most certainly are. They've taken bets like steam for linux, the steam controller, steam boxes, their crazy no-hierarchy structure (no matter how misguided) and I just don't see other game companies or platform companies doing the same. They have my respect. I've also never seen them do anything blatantly greedy/money grubbing on a large scale (though their excuse is usually that they're a small company) and the gaming community absolutely loves to get out their pitchforks.

Maybe I've just been marketed to really well but I think it takes a certain kind of company to be who Valve is -- they're like a mozilla in my eyes.

Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#215

Post by wallace_f »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #214

I absolutely welcome the competition, but it's going to take a lot for me to trust the Epic Games Store as much as I trust Valve. Lots has been written about Valve (employee handbook, supposedly-not-there-but-actually-just-hidden political hierarchies), but I don't think of them as a normal for-profit company though they most certainly are. They've taken bets like steam for linux, the steam controller, steam boxes, t…

Agreed, but their recent bootlicking of Chinese authorities stemming from a minor Dota2 drama is just sad and embarassing to be honest.

Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#217

Post by a_imho »

Reedx wrote: post #34

Official announcement - https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/announcing-the-epic-... "Developers receive 88% of revenue. There are no tiers or thresholds. Epic takes 12%. And if you’re using Unreal Engine, Epic will cover the 5% engine royalty for sales on the Epic Games store, out of Epic’s 12%." "From Epic’s 12% store fee, we’ll have a profitable business we’ll grow and reinvest in for years to come!" This is gr…

Why not use alternatives like itch.io? Revenue sharing looks hard to beat [1].

[1]https://itch.io/updates/introducing-open-revenue-sharing

Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#218

Post by honestoHeminway »

billfruit wrote: post #55

I keep repeating this: two things Steam does right are effortless no-questions-asked refunds, localized prices in many regions of the world, so that people in poorer countries pay affordable prices. I do think that Steam is only going to grow bigger, because most of the growth in game sales are going to come from China, Russia, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Africa, Mexico, Brazil etc than US and Europe. But most othe…

[dead]

Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#219

Post by Felz »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #214

I absolutely welcome the competition, but it's going to take a lot for me to trust the Epic Games Store as much as I trust Valve. Lots has been written about Valve (employee handbook, supposedly-not-there-but-actually-just-hidden political hierarchies), but I don't think of them as a normal for-profit company though they most certainly are. They've taken bets like steam for linux, the steam controller, steam boxes, t…

> I've also never seen them do anything blatantly greedy/money grubbing on a large scale

Have you ever heard of TF2?

Re: Fortnite dev launches Epic Games Store that takes 12% of revenue

#220

Post by pjc50 »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #214

I absolutely welcome the competition, but it's going to take a lot for me to trust the Epic Games Store as much as I trust Valve. Lots has been written about Valve (employee handbook, supposedly-not-there-but-actually-just-hidden political hierarchies), but I don't think of them as a normal for-profit company though they most certainly are. They've taken bets like steam for linux, the steam controller, steam boxes, t…

Interesting, since I remember how controversial the Steam DRM was at the time of its launch.

But Valve have outcompeted and outlasted other vendors by being the least anti-consumer DRM system with the best discounts that doesn't interfere with playing your games. If anyone remembers Games For Windows Live, that's an example of how not to do it. Here's the cheering on RPS when its closure was announced: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/20/it-liiiiiiiiives...

UPlay and Origin exist but are tolerated through gritted teeth. It remains to be seen whether Epic get a good or bad reputation.

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