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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

#91

Post by bliblah »

EamonnMR wrote: post #48

I wish Valve had pushed harder to compete with Origin, but this looks like the end of its complete dominance. Once EA demonstrated that anybody could hack together a launcher, it's become a free for all. As a consumer it's been a worse and worse experience since increasingly small companies felt the need to replace steam with technically inferior solutions. But this is different-now we get a competitor which is willi…

I don't think it will be a major blow. Ubisoft followed suit and just sells games on Steam but tacks on their awful DRM on top of steam. Origin is a joke in terms of functionality and ease of use. The only advantage it has is the library of games if you so happen to like EA games, which has been very mixed in the last few years to say the least. I only own two games from there and would rather just buy a used PS4 copy than have to deal with that bad store.

GoG is the only good alternative but they don't even aim to compete with steam since they offer a service of maintaining old games to be played on modern OS's. I was shocked that Steam sells games that quite literally do not work on anything more modern than XP!

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

#92

Post by tabs_masterrace »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #7

Epic seems to be really trying to kill the 30% cut game. First by bucking the Play Store on Android and now offering their own competitor to Steam on PC. Sort of impressive, glad to see we aren't going to be cemented into these cuts forever. If everyone who has Fortnite has the Epic Games Store by default, there will be a huge initial market penetration as well.

Nice to see some resistance to the 30% cuts, with Apple recently having to deal with a lawsuit regarding the AppStore as well. Not to diminish the value of the service, but 30% for what amounts to CDN + Payment Processing, is too much.

The deal used to come with some amount of marketing & discover-ability, but that has basically shifted to the developer as well.

But even then, in a normal world you should have to bear some risk of the product to get that kind of cut.

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

#93

Post by hesdeadjim »

notafraudster wrote: post #38

One of the things Steam's 30% cut subsidizes is the generation of unlimited free license keys for developers to do with what they please. So, for instance, if I am an independent developer, I can sell my game on Steam. Say I sell 5,000 copies. I can then turn around and generate 25,000 keys gratis, and sell those on my website (paying maybe a 5-8% fee to my payment processor, but otherwise taking everything). Those k…

I've heard rumors from people I trust that they are going to crack down even further on keys, possibly to the point of making it so you can't resell elsewhere.

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

#94

Post by bliblah »

criddell wrote: post #26

If Apple loses their anti-trust case in court and is forced to open iOS to alternative app stores, does that mean the consoles would be forced to open up their platform as well? It would be nice to have some of these alternative stores on the PS4 and XBox.

Sounds interesting but I don't think so. My reasoning stems from the fact that App stores are pretty much the only way to download and purchase software on iPhones. Meanwhile console games can be bought in the digital marketplace and Physical with physical being much more open option. This pretty much breaks any monopoly that sony could hope to have. Theoretically, if the next generation of consoles aims to follow suite with PCs and do away with Physical copies then we could see a stronger case.

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

#95

Post by Thaxll »

bliblah wrote: post #91
EamonnMR wrote: post #48

I wish Valve had pushed harder to compete with Origin, but this looks like the end of its complete dominance. Once EA demonstrated that anybody could hack together a launcher, it's become a free for all. As a consumer it's been a worse and worse experience since increasingly small companies felt the need to replace steam with technically inferior solutions. But this is different-now we get a competitor which is willi…

I don't think it will be a major blow. Ubisoft followed suit and just sells games on Steam but tacks on their awful DRM on top of steam. Origin is a joke in terms of functionality and ease of use. The only advantage it has is the library of games if you so happen to like EA games, which has been very mixed in the last few years to say the least. I only own two games from there and would rather just buy a used PS4 cop…

I'd like you to define "Origin is a joke in terms of functionality and ease of use"

Because the shity Steam UI that is almost 15 y/o with multiple windows is good lol.

The reason why major publisher went with their own is to not pay the crazy 30% fee on Steam.

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

#96

Post by bduerst »

barbecue_sauce wrote: post #79
my_usernam3 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to add to that, as a fortnite player, I don't see any glaring psychological attempt to make purchases addicting. Buy shit and you unlock cool outfits, thats it.

What if you're addicted to style?

Not all of us are really ridiculously good looking.

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

#97

Post by cma »

simongr3dal wrote: post #84
my_usernam3 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to add to that, as a fortnite player, I don't see any glaring psychological attempt to make purchases addicting. Buy shit and you unlock cool outfits, thats it.

I think if one of your classmates has a lot of different skins and plays the game for a long time most days you would likely be inclined to try and match what they have and do in the game if you want to continue to be part of this social circle. This is probably even more pronounced today than it was 5-10 years ago, because now there are youtubers and twitch streamers who can spend 4-12 hours every day playing the ga…

The same thing happens with real clothes, and those get made often by child labor. If some of that status signaling can be diverted to digital goods instead of contributing to child labor and deforestation from cotton farming it seems like a net win.

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

#98

Post by Nursie »

Eridrus wrote: post #46
criddell wrote: post #26

If Apple loses their anti-trust case in court and is forced to open iOS to alternative app stores, does that mean the consoles would be forced to open up their platform as well? It would be nice to have some of these alternative stores on the PS4 and XBox.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that console hardware is usually sold below cost to get people into the ecosystem and make that back as people buy games. So forcing console makers to allow other stores would probably have a much more dramatic impact on the console market. And while IANAL, it seems a bit of a stretch to apply anti-trust law here.

I'm not sure I see why the level of hardware profitability is at issue?

It's use of platform power to lock in profit and exclusivty that appears to be at issue.

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

#99

Post by bduerst »

Eridrus wrote: post #46
criddell wrote: post #26

If Apple loses their anti-trust case in court and is forced to open iOS to alternative app stores, does that mean the consoles would be forced to open up their platform as well? It would be nice to have some of these alternative stores on the PS4 and XBox.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that console hardware is usually sold below cost to get people into the ecosystem and make that back as people buy games. So forcing console makers to allow other stores would probably have a much more dramatic impact on the console market. And while IANAL, it seems a bit of a stretch to apply anti-trust law here.

Console hardware is sold at a loss, yes, but the recuperated costs are traditionally made on game licensing for the platform. The online markets are a newer phenomenon.

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

#100

Post by Reedx »

corysama wrote: post #89
jamp897 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This link has some Q&A with Tim too with more details: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-12-04-fortnite-maker...

More Q&A https://www.gameinformer.com/2018/12/03/tim-sweeney-answers-...

Sounds like they took a page from Bezos' playbook. Your margin is my opportunity.

"In our analysis, stores are marking up their costs 300 percent to 400 percent. We simply aim to give developers a better deal."

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