Epic Games General Thread - Its time to talk about what the AAA gaming industry does not understand about the PC console.

[AnOminous]

why isnt that Dota knock off exclusive to epic? Lol still has its own client. maybe the Chinese Overlords arent that Powerfull?

The whole operation is incompetent from top to bottom. It's ill intentioned but luckily nearly doomed to failure, unless they fire everyone currently doing it and spend some of those Fortnite bucks coming up with something actually functional.

 

[Fek]

The whole operation is incompetent from top to bottom. It's ill intentioned but luckily nearly doomed to failure, unless they fire everyone currently doing it and spend some of those Fortnite bucks coming up with something actually functional.

I think one of the larger bits of that is Tencent lacking any comprehension on how to compete outside of their grorious repubric. Or at least it's far more amusing to me picturing a bunch of bugmen nerdraging over the market not giving much of a fuck about their attempts to strongarm into it.

 

[Stoneheart]

The whole operation is incompetent from top to bottom. It's ill intentioned but luckily nearly doomed to failure, unless they fire everyone currently doing it and spend some of those Fortnite bucks coming up with something actually functional.

They have the 2 biggest F2P games in existence at tencent and they cant get both on one client.

 

[Secret Asshole]

why isnt that Dota knock off exclusive to epic? Lol still has its own client. maybe the Chinese Overlords arent that Powerfull?

Because it is a concept, not really a full game. Everybody is just going to switch to the official version and not some Chinese knock-off by a shit mobile dev that needs help from Epic developing the game. DotA Underlords is already in beta and playable, I don't know about the chink version of auto-chess.

The whole operation is incompetent from top to bottom. It's ill intentioned but luckily nearly doomed to failure, unless they fire everyone currently doing it and spend some of those Fortnite bucks coming up with something actually functional.

If Epic thought Valve was just going to let that happen, they're fucktarded. Valve doesn't really like handing things off to other publishers with their stuff, so I imagine they've been working on this for a bit. I don't know how the microtransactions are going to work, but I'm just going to bet its just like DotA 2 with Items and fancy shit to dress your character up in. They don't even need to design new items, they've got thousands of them already. Hopefully they learned from Atrefact.

Also I doubt they'll be doing anything competent soon. They still do not have a shopping cart and its still featureless. Wordpress sites that sell shit to 2 people even have a shopping cart. No offline play. No third party key distributors. They still want to try and drag you to their platform solely through exclusives. There's no other reason to use that spyware.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
THEYRE FUCKED
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

Oh my god. Why would you do this? Are you fucktarded? Did Epic pay your development budget? I seriously hope they did because you are literally going to sell five copies. The Japanese version got canceled and its being published by Bandai. Did 'Captain Autisim' sell well at all? Their only big game really was 'Life is Strange' and that's about it.

How much money is Epic handing to these people? Its got to be costing them so much fucking money.

 

[Stoneheart]

Because it is a concept, not really a full game. Everybody is just going to switch to the official version and not some Chinese knock-off by a shit mobile dev that needs help from Epic developing the game. DotA Underlords is already in beta and playable, I don't know about the chink version of auto-chess.

I mean the most succesfull dota knock off that has been around for about 10 years. Their chinese Overlord also owns riot games.

 

[Secret Asshole]

I mean the most succesfull dota knock off that has been around for about 10 years. Their chinese Overlord also owns riot games.

League came out before DotA 2 did, I used to play LoL before DotA 2 came out. Then I switched. They weren't out at the same time so League was really the only game in town besides the declining Heroes of Newerth. So it isn't really comparable to the auto-chess situation. They're also different MOBAs. LoL is much easier to play than DotA 2, which is more complex mechanically.

The funny thing is that Tencent probably doesn't want to contaminate the League brand with the Epic store rot. That's why they will never be on the same platform. League right now is more valuable than Epic is.

 

[Stoneheart]

League came out before DotA 2 did, I used to play LoL before DotA 2 came out. Then I switched. They weren't out at the same time so League was really the only game in town besides the declining Heroes of Newerth. So it isn't really comparable to the auto-chess situation. They're also different MOBAs. LoL is much easier to play than DotA 2, which is more complex mechanically.

Both are Dumbed down Dota clones with a stand alone client for kids instead of beeing a mod with an extensive amount of black and white lists.

The funny thing is that Tencent probably doesn't want to contaminate the League brand with the Epic store rot. That's why they will never be on the same platform. League right now is more valuable than Epic is.

thats a good point.

 

[Zero0]

Can someone explain to me why Steam can't sue the hell out of these publishers?
They have their games on the steam page, getting free publicity for god knows how long, and taking up space, then they move it it somewhere else?

How is that not a lawsuit?

 

[Ruin]

Can someone explain to me why Steam can't sue the hell out of these publishers?
They have their games on the steam page, getting free publicity for god knows how long, and taking up space, then they move it it somewhere else?

How is that now a lawsuit?

They probably don't want to attempt a lawsuit against what is essentially the Chinese government.

 

[Otis Boi]

Can someone explain to me why Steam can't sue the hell out of these publishers?
They have their games on the steam page, getting free publicity for god knows how long, and taking up space, then they move it it somewhere else?

How is that now a lawsuit?

Most likely don't want to piss of the publisher causing them to make their own platform when Epic eventually dies off that or they are doing it as a sort of show of force. More or less saying "We are such monolith we are indifferent to you dicking us around because we know you will be back". Lastly it could just be valve dosen't give a shit at all

 

[Zero0]

They probably don't want to attempt a lawsuit against what is essentially the Chinese government.

They'd be suing the publisher not the Epic Store.

Most likely don't want to piss of the publisher causing them to make their own platform when Epic eventually dies off that or they are doing it as a sort of show of force. More or less saying "We are such monolith we are indifferent to you dicking us around because we know you will be back". Lastly it could just be valve dosen't give a shit at all

I guess that's a reason, but I'm less optimistic that Epic will just die off, they have plenty of fortnite dollars and chink money to keep them going even if they're not making any money on anything else.

 

[Tanner Glass]

Can someone explain to me why Steam can't sue the hell out of these publishers?
They have their games on the steam page, getting free publicity for god knows how long, and taking up space, then they move it it somewhere else?

How is that not a lawsuit?

Because it's better optics for Steam to not target publishers.

Steam is super massive - for everyone 1 publisher that gets bought out be Epic's fun money, there are likely another 1000 that are happily selling on Steam. It isn't worth (at this point, at least) the risk to them to attack a handful of publishers and possibly anger all of them.

Steam also likely realizes that Epic can't sustain this and that it's super costly for Epic to even do and they have no chance of getting valuable returns on these investments. There are too many video games for Epic to even have a chance of cornering the market (or even a market segment) and even in a theoretical world where Epic/Tencent has unlimited money - Valve is still home to some of the greatest video game designers ever to come into the field. All they would need to do is put some work into Half Life 3/TF3/whatever hot shit would push people back into the Steam ecosystem; Fortnite isn't going to last forever.

 

[SpiceWeasel21]

All they would need to do is put some work into Half Life 3/TF3/whatever hot shit would push people back into the Steam ecosystem; Fortnite isn't going to last forever.

It blows my mind that we're going to get Shenmue 3 before Half-Life 3.

 

[Tanner Glass]

It blows my mind that we're going to get Shenmue 3 before Half-Life 3.

You're going to get Shenmue 3 before Half-Life 2 : Episode 3 as well.

 

[KingofNothing]

I was listening to the CastleSuperBeast podcast and they dropped some Epic Store news

First another indie grabs onto that Epic deal.

Untitled Goose Game devs comment on Epic Games Store release

Earlier this week, indie developer House House revealed that their fun and funny stealth title, Untitled Goose Game, would be launching on PC via Epic Games Store. This led to some fans expressing their disappointment at the decision, in wh...

www.destructoid.com

https://archive.fo/E00SM

Untitled Goose Game devs comment on Epic Games Store release
2019-06-13 08:30:00by Chris Moyse
96
'A means to make games sustainably'

Earlier this week, indie developer House House revealed that their fun and funny stealth title, Untitled Goose Game, would be launching on PC via Epic Games Store. This led to some fans expressing their disappointment at the decision, in what became only the latest disgruntlement surrounding the PC gaming platform.

House House has since released a tweet acknowledging the complaints, stating that going with Epic Games Store is a matter of providing the small studio with future stability.

"House House is a small independent studio that has been operating on a tight budget for years," reads the tweet. "a partnership like this gives us a means to make games sustainably for the foreseeable future - in an industry like ours, this kind of stability is huge... We love Itchio and Steam, and are happy to say we'll be bringing our goose to these platforms in future. And to reiterate, it'll also be available on Switch from day one."

House House goes on to thank fans for their ongoing support during Untitled Goose Game'sdevelopment, noting their excitement for the goofy title's launch. Originally delayed from its 2018 release window, Untitled Goose Game is scheduled to launch on PC and Nintendo Switch later in 2019.

After listening to the podcast and reading the article, I'm of two minds now. On one hand, fuck off Epic, fuck the deals, stop doing this shit. On the other hand, I can't blame these little guys for taking the deal because they're getting enough money to not shut down. I'm sure some of these guys literally can't afford to not take this deal. Still mad at Epic.


This second story is very interesting because we're getting some numbers on the amount sales these Epic deals are covering. Ok they don't actually mention Epic by name, but they're the only guys pulling this shit right now

https://www.onlysp.com/samurai-shodown-developer-snk-turned-down-pc-exclusivity-deal/ https://archive.fo/SzB1N

SNK, the Japanese developer behind the King of Fighters series, has revealed that it turned down a deal for PC exclusivity for its upcoming title Samurai Shodown.

In an interview with Korean website Game Focus, SNK director Nobuyuki Kuroki noted that a PC retailer approached SNK to offer a deal regarding exclusivity for Samurai Shodown. He did not share the name of the company.

Kuroki elaborated on the reasoning behind his refusal, saying that the retailer wanted to sell Samurai Shodown on its PC platform with the condition of a pre-order of hundreds of thousands of copies in exchange for exclusivity, but declined as he believed that the game would be a title to sell more than a million copies. Kuroki also explained that he met with his reports and said, “I know that there is a big expectation from the outside as well as the company,” but he was “confident in the perfection of the game.”

Exclusivity deals have been causing disruption in the PC gaming community recently. Notably, the Epic Games Store has been snatching up exclusivity for games such as Metro Exodus, Borderlands 3, Close to The Sun, Phoenix Point, and most recently, Shenmue 3.

In another interview with Game Focus back in December 2018, SNK said that it had turned down offers from platform holders, insisting on releasing Samurai Shodown on all platforms, including Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, so that everyone is aware about the revival of SNK. The company also said that it is having ongoing discussions to bring its games to mobile platforms.

So "Epic" is dropping enough money to cover hundreds of thousands of copies in sales for these guys. ...Yeah that would explain some of the guys tripping over themselves. Kickstarter games and games that advertised on Steam first can go to hell though

 

[Secret Asshole]

I was listening to the CastleSuperBeast podcast and they dropped some Epic Store news

First another indie grabs onto that Epic deal.

Untitled Goose Game devs comment on Epic Games Store release

Earlier this week, indie developer House House revealed that their fun and funny stealth title, Untitled Goose Game, would be launching on PC via Epic Games Store. This led to some fans expressing their disappointment at the decision, in wh...

www.destructoid.com

https://archive.fo/E00SM

After listening to the podcast and reading the article, I'm of two minds now. On one hand, fuck off Epic, fuck the deals, stop doing this shit. On the other hand, I can't blame these little guys for taking the deal because they're getting enough money to not shut down. I'm sure some of these guys literally can't afford to not take this deal. Still mad at Epic.


This second story is very interesting because we're getting some numbers on the amount sales these Epic deals are covering. Ok they don't actually mention Epic by name, but they're the only guys pulling this shit right now

https://www.onlysp.com/samurai-shodown-developer-snk-turned-down-pc-exclusivity-deal/ https://archive.fo/SzB1N

So "Epic" is dropping enough money to cover hunders of thousands of copies in sales for these guys. ...Yeah that would explain some of the guys tripping over themselves. Kickstarter games and games that advertised on Steam first can go to hell though

I assumed the price of the game would be $60. 'Hundreds of Thousands of Copies' I put in 250,000. Therefore, the exclusivity deal was around 15 million dollars. Obviously, going by the statement, they feel like that's basically all they would get since nobody is fucking using the store.

The problem with small guys taking the deal is this: Yes, they're giving you a ton of cash front loaded. But what happens when no one turns to the platform to buy your game? Are you going to go exclusive EVERY time you make a game? You signed a year long agreement, so did many. And many are spurning such deals, like Microsoft entirely. Whose even going to remember? Are they going to pay for your games exclusively down the line if they never sell?

Small devs are going to look at that money and then think they can exclusively develop for Epic. Yeah, but what happens when nobody is buying your game, and Epic decides you are no longer popular enough? Sure you got that cash at the beginning, but Steam isn't going to save you because you went Epic and everyone forgot you existed.

 

[Bread Fetishist]

I was listening to the CastleSuperBeast podcast and they dropped some Epic Store news

First another indie grabs onto that Epic deal.

Untitled Goose Game devs comment on Epic Games Store release

Earlier this week, indie developer House House revealed that their fun and funny stealth title, Untitled Goose Game, would be launching on PC via Epic Games Store. This led to some fans expressing their disappointment at the decision, in wh...

www.destructoid.com

https://archive.fo/E00SM

After listening to the podcast and reading the article, I'm of two minds now. On one hand, fuck off Epic, fuck the deals, stop doing this shit. On the other hand, I can't blame these little guys for taking the deal because they're getting enough money to not shut down. I'm sure some of these guys literally can't afford to not take this deal. Still mad at Epic.


This second story is very interesting because we're getting some numbers on the amount sales these Epic deals are covering. Ok they don't actually mention Epic by name, but they're the only guys pulling this shit right now

https://www.onlysp.com/samurai-shodown-developer-snk-turned-down-pc-exclusivity-deal/ https://archive.fo/SzB1N

So "Epic" is dropping enough money to cover hunders of thousands of copies in sales for these guys. ...Yeah that would explain some of the guys tripping over themselves. Kickstarter games and games that advertised on Steam first can go to hell though

Damn, I was looking forward to Untitled Goose Game. Eh, I'll just wait for a Steam release.

 

[KingofNothing]

I assumed the price of the game would be $60. 'Hundreds of Thousands of Copies' I put in 250,000. Therefore, the exclusivity deal was around 15 million dollars. Obviously, going by the statement, they feel like that's basically all they would get since nobody is fucking using the store.

The problem with small guys taking the deal is this: Yes, they're giving you a ton of cash front loaded. But what happens when no one turns to the platform to buy your game? Are you going to go exclusive EVERY time you make a game? You signed a year long agreement, so did many. And many are spurning such deals, like Microsoft entirely. Whose even going to remember? Are they going to pay for your games exclusively down the line if they never sell?

Small devs are going to look at that money and then think they can exclusively develop for Epic. Yeah, but what happens when nobody is buying your game, and Epic decides you are no longer popular enough? Sure you got that cash at the beginning, but Steam isn't going to save you because you went Epic and everyone forgot you existed.

That true, but the House House guys did immediately follow up the news with this tweet:

They know this deal is gonna piss people off and are trying to mitigate as much damage as they can. I don't foresee indie devs making a repeat of this unless Epic ups their store quality immensely. These devs will get enough cash to not worry about bills for a while and then it's back to Steam and GOG for the next game, if they're smart. Any dev thinking they can ride the Epic train forever with the state the store is in is a fool and deserves whatever they get.

 

[CitizenJane]

I have a product that needs to be distributed to my customers in my little truck. There are two toll bridges that lead to my customers. One is charging me 30% of my profits, the other is charging me 12% (and even less if I drive one of their trucks). The more expensive bridge supposedly leads to more customers, but most of them have stopped buying games. The new bridge has fewer customers but is not jammed pack with other trucks competing for the same customers.

Which toll bridge should I use?

 

[Stoneheart]

but most of them have stopped buying game

blame humble bundle for that...