Metro Exodus pulled the rug out from under folks with a last minute announcement that it’d be timed exclusive to the Epic Games Store. Prospective Steam customers are unhappy, boycotts and review bombs abound…
… and a 4A Games developer has poured gasoline on the fire. Because of course.
So let’s talk about that.
#MetroExodus #Steam #Epic #FPS #JimSterling #IndustryBS
I don’t want to download the Epic Game store not because of the Metro exclusivity but more of the fact Epic store is inferior to steam with it’s security issues, lack of user reviews, community and refunds. No matter what the game why would I download a worse launcher.
I’m not getting Metro Exodus regardless because my PC can’t run it anyway but if I could and wanted to buy it I can see why people are angry. And the devs “threat” is such a childish response.
What’s with publishers and developers going out of their way to destroy their company through arrogance, hubris and egotism? Seems bad for business if you ask me.
EPIC exclusive deals are horrible decisions for game companies in the long run. Fortunately for them that EPIC provides extensive bribery for them to spit in the face of their customers I guess.
Lets say the userbase of each platform is a sale. There are 500 million active steam users, and 73 million epic users. For argument let us say that the game sells for 1 dollar.
70% of 500 million is 350 million. 88% of 73 million is 51 million.
If my sales director proposed going to the EPIC store I would fire them on the spot for incompetence.
Selling exclusives is not a way to break a monopoly.
The main focus was never the customer. Which at this point should not surprise many rather than confirm that we as customers should distrust devs by default. We are not in the same page.
Amusingly enough companies like Epic don’t seem to grasp something Gabe Newell said many years ago now “Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem” The more launchers and inconvience people have to deal with the more likely it is for people to resort to the old ways before Steam of getting their games from Blackbeard’s discount games emporium.
1. I would have bought metro on steam like a week or two after release if reviews were good as i usually do.
2. If i ever get the game i will get it on steam and probably even on a sale at that, its not new and exciting i can wait a little more.
3. I have 245 games on steam, i wont get a new “main” launcher.
4. This is only eating up goodwill and they keep painting themself into a corner……..
I’m not really a Metro fan but even I know this is a hellstorm of controversy.
They dont understand, most ppl dont, the biggest problem with epic games launcher is not having to download it, its the games are only in dollars, in manu countries ita simply unaffordable, steam has regional prices which makes ppl all over the world buy. They should know, theyre from russia, devs where finally able to profit from countries like russia because of steam regional prices.
Well put.
I feel like the devs will see an uptick in pirated software… and they will act surprised
I would like to see this imaginary world Deep Silver and 4A Games is living in. It sounds ridiculous.
Jim didn’t bring up the issue how Epic themselves has been claiming they want to be very pro-consumer and bring something new to the market to introduce healthy competition and make Steam work for its status, on which it enjoyed a monopoly thus far. Such a shame that their recent developer bribing has proven that Epic cares about everything BUT the consumer, considering their idea of a healthy competitive environment is creating a monopoly for themselves by not allowing certain highly anticipated titles to be released anywhere else long enough for them to stop being relevant. I’m not gonna recommend Steam or anything, but don’t buy into Epic’s bullshit.
IMO, it even deserves a video of its own, because it’s not the first case and more games are likely to follow.
Devs: “OMG guys why are you boycotting our game?”
Gamers: “Well you limited my options of where I can get it…and very close to release too…”
Devs: “Sooooo??? Pretty rude of you tbh, we’ll punish every Metro player on PC if you don’t buy it!”
Gamers: “Uhhhhhhhhhhhh…I’m not sure it quite works like that.”
Devs: “SILENCE, FILTHY PEASANTS!!!”
Not to mention… Actually I’m going to mention the heck out of it!!!
EpicGames Store is horrible! It is an worse platform then Steam in almost every conceivable way. EpicGames is competing with Steam by competing for game Publishers, because they know they can’t compete for consumers. When a company starts competing for anybody other then the consumer, the consumer loses out every time.
I was going to by Metro, but it’s a hard pass now. EpicGames has purchased exclusive rights to 4 games that I would have purchased. I won’t support console exclusive culture on PC. Make a more appealing platform for ME EpicGames, and you’ll have my money.
“..so what they’re basically arguing there is if you can’t be bothered, in their opinion, to install the epic games launcher you obviously didn’t care about metro exodus in the first place..”
– It’s their job to sell it to us. It’s not our job to ‘care’.
“Can’t you guys just download another launcher?”
I thought 2018 had awesome quotes, but it continues.
After all the devs/publishers being complete twats in 2018 and destroying any good reputation they had, you’d think others would learn from their terrible example.
But no, now we have Deep Silver and 4A opening 2019 with a bang, following exactly the same twatty example and doing their best to top the sheer assholery of yesteryear.
Keep in mind, people, Deep Silver is the same publisher who came up with the idea to use “Make the bad guys cry like an anime fan on prom night” as a marketing phrase for Mighty No. 9.
Competition is healthy, also this isn’t new either Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have been doing this for years. Halo, Gears of war, Horizon, call of duty 2 week exclusivity with ps4, zelda series to name but a few exclusives on each platform. Atleast you can still get the game, just seems like a stupid argument.
Jim you forgot about local prices. For me games on epic store are MORE EXPENSIVE then on steam. Its anti-consumer for many players
You know what might be fun? A list. A list of all the launchers we’re somewhat expected to have (not to compare quality between each launcher, or why some of em exist. let’s get into it.)
Steam
Epic Games
Bethesda
Origin
GOG
Glyph
Uplay
Xbox Launcher/Microsoft Store
Battle.net
Discord Store
Twitch Launcher
Thats just the ones off the top of my head, at the beginning of 2019. How many more will exist this year alone, I wonder?