Epic Mega Sale is now live ($10 off every game priced $14.99 and up!) [Read Staff Post]

Viale · May 17, 2019

Alexandros said:
So I think that's what the developers and publishers are afraid of: that once you offer, say, a 33% discount you've essentially wasted the 20% discount threshold. If you go from full price to 50% immediately, you've lost the chance to do smaller discounts. So a game like Hades being discounted by 60% or so, even if a large part of that discount is covered by Epic, may have the developers worried that they've essentially wasted the previous discount thresholds. The general audience may not care but the bargain-hunting crowd certainly will.

I get the idea, but I feel like this *should* be the best of both?

the people who would buy the game at 25% off, the people who would buy at 33% off, the people who would buy at 50% would buy it now for the current price of 50% off, but SGG doesn't have to take any of the hit for that increased sale percentage. Every sale they get, even the consumer who wouldn't have bought unless it was 50% off act as purchases bought at full price.

They have to be making a ton of sales from this which would then lead to more word of mouth for the game and give it a bit more light to other potential users. I feel like this month the sale is going for would be the ideal time for both SGG and consumers to get the game, and I think it's enough time that anyone already interested in the game can not only get it but convince others to get it as well after playing it and seeing that it's a lot of fun.

If someone was going to wait and not get it from this sale, then they'd probably wait in general for the game to get lower vs waiting for a smaller sale that SGG would actually put out themselves. Anyone already interested in the game would likely dive in imo.

Detail · May 17, 2019

Eolz said:
The 10$ bit is Epic footing the bill. Other discounts are at the choice of the devs.

This screams of desperation from Epic tbh, this entire sale is a huge backtrack on their "no sales" stance and the fact that they are footing the bill for these discounts just to drive consumers to their store shows that their current model is completely unsustainable going forward.

It also shows why developers are so inclined to go exclusive with Epic because it's pretty clear Epic are removing any risk on their products from a sales perspective.

I don't see how Epic will succeed with this venture long term as things currently stand.

Deleted member 36578 · May 17, 2019

LocoRoco said:
I bought BL3 for $20.99 and Ashen for $4.99, what a good deal :D

Bl3 is borderlands3? What region are you in to get it at that price?

Nooblet · May 17, 2019

eonden said:
What did i miss now

Nah it was just something I observed but it turned out to be a side effect/coincidence rather than intentional decision by publisher.

-Amon- · May 17, 2019

Not going to install that stuff on my machines, thanks.

NoblesseOblige · May 17, 2019

-Amon- said:
Not going to install that stuff on my machines, thanks.

why even fucking post to say this?

Greatest Ever · May 17, 2019

NoblesseOblige said:
why even fucking post to say this?

Makes some people feel good. Like Ferris Bueller

-Amon- · May 17, 2019

NoblesseOblige said:
why even fucking post to say this?

Because I oppose Epic's way of doing business, and I felt like saying it.

I think it's permitted, right ?

lt519 · May 17, 2019

Really really want to play Hades but I think I'll be patient for it to leave Early Access.

Sheepinator · May 17, 2019

Thinkdifferent said:
This screams of desperation from Epic tbh, this entire sale is a huge backtrack on their "no sales" stance and the fact that they are footing the bill for these discounts just to drive consumers to their store shows that their current model is completely unsustainable going forward.

It also shows why developers are so inclined to go exclusive with Epic because it's pretty clear Epic are removing any risk on their products from a sales perspective.

I don't see how Epic will succeed with this venture long term as things currently stand.

You are assuming EGS never gains any customers, which is a bad assumption. I am certain this sale prompted many new signups and payment options entered to the store, which will mean more purchases in the future. The concept of loss leaders has been a thing forever in retail.

FHIZ · May 17, 2019

-Amon- said:
Because I oppose Epic's way of doing business, and I felt like saying it.

I think it's permitted, right ?

Actually...
https://www.resetera.com/threads/ep...-read-staff-post.117265/page-20#post-20836983

Forsaken82 · May 17, 2019

-Amon- said:
Because I oppose Epic's way of doing business, and I felt like saying it.

I think it's permitted, right ?

Actually if you take the staff post to heart, no because you aren't talking about the actual sale, so theoretically, you should be warned, if not banned.

I see I was beat to this...

Alexandros · May 17, 2019

Viale said:
I get the idea, but I feel like this *should* be the best of both?

the people who would buy the game at 25% off, the people who would buy at 33% off, the people who would buy at 50% would buy it now for the current price of 50% off, but SGG doesn't have to take any of the hit for that increased sale percentage. Every sale they get, even the consumer who wouldn't have bought unless it was 50% off act as purchases bought at full price.

They have to be making a ton of sales from this which would then lead to more word of mouth for the game and give it a bit more light to other potential users. I feel like this month the sale is going for would be the ideal time for both SGG and consumers to get the game, and I think it's enough time that anyone already interested in the game can not only get it but convince others to get it as well after playing it and seeing that it's a lot of fun.

If someone was going to wait and not get it from this sale, then they'd probably wait in general for the game to get lower vs waiting for a smaller sale that SGG would actually put out themselves. Anyone already interested in the game would likely dive in imo.

Maybe, but it's hard to tell how the expectation of a similar future discount will work. Time will tell.

Deleted member 42 · May 17, 2019

You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

CthulhuSars · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

Its the "Murican way to throw money at things.

The sad part is there are enough examples out there of what to do but it seems like they want to do it their way.

svacina · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

To be fair, Razer and GOG losing money and Epic losing money are two different situations, based on their position and plans.

Mentalist · May 17, 2019

arts&crafts said:
How do they not support Canadian Dollars?

Neither Sweeney nor Galyonkin paid attention in geography class, apparently

Deleted member 42 · May 17, 2019

CthulhuSars said:
Its the "Murican way to throw money at things.

The sad part is there are enough examples out there of what to do but it seems like they want to do it their way.

U S A
U S A

svacina said:
To be fair, Razer and GOG losing money and Epic losing money are two different situations, based on their position and plans.

Sure, but I'm generally not aware of desperate companies pulling the most obvious money losing move of all time

Arrogant ones, sure, Moviepass just popped up last year after all

ZugZug123 · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

Epic has enough in the bank to operate EGS at a loss to gain market share. They are finally doing things the Amazon way. Although I think Amazon launched with a working search bar and shopping cart in the 90's :p

Deleted member 5596 · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

What's 5-10 million dollars for a company that makes 1 billion every month?

Deleted member 42 · May 17, 2019

ZugZug123 said:
Epic has enough in the bank to operate EGS at a loss to gain market share. They are finally doing things the Amazon way. Although I think Amazon launched with a working search bar and shopping cart in the 90's :p

They def had the first one, dunno about the second

Get ready to get hit in the face with the power of The 90s

ShinUltramanJ · May 17, 2019

I'm rather surprised that this sale has breathed any new life into OTs for some of the games.

I was curious about World War Z, and you'd think with the sale that the OT would be bustling with new activity, but that's not the case at all.

Clowns · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

I mean, this is clearly a loss leader.
5-10 million is probably what they spend getting 1 exclusive game.

Mentalist · May 17, 2019

ZugZug123 said:
Epic has enough in the bank to operate EGS at a loss to gain market share. They are finally doing things the Amazon way. Although I think Amazon launched with a working search bar and shopping cart in the 90's :p

Having no features is a brand new feature!

That's 21 century thinking

NeonBlack · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

Fortnite makes that back weekly.

Madjoki · May 17, 2019

NeonBlack said:
Fortnite makes that back weekly.

*daily or maybe even hourly.

SaintBowWow · May 17, 2019

ZugZug123 said:
Epic has enough in the bank to operate EGS at a loss to gain market share. They are finally doing things the Amazon way. Although I think Amazon launched with a working search bar and shopping cart in the 90's :p

Can someone actually articulate why a shopping cart and search bar are such important features for EGS to have right now? There's like 15 things for sale in the store. Scrolling through the entire catalog takes about as much time as searching for something would, and a shopping cart is only needed when buying multiple things at once which the majority of people likely never did until this sale.

CthulhuSars · May 17, 2019

Mentalist said:
Having no features is a brand new feature!

That's 21 century thinking

EGS is truly bringing retro storefronts back. The place for hipsters.

Alexandros · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

I'm sure at this point they care much more about increasing their userbase than losing money. The question is what comes after that. Paying for discounts out of your own pocket is the nuclear option.

spam musubi · May 17, 2019

SaintBowWow said:
Can someone actually articulate why a shopping cart and search bar are such important features for EGS to have right now? There's like 15 things for sale in the store. Scrolling through the entire catalog takes about as much time as searching for something would, and a shopping cart is only needed when buying multiple things at once which the majority of people likely never did until this sale.

-Amon- · May 17, 2019

Forsaken82 said:
Actually if you take the staff post to heart, no because you aren't talking about the actual sale, so theoretically, you should be warned, if not banned.

I see I was beat to this...

That indeed just happened, as you predicted and as I expected.

Viale · May 17, 2019

NeonBlack said:
Fortnite makes that back weekly.

Going by 2018 numbers, they actually make >46million in a week, so they'd recoup those costs in less than two days. Holy shit, Fortnite is a juggernaut.

Cels · May 17, 2019

lol two of the three games i had my eye on for this sale -- one had its price raised (Hades) and the other (Oxygen Not Included) was just flat out removed from the store.

(the third game i'm looking at is borderlands 3)

Dreams-Visions · May 17, 2019

nynt9 said:

I was saying EXACTLY THIS yesterday.

Like, almost verbatim that this would happen.

Dreams-Visions said:
Cool.

....but imagine doing a store-wide sale with no shopping cart, forcing people interested in making purchases to have to worry about how their CC company will interpret several individual purchases in rapid succession from a vendor not regularly purchased from.

At least people can spread the purchases out since it's a month-long sale.

I'll recommend it again: If you plan on making multiple purchases, let your CC company know in advance so they don't stop your shit. It's inconvenient, but better than getting declined and not realizing it and trying to use your card elsewhere only to find out it's not working.

LewieP · May 17, 2019

SaintBowWow said:
Can someone actually articulate why a shopping cart and search bar are such important features for EGS to have right now? There's like 15 things for sale in the store. Scrolling through the entire catalog takes about as much time as searching for something would, and a shopping cart is only needed when buying multiple things at once which the majority of people likely never did until this sale.

For one, people making multiple small purchases in close succession are often finding their payment provider flagging the transactions as potentially fraudulent, and so blocking them.

Even beyond that, it's just an extremely rudimentary feature that makes for a better user experience.

SaintBowWow · May 17, 2019

nynt9 said:

This would also be solved by not flagging accounts for buying five things. Again, this sale is really the first time shopping cart functionality would actually be a feature worth having given the size of their library, and even then the number of people buying 5+ games is going to be low. I'm not saying that the store shouldn't have a shopping cart, just that given the current state of the store I can absolutely see why it's not a critical feature. It just comes off to me as a complaint that seems like a big deal at first but really isn't and just serves to be fodder for people looking to complain about the EGS.

Deleted member 42 · May 17, 2019

I don't need to worry about my bank flagging my account for too many transactions BECAUSE I OWN THE BANK

spam musubi · May 17, 2019

Dreams-Visions said:
I was saying EXACTLY THIS yesterday.

Like, almost verbatim that this would happen.

I'll recommend it again: If you plan on making multiple purchases, let your CC company know in advance so they don't stop your shit. It's inconvenient, but better than getting declined and not realizing it and trying to use your card elsewhere only to find out it's not working.

BronsonLee said:
I don't need to worry about my bank flagging my account for too many transactions BECAUSE I OWN THE BANK

This isn't even the CC company blocking the transactions. The EGS itself blocked the transactions because it thought they looked fraudulent. Because he bought 5 games. During a storewide sale.

CthulhuSars · May 17, 2019

SaintBowWow said:
This would also be solved by not flagging accounts for buying five things. Again, this sale is really the first time shopping cart functionality would actually be a feature worth having given the size of their library, and even then the number of people buying 5+ games is going to be low. I'm not saying that the store shouldn't have a shopping cart, just that given the current state of the store I can absolutely see why it's not a critical feature. It just comes off to me as a complaint that seems like a big deal at first but really isn't and just serves to be fodder for people looking to complain about the EGS.

If they want to be a storefront that people do not complain about then they should have search and a shopping cart as minimal storefronts should all have.

Dreams-Visions · May 17, 2019

SaintBowWow said:
This would also be solved by not flagging accounts for buying five things. Again, this sale is really the first time shopping cart functionality would actually be a feature worth having given the size of their library, and even then the number of people buying 5+ games is going to be low. I'm not saying that the store shouldn't have a shopping cart, just that given the current state of the store I can absolutely see why it's not a critical feature. It just comes off to me as a complaint that seems like a big deal at first but really isn't and just serves to be fodder for people looking to complain about the EGS.

They should have anticipated as much. As I said yesterday, this sort of thing problem is pretty easily foreshadowed by anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence, which I'm sure Epic is full of. This sort of sale could have been billed as part of their "shopping cart celebration event". Sounds corny, but hey...we have a shopping cart, so buy multiple things from us at a discount!

It doesn't make any sense to make people want to make multiple purchases while requiring them to make each a separate transaction with a company they may have no history of making purchases from. You just KNOW that looks questionable to a CC company with any half-way decent fraud alert protections.

Dreams-Visions · May 17, 2019

nynt9 said:
This isn't even the CC company blocking the transactions. The EGS itself blocked the transactions because it thought they looked fraudulent. Because he bought 5 games. During a storewide sale.

woah. I didn't even know that was possible? Is it possible (s)he misspoke or is misunderstanding the full chain of events? Because I'm pretty sure only CC companies block transactions.

What may have happened here is the CC company blocked/declined the last transaction via fraud alert, which caused Epic to ban/block their account. I've seen it happen with other storefronts.

Eg: I was using a given Storefront once for the first time (can't remember which) and my first transaction was blocked by my CC through fraud alert and my new storefront account was temp banned as a result. I had to call my CC company AND send the storefront an email with some of the convo details with my CC company to get them to unban my account and complete the transaction.

Uthred · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

Was it losing money before the sale? It's so incredibly, laughably bare bones that the design of it can't have cost that much.

HardRojo · May 17, 2019

BronsonLee said:
You know what I do when I have a storefront and it's losing money?

Close it, like Razer Game Store since it didn't fit their strategy? Nah that'd make sense
Rework things, like GOG is because things weren't going well? Nah
Make a big ass sale where I will probably lose 5-10 million dollars at the end of it?

Yeah that's the one

It's a very reductive way to look at it.
Epic's endgame with this is completely different and there's a reason they're willing to lose money. It's similar to retailers using lost leaders to get more traffic and sales of other products in their stores. It's very easy for Epic to do this given they got the money to back it up, so they're not looking to profit from this specific move in the short term.

spam musubi · May 17, 2019

Dreams-Visions said:
woah. I didn't even know that was possible? Is it possible (s)he misspoke or is misunderstanding the full chain of events? Because I'm pretty sure only CC companies block transactions.

What may have happened here is the CC company blocked/declined the last transaction via fraud alert, which caused Epic to ban/block their account. I've seen it happen with other storefronts.

Eg: I was using a given Storefront once for the first time (can't remember which) and my first transaction was blocked by my CC through fraud alert and my new storefront account was temp banned as a result. I had to call my CC company AND send the storefront an email with some of the convo details with my CC company to get them to unban my account and complete the transaction.

Look at the second tweet in my post. The EGS is giving him a notification stating his account is blocked from making transactions.

HardRojo said:
It's a very reductive way to look at it.
Epic's endgame with this is completely different and there's a reason they're willing to lose money. It's similar to retailers using lost leaders to get more traffic and sales of other products in their stores. It's very easy for Epic to do this given they got the money to back it up, so they're not looking to profit from this specific move in the short term.

It doesn't help them long term if people only come for the loss leader sales. You need to give people a reason to buy games even if they're not exclusive or deeply discounted for people to willingly use your store long term.

Deleted member 42 · May 17, 2019

nynt9 said:
This isn't even the CC company blocking the transactions. The EGS itself blocked the transactions because it thought they looked fraudulent. Because he bought 5 games. During a storewide sale.

What part of the post where I said I owned a bank was meant to be taken at face value

Also why are people trying to tell me, an incredible genius and definitely not a doofus, why the sale is a good idea

LewieP · May 17, 2019

Uthred said:
Was it losing money before the sale? It's so incredibly, laughably bare bones that the design of it can't have cost that much.

Epic are spending millions to secure exclusivity on games for their store. Likely 8 figures sums, if not 9 figure sums in some cases.

If they spent 20 million on a game that is being sold on their store for 60 bucks, they would get 7.20 from each unit sold, meaning that they'd need to sell 2.8 million units to break even (and that is without accounting for transaction/distribution costs. Were they selling anything close to that of these games, I'm sure we'd have seen a press release stating as such.

The thing about loss leaders is that they generate a loss.

LocoRoco · May 17, 2019

brokeastronaut said:
Bl3 is borderlands3? What region are you in to get it at that price?

Yes, it is Border 3 and the U$20,99 (U$ 30,99 without the discont ) is Brazil regional price

Eolz · May 17, 2019

The fun thing about the lack of cart is that, again, there is a cart in the UE marketplace (that you can access through the same launcher and website).

voOsh · May 17, 2019

We have folks in this very thread trying to use VPNs and figure out what region they need to set their accounts to for the best sale price. This store is broken. I don't fault anyone for taking the free money from Epic though. Consumers gotta consume.

Nooblet · May 17, 2019

voOsh said:
We have folks in this very thread trying to use VPNs and figure out what region they need to set their accounts to for the best sale price. This store is broken. I don't fault anyone for taking the free money from Epic though. Consumers gotta consume.

We also have folks in this thread like yourself who, with all due respect, have no idea what they are talking about. Despite this being something that's been covered several times in this very thread.

Epic's region protection is actually more robust than Steam's. It's impossible to exploit unless you can find a card that was issued in that region by a bank AND it has to support international payments (not as common in these regions with cheap games) AND it permanently locks the account to whichever region you buy the first game from or the moment you add a payment option to your account.

While Steam does something similar it isn't this thorough and there is a minor loophole but it's something very very few people would know about and even when they do it's not practical for the vast majority of people. So by that merit steam store broken as well now considering it's marginally more exploitable. Epic will also flag your account even if you simply try to do region gymnastics and outright disable purchasing ability until you clear it up with support let alone be able to buy a game at all...you can see threads about it online on epic forums.

Epic Mega Sale is now live ($10 off every game priced $14.99 and up!) [Read Staff Post]

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