How will the Epic Game Store retain customers over the long term?

[hersheyfan]

I've been wrestling with this question for the longest time, honestly. But EGS' big ongoing sale prompted me to finally post this thread about it.

Said EGS sale has some really sick deals going on; incredible deals on unreleased games such as Control, Borderlands 3 and the PC version of Detroit: Become Human, all of which are EGS exclusive at the moment. These are likely going to sell pretty well even to users that are already heavily entrenched in the Steam ecosystem (especially those in cheaper price regions, due to Epic just slapping a fixed 10$ off on everything, regardless of base price). Hell, I only bought the one game on EGS (Hades, back when it wasn't on sale) just to see what it was like, and I'm considering grabbing Control just because it's cheap as dirt. So if I did buy it, Epic just paid 10 bucks out of pocket to secure my purchase.

But what happens after that? As many posters who support EGS love saying, "It's just a launcher." Needless to say, I don't agree with this sentiment (Steam clearly provides many user friendly benefits, which I will not rehash here), but the fact remains that there's nothing "tying" me to Epic Game Store, because it's just one of several launchers I can access; Steam games and EGS games are running on the same hardware. The "console war, but on PC" perspective that Epic is so eagerly trying to introduce doesnt really apply here - I don't have a sunk cost of 200 to 300 dollars (ex. buying a PS4/XB1/NSW) that I have to justify somehow by buying games that run on it. There's nothing stopping me from taking Epic's bribe, then turning around and burning cash like it was going out of style in the Steam Summer Sale.

So what's the long view here, from Epic's point of view?

Epic has forged these alliances with indie developers (and select AAA pubs, like Ubi and 2K) to bring content and customers into their fledgling store, with financial incentives. The assumption is, with time, more pubs and devs will see the lower cut and bring their games to EGS. That's logical.

But would the content creators ONLY bring their games to EGS, if they werent given any financial incentive to do so besides the improved revenue share? (Remember, it costs nothing to release the game on Steam - there are no porting costs involved.) It seems illogical that they would voluntarily exclude all of Steam's gigantic user base over this - a much more plausible scenario is that new games will begin coming to Steam AND EGS (again, assuming EGS gets some traction). That way, they still get the benefit of the EGS cut for all keys sold on there, while still getting the sales out of the Steam users.

But then, from a consumer perspective, if I could buy the game on either Steam or EGS, why would I choose EGS? Assuming that EGS achieves real end user feature parity at some point in the future (which is a gigantic assumption, given that they dont even have a frigging cart at the moment), the PC market is so saturated by Steam (years of sales and bundles and retail keys) that most people, if given a choice, will choose to just consolidate their purchases where they already are.

Again, the question is: how do they expect to achieve the dominance they claim to be targeting, given the above?

Note: A cursory check of my post history will show that I'm not exactly a big fan of EGS, and I'm not hiding that. But as an observer of the business side of the game industry for a good long while, this really intrigues me.

 

[DoradoWinston]

I mean if they keep having sales like this current one then by all means they can expect me to come to that store more often. It insane the type of shit you can get away with lmao

(this of course works if they keep bringing in these games like Borderlands 3 or Control, exclusive or not they need to continue to reach the store)

 

[spam musubi]

I'm not certain either. The moment they stop dumping money into it (buying exclusives, unsustainable cut, deep loss leader sales etc) people lose any reason to prefer their platform.

 

[Tzarscream]

Well, just like Microsoft, they try to offer attractive alternatives to Steam until they're the market leaders, at which point they dial that back.

 

[Dest]

Again, the question is: how do they expect to achieve the dominance they claim to be targeting, givem the above?

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By paying for exclusivity. The goal isn't to entice people into the ecosystem, it's to force people into it.

 

[NinjaScooter]

sales and exclusivity

 

[Mentalist]

As others have said before me: Epic is probably playing the long game.

It's going to keep paying for exclusives to try to attract users to its store. But the real source of its aspirations are those kids who have EGS purely to play Fortnite.
The expectation is that this younger generation will adopt EGS as their "base storefront" due to their familiarity with Fortnite, rather then join "the Steam Generation".

Personally, I don't hold that much stock in it, because on paper, Steam ecosystem still wins due to lower prices from key resellers. This was before today's sale. If Epic continues to bankroll such sales to aggressively drive prices down, it might succeed in securing a receptive customer base. But there's of course the question of how sustainable such a model would be.

 

[TaySan]

By not doing all of these anti-consumer bs. This sale is a step in the right direction, but this bait and switch tactic needs to stop. Stop buying third-party exclusives.

 

[Kickfister]

In my mind, there's 2 options for them:

1.) Encourage developers to pass the savings onto the consumer, at least partly. Consumers generally don't care that much about how much money a developer is making, they just want the best product, or the cheapest product. As it stands, there are no features to encourage consumers to use that store over steam. This brings me to my second point.

2.) Develop some unique, useful features consumers won't want to go without. Maybe a good achievement system? Maybe a better refund period? Maybe offer built in crossplay since their multiplayer services are already deployed across all platforms, something Valve can't offer? There's probably other things they could come up with, this is just what comes to mind.

I agree with you, in the EGS current state, the moment they stop forking cash over to developers is the moment people stop using the Epic store.

EDIT: It's important to remember that when Steam started, they were trying to compete with literal, actual free games: piracy. Valve convinced consumers to pay for digital products by offering services that people simply couldn't get for free. They had to make the real thing worth paying for. It's not how it should be, but it's the reality. Epic just needs to get innovative, and they have their work cut out for them, because steam has a lot of great features.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

The way they retain customers imho is by either convincing developers to exclusively release their titles in their store vs steam without the money hat if the devs are convinced it's better for them in the long run and/or they have sales that are better than steams with games available in both store fronts.

And yes improving the store is a must too.

 

[Ionic]

I'd say the way to keep people buying from their store is exclusives and sales. However, exclusives cost money and in their one and only sale they literally lose money for each game sale. I really don't know if many people will be using it for general game purchases for awhile.

 

[hersheyfan]

By paying for exclusivity. The goal isn't to entice people into the ecosystem, it's to force people into it.

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sales and exclusivity

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Obviously theyre bringing people in using exclusivity (and sales).

But exclusivity costs money, and if you're making just 12 percent, thats a guaranteed loss. Basically, they may have all the money in the world, but the point of a business is to make money, not give it away. They have to pivot at some point.

I'm not certain either. The moment they stop dumping money into it (buying exclusives, unsustainable cut, deep loss leader sales etc) people lose any reason to prefer their platform.

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Basically, this. At what point are they recouping their investment?

 

[Wulfric]

Same way Steam did - Time.

 

[Ploid 6.0]

Fortnite seasons, Rocket League new Fortnite free to play overhaul, some other games, maybe Paragon is brought back with better fort.. ok everything is Fortnite.

Advertise EGS in Fortnite.

 

[Uzzy]

Buying exclusives. That's their plan to keep people, forcing them there via hostages.

 

[rpm]

I believe the general strategy is that Fortnite + exclusives will snowball into a customer base

I don't think it'll work out, but I think that's what they're thinking, because they can't just keep paying for exclusives forever

 

[Champion]

But exclusivity costs money, and if you're making just 12 percent, thats a guaranteed loss. Basically, they may have all the money in the world, but the point of a business is to make money, not give it away. They have to pivot at some point.

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You gotta spend money to make money. Exclusivity and sales is exactly how they'll expand their brand and make more $$$.

 

[Oreoleo]

Buy exclusives
Sell exclusives at a loss to entice customers
"Look how many people use our store!"
Buy more exclusives.
Phase out consumer discounts.
Profit.

It's the Amazon model of strong arming competition until youre the big dog in town, at which point everyone is forced to play ball with you if they don't want to fight over scraps.

 

[Ploid 6.0]

What if they start adding exclusive Fortnite skins for each game you buy and get a certain amount of time played, or some thing that can't be obtained with a afk bot like the steam cards app. Oh boy.

 

[Rosebud]

They should stop caring only about time exclusives. So many games are skipping EGS entirely, they have like 20 games lol

Are there any japanese game in the store?

 

[hersheyfan]

As others have said before me: Epic is probably playing the long game.

It's going to keep paying for exclusives to try to attract users to its store. But the real source of its aspirations are those kids who have EGS purely to play Fortnite.
The expectation is that this younger generation will adopt EGS as their "base storefront" due to their familiarity with Fortnite, rather then join "the Steam Generation".

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Now this is a much more reasonable assumption. But placing a big bet on the "new" PC users is one helluva long game to play, and it assumes that the kids who spend all their time playing Fortnite actually want to get into PC games other than, yknow, Fortnite.

 

[Dr. Ludwig]

There is no coherent strategy beyond "dump money until problem is solved" which is Epic's entire modus operandi since they started EGS.

Even with this sale which is absolutely a net positive for consumers due to cheap prices, they are eating the sales costs and compensating the developers for the difference. You can blurt out how so much of "Fortnite Money!" they have but this isn't a sustainable long term strategy. Also PC gamers are an extremely patient bunch, they'll wait out until the exclusivity period ends and then buy them off their preferred store. Like they can't even secure a full year exclusivity for some key titles, people are gonna wait for six months to buy these titles because a lot of folks have giant backlogs to go through.

Sweeny and Galyonkin don't know what the fuck they're doing.

 

[Champion]

They should stop caring only about time exclusives. So many games are skipping EGS entirely, they have like 20 games lol

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How long has EGS been up and running?

 

[hersheyfan]

You gotta spend money to make money. Exclusivity and sales is exactly how they'll expand their brand and make more $$$.

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Yes, theyre spending money, and getting people to buy their games.

No, theyre not making money, because they also had to pay to secure the exclusivity.

They havent even tied you down into buying more games from them by purchasing that exclusive game that you wanted. You can just go back to Steam, or Origin, or Uplay at the drop of the hat.

Thats the entire question: how do they turn the occasional customer (who buys exclusives and sales) into a loyal customer (someone who buys most games from Epic)?

 

[Rosebud]

How long has EGS been up and running?

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If they can make exclusivity deals, they can bring "normal" games to their store.

I think EGS will be a very closed platform, opposite to Steam that accepts everything (kinda lame too).

 

[BrutalInsane]

I think the bigger thing is to stop doing exclusivity deals AND do sale like this to get me and a lot of other people who only game on PC to use the platform. I'd seriously have no problem using the EGS if the former was done.

 

[Champion]

Yes, theyre spending money, and getting people to buy their games.

No, theyre not making money, because they also had to pay to secure the exclusivity.

They havent even tied you down into buying more games from them by purchasing that exclusive game that you wanted. You can just go back to Steam, or Origin, or Uplay at the drop of the hat.

Thats the entire question: how do they turn the occasional customer (who buys exclusives and sales) into a loyal customer (someone who buys most games from Epic)?

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Most companies or major business ventures dont turn a profit in a short amount of time.
I also answered the bolded with my previous post.

If they can make exclusivity deals, they can bring "normal" games to their store.

I think EGS will be a very closed platform, opposite to Steam that accepts everything (kinda lame too).

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You didnt answer my question.

 

[fuzzyset]

I don't really mind EGS, but I definitely go to Steam first if I'm in the mood to buy a game. There is, however, an entire generation of people whose first entry into PC gaming isn't Half Life or CS, it's Fortnite. That's how EGS stays relevant long term.

 

[Gamesadict]

Their main issue is the fact that they seem to want instant results, where right away they want to be the leaders, the one store every dev/pub want to release their game in, the one store everyone mainly talks about. This comes with these highly front loaded strategies such as exclusivity agreements and loss leading, while also being a highly curated storefront. This means that they effectively trapped themselves into this area where they are expected to keep paying for the exclusive rights to certain games, but somehow telling others that might be interested to stay away (for now at least). This while having to consider your question of "what to do in the long term?".

Epic either consider a whole revamp of their strategy regarding how they bring more devs in, how they want to approach customers, how they make their store attractive to both groups with something that does not involve paying out of the Fortnite money bag... or they will just keep moneyhatting until the end of time. It's simple as that. They'll have to come out in the future and announce big changes, because right now they are simply locked in the same path.

Also, I don't know if Epic understand that they won't become the exclusive store for games just because of these deals. No dev or publisher will blindly throw away a Steam release unless it's in their actual market strategy (publisher client) or they keep getting paid upfront for it. At most, they are looking at Steam+EGS releases, just as you said.

Well... in the end, I honestly feel like they don't know either. Because so far they keep putting up that face that says "I'm gonna keep doing it and you are gonna like it".

Changing their perception could be a starting point. They need to find a way to make good with the potential customers they have pissed off and change the idea that EGS is "that store that keeps paying for exclusivity", because that's basically an expectation of them right now, they either approach a dev and pay them or the Steam-only release happens (reminder that Steam only releases happen because devs/pubs make that decision, not Valve).

 

[TheClaw7667]

I think the bigger thing is to stop doing exclusivity deals AND do sale like this to get me and a lot of other people who only game on PC to use the platform. I'd seriously have no problem using the EGS if the former was done.

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With the way they were talking about sales when they first launched the store, it seems the exclusives weren't pulling in enough people.

So I imagine they will run these sales from time to time along with buying exclusives until they get enough customers buying games from them.

 

[Rosebud]

Most companies or major business ventures dont turn a profit in a short amount of time.
I also answered the bolded with my previous post.

You didnt answer my question.

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5 months, enough time to have more than 20 games. And a search bar.

 

[hersheyfan]

Most companies or major business ventures dont turn a profit in a short amount of time.
I also answered the bolded with my previous post.

You didnt answer my question.

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You didn't answer my question, either.

Unless your "solution" was "exclusivity and sales" without any kind of coherent argument?

Exclusivity costs money. Sales cost money too, whether as a straight 10 dollar outlay (as theyre doing now) or a lower cut (because of a discounted price).

Making a sale to somebody under either of these conditions does not compel them to buy from Epic again.

How do you get these people to stay?

 

[Metroidvania]

There is no coherent strategy beyond "dump money until problem is solved" which is Epic's entire modus operandi since they started EGS.

Even with this sale which is absolutely a net positive for consumers due to cheap prices, they are eating the sales costs and compensating the developers for the difference. You can blurt out how so much of "Fortnite Money!" they have but this isn't a sustainable long term strategy. Also PC gamers are an extremely patient bunch, they'll wait out until the exclusivity period ends and then buy them off their preferred store. Like they can't even secure a full year exclusivity for some key titles, people are gonna wait for six months to buy these titles because a lot of folks have giant backlogs to go through.

Sweeny and Galyonkin don't know what the fuck they're doing.

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To an extent, I think you may be overestimating the 'patience' of a lot of PC gamers - plenty of people have been 'woo'd' by Control or BL3 (probably moreso BL3)

Now, that in and of itself doesn't necessarily translate into long-term consumers (especially with the store being as barebones as it is), but to that end, I imagine that (eventually) Epic will start doing more things like reduced consumer costs and lower prices on (some) of their games.

And even if not....The fortnite money isn't infinite, but it will allow Tim to keep pulling the 'we'll pay to exclusively keep you off Steam' card for at least another year or two, if not more.

It depends on how much he's willing to throw away to upset Gabe's market share....and it seems he's more than willing to take the loss short-term.


Realistically speaking, Epic still needs to do a helluva lot to transition from 'I'll buy this one game here' into long-term consumers (which is the supposed point of their 'influencers will advertise your game for you' aspect), but I've yet to see it come to any meaningful fruition in keeping people involved in the store, at least up until now with the sale.

Except said sale has resulted in multiple games being 'take off' from said sale.....

 

[Alandring]

But would the content creators ONLY bring their games to EGS, if they werent given any financial incentive to do so besides the improved revenue share? (Remember, it costs nothing to release the game on Steam - there are no porting costs involved.) It seems illogical that they would voluntarily exclude all of Steam's gigantic user base over this - a much more plausible scenario is that new games will begin coming to Steam AND EGS (again, assuming EGS gets some traction). That way, they still get the benefit of the EGS cut for all keys sold on there, while still getting the sales out of the Steam users.

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If Epic Game Store becomes as big as Steam, I think some publishers could choose to sell their games exclusively on it, even without any deal with Epic.

Why Ubisoft has Uplay, EA Origin, CD Projekt GoG, Microsoft the Windows Store, Blizzard Battle.net, etc. ? Because it's more profitable. If publishers can have more money if they sell their games exclusively on Epic Game Store, they will probably do it.

 

[Metroidvania]

If Epic Game Store becomes as big as Steam, I think some publishers could choose to sell their games exclusively on it, even without any deal with Epic.

Why Ubisoft has Uplay, EA Origin, CD Projekt GoG, Microsoft the Windows Store, Blizzard Battle.net, etc. ? Because it's more profitable. If publishers can have more money if they sell their games exclusively on Epic Game Store, they will probably do it.

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That will depend (A LOT) on how much actual market share Epic manages to capture.

While we don't necessarily have a whole lot of concrete information on sales, the lack of any explicit numbers for success stories (save maybe World War Z) doesn't necessarily indicate it's making huge waves.

Granted, that could all change once the exclusives start hitting in force, but we'll have to wait and see.

Currently, it's a battle of 'how many more sales are we expected to get on steam' (which could be quite a large spread) versus how much guaranteed money epic will give us.

 

[HaremKing]

If Epic Game Store becomes as big as Steam, I think some publishers could choose to sell their games exclusively on it, even without any deal with Epic.

Why Ubisoft has Uplay, EA Origin, CD Projekt GoG, Microsoft the Windows Store, Blizzard Battle.net, etc. ? Because it's more profitable. If publishers can have more money if they sell their games exclusively on Epic Game Store, they will probably do it.

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But money is a finite resource. That's the thing.

Yes, publishers will absolutely be fine with EGS (timed) exclusivity as long as they're cashing big money checks. And customers will be happy to shop so long as Epic is subsidizing price cuts. But what is Epic doing to make this venture even remotely sustainable once the checks stop clearing? Or is the goal to infinitely run the store at a loss?

 

[Pixieking]

The issue is that Epic seem to want to be the only player in town on PC, and want that now, and you can't build-up a solid user-base who will try many and varied types of games when you approach a business like Epic have. Everything about the Epic store seems rushed, and seems designed to coerce consumers (and devs/pubs?) into using it against Steam. Right-away, they've approached the store not from how they can use it to create a long-term ongoing concern that slowly builds goodwill from consumers due to great features and benefits, whilst giving devs/pubs a Steam alternative, but rather as the anti-Steam.

The sale that's going on now is a good example - didn't inform Paradox, possibly didn't inform Klei, storewide $10 discount applied regardless of region which caused both those publishers to remove their games from the EGS until after the sale. Absolutely the most amateurish thing I've seen in gaming in years. They could've waited, they could've built their store up with features, and used their first big storewide sale in, say, a year's time - when some exclusives are ending - as a "grand opening" to really push back against Steam and tout how fully-fledged they were. But no. It's short-termism brought about from thinking "they're the best most awesome thing". Because they haven't needed to work to gain users - both because of Fortnite, but also because Steam has shown that people will game on PC in their millions already - it seems like they feel it's their right to push people into using their store. And when you treat people like that, you're not going to have any store loyalty.

So, I suppose, this poster has it unironically right

Well, just like Microsoft, they try to offer attractive alternatives to Steam until they're the market leaders, at which point they dial that back.

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EGS is the same as G4WL, as the same as Windows Store Gaming/XBOX on PC - it's a top-down business-first approach that hasn't thought about the consequences of what happens to the long-tail of PC gaming, and will probably also go the way of MS's attempts to "own" PC gaming. No, there's no reason for creators to use EGS alone, when Steam (or publisher owned alternatives like UPlay) exist. It's an additional revenue stream, but without features - shopping cart, cloud saves, and something like specific Steam API like controller and streaming - the whole store is about short-term profit. Releasing elsewhere after the exclusivity period is up is akin to releasing on consoles first, then PC a year later - a boost to the revenue stream that may actually outpace the initial release.

I don't really mind EGS, but I definitely go to Steam first if I'm in the mood to buy a game. There is, however, an entire generation of people whose first entry into PC gaming isn't Half Life or CS, it's Fortnite. That's how EGS stays relevant long term.

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Only if those players buy something other than Fortnite skins. The assumption that a userbase of Fortnite would willingly play Satisfactory or Ashen is a big one, and probably incorrect. No doubt most of those games sales come from people who wanted to buy it on Steam but couldn't.

 

[Shelbyville Milhouse]

Hell, I only bought the one game on EGS (Hades, back when it wasn't on sale) just to see what it was like, and I'm considering grabbing Control just because it's cheap as dirt.

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Cheap as dirt? It's 50€
That's.....not unusual

 

[Deleted member 10551]

When you're inferior in features and goodwill, the only way you can get folks to use your store is by price.

Folks may use Epic for exclusives, but they won't use it otherwise unless they get a good reason. The exclusives just get your foot in the door, you need to offer value for folks to use your store profitably.

The folks who use Steam for more than 1-2 games are a small minority of Steam owners. It's gonna be that way for Epic too. Steam's hardcore fanbase are over-represented on game forums, for logical reasons.

 

[Deleted member 48991]

That will depend (A LOT) on how much actual market share Epic manages to capture.

While we don't necessarily have a whole lot of concrete information on sales, the lack of any explicit numbers for success stories (save maybe World War Z) doesn't necessarily indicate it's making huge waves.

Granted, that could all change once the exclusives start hitting in force, but we'll have to wait and see.

Currently, it's a battle of 'how many more sales are we expected to get on steam' (which could be quite a large spread) versus how much guaranteed money epic will give us.

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They already have a massive market share due to Fortnite. At the same time free games, sales and exclusives drive many people to install EGS.

 

[Hamster Plugin]

I mean if they keep having sales like this current one then by all means they can expect me to come to that store more often. It insane the type of shit you can get away with lmao

(this of course works if they keep bringing in these games like Borderlands 3 or Control, exclusive or not they need to continue to reach the store)

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The issue with that is that they can't keep having sales like this current one. Right now Epic is losing money every time you buy something that has the $10 discount. It's the basic loss leader strategy: make a loss now and hope that you made a recurring customer. For Epic to profit off this, they need you to later go into their store to buy something in a sale that does not include a flat $10 discount.

The worst thing you can do to Epic right now is to buy something off this sale (loses them money) and then never buy from them again unless they make another money-losing sale.

 

[Tzarscream]

EGS is the same as G4WL, as the same as Windows Store Gaming/XBOX on PC - it's a top-down business-first approach that hasn't thought about the consequences of what happens to the long-tail of PC gaming, and will probably also go the way of MS's attempts to "own" PC gaming. No, there's no reason for creators to use EGS alone, when Steam (or publisher owned alternatives like UPlay) exist. It's an additional revenue stream, but without features - shopping cart, cloud saves, and something like specific Steam API like controller and streaming - the whole store is about short-term profit. Releasing elsewhere after the exclusivity period is up is akin to releasing on consoles first, then PC a year later - a boost to the revenue stream that may actually outpace the initial release.

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To clarify, when mentioning Microsoft I was referring to Xbone vs PS4.

Also, EGS will add all the things Steam has as time passes, I don't really think EGS is comparable to GFWL at all.

 

[Pixieking]

They already have a massive market share due to Fortnite. At the same time free games, sales and exclusives drive many people to install EGS.

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Again, market share due to a single game does not automatically translate to industry-wide sales. Galyonkin himself said this when examining playtime and ownership rates of Steam users - someone who plays DOTA 2 for hundreds of hours is most likely not going to be buying the latest Tomb Raider or indie game. And install-base for free games doesn't mean much, either. This is why Valve tout number of daily impressions and unique users logging in every day - because that's a more likely measure of a broad range of consumers who may be willing to play something other than a single game.

To clarify, when mentioning Microsoft I was referring to Xbone vs PS4.

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Makes more sense

Also, EGS will add all the things Steam has as time passes, I don't really think EGS is comparable to GFWL at all.

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I mean, it won't, and I don't get this optimism. Will Epic add a controller API? Will they add cards? Will they add family sharing? Streaming? I mean, they don't even have a shopping cart right now. :/

 

[plié]

By being a very good store like now, and buying more exclusives.

 

[packy17]

They won't until they add useful customer-facing features. Buyouts and sales that are also technically mini-buyouts (because they're covering the cost of the sale themselves) will only work for so long.

I know Epic isn't interested in "competing" with Steam on features, but they're in for a rude awakening if they think they can just leave the launcher the way it is and skate on the 88:12 thing forever.

 

[DoradoWinston]

The issue with that is that they can't keep having sales like this current one. Right now Epic is losing money every time you buy something that has the $10 discount. It's the basic loss leader strategy: make a loss now and hope that you made a recurring customer. For Epic to profit off this, they need you to later go into their store to buy something in a sale that does not include a flat $10 discount.

The worst thing you can do to Epic right now is to buy something off this sale (loses them money) and then never buy from them again unless they make another money-losing sale.

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thats the only way they will keep me coming at the moment tbh. Getting Hades, Borderlands 3 and Control for a total of ~45CAD is insane. Its not something they can keep doing (without customers coming back without sales like you said) but for me personally thats the only way they keep me specifically as a customer (for now, i may change my mind in the future of course)

 

[XR.]

Also, EGS will add all the things Steam has as time passes, I don't really think EGS is comparable to GFWL at all.

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They've outright said they won't, but yeah, they haven't exactly been consistent so far so they can backtrack on that at anytime of course.

 

[Deleted member 4494]

At some point it just becomes not that bad, if you've invested even a little bit into it. Like, I've bought 3 or 4 games, Hades, Division 2, Ashen, and Metro, and of course I've collected each free game. The store still sucks, nothing has really gotten better on that front, and all else being equal, I'll still buy on Steam, but mentally I now have some investment on Epic. Some of my digital goods exist there now, so that wall is chipped at, even if it's not totally broken. If the store itself didn't suck, and sales become more generous ... at that point, I guess I'd feel like the difference doesn't much matter anymore.

For the time being, Epic will continue to invest in exclusives and indies, getting more and more people to see the store as an option, even if it's not the preferred option. Then one day, if the store is actually good, there'll be enough people using it that most devs will endeavor to get a version of their game on both stores, and it'll come down to sales and key sellers (if the latter ever becomes a thing they support).

Money talks, and Epic are getting into this market for the long haul. They aren't disappearing, and they aren't going to lose; the only question I think is what part of the market settles in their pocket.

 

[Tzarscream]

Again, market share due to a single game does not automatically translate to industry-wide sales. Galyonkin himself said this when examining playtime and ownership rates of Steam users - someone who plays DOTA 2 for hundreds of hours is most likely not going to be buying the latest Tomb Raider or indie game. And install-base for free games doesn't mean much, either. This is why Valve tout number of daily impressions and unique users logging in every day - because that's a more likely measure of a broad range of consumers who may be willing to play something other than a single game.



Makes more sense


I mean, it won't, and I don't get this optimism. Will Epic add a controller API? Will they add cards? Will they add family sharing? Streaming? I mean, they don't even have a shopping cart right now. :/

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There's a lot of pearl clutching going on right now.

If EGS starts impacting Steam's sales, Steam will then have to start appealing more to customers rather than take them for granted like they have currently. What with their current race to the bottom with h-games, diminishing sales quality, allowing offensive altright games and generally disdain to do anything.

Ultimately it should be beneficial for us and Steam should have someone snapping at their heels to keep them honest.

 

[Champion]

5 months, enough time to have more than 20 games. And a search bar.

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There's bias here. Nevermind.

You didn't answer my question, either.

Unless your "solution" was "exclusivity and sales" without any kind of coherent argument?

Exclusivity costs money. Sales cost money too, whether as a straight 10 dollar outlay (as theyre doing now) or a lower cut (because of a discounted price).

Making a sale to somebody under either of these conditions does not compel them to buy from Epic again.

How do you get these people to stay?

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Exclusives and sales.

The market has consistently shown that most ppl dont have platform loyalty. Yes you will have diehards and fanboys but most ppl just want to play games, get a good deal on said games, and play on the same platform as ppl they know. That EGS sale thread is proof of this.There are ppl in that thread that have bashed the store previously that seem to have bought games off because of that sale.

That Tencent and Fortnite money is looking pretty big these days too so I think they can continue with that strategy.