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Another Epic Store Exclusive: Observation (No Code/Devolver Digital)

Bullet Club

Member
And PS4.




Observation is a sci-fi thriller uncovering what happened to Dr. Emma Fisher, and the crew of her mission, through the lens of the station’s artificial intelligence S.A.M. Players assume the role of S.A.M. by operating the station’s control systems, cameras, and tools to assist Emma in discovering what is happening to the station, the vanished crew, and S.A.M. himself.
 

Gamezone

Member
Honest question:

How much money do they have now? How long can Epic keep doing this? With games like Apex Legends, Fortnite can`t be their cash cow forever? And how wealthy is Valve compared to Epic? Gabe Newell is worth 4 billion himself.
 

Husky

THE Prey 2 fanatic
Honest question:

How much money do they have now? How long can Epic keep doing this? With games like Apex Legends, Fortnite can`t be their cash cow forever? And how wealthy is Valve compared to Epic? Gabe Newell is worth 4 billion himself.
I wouldn't be surprised if Epic was wealthier than Valve. Remember, they had a massive cash flow before Fortnite--this is the company that builds Unreal Engine, the most popular engine for AAA games that there is. Plus they've got Tencent's backing.

And Gabe may be worth $4 billion, but Tim Sweeney is worth $8 billion.

I hate the Epic Store, but I believe it's here to stay. And no matter how big it gets, I'll never, ever touch it.
 

Bullet Club

Member
Honest question:

How much money do they have now? How long can Epic keep doing this? With games like Apex Legends, Fortnite can`t be their cash cow forever? And how wealthy is Valve compared to Epic? Gabe Newell is worth 4 billion himself.
Epic are 40% owned by Tencent, who are worth a few hundred billion.
 

Gamezone

Member
I wouldn't be surprised if Epic was wealthier than Valve. Remember, they had a massive cash flow before Fortnite--this is the company that builds Unreal Engine, the most popular engine for AAA games that there is. Plus they've got Tencent's backing.

And Gabe may be worth $4 billion, but Tim Sweeney is worth $8 billion.

I hate the Epic Store, but I believe it's here to stay. And no matter how big it gets, I'll never, ever touch it.

It's surely here to stay. If they wanted to back out, now should probably be the best time to it.

I think the most interesting thing about EGS will be how fast they can build quality store. If they stick to their road map, they will have the most important features implemented by the end of this year, including a new store app for iOS and Android, which Valve have, but has currently abandoned. I hope that it will be more common to release games on BOTH stores in the future.
 
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theHFIC

Member
I thought Devolver’s twitter was making fun of having publishers Epic Game Store exclusives a couple months ago but can’t find any tweets about it now. Another one bites the dust.
 

Bullet Club

Member
I thought Devolver’s twitter was making fun of having publishers Epic Game Store exclusives a couple months ago but can’t find any tweets about it now. Another one bites the dust.
It was the Twitter account for Fork Parker's Crunch Out.





 

Burger

Member
I wouldn't be surprised if Epic was wealthier than Valve. Remember, they had a massive cash flow before Fortnite--this is the company that builds Unreal Engine, the most popular engine for AAA games that there is. Plus they've got Tencent's backing.

And Gabe may be worth $4 billion, but Tim Sweeney is worth $8 billion.

I hate the Epic Store, but I believe it's here to stay. And no matter how big it gets, I'll never, ever touch it.

I remember when Steam came out with the launch of Half Life 2 and the reaction was the same then as it is now. Incensed gamers lamenting how they couldn't just launch the installer off the CDROM and play it like any normal game - it needed some grade A bullshit called Steam which (can you believe it) needed to be online.
 

pr0cs

Member
I remember when Steam came out with the launch of Half Life 2 and the reaction was the same then as it is now. Incensed gamers lamenting how they couldn't just launch the installer off the CDROM and play it like any normal game - it needed some grade A bullshit called Steam which (can you believe it) needed to be online.
Yep, same hand wringing and commentary that they'd"quit gaming" or pirate it or vote with their wallet.


Anyway on topic the game looks fantastic, reminds me a bit of lone echo on Oculus
 

Burger

Member
I'M BOYCOTTING!

hvP-fD-BEsnPJPOe071rlzc06iOcFqTtCEs9y0PBvTQ.png
 

Husky

THE Prey 2 fanatic
I remember when Steam came out with the launch of Half Life 2 and the reaction was the same then as it is now. Incensed gamers lamenting how they couldn't just launch the installer off the CDROM and play it like any normal game - it needed some grade A bullshit called Steam which (can you believe it) needed to be online.
My problem with Epic isn't that it's another client, it's that they've paid off devs and publishers to block off my access to the games I want, and strong-arm me through their own avenue of purchase. Fuck that shit, any company complicit in such practices isn't deserving of my purchase. No amount of time is going to change the fact that the Epic Store succeeded only through anti-consumer means.
 

demigod

Member
I went from interested in this with PS VR to never touching it.

This game just signed it's death certificate on PC.
 

Ovek

7Member7
Sorry fo asking.

Nah your alright but it's quite the touché subject. :messenger_winking:

A quick tl;dr:
  1. Epic are being very aggressive with timed exclusives to the point of Metro as an example being taken off Steam when preorders we're active. That one pissed off a lot of people.
  2. People are worried about what data the store collects and sends back to Epic, I'm still waiting on evidence that wasn't written by a 13 year old edge lord to judge Epic.
  3. A severe lack of store functionality in comparison to Steam most of which seem customer related like reviews and auto returns.
All of it when looked at in a certain way can come off as severely anti-consumer which is a perfectly valid way to see things. I can see many more threads in NeoGafs future about games filled with "im not buying it!", "Tim Sweeney is the literal Devil!" or "China/Tencent what's to know what I cooked for dinner!" just look at this thread for example.

The way I see it (i'm the minority btw) I welcome new players in the PC gaming scene that might shake up the Steam monopoly. I think Steam has grown fat, slow and if you're a indy developer a highly risky store to launch on. Having an alternative store on PC that is curated and has a better profit share is only good for developers small or large and after all they are the people who make/fund the games we all end up playing. If the Epic store fails but gets Valve to update Steam (which seems to be working) in the process then that's already a win for everyone.
 

zeorhymer

Member
I don't care if there's another store, but god damn when a game is literally 1 week from launch and whoops, it's Epic onry, that's when I'm infuriated. If the game is on console, I'd probably buy it there and deny all revenue to Epic.
 

Kadayi

Banned
I think the most interesting thing about EGS will be how fast they can build quality store. If they stick to their road map, they will have the most important features implemented by the end of this year, including a new store app for iOS and Android, which Valve have, but has currently abandoned. I hope that it will be more common to release games on BOTH stores in the future.

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/1697194621363928453

Not abandoned. They're clearly retooling across the board.
 

LordRaptor

Member
Epic 'curated' exclusivity is like a pyramid scheme.
If the store is successful, it will have literally all of the same problems with discoverability that steam has. Difference being Steam is spending money to try and fix those problems, Epic are spending money to moneyhat timed exclusives.

So good job to the people at the top of the pyramid with games ready to release taking their bribe and getting exposure for their game.
Sure, you're fucking things up for everyone below you on the pyramid, and you're making your own problems further down the line, but then we can all just get a new storefront pulling the same tricks again in another 5-10 years, right?
 
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Dunki

Member
Honest question:

How much money do they have now? How long can Epic keep doing this? With games like Apex Legends, Fortnite can`t be their cash cow forever? And how wealthy is Valve compared to Epic? Gabe Newell is worth 4 billion himself.
All that fortnight dance move money^^
 

Burger

Member
My problem with Epic isn't that it's another client, it's that they've paid off devs and publishers to block off my access to the games I want, and strong-arm me through their own avenue of purchase. Fuck that shit, any company complicit in such practices isn't deserving of my purchase. No amount of time is going to change the fact that the Epic Store succeeded only through anti-consumer means.

It’s not anti-consumer, it’s anti your feelings. Epic are using their bank account to buy a place in the market. Developers are getting large cheques - it’s great! People wouldn’t use the Epic launcher otherwise. The GOG launcher as Jim Sterling said is what happens with a build it and they will come approach.

I’ll buy games on the Epic store if it helps light a fire under the ever so slovenly Valve.
 

sol_bad

Member
The way I see it (i'm the minority btw) I welcome new players in the PC gaming scene that might shake up the Steam monopoly. I think Steam has grown fat, slow and if you're a indy developer a highly risky store to launch on. Having an alternative store on PC that is curated and has a better profit share is only good for developers small or large and after all they are the people who make/fund the games we all end up playing. If the Epic store fails but gets Valve to update Steam (which seems to be working) in the process then that's already a win for everyone.

I think the majority of PC gamers are A-OK with new digital store front competitors. I don't think too many people complained about GoG when it started. I don't think people complained about about EA Origin for too long as it was basically just for EA's titles. Same goes for Uplay and Blizzards launcher. If another party comes along and opens another digital store front, as long as they are not money hating games I don't think the PC crowd would care.

I actually think that Bethesda should release their newer games on both Steam and the Epic store, it's more potential money for them. Let's be honest, there are Valve/Steam detractors (why I will never understand) who will not use their platform but may use Epic's store.
 

Kadayi

Banned
It’s not anti-consumer, it’s anti your feelings. Epic are using their bank account to buy a place in the market. Developers are getting large cheques - it’s great! People wouldn’t use the Epic launcher otherwise. The GOG launcher as Jim Sterling said is what happens with a build it and they will come approach.


Even wobble chops Sterling has acknowledged that the EGS is hot garbage as far as digital platforms go. From a consumer perspective, it's light years behind Steam in every conceivable way. Sure in the short term it will be able to gain consumer interest through Exclusives, but unless Epic actually try and compete with Steam in terms of the user experience they're never going to become most established PC Gamers preferred digital platform of choice, and they've already acknowledged that the Exclusives aren't going to last forever. If they truly want to make people stay around then they need to make the user experience way more attractive.

The whole situation reminds me somewhat of when a new MMO would be announced and everyone declared it the hot new thing that would signal the end of WOW, as if all those who were playing WOW would naturally decant to it wholesale. Whereas in reality people would jump ship, play the first-month then head back to WOW because the allure of the new just wasn't comparable in terms of the user experience.

EPIC is quite clearly burning a lot of money into trying to build a viable digital store and they certainly have the financial clout to pull it off, but I'm not convinced that the approach they are undertaking is necessarily going to succeed in the long-term. Tim Sweeneys rather bullish declarations about how great EGS is and how well Metro sold, make for good media soundbites as they were intended but feel somewhat lacking in terms of hard data. I'd like to know the number of gamers on EGS who own more than 1 game that wasn't a free giveaway and a percentage of the total user base for instance. I'd like to know how many copies of Metro were actually sold, and I'd also like to know how many copies of Ashen were sold.

For all the shit people throw at Valve, they are actively working towards improving the platform and they have their own roadmap for what they are implementing this year: -

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/1697194621363928453
 

Solomeena

Banned
It’s not anti-consumer, it’s anti your feelings. Epic are using their bank account to buy a place in the market. Developers are getting large cheques - it’s great! People wouldn’t use the Epic launcher otherwise. The GOG launcher as Jim Sterling said is what happens with a build it and they will come approach.

I’ll buy games on the Epic store if it helps light a fire under the ever so slovenly Valve.

Oh you can fuck off with the it's not Anti-consumer from Epic. It absolutely is anti-consumer and Tim Sweeney says it again and again. You enjoy your Epic Games launcher and the Chinese government spying on you, i am sure you enjoy it very much.
 
Honest question:

How much money do they have now? How long can Epic keep doing this? With games like Apex Legends, Fortnite can`t be their cash cow forever? And how wealthy is Valve compared to Epic? Gabe Newell is worth 4 billion himself.

they mos definitely dont pay people but rather basically tell them they can keep 100% of the money initially. which means they don get their cut from a few games on ther store. but t will bring more people to the store.
 

demigod

Member
they mos definitely dont pay people but rather basically tell them they can keep 100% of the money initially. which means they don get their cut from a few games on ther store. but t will bring more people to the store.

They are definitely moneyhatting. How else do you think the developers are already in the black without selling a single copy.
 

overlordror

Neo Member
Still voting with my wallet on this one, no matter how much I love quirky Devolver Digital games. Sorry guys, but holding your game hostage on a game front that hasn't proved itself is really asinine.
 

prag16

Banned
I thought Devolver’s twitter was making fun of having publishers Epic Game Store exclusives a couple months ago but can’t find any tweets about it now. Another one bites the dust.
Hats full of money can sway people.

But seriously, whatever. Yeah it's kind of annoying to have several storefront apps installed, but the "Steam or bust" crowd always amuses me, when they act like they're making some kind of principled and righteous stand by refusing to use uplay, origin, etc. As if good guy Valve is being unfairly maligned and gaben is an emblem of all that is good and just in our world, while anybody else who wants in on a piece of Valve's 30% racket is clearly a blatant asshole.

It's kind of ridiculous.
 

Kadayi

Banned
But seriously, whatever. Yeah it's kind of annoying to have several storefront apps installed, but the "Steam or bust" crowd always amuses me, when they act like they're making some kind of principled and righteous stand by refusing to use uplay, origin, etc. As if good guy Valve is being unfairly maligned and gaben is an emblem of all that is good and just in our world, while anybody else who wants in on a piece of Valve's 30% racket is clearly a blatant asshole.

I'm not opposed to more storefronts (I have games on all of them), but the fact of the matter is from a user perspective EGS is far behind others already out there. If EGS came out the gate with the same features of Steam (profiles, achievements, cloud saves, screenshots, workshop etc, etc)I think you'd find people would be more accepting of it. As is they're a long way behind in that regard.

Tim Sweeney can bang that drum of his about how much better their profit share is for developers, but frankly, why should I as a consumer give a shit or tolerate an inferior user experience at my end? Sure more money might potentially translate as better games down the road by developers (assuming the games actual publisher don't just eat the profits themselves), but it could just as equally translate to more Coke being blown up their ass. Where the money ultimately goes no body knows, least of all Tim 'Probable Cause' Sweeney.
 
You guys do so much marketing for Epic. Every single exclusive has a new thread 'Another Epic exclusive' yet there are countless games on Steam not on the EPIC store.
 

Burger

Member
Oh you can fuck off with the it's not Anti-consumer from Epic. It absolutely is anti-consumer and Tim Sweeney says it again and again. You enjoy your Epic Games launcher and the Chinese government spying on you, i am sure you enjoy it very much.

What?

It's literally a program on your computer that downloads other programs, occasionally updates them, and that's about it. What is anti-consumer? Example - I purchased Metro Exodus using this program. It does the job of launching Metro Exodus perfectly well. Metro Exodus cost me less than it would have cost if I purchased it for my PS4 - but the overall experience of purchasing, and launching would probably not be very different.

If you mean the Epic Launcher is not as fully featured in terms of mods, reviews, refunds, communities etc - I agree. Anyone would. However the experience of purchasing and launching isn't that different.

I've got Uplay, Origin, Battle.net, Steam, Epic, Gog - I got em all. In terms of letting you buy a game and play that game - they really are not that different. The 'extras' however are - but I don't really engage with a lot of that stuff.

As far as the Chinese government spying on me - I suggest you stop smokin' crack. It's a hell of a drug.
 

LordRaptor

Member
What is anti-consumer?

Nobody would put up with Apple moneyhatting Disney so that the only place to buy Disney films is on iTunes, because its transparently bad for a consumer that without any competition those two can collaborate to set the pricing at whatever they feel like with zero competition, and zero pricing pressure from other services.
 

Ballthyrm

Member
Honest question:

How much money do they have now? How long can Epic keep doing this? With games like Apex Legends, Fortnite can`t be their cash cow forever? And how wealthy is Valve compared to Epic? Gabe Newell is worth 4 billion himself.

You would be surprised i think how little money is necessary. A guaranteed return can be very attractive for a dev as games are usually a very risky enterprise.
Minimizing risk is hard and when you see Epic there, giving you money for a timed exclusive, it can be very tempting.

People fail, again and again, to put themselves in devs shoes.
Thinking only about themselves, i find very insulting the behavior of gamers thinking they are somewhat owed a game that was announced.

In the end the game is all that matters for me, if its good -> buy, if its bad -> don't buy.
Right now, Epic is effectively subsidising these games, paying Devs to make them.
For all we know some of theses game wouldn't even have come out if not for the money Epic gave them.

All the feature that Steam has, it was built over years and years of development , it was forced in by government sometimes (Hello EU laws), or by gamers(a lot).
There is No reason to think the Epic game store won't get there, that's assigning Evil intent or incompetence (both of which i have yet to see from Epic)

Don't forget that Steam and Epic game store are both Platforms.
Their first clients are DEVS, not GAMERS. The business is taking a cut.
Just like your are the product when you use google, you are the product when you use Steam or EGS.
The main role is to distribute games and the bell and whistles are useless if the games aren't there.
 

LordRaptor

Member
Right now, Epic is effectively subsidising these games, paying Devs to make them.
For all we know some of theses game wouldn't even have come out if not for the money Epic gave them.

Literally every single title that has so far come out as Epic Games Store exclusive has done so at the last minute.
The games have already been made. Epic shopped around to see who was willing to kill a golden goose for a quick buck.

Epic subsidising development from the ground up would be a very different scenario. They're not doing that.
They're not growing studios; they're cock blocking other vendors.

That's a huge difference.
It's bullshit.

It was bullshit when console manufacturers did this, swooping in on a finished title to buy a timed exclusive, and its bullshit when a storefront does this.
 

Ballthyrm

Member
Literally every single title that has so far come out as Epic Games Store exclusive has done so at the last minute.
The games have already been made. Epic shopped around to see who was willing to kill a golden goose for a quick buck.

There are giving a guaranteed return for Devs. This is not bullshit.
The decision is made by the Devs who have every reasons for wanting their games to be successful.

The Devs are taking a risk, the risk that people won't follow them there.

Gamers have ZERO risk, they end up with the exact same game either way.
They are the least affected by all of this.
 
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LMJ

Member
I is confused...

The thread states this is an Epic store exclusive, but the caption above the vid clearly says "and PS4"?

Did the term "exclusive" change, is it a typo, PC store exclusive, will it also be on Xbox?
 

LordRaptor

Member
There are giving a guaranteed return for Devs. This is not bullshit.
The decision is made by the Devs who have every reasons for wanting their games to be successful.

The Devs are taking a risk, the risk that people won't follow them there.

For at least 2 of the titles so far announced it hasn't been a dev decision at all; its been a middleman publisher decision.
 

Burger

Member
Nobody would put up with Apple moneyhatting Disney so that the only place to buy Disney films is on iTunes, because its transparently bad for a consumer that without any competition those two can collaborate to set the pricing at whatever they feel like with zero competition, and zero pricing pressure from other services.

Steam is the only place where you can purchase Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for PC. There is no competition with a rival store for this game, the price is the price.

Your Disney analogy is weird as Jobs was on the board at Disney - and Iger is on the board at Apple.
 
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