4 ms·

I don't understand why valve/steam gets a free pass from everyone. What does Epic do that Steam doesn't? Honest question.

dleslie 6y ago
AFAIK, Steam has never insisted on exclusivity from those selling on its store; yes, Valve's own games aren't sold elsewhere but that's not quite the same as demanding exclusivity from others. And Epic explicitly refuses to add forums and reviews, which many of us find to be invaluable sources of information. And Epic has/had atrocious account security; for instance, not verifying email addresses on new accounts. Those are my personal gripes; you'll find longer lists elsewhere.
- rthomas6 6y ago
  Makes sense. Thanks for the answer.
rStar 6y ago
dishonest question
AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
Valve is not at all anti-competitive and will even let you sell Steam keys on other storefronts without taking a cut, for one. And they've demonstrated significant goodwill by having their VR platform be open and doing significant work in making Linux gaming viable.
hakfoo 6y ago
IMO, it comes down to having a clear, customer-facing message. Steam has spent a decade plus saying "we're going to make PC gaming a better experience than going to a Gamestop and buying a box with a CD-ROM in it." They've delivered in many ways-- from the technical/distribution space, to shaking price expectations, to providing discoverability for indie creators, to building a community big enough that people can use their reviews as a shopping tool. Epic came in and made some mealy-mouth comments about "we want to be a lower-margin store so devs keep more cash", but that doesn't directly mean much to the consumer. Rather than offering something inherently compelling, they have to force people into the door with exclusives, forced accounts, and selling dollar bills for 90 cents (subsidized discounts and giveaways.) A good counterpoint is GOG. They don't match Steam point for point, but they've made a clear niche out of benefits customers can see (no-DRM, and a catalog of retro titles that would be a pain to acquire and run today)

dleslie 6y ago

AFAIK, Steam has never insisted on exclusivity from those selling on its store; yes, Valve's own games aren't sold elsewhere but that's not quite the same as demanding exclusivity from others. And Epic explicitly refuses to add forums and reviews, which many of us find to be invaluable sources of information. And Epic has/had atrocious account security; for instance, not verifying email addresses on new accounts. Those are my personal gripes; you'll find longer lists elsewhere.

rthomas6 6y ago
Makes sense. Thanks for the answer.

rStar 6y ago

dishonest question

AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago

Valve is not at all anti-competitive and will even let you sell Steam keys on other storefronts without taking a cut, for one. And they've demonstrated significant goodwill by having their VR platform be open and doing significant work in making Linux gaming viable.

hakfoo 6y ago

IMO, it comes down to having a clear, customer-facing message. Steam has spent a decade plus saying "we're going to make PC gaming a better experience than going to a Gamestop and buying a box with a CD-ROM in it." They've delivered in many ways-- from the technical/distribution space, to shaking price expectations, to providing discoverability for indie creators, to building a community big enough that people can use their reviews as a shopping tool. Epic came in and made some mealy-mouth comments about "we want to be a lower-margin store so devs keep more cash", but that doesn't directly mean much to the consumer. Rather than offering something inherently compelling, they have to force people into the door with exclusives, forced accounts, and selling dollar bills for 90 cents (subsidized discounts and giveaways.) A good counterpoint is GOG. They don't match Steam point for point, but they've made a clear niche out of benefits customers can see (no-DRM, and a catalog of retro titles that would be a pain to acquire and run today)