Do you think the gaming industry hates PC gamers and sees them as elitists and "entitled"?

Tiller

Some feel the power of the player is being stripped away slowly as more and more large and small publishers push their games onto the Epic store marketplace over Steam and their heavily community driven platform. Are we being forced back into the dark ages of relying on paid-to-praise Youtubers and PC-centric game site reviewers? Seriously starting to wonder this.

With the rise of Epic store exclusives for PC titles; which in some folks opinion serve to cut off the ability to allow the average consumers to review and criticize their work in the form of a review which may steer others away from making a purchase entirely, the vocal players (whether always right or not) are being swept to the side .

In the meantime these same companies hide behind  the guise that it's pro-consumerism to not let Steam take their 30% profit cut while proclaiming that Epic is offering a better deal for them to go with them exclusively. So which is it? How are we as consumers benefiting from this? Epic is also buttering future consumers up with the the offering of free games for everyone, mainly those who aren't on Steam at all. I'm not seeing many PC gamers looking at this as a positive at all, in fact most seem annoyed. Most people want all their games on Steam and publishers fail to understand why, most times they are even arrogant, insulting and poke fun at the idea.

I'm not one to talk, I actually made the jump for one game, Griftlands, but only after they stated that everyone who buys the alpha gets a Steam key as well. Still though, do we have reason to worry or be angry over this exclusivity issue? Is Steam a monopoly? Do you folks think this is an overreaction on the part of the gaming community as a whole? Are publishers just assholes that want to push everyone into their perfect consumer mold, shut up sit down and play their games and be happy?  I won't even go into console sales as a backup plan because we all know that these publisher always rely on this as as their plan B.

edit: a bit a context into the title

edit 2: Posed title as a question for discussion for more clarity of the actual direction of thread.

Keep politics out of this discussion please, it has no relevance here.

Wizardry

Nothing said is old,the dark ages,the endorsements have been coming fast and furious from all angles.

Not even sure how any business can say anything bad about a customer.We as customers simply want value for our money and the business side has to COMPETE for it.

Devs have stooped to very low standards of "compete".They use terms like FREE to play,to bait people in.They use tactics like "early access" to sell unfinished,buggy games at a regular price,like making an EXCUSE before it even happens.

To me it is VERY simple,i have a PC,it is the most powerful,the most capable platform to deliver a AAA game,i want a AAA game,end of story.These businesses can say whatever they want,it is THEIR job to make a good product,not mine.

IMO 99% of developer studios are selling or releasing total garbage,very lazy cheap efforts.The other 1% are hit n miss,they have some good qualities but most likely still have some serious flaws,like cash shops or perhaps linear game play or lacking depth of systems or maybe just simply has poor graphics or maybe lacks in voice overs,always something.

Before these businesses can say anything,they need to produce on THEIR side first,PROVE their worth,then maybe we can listen.

Bladeburaiba

As I stated in another thread, Steam is successful, but not a monopoly.  The proof is in the pudding:  if you don't want to use Steam, you can buy the same game from any number of places.  Just because people CHOOSE to buy their games from Steam, does not make Steam a monopoly.

Epic, ironically enough, is engaging in monopolistic behavior, by paying to make sure you can only buy certain games from them.  And they are also not offering the same amount of services Steam is, maybe because they are not getting the same level of revenue.

So, this discussion needs to move off of this monopolistic narrative, because it's actually the opposite of what you think.

For record, I care not whether Steam or Epic.  Just a note that people weren't complaining when Steam busted that 70% brick and mortar "monopoly."

Tamanous

The gaming industry is also deeply embedded within the current culture war. This is all very much more complicated than just the gaming industry alone. Logic does not drive the choices being made within these companies. The consumer is systematically being marginalized on purpose due to ideology even at the cost of business. One side of this does not care.

I will no longer waste my energy on vocalizing logic. This whole mess is entirely illogical. 

AAAMEOW

It's definitely better for the game developer.  They make more of the cut.

But chances are consumers won't get cheaper game just because it is on epic store.  Most likely those money just go back to developer.

I think most people are just upset they need to install 2 downloader.  They dont' care about the morality of the game war.

Theocritus

Game companies all follow the money....Wherever they think they can make the most is where they go.

Kyleran

If the OP has nothing to do with the thread title is it OK to just do the same and discuss whatever we wish?

Shaigh

A very loud minority acting like whiny little bitches and a quiet majority that will play games because they are good.

AlBQuirky

Theocritus said:

Game companies all follow the money....Wherever they think they can make the most is where they go.

I agree.

It seems to me that console and mobile gaming is where the money is. When the cash tactics(?) are tried in PC gaming, there usually is a backlash of some kind. Not that this backlash does anything but vent as publishers still rake in millions. PC gamers have not been "taught" that spending money for almost any aspect of a game is "normal", like mobile gamers have from the start.

And which platform do we "allow" our children to use? The one that teaches them well how to spend money. Just in little bits, but those bits add up, as some parents have found out.

mbrodie

oh my god here we go again.

it's incredible how sad Epic store makes this tiny minority of PC players, while the rest of us don't care and just buy from where we get the best deal...

Edit -

uh oh, it's getting harder and harder to pull out the "steam has more features argument" with epic doing shady business tactics like improving the functionality of their client....

whats next, we gonna circle back around to epic being spyware or anti consumer because they are trying to buy in market share and gain exposure with limited time exclusivity deals.

someone made the comment steam didn't do the same, they let you buy from wherever you want... except most of those places gave you a steam key and you had to go right back to steam anyway.

it's such a redundant topic, Epic is here to stay, get over it.

Thane

ofc steam has a monopoly atm, telling you guys since this whole "no steam no buy" bullshit started ^^

that is exactly why they can take 30% for doing... what again? it's like a store saying "yea we sell your game, but we keep like 30% of it, fine by you, right?"

but hell, you wanna pay those 30% for... sure, go for it.

epic is installed and running on my system anyway, i can't start the unreal engine without it. end of my story (... most likely i will still wait for B3 tho, just to have all games of the series on the same plattform)


PS:

Arterius said:

To  be fair dedicated PC players who are PC Master race are elitist's. I know that may be a hot take but it's true. I know that consoles will never be better then PC when it comes to specs but at the end of day most people don't care about that kind of stuff. People don't care about exclusives, other from the hardcore PC fan base. 

I know a few people personally who use both Epic and Steam on their computer and do not complain. If I try to bring up that I enjoy consoles 10x more then my PC however I tend to be shunned online (not saying it happens here) but it does happen a lot. I get downvoted on reddit, beat up on IGN, and called all kinds of names because I am not a true gamer then if I prefer to play on a console. 

I know that people online are a small percentage of actual players but I mean thats all these game companies see. They get attacked for having financial security on Epic, their past games get review bombed on steam, etc... Sometimes it flabbergasts me by just how petty the PC crowd can be sometimes.

seriously? did you just join the internet today? playstation vs xbox? ever heard (or actually read) that dumb useless "we got exclusives! your console sucks" discussion they got going? i did.

this ain't about system, but about bitchy kids with internet connections.

Scot

I do not like the idea of Epic exclusives, just like I don't like the idea of Microsoft Store exclusives. I do think Steam takes too big a cut but this is about other companies wanting a slice of Steam's pie, not about being fair to the consumer. I don't use Epic because I have enough to play as it is.

We can have two worlds of online digital PC gaming. The one we have now where we can get nearly all games from one source, or the one that may arise where we have to be signed up with a number of vendors to get the same games we could have got from one source. More vendors may bring prices down, but when you start talking exclusives I think of MS Store, Uplay etc; are they driving prices down? Epic as a vendor is far more akin to Steam, but the price cutting you see is often used by companies trying to get their nose into a market that is already dominated by others, I doubt it will last. Player reviews are important and Epic feels to me more like a shop store front than a tool to find the games you want to play.

Time is important to me, extra time spent using various sites some of which have poor search features reminds me of going shopping. I don't want to go down the high street visiting every shop, trying on a pair of jeans again and again and again. The money I save will have to make up for the time I loose.

So it will take a couple of years yet for me to make up my mind on the relative value of Epic. As always people are looking at how things are now, "Ohhh look it's cheaper" and not thinking of the long term consequences.

AAAMEOW

Thane said:

ofc steam has a monopoly atm, telling you guys since this whole "no steam no buy" bullshit started ^^

that is exactly why they can take 30% for doing... what again? it's like a store saying "yea we sell your game, but we keep like 30% of it, fine by you, right?"

but hell, you wanna pay those 30% for... sure, go for it.

epic is installed and running on my system anyway, i can't start the unreal engine without it. end of my story (... most likely i will still wait for B3 tho, just to have all games of the series on the same plattform)

Do Epic store sell game cheaper?  If it don't why would I care who is taking my money(distributor or game maker).

Ungood

It's called Free Market. Just like players can go to the store that offers them the best deal, so can developers, and anyone else.

This is not a hard idea to grasp, if Epic offers them a better deal to make more profit or sell the game cheaper for the same profit and boost sales they would be smart to take that offer.

As for exclusives, that has been around for as long as companies have been around. X-Box and PS have been notorious for this kind of marketing, it's nothing new and it's not doom and gloom.

ChildoftheShadows

Can you imagine if a developer made a real exclusive? Like, “Our game only runs on Nvidia GTX 1060 + cards”, or, “Our game only runs on Samsung monitors”. 

Kyleran

mbrodie said:

oh my god here we go again.

it's incredible how sad Epic store makes this tiny minority of PC players, while the rest of us don't care and just buy from where we get the best deal...

I'd agree, except how is buying games from Epic the best deal for me, the consumer?

Seems like the prices are similar to those on Steam,  so if anyone is getting a deal it's really only those who make the game.

I've said it before, I don't care if content creators get a better deal, I only care about my convenience or savings.

So far Epic has only increased my inconvenience without really saving me any money, so I'll continue to ignore their service and any games they publish as well.

Xiaoki

Kyleran said:

mbrodie said:

oh my god here we go again.

it's incredible how sad Epic store makes this tiny minority of PC players, while the rest of us don't care and just buy from where we get the best deal...

I'd agree, except how is buying games from Epic the best deal for me, the consumer?

Seems like the prices are similar to those on Steam,  so if anyone is getting a deal it's really only those who make the game.

I've said it before, I don't care if content creators get a better deal, I only care about my convenience or savings.

So far Epic has only increased my inconvenience without really saving me any money, so I'll continue to ignore their service and any games they publish as well.

And what exactly has Epic done to inconvenience you? You cant buy their exclusive games on Steam?

Is that really it?

OH NO! Everything isnt on Steam?! How can this be? Now I have to juggle two, count 'em TWO, free game launchers!

Caffynated

PC gaming is going down the same road that streaming services are. 

moshra

Caffynated said:

PC gaming is going down the same road that streaming services are. 

You aren't paying a sub to utilize Steam and Epics services.  It costs  you nothing to download their launchers.

bcbully

That was a bait then switch OP....

Vermillion_Raventhal

I have always played console and PC which has shifted back and forth which is dominant.

Quizzical

ChildoftheShadows said:

Can you imagine if a developer made a real exclusive? Like, “Our game only runs on Nvidia GTX 1060 + cards”, or, “Our game only runs on Samsung monitors”. 

I'd be fine with that if I could click a button to turn my Radeon card into a GeForce and back as easily as I can switch between Steam and other game stores.

Tiller

bcbully said:

That was a bait then switch OP....

Read the bottom half of the of this article, mainly the screenshots for context of the title I made. While it might have been a generalization and meant to grab you the readers attention, it's not hard to draw that empirical conclusion based on the recent actions of many publishers with exclusivity and how they respond to concerns from PC players.

Palebane

That goes both ways. Many PC gamers see the industry as elitist and entitled. Some of these companies need to be put back in their place, imo. They’ve gotten far too comfortable expecting the customer to compromise at every turn.

bcbully

@Tiller

Hell of a reach man. I don’t see the correlation between your post and that article at all.