#4489674 - 09/16/19 04:54 PM
Re: The "balkanisation" of digital media
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,622
Mr_Blastman
Hotshot
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Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,622
Atlanta, GA
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On one hand, competition is good...
On another hand, exclusivity deals are bad.
PC gaming has always been about choice. We game on our PC because we don't want to be beholden to a single platform, operating system, piece of software, etc. We have control of the machine.
But Steam sure has made things easy for us. No more navigating long program lists or folders or command prompt hell. Pick a game and play. Plus they provide fantastic community tools to assist their customers. I'll keep buying from Steam for that reason alone, but if I can get a better deal elsewhere, I will, so long as I'm not forced to through exclusivity agreements. Those are no good and we shouldn't support.
I hear that GOG Galaxy lets you consolidate all the platforms into one launcher?
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#4489681 - 09/16/19 05:33 PM
Re: The "balkanisation" of digital media
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 10,576
Arthonon
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 10,576
California
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I realized this a while ago on streaming video. I have cable TV, and I thought about canceling that to save money, just signing up for streaming services, but by the time I got all the same content, it would cost more than the cable bill, and I'd have to manage it through different apps, etc., so it's less convenient.
There's still the issue of things that are only available from certain content providers (Netflix, CBS All Access, etc.), so that's still a frustration.
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#4489698 - 09/16/19 08:03 PM
Re: The "balkanisation" of digital media
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,882
Meatsheild
Arma3 guy!
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Arma3 guy!
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,882
Peoples Republic of Yorkshire
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if you look at it though, people don't moan about having the different stores, its more that each stores wants to use it own launcher, or is a monthly sub, or it buys games for its stores etc. If the stores just sold you the game and that was that, no one would be complaining. But when you think that now EA is a sub, Uplay is going monthly sub, MS is going monthly sub with its Xbox pass thing, Epic stores policy is to just throw fortnight money at devs and be buggered to the actual customers ... gamers are annoyed because if you want to play anything now you need to pay to be on several "stores", use THAT stores particular launcher, THEN pay the price of the game (that the store can remove at any time it wants to), THEN (in most cases) be assaulted by micro transactions and DLC ads, season passes, game packs etc etc .. its all just pure greed, and its obvious. At least with Steam the customer gets stuff back and its all pretty simple (workshop, chat features, screenshots etc) AND you dont have to pay a monthly sub to use it!
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http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3732626/SimHQ_Arma3_Sessions,_who,_wha#Post3732626
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#4489707 - 09/16/19 10:20 PM
Re: The "balkanisation" of digital media
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
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Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,858
RedOneAlpha
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,858
LEGE
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GOG Galaxy 2.0 seems to want (is) a one-app for all solution. Still in beta but they already have the green light from all the majors including Microsoft... Skip to min.1:20 GOG Galaxy 2.0 Red
Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0. AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
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#4489853 - 09/18/19 02:41 PM
Re: The "balkanisation" of digital media
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,804
Forward Observer
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,804
Central Arkansas,US of A
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I just added Epic, but only to be able to play Metro Exodus. Before digital distribution came along (mainly Steam at first) a publisher/developer was lucky to get 40% of the retail cost of a game. Physical media costs, i.e., disk, paperwork, box, etc. were minimal when done in volume, so the rest went to advertising and distribution through a wholesaler and finally the retail outlet. With Steam, all of the physical and middle man costs went away. Steam took 30% and the publisher/distributor got the other 70%. The net effect was that said publisher/developer almost doubled their cut of the retail. However Steam was also making a bundle with minimal operational cost and little risk. Gabe Newell had to hire extra people just to push the wheel barrel's full of cash to the bank. That's why you'll probably never see a new Half-life episode. Why bother with all the costs related to developing a game--which could probably never live up to expectations, when they can just rake in their 30% cut of the gross of everybody else's games. Of course, everybody else still always wants a bigger cut of the pie, hence--Epic, Origin, Uplay, etc. I guess the competition is supposed to be good, but it remains to be seen at this point. Besides, at a net worth of 3.5 billion, does Newell really need any more money Cheers
Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl.
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Exodus
by RedOneAlpha. 04/18/24 05:46 PM
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