ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
Why is he comparing Steam to credit card company and not other digital game storefronts? Because the rest took in 30%? 🤔
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Tim Sweeney: Not sure why Steam is still taking 30%
- Thread starter Renekton
- Start date
Why is he comparing Steam to credit card company and not other digital game storefronts? Because the rest took in 30%? 🤔
truestatic
Member
Huh? What stops some other venue from defying the standard and offering the savings either to the developers/publishers or the customers? Isn't that the most sensible basis for competition, assuming that Steam is overcharging?
They set the standard in all digital store fronts even outside of gaming?
Sho_Nuff82
Member
"PC OS space" is an antiquated notion. Most people aren't web browsing or messaging or gaming on a MS OS.
Random Human
They were trying to grab your prize. They work for the mercenary. The masked man.
.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
Why wouldn't they?
PdotMichael
Banned
We have numbers from EA and Ubisoft that retail is around the same 30%.
There is a reason why everyone tries to establish their own store.
truestatic
Member
At some point, Microsoft sold that code to the people you bought it from. Amazon and GMG DO NOT PAY STEAM for the steamworks keys they sell, they are generated for free by Valve and Steam and the developer/publisher, and distributed to the other storefronts.
I think the oversimplified logic is, "The money only goes to pay a credit card transaction fee and a CDN fee, so why is Valve taking so much profit on top of that". In reality, Steam obviously involves a lot more than that.
Damn, maybe it just didn't hit me before but 30% is insane.
It's honestly crazy how far Steam has come. I remember the first couple third party games released on steam being some weird kung fu game and darwinia.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/1002/Rag_Doll_Kung_Fu/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/1500/Darwinia/
It's amazing thinking those were the first and hardly anyone knows about them.
It's honestly crazy how far Steam has come. I remember the first couple third party games released on steam being some weird kung fu game and darwinia.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/1002/Rag_Doll_Kung_Fu/
http://store.steampowered.com/app/1500/Darwinia/
It's amazing thinking those were the first and hardly anyone knows about them.
Rickenslacker
Banned
Steam is taking 30% because most places do. I would be baffled if Tim Sweeney does not know this, so why even single them out?
That's ... a red herring. It has nothing to do with my point.
Cert.in.Death
Member
People genuinely didn't know that the effective royalty payment was around 30%? I swore that was common knowledge for digital storefronts.
It does beg the question: where does all that money go?
It does beg the question: where does all that money go?
PdotMichael
Banned
Because credit card fees and bandwith are the two main cost factors if you sell a game digital.
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
Very poor comparison - not that making outlandish claims is anything new for Sweeney. If he wanted, he should have looked at other game distribution networks to see how they fare. As far as I know, all major services charge 30%. Even Humble only gives the developers 75% of their total revenue.
The only storefront which has taken a more progressive, developer-centric stance is Itch.io, which allows the dev to choose how much of their revenue goes to Itch.
Blog post explaining their 'Revenue Share' model
So... I don't really know what he expected to do with this tweet? As mentioned above, even his own store enforces the 30% charge. You have your reasons, Valve, Microsoft, Sony, Humble, all have theirs.
Valve handles bandwidth for games that are upwards of 50-100+GB, which must be made available for every user who purchases it for the lifetime of their account and/or the service. Valve also handles bandwidth and server infrastructure for a massive social network attached to their service, with no advertisements being used to generate revenue to fund upkeep. They host screenshots, provide their own streaming service, and have a heavy focus on user generated content. That's already a massive leap over how much bandwidth it takes for a credit card transaction to be processed. Valve has made some moves that can be seen as greedy in the past, and they are not above criticism by any means, but this comparison was not the wisest.
The only storefront which has taken a more progressive, developer-centric stance is Itch.io, which allows the dev to choose how much of their revenue goes to Itch.
Blog post explaining their 'Revenue Share' model
So... I don't really know what he expected to do with this tweet? As mentioned above, even his own store enforces the 30% charge. You have your reasons, Valve, Microsoft, Sony, Humble, all have theirs.
Valve handles bandwidth for games that are upwards of 50-100+GB, which must be made available for every user who purchases it for the lifetime of their account and/or the service. Valve also handles bandwidth and server infrastructure for a massive social network attached to their service, with no advertisements being used to generate revenue to fund upkeep. They host screenshots, provide their own streaming service, and have a heavy focus on user generated content. That's already a massive leap over how much bandwidth it takes for a credit card transaction to be processed. Valve has made some moves that can be seen as greedy in the past, and they are not above criticism by any means, but this comparison was not the wisest.
cuz AAA is already super risky at that pricepoint, dropping it means you'll get way less of the type of game most people buy in droves.
it's always important to point out, when adjusting for inflation games are more expensive to make now than they've ever been but the general MSRP ($60) is one of the lowest it's ever been. That's supported by a bigger market, but only to a certain extent.
Random Human
They were trying to grab your prize. They work for the mercenary. The masked man.
.
No one calls Steam an "open marketplace". This is strawman bullshit and doesn't even make sense.
I played at least part of Darwinia! Oddly enough, I'm almost certain I bought a physical version on a massive Circuit City discount when they were closing down their videogame sales. I assume Steam was around then but I don't think the physical version required it.
PdotMichael
Banned
What are even trying to say?
That credit card comparison is legit stupid, and I know that Sweeney has to shill for Epic and their storefront but your argument falls flat when ALL THE OTHER COMPANIES (Including yours) HAVE THE SAME CUT.
Darwinia almost has 750K owners, I wouldn't necesarily say that hardly anyone knows about it.
Darwinia almost has 750K owners, I wouldn't necesarily say that hardly anyone knows about it.
Conkerkid11
Member
How are people in this thread surprised by an industry standard cut?
XBL and PSN take the same cut AND have a monthly fee.
XBL and PSN take the same cut AND have a monthly fee.
lol
Banjo-Kazooie
Member
Classic Sweeney
the solution is everybody sells their own game using their own distribution networks and those who can't afford that latch onto someone else's and pays them a cut based on how much of the network they use, not a flat percentage.
the other end would be the return of the Games folder from Vista/7 that populates all games installed on the system, no matter where they got installed from. ideally it would be improved and act more like a client showing the same stuff the steam client currently does.
I think he's setting the platform for either an Epic launcher/store or WeGame.
Then they can set the margin to whatever they like.
Edit: WeGame launches September 1. Interesting timing of comments...
http://technode.com/2017/08/18/tencents-wegame-gaming-platform-goes-online-september-1st/
Jaded Alyx
Member
UnemployedVillain
Member
*Shrugs*
NeOak
Member
There is an overhead to operate stuff?
I mean, if you think the game you buy at Walmart or Gamestop gets the publisher the full $60, idk man.
The 30% also allows a buffer for the sale of gift cards and currency. Otherwise you would see a $50 Steam bucks card go for say, $60 dollars.
Steelyuhas
Member
It's pretty steep, but it is the standard. IIRC: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Sony, Valve, etc all take a 30% cut from their digital marketplaces.
The analogy is way off the mark. Steam is a merchant not a creditor. They are not collecting interchange and relying on high interest rates to make money off users. Completely different business model. They are akin to any other merchant be it B&M or online. Any "apparent" monopoly they have is because developers, publishers and the game media for years have encourage fans to hate any other stores that are not steam. You made your bed, now lie in it.
Spent a few minutes eating dinner and searching GAF and the interwebs for anything to back up my point, and after only a cursory glance around, it seems I may have either misspoke or simply haven't found examples.
I'm fairly certain I have seen this sentiment before, however, though rather in the "Should be an open marketplace" part than "IS an open marketplace" part.
I apologize.
SoulUnison
Banned
Valve doesn't make games - they make money.
fluffydelusions
Member
CertifiedFP
Member
Y'know, this seems like a very interesting thing for him to be saying when a major shareholder in his company (40%, Tencent) is building a Steam competitor of their own (Of which titles are already being moneyhatted for) and they themselves have the Epic Games Launcher.
I bet you damn well WePlay is going to take a 30% cut.
I bet you damn well WePlay is going to take a 30% cut.
I think 30% is fair considering the market you're given access to. Why should that be free?
What's NOT fair is the developer licence you're required to pay Apple if you intend on publishing to their App Store (a $119 AUD fee last time l checked). Do Steam charge anything similar?
What's NOT fair is the developer licence you're required to pay Apple if you intend on publishing to their App Store (a $119 AUD fee last time l checked). Do Steam charge anything similar?
I'm surprised he's not going on another Windows rant.
While I'm not the biggest fan of Valve, it's still where I buy most of my games. Considering they provide all of the bandwidth costs for hosting your game and letting people download it, and 30% is similar to every other online store front I think it's ok.
I can't even imagine the bandwidth costs Valve has. I'm sure they're still making money hand over fist but it isn't like they're taking 30% and you get nothing out of it.
While I'm not the biggest fan of Valve, it's still where I buy most of my games. Considering they provide all of the bandwidth costs for hosting your game and letting people download it, and 30% is similar to every other online store front I think it's ok.
I can't even imagine the bandwidth costs Valve has. I'm sure they're still making money hand over fist but it isn't like they're taking 30% and you get nothing out of it.
exmachina64
Banned
Tim Sweeney doing what he does best, taking nonsensical potshots at major industry players.
Pokemaniac
Member
30% is very much the standard cut for these types of storefronts. I'm not aware of any that are substantially lower.
Credit cards aren't a great comparison. A pure payment processing system is much simpler than a full online storefront.
Credit cards aren't a great comparison. A pure payment processing system is much simpler than a full online storefront.