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EA: EAP and Spicy Horse Games appreciate "Steams decision" to sell Alice: MR [again]
- Thread starter Akia
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Stallion Free
Cock Encumbered
I always pictured him as the anti-Stumpokapow said:
That's a load of shit.szaromir said:
Steam is almost its own platform.
Also I doubt many of the 'no steam no sale' posts are serious.
And Valve isnt a publisher, its a dev, and it has a right to sell its own games in its own store >.< Just like Impulse (Used to) be the only play to buy games made by stardock. Mario isnt on xbox, Master Chief aint on the ps3. If Valve started buying devs and forcing them to make steam only games, sold only on steam, then you might have a point. Or if Steam forced games sold on its service to be exclusive.
Hell, if they even bought 'timed exclusives' for games you would have a point. But they dont. They dont have the control you seem to imagine. Pubs can pull their games, people can choose not to buy, sell... whatever...
I have lots of games on steam, but I also have bought games on d2d, impulse, gamersgate. Hell even gfwl! (It was age of empires for like a buck.... and I never played it >_<)
Also I doubt many of the 'no steam no sale' posts are serious.
And Valve isnt a publisher, its a dev, and it has a right to sell its own games in its own store >.< Just like Impulse (Used to) be the only play to buy games made by stardock. Mario isnt on xbox, Master Chief aint on the ps3. If Valve started buying devs and forcing them to make steam only games, sold only on steam, then you might have a point. Or if Steam forced games sold on its service to be exclusive.
Hell, if they even bought 'timed exclusives' for games you would have a point. But they dont. They dont have the control you seem to imagine. Pubs can pull their games, people can choose not to buy, sell... whatever...
I have lots of games on steam, but I also have bought games on d2d, impulse, gamersgate. Hell even gfwl! (It was age of empires for like a buck.... and I never played it >_<)
Effect said:
I think this is projecting too far. EA has a history of messing around with Steam with their releases. Releasing games late on Steam like Sims 3, NFS HS, Dead Space 2, or with holding special editions (Dragon Age 2). Could be something as simple as Valve is getting sick of EA tampering with their releases on Steam. Do it right or don't do it at all.
I wonder if some of this bad blood goes back to Orange Box. EA screwed that game up on PS3 with a lazy port and Valve wasn't happy with it. The two companies definitely have a strained relationship, considering EA also distributes Valve's retail box games.
Joseph Merrick
Member
huh, never seen this origin/ea downloader program before. seems ok. prices are as bad as on steam though, might be even worse
PsychoSoldier
Banned
If someone is heavily invested in a platform (like Steam) it makes sense that they would prefer to have the game come from that source because it makes it more convenient to keep track of their games.
Now if someone out and out refuses to buy a game they really want because it's not on Steam, then they're being silly and can safely be ignored.
Now if someone out and out refuses to buy a game they really want because it's not on Steam, then they're being silly and can safely be ignored.
Well, Valve ended up in court with thier last publisher, vivendi. (heh, I think that was largely due to steam too)
... Valve need to... screen their suitors more carefully.
I only skip games if they have awful DRM really. Being on Steam is a bonus, but I tend to be a cheapo over a steamo >.< But if the game is the same price everywhere, I will always choose steam.... Well maybe sometimes the devs themselves if they are as awesome as gog.com with the witcher 2.
... Valve need to... screen their suitors more carefully.
I only skip games if they have awful DRM really. Being on Steam is a bonus, but I tend to be a cheapo over a steamo >.< But if the game is the same price everywhere, I will always choose steam.... Well maybe sometimes the devs themselves if they are as awesome as gog.com with the witcher 2.
EA self publish their games. Paradox self publish their games.Valve self publish their games. Paradox have their own DD store. EA have their own DD store. Valve have their own DD store. EA release their games on all DD stores. Paradox release their games on all DD stores. Valvemarkot said:
I'll leave it at that.
crimsonheadGCN
Banned
Paradox doesn't have their own DD store anymore and they only started selling their stuff on other platforms when they spun off GamersGate as a separate company.
szaromir said:
No you wouldn't. You'd probably get mocked though.
I don't know why you dislike steam as much as you make it seem. I understand if you're one of those who go to wherever has the best price for each game, but I've seen you in a couple of threads and you seem to generally dislike steam and I must have passed over the reason why.
I am a steam lover but I'm not opposed to buying something on D2D or somewhere else.
as long as it's a steamworks game
Technically, Valve does publish their own games, with EA acting as the distributor. Valve simply doesn't have the infrastructure in place to manufacture and supply boxed copies of their games. Unless they make a massive addition to their business in the next couple of years, they're always going to need a distributing partner. EA just happens to be that guy right now.Forkball said:
The scale doesn't matter, really.markot said:
I boycott Blizzard since Warcraft 3. I don't boycott games for ridiculous publishing policies. I am however very annoyed by the constant cheerleading of Valve's policies (DRM and DD exclusives) and bashing other companies for precisely the same deeds.
I stand corrected. It doesn't change anything, though.
Stallion Free
Cock Encumbered
Eznark and Arstal? They were more Brad Wardell fanboys than anti-Steam.epmode said:
Actually, I was always under the impression Valve keeps their games Steam exclusive because they can. They have by far the biggest DD store. I doubt anyone that buys digital games doesn't know about Steam, so if they want Valve games, they know where to get them.
Other devs and pubs don't have that luxury. Keeping games exclusive to their store would keep them underexposed in the DD space, losing a significant amount of sales.
Other devs and pubs don't have that luxury. Keeping games exclusive to their store would keep them underexposed in the DD space, losing a significant amount of sales.
Joseph Merrick
Member
I'm still hereepmode said:
)Well, it didnt start that way, putting their big games, HL2 and tieing it to steam is what put it onto alot of computers.
The difference is, Valve tends to treat all the clients of its service fairly, that is those that sell on steam, you largely hear good news stories.
EA, or any big publisher, will only sell their games, and if they gain enough traction I am sure, will only sell their games on their own service.
The future of this scenario is bleak. A client for each publisher, with them setting the prices and sales and not facing any real competition with other publishers and titles in their own stores, each having their own 'community'.
The difference is, Valve tends to treat all the clients of its service fairly, that is those that sell on steam, you largely hear good news stories.
EA, or any big publisher, will only sell their games, and if they gain enough traction I am sure, will only sell their games on their own service.
The future of this scenario is bleak. A client for each publisher, with them setting the prices and sales and not facing any real competition with other publishers and titles in their own stores, each having their own 'community'.
Oh, I know that.Burekma said:
EA is another company that can afford Steam, at least their biggest releases. Battlefield 3 and TOR will be everywhere around the release, the won't need Steam's exposure. But when EA does the exclusive BS, people (rightfully) scream about anticonsumerism, but when Valve does it people start building Gabe Newell's shrine.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
szaromir said:
One thing I've learned about you over these last few days is you're a much bigger ANTI-Steam fanboy than I am a Steam fanboy. You accuse me of being in every Steam thread cheerleading for Valve? I have seen you in every single of these threads the last few days regarding this issue doing the very opposite. Another thing I've learned about you is you're very quick to throw out insults at people for doing the very same thing you're guilty of. I expect you to respond as such. So let me get it over with:
'You're such a fanboy LS! You want to worship Valve and Gabe!'
'LS, is Gabe your God?'
'LS, I don't dislike Valve/Steam, while you hate all other services'
There, I did it for you.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
Hopefully TOR and Battlefield 3 are enough to break Steams hold on the DD market. Its about the best shot that anyone is ever going to have to end Valves monopoly.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
water_wendi said:
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
i dont want Valve to be hurting financially. i just want them to have less market share and there to be more competition in the DD realm.markot said:
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
water_wendi said:
Am I able to get great sales on D2D? Check
Am I able to get great sales on Gamersgate? Check
Are people still able to enjoy Impulse? Check
Are people able to buy from Origin with great sales? Check
Is Valve a monopoly? Check?
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
Just for the record i would oppose anyone one company having more than 50% control of a particular distribution channel. Valve controls up to 70% of the entire PC gaming space including retail.LovingSteam said:
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
szaromir said:
Only if Lord Gabe will allow me to. I must run all decisions past him.
water_wendi said:
1. I love how you're using Brad Wardell of all people as a source for statistical facts (lulz).
2. That still doesn't equate to a monopoly.
3. I am confident you will continue using that word to describe Steam anyways.
Didn't EA use this exact same reasoning when Dragon Age 2 was introduced to the Steam storefront the day after the Signature Edition preorder deadline expired?
It's hard to trust them, because I can't think of any reason on Valve's end why they'd exclude a particular game from a major publishing partner from the storefront.
It's hard to trust them, because I can't think of any reason on Valve's end why they'd exclude a particular game from a major publishing partner from the storefront.
You're basically taking a hipster approach to DD services. They're awesome until they get popular.water_wendi said:
Look, as long as Valve is dominating the DD market by merit, and not by anti-competitive practices, there's nothing wrong with them owning that much of the market.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
X26 said:
Scraps? Define scraps? If there is an arena out there that is worth $10 billion (just for arguments sake) and one company owns 60-70% of that (going by Brad Wardell lolz), there's stilli 30-40% for others to enjoy. Apparently GG, D2D, and Impulse are doing fine since big company's like Gamestop and Gamefly saw enough worth and potential in them to buy them. Not to mention that a company like CDProjekt is doing well with GoG which is continuing to grow.
Htown said:
Apparently Valve and Steam ARE anti-competitive even though every Steamworks game is available on other services, every other service has fantastic sales, every other service continues to grow. But yea, Gabe has taken the Darth Vader approach and is using the force to snipe these other company's from existence. That, or accept the dark force that is Steam.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
It sounds like you are getting wound up over very little.LovingSteam said:
Maybe they are inaccurate but they seem legit to me. Steam has a vast amount of control. This is undeniable.
As long as they are the monolithic entity in the DD world i will continue to use monopoly to describe them.
Honestly, I don't know what the issue is, but if I were Valve I'd make it a policy that you can't have third party pre-order exclusives or they won't carry the game for it's lifetime (or 18 months).
If EA wants to make its pre-orders exclusive to origins or an indie wants to make it exclusive to their website, that should be fine. But this crap where pre-orders go to D2D and every other service under the sun not named Steam should be nuked.
Would it hurt Valve? Yes. But it's hurt the publishers more and they'd drop this crap after a little bit if it hit them in the wallet hard enough. EA doesn't have nearly the leverage they think they do. And unlike Valve, they have shareholders to answer to.
If EA wants to make its pre-orders exclusive to origins or an indie wants to make it exclusive to their website, that should be fine. But this crap where pre-orders go to D2D and every other service under the sun not named Steam should be nuked.
Would it hurt Valve? Yes. But it's hurt the publishers more and they'd drop this crap after a little bit if it hit them in the wallet hard enough. EA doesn't have nearly the leverage they think they do. And unlike Valve, they have shareholders to answer to.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
Absolutely incorrect because it has nothing to do with popularity of art and everything to do with the possibility of abuse in the marketplace.Htown said:
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
water_wendi said:
Wound up? Not at all. This conversation, as the others, were very entertaining to me. I figure since I have been and will continue to be accused of worshiping Gabe and Steam, I may as well have a bit of fun with it =P
X26 said:
Exactly, and that's exactly why people are arguing with the anti-steam folks. Valve has gained this marketshare purely from being awesome while the competition were being SHIT. I'm all for Steam losing marketshare purely from fair competition and superior service offered by competitiors however that's not the case.
water_wendi said:
Yeah that monopoly has given us the valve exclusive extra fee to redownload games from the service.
Oh wait, that's the other services, which for some reason feel they have the right to treat their clients like crap.
Please don't whine again until there's an actual example of abuse from Valve.
Blizzard has the really nice feature of allowing you to activate older games on their service like Starcraft and Warcraft III (Though I wish they would just give away Warcraft 1 if they won't let you activate it), along with Valve allowing you to activate GoldSource games on Steam (And since they declared they can't tell which game you actually own from the old CD keys, they simply give you every Goldsource game when you register a key)markot said:
EA Won't even let me activate Mercenaries 2 on Origin, which came out 3 years ago, nor older things like the Sims 1 or the Sim City Titles. I wish they would even consider, that it doesn't matter if people can just use some Key Gen for the games, if people wanted to pirate the game they wouldn't bother using their service. A little goodwill can go a long way. Let me toss these old discs EA :/
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
i know exactly what i means. Would it make you feel better if i type out virtual monopoly every time?Htown said:
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Drkirby said:
I spoke with EA support and while it doesn't mean anything as of yet, the person did say that they're trying to allow older games to be added.
water_wendi said:
Go for it. I suppose I can call a chicken a turkey and be just as accurate.
That's all well and good, but the bottom line is that we have no evidence of Valve doing anything that comes close to abuse in the marketplace. They put games on Steam, they improve the Steam service, they offer ridiculous sales to get more customers. That's about it. In every non-Crysis 2 instance I can think of, any game removed from the Steam service has been for a good reason: CD keys no longer being provided by the publisher, or patches for game breaking bugs being denied to a game's Steam version. None of this exhibits any of the kind of behavior you should be worried about.water_wendi said:
EA, on the other hand, has been screwing around with Steam users for months. They'll withhold preorder bonuses from the Steam version that they give to every other DD service. They've put games up on Steam later than everywhere else to try to force users over to any other service but Valve's.
No matter what, someone is going to have a majority share of the marketplace. I'd much rather have it be the private company with a history of good DD service, than a publically traded company with an average-at-best service that has to listen to shareholders telling them to do bullshit things to their customer base to try to gain marketshare.