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Tim Sweeney: Not sure why Steam is still taking 30%
- Thread starter Renekton
- Start date
They do?
I am sorry, I really don't follow PC gaming at all. From what he was saying it just seemed safe to assume that they hadn't done the same thing. His comment makes even less sense now.
Human Trashcan
Banned
But GAF tried to convince me that Steam doesn't have an effective monopoly on the Western market for the vast majority of devs.
LordRaptor
Member
Is Steam the most hated service by people that have clearly never even fucking used it on GAF?
e:
It actuallt seems like thats a thing certain GAF members keep trying to push the narrative for when its demonstrably not true
e:
It actuallt seems like thats a thing certain GAF members keep trying to push the narrative for when its demonstrably not true
The hate-on that some people have for Steam continues to be a thing I see.
I guess it's understandable to be jealous of success, especially if it's success you feel like could have been yours, or it's success you don't get to share in.
This is the only reply needed really. Tim's just bellyaching from a position of hypocrisy as usual.
They don't have a monopoly, and them charging the exact same as every other storefront is no evidence to the contrary.
I guess it's understandable to be jealous of success, especially if it's success you feel like could have been yours, or it's success you don't get to share in.
This is the only reply needed really. Tim's just bellyaching from a position of hypocrisy as usual.
They don't have a monopoly, and them charging the exact same as every other storefront is no evidence to the contrary.
BigEmil
Junior Member
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
The only response you can give is hope for better competition.
Did people ever accuse iTunes of having a monopoly on the digital music service?
Did people ever accuse iTunes of having a monopoly on the digital music service?
CharmingCharlie
Member
Who wants to bet if Valve reduced it's take down to say 10% we would get a tweet from Sweeney screaming that "Valve is pricing other online stores out of the marketplace". Either way in the past Epic has done an excellent screw job on pricing in the past so the level of hypocrisy from Sweeney here is well above 30%.
GhostTrick
Banned
GOG takes 30% too. On top of that, they also reject some indies without even answering them.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
The thing is Minecraft, Forza, and KI are doing well on there so it's possible for a game to do well on there. I expect Halo 6 will be successful on the store.
Angelus Errare
Banned
GOG is 30% too guys, almost everyone is 30%. Valve/Steam isn't some outlier.
It would, just like going digital would lower games from $60 because you no longer have to worry about transportation, and retail costs!! :3
It would, just like going digital would lower games from $60 because you no longer have to worry about transportation, and retail costs!! :3
Abilidebob
Member
You know why. They need a justification for their companies to seem fair and just and all rainbows.
GhostTrick
Banned
Do you have numbers for this ? Because last I heard, Killer Instinct is coming to Steam.
"Distribution channels" are actually stores in this instance. That other stores charge much the same does excuse the practice, because he's not calling out GOG, Origin, Humble, he's calling out Valve, a company that continues to innovate and bring value to consumers. You may not see much value here, btw, but others do.
Also, correcting people's assumptions about a company isn't the same as defending.
Edit: Also, a good time to repost this from page 5
Netherscourge
Banned
iTunes, Google Play, PSN, Xbox Live and every other digital distributor takes 30%.
Don't focus on Steam. Focus on the entire industry.
Don't focus on Steam. Focus on the entire industry.
No, but it makes an industry insiders question about why they do it disingenuous, especially when the person asking the question does it themselves.
Diablohead
Member
30% is currently the standard across a lot of platforms, I personally don't have an issue with it since you are using their services.
Glass Shark
Banned
.
LordRaptor
Member
Pointing out the obvious to people on GAF with no experience using a product = damage control now
Wait people didn't know it was 30%? I thought it was common knowledge. Pretty much any big publisher has their own storefront these days for a reason.
To be honest, Steam is free online so I don't have a problem with them taking 30%. MS, Sony and soon Nintendo on the other hand..
To be honest, Steam is free online so I don't have a problem with them taking 30%. MS, Sony and soon Nintendo on the other hand..
Angelus Errare
Banned
30%
30%.
The exact same as Steam
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
Last I heard they had 6 million unique players when it launched on the Windows Store.
Toni
Member
Isn't Spotify #1 in that platform?
The sad thing about this 30% standard isn't really Steams monopoly, it's the collusion between all the stores to not undercut it, even companies like MS & Epic, even GOG who are trying to break into the market mysteriously still set their revenue share at 70/30.
Clearly the thinking is "we could lower the cut, but then if we do well Valve will just match us and we'll all just make less money, so stick to 30%"
Clearly the thinking is "we could lower the cut, but then if we do well Valve will just match us and we'll all just make less money, so stick to 30%"
spindoctor
Member
If you think that Steam offers no value then just don't sell your games there. Voila, 30% saved.
The PC version launched with cross-play support, though, so it's impossible to say for certain what percentage of that figure it represented.
It's an interesting point, and it may be that it's the sweet-spot for all concerned. Humble and GOG are smaller, so have less sales, but also less ongoing costs and development API to maintain. Valve have larger sales - so more revenue - but far more in terms of outgoings.
Just speculation on my part, though.
ClosingADoor
Member
Publishers set the prices. So if GOG lowers their cut, the publisher would just pocket the extra money. So since prices are then the same, you will not sell more games, and lowering the cut would be a negative for GOG.
LordRaptor
Member
Physical retailers are often at around the 20% margin, but a producer has to pay their own infrastructure costs (and often operate on unfavorable terms like sale or return, where they then have to pay additional infrastructure costs to cover the return of unsold goods).
Digitial distribution has a higher margin at 30%, but the storefront covers all of those infrastructure costs rather than the producer, so the net result is that a producer will take away 70% of each sale via digital, but only around 30% physical.
I mean, its a win-win for everyone involved unless you as a customer are fundamentally opposed to digital ownership in the first place.
Netherscourge
Banned
Now you know why EA uses Origin and Blizzard uses Bnet - they don't lose 30% with their OWN services.
rakkadakka
Member
No I think any company that is held with such high esteem by games deserves an extra layer of scrutiny.
As others have pointed out, you want a game on steam only it's not just the pubs fault.
Qeue the defense force.
Phrozenflame500
Member
It's still completely absurd to me that people are complaining about Valve's supposed monopoly and then arguing they should undercut their competition in the same post.
Shows the level of knowledge about economics and market forces on GAF. While they rail on about monopolies and yet want companies to adopt predatory pricing tactics.
Non-rhetorical question: so cutting the royalty rate is a bad thing for consumers?
AHA-Lambda
Member
Please do go ahead and detail why 30% is a ludicrous number then, when it's already lower than traditional retail channels, and that's why pubs love digital in the first place...
Tim appears to have a chip on his shoulder where Steam is concerned.
https://twitter.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/898328969774112768
https://twitter.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/898330737006362624