If Valve has a monopoly, it is because all their major competitors are a bunch of scumbags
this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023
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GOG, though.
I should've said most, GOG is king
Gog isn't major
Then neither is EGS.
Cdpr make their devs crunch and released 2077 before it was ready. They aren't exactly saints
"porn games are still forbidden"
Cowards.
Epic has spent the last few years campaigning to sway public opinion of Steam. Their whole campaign relies on making Steam seem like a monopolistic cesspool of shovelware and garbage, and they need to present themselves as having the moral high ground to do that. Never mind that NFTs are more predatory than at-your-own-discretion purchasable pornography.
And once again it shows, if you wanna surpass a company you don't do it by attacking them, but by providing superior service or product.
Now let's look at why they are failing: Epic Games got some good original games. BUT: they are trying to buy exclusive licenses to force players to use their client, and they didn't even make sure their client makes for an ok experience. The menus feel sluggish and blank (except for the store which is ok at best and very inconvenient to browse), the ratio of clicks per functions is very bad, the function range is very lacking and things haven't changed over the last 4 years.
Let's acknowledge that in addition there's quite a few bugs still roaming around. For example: for about a year now I am unable to open the friends list in any way shape or form.
What's extra ironic is that with how slow Valve is at changing things, Epic had a window where they could've released a superior user experience to out compete Steam and sustainably attract users away from Steam. But they've taken so long that slow moving Valve has actually improved things, further solidifying their position, and now Epic is even further behind.
Not to forget that Epic doesn’t show user reviews or user ratings. EGS is anti-consumer AF. They cannot cover it up by giving free games.
If the store wasn't so bad they could have taken on a huge market share just with the free games they do. I redeemed them for about a year before being so annoyed with the launcher that I uninstalled it and refuse to use it anymore.
Don't forget the lack of Linux support.
What the fuck ever happened to "give the people what they want?" So many of these AAA devs are trying so fucking hard to give us things nobody wants.
Investors happened. They drive a constant demand for increased profits and growth from their investments. Once you reach the threshold of "everybody and their grandmother has a copy," the only real way to get more money is by releasing paid DLC or some mechanic that convinces players to convert real money into an easily consumable in-game resource.
Make a game with heavy nudity and innuendo, put some crypto shit on it, make them deal with it.
"That said, the AO rating assignments were not a direct result of them being blockchain games, but rather how that was implemented.
"As is the case with all games, age rating assignments are dependent on the content of a game and the context in which it is presented to the player. The ESRB age and content rating system assesses whether products may reward real money, prizes with real world value, or something that can be exchanged for or converted to real money (i.e., gift cards, cryptocurrency, etc.), as well as whether there is cash spent to be eligible for such rewards. While it is not a blanket rule, it is possible that a blockchain-enabled game or app will warrant an Adults Only rating category assignment due to a combination of the factors discussed above."
So I guess this probably covers most if not all "blockchain games" but it's technically only the ones that are real money gambling.
Guys I think they might be complicit.