All these games platforms

i think as long as the platforms work reasonably effeciently its not too bad.

not the fondest of them having exclusives, but i suppose having exclusivity deals is an established business tactic and isn't going to change now.

not the fondest of uplay, origin is annoying because it's seperate but i'll give it credit for actually being a good platform these days (fast download speeds and you can start playing something mid download)
 
adolf hamster said:
i think as long as the platforms work reasonably effeciently its not too bad.

not the fondest of them having exclusives, but i suppose having exclusivity deals is an established business tactic and isn't going to change now.

not the fondest of uplay, origin is annoying because it's seperate but i'll give it credit for actually being a good platform these days (fast download speeds and you can start playing something mid download)
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uPlay does get a lot of "insta-hate" any time it is mentioned, a lot of it is Ubisofts own doing though.

The "always on DRM" was plain stupid and whoever made the managerial decision to sign that off should never work in the gaming industry ever again.

That decision alone as tarnished uPlay and will forever do so, regardless of improvements they make.

Their half baked Steam integration is a mess though. They need to unify friends lists or not put it on the Steam versions at all OR let you play Steam purchased games on uPlay independently.
 
almoststew1990 said:
This blind, stubborn loyalty to Steam is one of the main things that ****es me off about PC Gamers these days. The other platforms are 'adequate' (or better) and I want to reduce Steam's monopoly on PC Gaming as much as possible. I use GoG Galaxy, Origin, UPlay, Windows Store (only for Forza so far) and Steam. Steam only started adding things like refunds, reviews etc due to competition.



It is quite funny when gamers throw their toys out the pram and say they won't buy a game if it isn't on Steam. You're not going to play the Ezio series of Assassins Creed? Far Cry 3. Your loss; don't let the door hit you on the way out.



Surely if it is only Steam available, you're being 'forced' into using it. If there are alternatives you're not being forced to use one or the other.



So disable their start up processes then.
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Is it really loyalty when all most of us want is for things to be available under the same thing? I don't want to have separate friends lists within GoG, Origin, Ubi, Steam. I don't want to have to check each one individually to find out what games my friends are playing. Steam makes this easy and they were the first to do it, so in my book they're the ones deserving of my money more than the others, unless the deals on the others are far better. I bought The Witcher 3 on GoG because the deal was great, but I now regret it because, to be frank, I'd rather use Steam to manage and play the game. And getting it to work properly on my Steam Link through GoG is a pain that I could do without.

I think that unfortunately most people mistake this stance as being one of loyalty to Steam. It isn't, but they were there first and I've been using them since they created the platform. I have a lot of games on Steam and also a larger friends list within so why should I have to use something else when Steam does it properly and perfectly? The other platforms are, to be blunt, rubbish in comparison.

I also dislike the whole requirement of the Ubi client loading up when you launch the game through Steam. I have a few Ubi games through Steam, and I just find that integration tedious and completely unnecessary. I won't be buying a game through Ubi's platform, but sadly it'll soon probably move away from Steam and will force people to purchase directly through them, just like Origin did. So to echo your sentiment of "don't let the door hit you on the way out", I won't. I will, however, exercise my right to vote with my feet and not support their platform because I just don't like it and don't feel that it's necessary.
 
Gimpymoo said:
What I was saying is that GOG pressure developers to NOT put their game DRM free anywhere else which is in effect limiting how you own your game.

The DRM free market should expand but GOG are restricting that at the moment.

Not good :(
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First time I heard of this. Any evidence ?
 
Gimpymoo said:
What I was saying is that GOG pressure developers to NOT put their game DRM free anywhere else which is in effect limiting how you own your game.

The DRM free market should expand but GOG are restricting that at the moment.

Not good :(
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Oh sorry, I misunderstood. I see your point if this is indeed the case!

Gimpymoo said:
I have watched interviews with Gabe in the past where he has said that he would prefer a system where you purchase a game and the user chooses where you redeem it. That is the way forward in my opinion but with everything being so fragmented at the moment, will be a while.
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Couldn't agree more.

CHokKA said:
I think that unfortunately most people mistake this stance as being one of loyalty to Steam. It isn't, but they were there first and I've been using them since they created the platform. I have a lot of games on Steam and also a larger friends list within so why should I have to use something else when Steam does it properly and perfectly? The other platforms are, to be blunt, rubbish in comparison.

So to echo your sentiment of "don't let the door hit you on the way out", I won't. I will, however, exercise my right to vote with my feet and not support their platform because I just don't like it and don't feel that it's necessary.
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Beautifully put. Exactly this.
 
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CHokKA said:
don't feel that it's necessary.
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It's necessary because otherwise every developer is handing over 30% of their GROSS revenue to Valve Corporation.

It's not good for the consumer or developers for one company to be creaming such a massive slice of money from the industry.
 
mid_gen said:
It's necessary because otherwise every developer is handing over 30% of their GROSS revenue to Valve Corporation.

It's not good for the consumer or developers for one company to be creaming such a massive slice of money from the industry.
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Do you think each developer should have their own platform then? And we have to split our friends lists and games (and hard drive space) between what, 5, 10 platforms?
 
Paul_cz said:
Comfort and feature set?

Eventhough I do not share the opinion of paying more for steam version, it is undeniable that Steam is by far the best game distribution service on the market, only rivaled by GOG.
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What features does Steam have over Origin continuing with the BF example (Genuine question)? But comfort, what?! Assuming you mean in a "ease of mind" way, you think Origin is insecure?

I don't think steam is undeniably better. Its got the flood of crap Early Access games, the flood of generally crap indie games, the rubbish search functions, the dodgey review process, the gambling thing. The 30% cut valve take. It is pretty bloated with a lot of features that I would happily be without for a lighter application.
 
mid_gen said:
It's necessary because otherwise every developer is handing over 30% of their GROSS revenue to Valve Corporation.

It's not good for the consumer or developers for one company to be creaming such a massive slice of money from the industry.
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The percentage Valve take does vary from game to game, publisher to publisher so it is inaccurate to make it seem like a blanket 30%.

You make out like Valve are money thieving monsters when infact, the industry standard for such commission is there or there abouts when compared to PSN/Xbox live and other sellers.

GOG take a cut which is equal to Steam for example.

I try to purchase from Humble Store where possible, they give devs a bigger slice of the pie.

It is all relative.

Very few games can succeed without being on such stores.

The only one I can think of in the modern digital download age is Minecraft but that was a once in a lifetime fluke.
 
WantoN said:
Do you think each developer should have their own platform then? And we have to split our friends lists and games (and hard drive space) between what, 5, 10 platforms?
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The future is a shared API with customers choosing the platform they prefer.
 
Gimpymoo said:
The future is a shared API with customers choosing the platform they prefer.
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I certainly hope so, but I find it unlikely.

I would rather have all the games available on a single platform, or even better a select few platforms, than be forced to use individual platforms for each developer.
 
I would prefer if everything sat underneath one platform, and it does dictate my buying to some degree (e,g despite being cheaper on GOG I still purchased the Witcher 3 on steam because of my OCD desire of having the entire series accessible via the same method).

However, I would never NOT buy a game if another platform was the only option, and thus I actively use all of three main ones (I have a few on GOG Galaxy, but its rarely used as a 4th option).

Its quite healthy for developers to have alternative options away from Steam. Despite having IMO the BEST platform in respect of interface a monopoly is never a good thing, and Valve has got filthy rich because it happened to be on to a good thing before anyone else.

Their focus on the Steam platform seems to have also stifled their creativity.I used to see them as a games developer. What was their last inhouse game? Portal 2???? They seem to be happy on focusing on their source 2 engine, creating an OS, and selling their joypads via their heavily invested games portal. Also their customer service is horrendous. However we accept it because the portal is so good and also necessary for any PC games player.
 
almoststew1990 said:
What features does Steam have over Origin continuing with the BF example (Genuine question)? But comfort, what?! Assuming you mean in a "ease of mind" way, you think Origin is insecure?

I don't think steam is undeniably better. Its got the flood of crap Early Access games, the flood of generally crap indie games, the rubbish search functions, the dodgey review process, the gambling thing. The 30% cut valve take. It is pretty bloated with a lot of features that I would happily be without for a lighter application.
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Steam is extremely comfortable to use, and is very fast. It has some great features like:

Cloud saves
Cross buy
Overlay
Steam friends
Mac/Linux support
In home streaming
VR integration
Mod integration
Community
Community reviews
Community curation
Customized recommendations
Steam controller
Big picture mode
Automated refunds
Voice chat
Trading cards
Item marketplace
Anti-cheat

Just off the top of my head.

I have no idea what your problem with its "bloat" is. For me Steam is extremely fast in both usage and game downloads. I haven't had a crash or any issue with it in years.
And who cares that there are tons of indie games? I buy what I like. Steam being open to devs is a good thing.

Now, in principle, I actually prefer GOG for its DRM-free stance and quality of service (still waiting for evidence, gimpymoo). But Steam is great.

People keep saying steam customer service is horrendous. I had to deal with their customer service twice over the 10 years I have been using it, and both times they did what I wanted and quickly.
 
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'My smartphone has a million apps but I'll be damned if I install 4 or 5 gaming apps on my state-of-the-art, 100 times more powerful PC!!' . Brilliant.:rolleyes:

Other than the misplaced and somewhat bizzare loyalty to a huge corporation whose only goal is to empty your pockets, there's no rational reason to refuse to install the other platforms,. They are all quick, easy to use, take a few seconds to load and drain little/no resources.
 
Games will become "Platform Agnostic" down the road.

As in, you buy a DVD, it plays in any DVD player.

Sure, not saying it will happen tomorrow but it is the future in my opinion.
 
WantoN said:
I certainly hope so, but I find it unlikely.
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It is already happening, kind of.

GOG Connect is a great early example.

Valve/Gabe realised a long time ago they were becoming the "gatekeepers" and had become more influential/powerful in the PC game market than they wanted to be, hence why the creation of such API's. Hats off to Valve in that respect.
 
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Gimpymoo said:
uPlay does get a lot of "insta-hate" any time it is mentioned, a lot of it is Ubisofts own doing though.

The "always on DRM" was plain stupid and whoever made the managerial decision to sign that off should never work in the gaming industry ever again.

That decision alone as tarnished uPlay and will forever do so, regardless of improvements they make.

Their half baked Steam integration is a mess though. They need to unify friends lists or not put it on the Steam versions at all OR let you play Steam purchased games on uPlay independently.
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the app itself is pretty bad, although i'll confess once you've navigated that bit and got to the game i've not had much issues.

tbh apart from assasins creed i wouldn't use it at all, although since black flag i've not been that impressed.

i agree with independant platform control though, if i buy a game on steam it should be controllable through steam. (like ea seems to have managed, at least with the ea games i own via steam)
 
I have Steam, Origin, Uplay and GOG all installed but not set to run on startup so I get the flexibility to play all the games without any resources to them running in the background.

I really don't get the hate towards most of the non-Steam apps, granted there were issues with most of them when they first released but Steam also suffered at launch and they all seem to run fine for me now.
 
Yeah its a pain but look at it another way certain games will always be exclusive to 1 platform or another if you refuse to deal with Origin, Uplay or Windows Store your missing out on certain titles & can either buy a console or just deal with an extra desktop icon!
 
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