New Steam Competitior Launching

spelk · April 06, 2018, 04:39:08 AM

Quote from: WargamerJoe on April 06, 2018, 03:23:38 AM
We were looking at itch.io a while back for something else - do you get many wargames there?

There may be a couple of small indie titles, but I haven't seen a many over there. They heartily support the likes of roguelikes and very small homebrew developers. I don't see any reason why they couldn't host more commercial games, many popular indies have an itch.io alternative outlet to the likes of Steam. Many game jams publish on there, 7DRL, Ludum Dare etc..

The developer Leaf Corcoran did an excellent 15min+ presentation in 2016 about his vision for itch.io and how it is progressing..

There is certainly a niche unexplored for wargaming on itch.io.. :)

Greybriar · April 06, 2018, 06:56:31 AM

It's good to see more competition for Steam.

ArizonaTank · April 06, 2018, 07:49:44 AM

In general, I like the idea of competition for Steam.

My fear has always been that as a monopoly Steam would start to charge us an "maintenance" or "administration" fee.

Under the current model, the Steam account holders are not Steam's real customers...we pay nothing so don't help keep the lights on.

So some good old fashioned competition might keep Steam from forgetting about us and start monetizing everything they can. For example, selling our game activity logs to data miners (heck...maybe they already do....how would we know?). Does playing FarCry5 for 3 hours a day mean you are liberal or conservative? Or, that you are more or less likely to sign up for Blue Apron?

Competition can temper the worst monopolistic urges. Kind of like the way the threat of Lyft keeps Uber from letting their Uberness go unchained...

Of course, too much competition can also mean a race to the bottom (US domestic air travel is exhibit "A")...and that would not be good either.

Whatever happens, it will take several years for us to start to see where it is going...

Gusington · April 06, 2018, 07:58:04 AM

My one real fear is as JD says above - if something dramatic happens, would we all lose our Steam games? The horror.

FarAway Sooner · April 06, 2018, 05:17:37 PM

I'm with Arizona Tank--competition is almost always a good thing.

In particular, if they're reducing the cut on a game from 30% to 5%, that means that a $40 game is really a $32 game now. Even without the resale capability, that'll be tough price competition for Steam. Which means, ultimately gamers and sellers win, because there's more choice in the marketplace!

paplan · April 06, 2018, 06:34:14 PM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 05, 2018, 04:35:49 PM
Interesting....

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2018/04/05/3-reasons-why-steam-competitor-robot-cache-will-succeed/#c99ab1252386

Quote
The most notable difference is that gamers can actually resell the games they purchased on the platform for a 25% credit of their purchase price. Their digital games. You sometimes get worse trade-in value at GameStop. This is not only a first in the industry, but to me it represents a stronger sense of ownership which is sorely needed as people move away from physical collections and embrace digital ones.

Robot Cache also obliterates the standard 30% cut that Steam takes from game publishers and lowers it to 5%. And allowing gamers to sell back their games means that game creators receive a new kind of residual income. Repeatedly. That's a slice of profit never before seen for their digital game sales.

Among other perks, the service will wholeheartedly embrace blockchain technology and cryptocurrency mining, but on an opt-in basis. Users who switch it on can mine "IRON," the token currency of Robot Cache, and use it to purchase games. Crucially, it won't be a form of cryptocurrency that's useless outside of Robot Cache. It can be traded and cashed out into regional fiat money, meaning you can mine for games or simply mine for cash.

I'm not sure I really trust that 25% sell back for any game.

Lets say I bought CIV IV when it came out for $50. Then I sell it back today for $12.50, and repurchase it tomorrow for $4.99? I'm thinking there's a catch in there somewhere.

solops · April 06, 2018, 07:15:48 PM

I imagine the price would be based on current market price.

Tuna · April 07, 2018, 09:52:43 AM

I would think most game developers would be against that (sell back). A brand new 'publisher' is not gonna have the market share that Steam has, so it would tough to force that.
I'm sure when Steam started it's 'family' share, or refund methods, the developers hated that!.. But they knew Steam had the market share, so they just put up with it.

Fetrik · April 07, 2018, 12:38:22 PM

Quote from: Tuna on April 07, 2018, 09:52:43 AM
I would think most game developers would be against that (sell back). A brand new 'publisher' is not gonna have the market share that Steam has, so it would tough to force that.
I'm sure when Steam started it's 'family' share, or refund methods, the developers hated that!.. But they knew Steam had the market share, so they just put up with it.

But the lower cost for the developers to sell on that platform (5% instead of 30%) should make up the difference. Or do i read that wrong?

I'm not gonna rush to get another platform. But it does sound interesting.

Another thing to consider is that steamworks are integrated into many games today and they rely on them for MP and so on.
Even it the platform becomes a success gaming as we know it wont change that fast.

RyanE · April 07, 2018, 02:17:19 PM

Just like any online marketplace, its all about the content. If they can't attract game developers, it will wither away. Its like Lyft and Uber. Uber started it, but Lyft realized its all about having enough drivers to fulfill demand and keep wait periods. I think Lyft will outlast Uber because of that. If the new platform can get a critical mass of developers on their platform, they can compete effectively with Steam. And taking a smaller piece of the pie from the developer is very good way of doing that.

It will be interesting to see if any devs jump on both just to wait and see who survives. If I was a dev and saw Steam start to lose a lot of steam, I would offer to move any customer's games to the new platform.

Staggerwing · April 07, 2018, 04:59:29 PM

Can the STEAM Exclusive non-competition clause be far off? If Valve gets even a little concerned they could start playing hardball with each new game developer and even revisit old agreements.

Huw the Poo · April 07, 2018, 06:07:16 PM

Quote from: Staggerwing on April 07, 2018, 04:59:29 PM
Can the STEAM Exclusive non-competition clause be far off? If Valve gets even a little concerned they could start playing hardball with each new game developer and even revisit old agreements.

They would lose an absolute shitload of goodwill like that. Loads of people rely on GOG, itch.io and other marketplaces. I'm not sure whether it would make an appreciable dent on Steam marketshare, but it would definitely piss some people off.

Staggerwing · April 07, 2018, 06:17:14 PM

No doubt. However, they could choose when and where to enforce the clause, perhaps setting some kind of threshold before it kicks in. If the competition stays small enough, no problem. If a contender arises, then the switches trip.

RyanE · April 07, 2018, 07:33:45 PM

Quote from: Staggerwing on April 07, 2018, 04:59:29 PM
Can the STEAM Exclusive non-competition clause be far off? If Valve gets even a little concerned they could start playing hardball with each new game developer and even revisit old agreements.

In was wondering that also. Is Steam dominant enough to do that. They might also have to consider legal issues with unfair competitive practices. Whether they are in the right or not, getting sued by big companies can kill you.