What's the deal with PC Launchers?

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

I just don't get it.

 

If I want to buy a game as I like the look of it, I then first look to see what platform i'll play it on, usually where FGers go to. If its PC, I do not think for one second that its only available on the Epic Store, or Steam, or Blizzard, etc. I'm sorry if that disappoints people but I don't even think about it. I can't understand any of these launchers give you in addition to just being able to be a space where i can have less clicks moving from one game to another.

 

I only foresee one major thought process that could trigger why i'd buy specifically from one and not the other and that's down to if I love a game so much i want to support them directly and make sure they don't lose enough cut of the pie, and in those rare occasions i'd buy direct from the game website.

 

Can people fill me in here? Am I supposed to care more about this than I do today?

[The3rdWalker 1,271]

3 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

I just don't get it.

 

If I want to buy a game as I like the look of it, I then first look to see what platform i'll play it on, usually where FGers go to. If its PC, I do not think for one second that its only available on the Epic Store, or Steam, or Blizzard, etc. I'm sorry if that disappoints people but I don't even think about it. I can't understand any of these launchers give you in addition to just being able to be a space where i can have less clicks moving from one game to another.

 

I only foresee one major thought process that could trigger why i'd buy specifically from one and not the other and that's down to if I love a game so much i want to support them directly and make sure they don't lose enough cut of the pie, and in those rare occasions i'd buy direct from the game website.

 

Can people fill me in here? Am I supposed to care more about this than I do today?

 

Nope. Some developers don't want to pay the fees that come with being on Steam. Some developers make their own launcher if their catalog is big enough. Some developers do it because they want to reach a certain market. There's really no outstanding red flags about any of the launchers; my rule of thumb is I general try to stay as consolidated as possible but nothing truly affects my decision to buy a game unless there are security concerns. You can play PC games with PC players, full stop. (Launcher does not matter)

 

Personally I think Origin is terrible because it's slow, clunky and not easy to navigated. Epic Game Store has a real shit business practice going on right now as they want to try to undercut steam by throwing loads of money at developers to make them EGS exclusive, in return making some fans livid. (The EGS Spyware nonsense was debunked) Blizzard's launcher is simple, smooth, and love it. Papa Steam has everything you could ever want. Now GOG is really cool as all of their games are DRM free. You can literally share your games with your friends and they don't care. Uplay is solid, a little clunky though. 

[phil bottle 9,754]

I could probably say I'm unlikely to buy a game from the Epic Store unless it's an Epic made game. As I'm currently disgruntled with them. But I don't really give a monkey's toss about which launcher I use, so long as it works.

Ideally I'd like my games all in one place but I have no loyalty to any particular company. That's just silly.

Like Rib says GOG are great but I also like Steam for its little extras: user reviews, support of free modding etc

I have so many launchers and some games still only play via their own launcher e.g Escape From Tarkov.

So yeah, what brought this on anyway?



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[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

33 minutes ago, phil bottle said:

So yeah, what brought this on anyway?

 

Thanks both for your thoughts on the launchers. It sort of backs up what I hear but also why I think how I think. Theres been quite a lot on youtube and twitter about Epic Games exclusive launcher and then Destiny 2 going to Steam (initially), amongst other games going to lots of different launchers. I see hundreds of comments and replies crying and moaning on how they hate it so much and can't believe they have to buy a game from some launcher and they also try to stand up and not buy a game out of principle.

 

My thoughts when i read all of this was - I want to buy a PC game. It is on PC. Why the fuck would I care where I bought it from. The only part that makes me sad these days is not buying the physical copy of the game so it would launch on its own right. Just weird how these days on PC we have virtual shop windows when everyone and anyone can download the launchers. Gaming communities out there seem to just wanna moan about absolute anything of late.

[phil bottle 9,754]

 
Thanks both for your thoughts on the launchers. It sort of backs up what I hear but also why I think how I think. Theres been quite a lot on youtube and twitter about Epic Games exclusive launcher and then Destiny 2 going to Steam (initially), amongst other games going to lots of different launchers. I see hundreds of comments and replies crying and moaning on how they hate it so much and can't believe they have to buy a game from some launcher and they also try to stand up and not buy a game out of principle.
 
My thoughts when i read all of this was - I want to buy a PC game. It is on PC. Why the fuck would I care where I bought it from. The only part that makes me sad these days is not buying the physical copy of the game so it would launch on its own right. Just weird how these days on PC we have virtual shop windows when everyone and anyone can download the launchers. Gaming communities out there seem to just wanna moan about absolute anything of late.

I tend to assume that's mostly children, either physically or emotionally. It's good to have views on certain launchers or games and to critique where necessary... but fanboyism makes that difficult. Terms like 'first world problems' and 'spoiled bastards' spring to mind. It's laughable and sad when you think of the real and unnecessary hardship many ppl suffer in this world right now.

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[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

1 hour ago, phil bottle said:

I tend to assume that's mostly children, either physically or emotionally. It's good to have views on certain launchers or games and to critique where necessary... but fanboyism makes that difficult. Terms like 'first world problems' and 'spoiled bastards' spring to mind. It's laughable and sad when you think of the real and unnecessary hardship many ppl suffer in this world right now.
 

 

Agree 100% mate. Thats why yours and @The3rdWalker's opinions made sense as you explained them. I think if launchers had extra incentives, e.g. the more games you own the more loyalty reward you receive that could go to more games then that could make a huge difference in the market but I find it just odd how the PC market as ended up with these 'intermediates' in the middle - maybe because they are just better at promoting games than the developer?

[The3rdWalker 1,271]

Personally I'd love to be a fly on the wall in a few of those board meetings where developers/publishers decided to not use Steam because they didn't want to lose revenue - but then took on developing/maintaining their own launcher. I'd love to see a comparison of costs, etc.

[J4MES OX4D 10,033]

I will never ever use the Epic Store ever.  It has less features than Steam did over a decade ago. Fuck all those developers/publishers that sold themselves out for what is essentially Fornite money backhanders. Any company willing to lose sales for the sake of receiving a lump sum up front deserves nothing. Now devs/pubs are beginning to stab their own backers in the back like the Shenmue 3 saga.  Epic have moved into this domain so they can keep their company floated highly on the stock market. Once Fortnite money starts drying up, shares prices go down, company value plummets and shares get sold off cheap, so Epic need something to retain their high valuation so the share prices and overall value of the company doesn't decline. The Epic Store and launcher is merely an overnight knee-jerk feature designed solely for this purpose dressed up to pretend it's onside with publishers, developers and gamers. If a game is available elsewhere, I'll buy there or not at all.

 

Steam is the market leader - it may have a higher percentage cut per product sold but the size of the customer base and the amount of features for the sake of a $100 publication fee is quite astonishing for developers and publishers.  It's a great platform for gamers with a great UI, community elements, the workshop and with sales. It is the only one to have a fixed refund policy in place. uPlay has also improved massively in recent years with most past problems non-existent. Origin is pretty bad in terms of the interface but they do have some exclusive franchises in there which are popular so if you just wanted to play those, it's worth suffering. Origin Access is also excellent value if you are interested in a handful of EA games. Unlike Steam, you're not going to be spending too much time on there not playing games. 

 

As long as it doesn't become one launcher per major publisher, I'm happy to use a handful of established and proven ones. Bethesda already tried it, failed and have come crawling back to Steam and Epic have fucked off a few of their business associates with has seen products been removed. Ideally, I'd prefer to have my games in one place and Steam is ultimately the best across the board which is why Bethesda are back, Bungie are en route and Microsoft are joining the fray along with a few others. Epic can continue to give away as many games as they wish for free but you cannot trump experience, market presence, features and quality that other proven launchers have. 

[J4MES OX4D 10,033]

An interesting read here https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/gogs-quest-to-unite-all-game-launchers-just-might-work-and-microsoft-is-already-on-board/

[Diddums 4,346]

Pain the fucking ass, why can't we just have old-school .exe files with auto-updaters? 

 

Ah yes, so they can shove their bullshit ads in your face every time you load up a game. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

You know, i've never used GOG ever. I bloody miss those days of watching one game loading at a time. I think everyone wants to play 17 games at once these days.

[crispymorgan 1,054]

geforce experience can also launch your games

 

[GazzaGarratt 11,049]

3 hours ago, crispymorgan said:

geforce experience can also launch your games

 

I went to use that the other day. Any advantage to this?

[phil bottle 9,754]

42 minutes ago, GazzaGarratt said:

I went to use that the other day. Any advantage to this?

 

No, it still needs an actual launcher. Crispy threw in a red herring 😅

[The3rdWalker 1,271]

On 6/15/2019 at 3:45 PM, J4MES OX4D said:

An interesting read here https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/gogs-quest-to-unite-all-game-launchers-just-might-work-and-microsoft-is-already-on-board/

 

GOG are amazing. The fact they make all of their games DRM free is a huge move.