Former Impulse Boss Predicts GameStop Will Beat Steam
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
That was that biggest pile of bullshit I've heard in months. Gamestop is going to kill Impulse by jacking the prices up. The only reason I have 4 games from Impulse is because they were dirt cheap. No more great sales, no more purchases.
Also, Steam is by far the better platform, setup-wise. Impulse seems like it was made by 3 kids in a beginning programming class.
Also, Steam is by far the better platform, setup-wise. Impulse seems like it was made by 3 kids in a beginning programming class.
Technically what Brad Wardell explained isn't a bad business model (if one is trying to monopolize the industry), but competing against Steam/Valve is like competing against a thousand bulls. Unless you're Duke Nukem, Serious Sam, or a Spanish bullfighter that has a gun, you're going to loose.
Apparently I was inescapably clear enough before, the prices change depending on your region. I am, right now, looking at an advertisement[footnote]Despite them bothering to change the prices for region, they don't estimate the currency conversion. All prices are in USD[/footnote] for 'homefront' and can confirm they are selling it for $80. Dragon age is $70, shift 2 unleashed is $80, crysis 2 is $70, total war shogun is $90 as is call of duty black ops. An 'expensive' retail store in Melbourne (such as JB hifi) will sell the boxed versions of the games for about the same price, a specialty/independent store will usually sell them for between $50 and $60au (in Australia the chain retail stores like to completely ignore the RRP of the games). I'm yet to see a new, third party (ie not developed by valve) game advertised on steam that I cannot get at least $10 cheaper from a store or online.draythefingerless said:
Seriously? Try launching a game linked to steamworks without having steam open. Try force a restart of your computer when steam is not runnning, restart without internet and try to launch a game. If the client is unable to verify you have the rights to launch a steamlocked game (despite it being installed on the computer) it will not allow you to launch it. That's exactly what DRM is.
And, unfortunately, steam doesn't store any credentials on the computer. So, just say I log into steam on my desktop, while my laptop is still running, my laptop will get logged out of steam. If I forget to log back in before I go to my friends house (who has no internet) for some gaming, I will not be able to launch any steam game.
Some people like using steam, and it isn't wrong to like its features, but it is most certainly a DRM system and it is far more invasive than the traditional secuROM shit people are always bitching about.
As far as I'm aware, dragon age isn't locked to the steamworks DRM. It uses the steam platform, but not the DRM. Not all games available on steam require steam to run (and I'm obviously a lot less critical of those that don't require it). You cannot do the same thing with, say, left 4 dead or civilization 5.
The big thing that shits me about steam is not that it's a DRM, it's that it occasionally kicks itself in the teeth and won't work without an INTERNET connection (which I regularly lack-I game on my laptop a lot). I also hate the incremental install patch system, particularly because the "do not update this game" option is periodically reset back to the default false option when the steam client updates.
Look, steam isn't by any stretch the worst system, but impulse just does some basic things better[footnote]It downloads updates incrementally but does not install them until they entire download is complete, it does not need to be running to run a game attached to it, there are no pop up ads when you close games etc.[/footnote]
I like steam, I've got almost 90 games on steam cause it's just the easiest (and maybe only) legitimate way to get games in my country. (other than importing which comes with a hefty tax)
When a game is sold for $2.50 and the retail shops only sells bootlegged copies for $5.00 i know where i'm going to get my games (unless you've got connections, in which case you could get like 5 games for $3.00, but i still prefer steam)
When a game is sold for $2.50 and the retail shops only sells bootlegged copies for $5.00 i know where i'm going to get my games (unless you've got connections, in which case you could get like 5 games for $3.00, but i still prefer steam)
I have to admit that I prefer Steam for my PC games. Unless there isn't a demo offered for a specific game I'm looking for. I'm not about to risk $40 on a game if I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy it but I can't return and get my money back if I don't. When it comes to consoles, which I happen to play most of my games on, I ALWAYS go to my local EB Games/Gamestop. The games are fairly priced, the selection of games is pleasing and the employees are friendly and helpful. At least, that's the case with the specific store I go to.
Also, I admit I'm wary of getting my games through digital distribution in general. If something happens to my account, I won't be able to get those back unless the people who run customer service can get it back for me. Therefor, I prefer having my games on a disk as opposed to their existence being tied to an account.
I do love the Christmas deals on Steam though.
Also, I admit I'm wary of getting my games through digital distribution in general. If something happens to my account, I won't be able to get those back unless the people who run customer service can get it back for me. Therefor, I prefer having my games on a disk as opposed to their existence being tied to an account.
I do love the Christmas deals on Steam though.
HAHAHAHAHAHAH-*choke on drink, die*
But seriously, is he serious? Beat Steam? With what? Over-expensive used games?
But seriously, is he serious? Beat Steam? With what? Over-expensive used games?
I don't see this happening. Gamestop beating Steam in price and customer service? Great joke.Andy Chalk said:
I see this all the time. Parents think their children are superior to other children all the time, even if they are drugged out crackheads. As soon as they successfully do something that pretty much everyone can do, they are the best. I think that if Impulse wasn't any real competition to Steam before, it's nearly impossible for it to be now.
I remember when Circuit City shut down it's stores and went chiefly online, only for them to not sell anything any cheaper.... and the future refused to change... for them anyway.
I remember when Circuit City shut down it's stores and went chiefly online, only for them to not sell anything any cheaper.... and the future refused to change... for them anyway.