this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2024
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Smells like a smear campaign. Some idiots try to get some fake-ass grass roots movement going.
Bold move, let‘s see how it plays out for them.
I actually was sort of on board after I read the article. Why should a publisher be penalized if they offer a lower price on a different platform?
They don't really though. They're talking about selling steam keys in a different platform, not selling the game on a different platform (like Epic Games for instance). You can sell the game for cheaper on Epic or GOG if you want to.
From the source cited by the article.
https://overgrowth.wolfire.com/buy-now/
So why is the game still on steam then if that "cited" information was accurate? The humble bundle sells the game without DRM.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/25000/Overgrowth/
Something stinks here... and it's not Steam.
Because Steam is the largest storefront with the biggest userbase and forfeiting those sales is a death sentence for developers.
The source makes a claim that selling off platform without DRM would get them delisted from Steam.
I found you a link showing they do exactly that.
So the developer is either lying... or the source is lying.... or the article writer is lying.
The source makes a claim that selling off platform at a lower price than Steam would get them delisted. You linked the Steam page ($19,50) and the Wolfire.com page ($19,99), so what's your point? Reread the post.
... You're making shit up and lying at the same time. Here, lets squash this bullshit argument once and for all. Please somehow make this make sense. It's not only cheaper... but a choice of WITH or WITHOUT steam drm and the developer is already doing it.
OFF STEAM with or without steam DRM: $19.95
ON STEAM: $19.99
Edit: I can add more arrows if you'd like.
I'm not making shit up though, I'm literally citing the source of the article that this entire comment section is writing about.
Maybe Humble Bundle has a deal with Steam. Maybe Steam doesn't care about going after a developer for selling a game five cents cheaper on another storefront. I don't know, and I'm not going around accusing people of wrongdoing on the basis of some kind of conspiracy theory ("something stinks").
If the lawsuit turns out to be fake, that's good, and users are safe. If it turns out to be true, then great, they'll make Steam to change their practices, just like they forced them to allow users to refund their games under certain circumstances.
I'm sure as hell not jumping into a comment section spending my time defending a multi-million dollars corporations that already overpays lawyers to do that.
(Btw I saw the game on Steam as 19,50 and forgot to check the currency; it's actually euros on my screen and I was comparing it to the 19,95 dollars from Bundle, so yeah, my bad.)
I'm not defending anything. Nothing I've said was in defense of Steam. However it was the most basic of fact check for this "Developer" or "source". Which has shown/proven to already be bullshit. YOU are amplifying that message for some reason without doing the most fundamental of a fact check.
And yes... when I detect bullshit... I'm going to call it out. Bullshit stinks.
IMO the fact that the developer is selling the game five cents cheaper on another storefront doesn't prove that it's bullshit. As I said, it could just be that Steam doesn't care enough to go after them for a five cents difference, or they allowed it on that specific case after the developer sued them in 2021, or maybe who knows, it's an entirely different reason. Calling it "bullshit" without even knowing the context is way too rushed.
They made a claim... A claim that you can readily show they're clearly ALREADY doing. They need to GIVE the context.
They chose not to. I'm not going to jump on their bandwagon on just blind faith. I'm going to question their claim because they're already doing what they claim they cannot do. However the fact that they chose to omit that context that they should have provided from the outset is itself damning. People don't omit facts that would prove their point. They do however make statements that are inconsistent when they're lying.
Do they? Haven't felt like that s the case as a long time user of /r/gamedeals and isthereanydeals which is all focused on game sales.
They don't. The thing most people who have never published a game on steam don't know is that valve gives you infinite steam keys (for free) that you can give or sell as you wish. This is to allow studios/publishers to give keys to whoever they want, and also allows them to sell those keys on their own or third-party websites. This is a HUGE deal, Valve is letting studios/publishers sell games on a separate site without charging anything while hosting the game themselves. The only condition to those keys is that they can't be sold cheaper than on Steam.
That's a completely different thing from what you're claiming. This means that games can be cheaper on GoG, Epic, etc as long as they don't give you a steam key together (which they could, for free).