E:D On Steam

[Gorion]

It's on steam since yesterday, and people are going nuts over frontier not giving them steam keys.

Does anybody know if a steam purchase links to a frontier account, without the game purchased on the frontier account?

[ArithonUK]

Why would Frontier give away copies of the game to people that already have it, just so the launcher will download from an alternative distribution platform?

It makes no financial sense for them and they have no moral or legal obligation to do so. "I want" doesn't mean much to anyone outside the pram.

Just sounds like more whining-for-the-sake-of-making-a-noise from the usual suspects.

I'm sure when Frontier make an off-line version of Elite (which they have not ruled out), the same people will scream blue murder about that too "How dare they, I can't get a Kickstarter refund twice!"

It's like someone complaining that they bought an iPhone from O2 and now EE are selling it, they want theirs from EE now. How far do you think they'd get?

[TeaLeaf]

It would be nice though to unify the distribution channels wouldn't it?  It's not giving away free games, it's transferring the load to the steam network and reducing Frontier's overhead isn't it?  Swap one key for another?  I guess steam would then suffer though with no cash for their service.

[Gorion]

Well, it doesn't cost devs any money to generate Steam Keys.  And if Steam accounts are linked to Frontier accounts they wouldn't lose any sales anyhow.

So there's no financial reason as to not unify the member base.  Instead, showing good will would go to great lengths in appeasing people/bringing more in.  You won't attract clients if you're a douche-bag.

[albert]

There's a lot of lost cash if you deliver on steam, hence doing the launch sales direct. Frontier must have decided that they have gone as far as possible direct and need a sales boost. Plus the content delivery headache. I suspect the option to convert will not be long in being offered but they'll have to design a way to give Alpha and Beta backers the privileges they get direct. Not in game stuff, but things like being allowed to beta test and get certain rewards. None of this should be difficult to implement.

[ArithonUK]

The usual video, with a very slight deviation at 1:14...

[video=youtube;A5foAxC7ynw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5foAxC7ynw[/video]

[ArithonUK]

Well, it doesn't cost devs any money to generate Steam Keys.  And if Steam accounts are linked to Frontier accounts they wouldn't lose any sales anyhow.

So there's no financial reason as to not unify the member base.  Instead, showing good will would go to great lengths in appeasing people/bringing more in.  You won't attract clients if you're a douche-bag.

Err, Steam keys cost the developer money. They have to pay a significant amount per game key issued. Valve isn't a charity - they take a hefty percentage.  Frontier cannot just push out a few thousand Steam keys for nothing. It would cost them a fortune, so there's a pretty solid financial reason not to do it.

[Gorion]

No they don't.  Developers request key batches from valve, and hand them out individually via e-mails.  The keys are the property of the developers, and don't pay a penny for them.

I can't find the link, but this was said by a developer studio.

Reason it out, why on earth would a developer be paying a store webfront money for keys for the game they own?

Valve make profit via a 30% cut on sales from their webfront.  Not by selling keys to the devs.  It's a win-win, devs offload logistical stuff onto steamworks, and steam gets access to new customers.

[albert]

And the CDN cost per game downloaded is surely charged by Valve to the game owner no? So the keys might not be expensive or even free but when half a million players all decide to wipe their stand alone install and download from Steam the costs will be per MB downloaded. Unless Valve work differently to the 10 CDNs I pay for every month at work!

I know there's a per unit commission on new sales but a network isn't a cheap thing to maintain. Look at the problems CIG and Frontier have already. with their home grown CDN setups. Someone has to pay Valves backend costs whilst the software houses pay for marketing and sales.

[ArithonUK]

Steam keys cannot be "free". Valve are not a charity. Either the key costs money or the download bandwith costs money. Either way Valve will gain their commission somehow and Frontier will lose out if they are giving them away.

The simple fact is, if your contract of sale is with Frontier you cannot transfer it to Valve without re-buying the product and if you are not willing to pay, why would Frontier? Even if they were prepared to write off their costs, they'd still have to pay Valve's commission. It's never going to happen. Any more than my EA games on ORIGIN that are also available on Steam could be "transferred".

It's like asking Sainsbury to "transfer" your purchase of shopping to Tesco, just so you can get club-card points, because you feel they should as Tesco now sell the items that only Sainsbury did previously. Nobody would swallow that.

[Gorion]

Again, game devs aren't charged for bandwidth.  Game devs aren't charged when issuing/generating keys for THEIR game.

Valve makes money via profit sharing; taking a percentage cut from the sale price.  The percentage number varies.

Research:

Welcome to Steamworks.
Now your game can take advantage of a gaming platform that has over 40 million players worldwide and spans multiple systems. Whether you’re looking for matchmaking, achievements, anti-cheat technology, in-game economy systems with microtransactions, or the next big feature in gaming, Steamworks has what you need.

It’s free: There’s no charge for bandwidth, updating, or activation of copies at retail or from third-party digital distributors.

It’s freeing: With Steamworks you avoid the overhead and delay of certification requirementsâ€"there are none. Distribute your game on your terms, updating it when and as often as you want.

http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/index.php


Full support for wherever your game is sold.
Keep all of your users together no matter where or how they get your game. Steamworks has a host of features and services that support your retail product and any digital copies, wherever they are sold. It’s free. There is no per-copy activation charge or bandwidth fee.

Ship your game at retail and online. With Steamworks, you decide where and how it will be sold.

http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/retailsupport.php



Cost to partners and users


$ 0 paid by partners for bandwidth
$ 0 paid by partners for updating and packaging
$ 0 paid by partners for Steam Cloud storage
$ 0 paid by partners for Steamworks features
$ 0 paid by partners for technical support
$ 0 paid by partners for retail activation
and authentication
$ 0 charged to users for account and features


http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/SteamworksBrochure2011.pdf



If my game is accepted through Steam Greenlight, can I give my previous customers keys for the Steam version?
Once your game is accepted for distribution on Steam, we will give you as many keys for your game as you want at no cost.

What is your revenue split?
We don’t discuss our revenue split publicly. Once your game goes through Steam Greenlight, we will get to those details.

What other fees come out of my revenue share?
There are some specific adjustments made depending on such things as fraud and returns and these are outlined more fully in our distribution agreement that we will send to you if your game is going on Steam. We do not make deductions for marketing or bandwidth.

Do you require exclusivity for titles you sell on Steam?
We think you should get your game in front of as many people as you can, therefore we do not require or recommend exclusivity on titles.

What are my marketing options on Steam?
We do not sell any of our marketing on Steam. We will work with you to determine the best marketing plan for your title.


Are Steamworks features required for distribution on Steam?
Many of our Steamworks features are popular with customers â€" like Steam Cloud support and Achievements. While we recommend that you include them in your games, they are not required.

http://steamcommunity.com/greenlight/faq/
http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/FAQ.php




Fries: How is Steam different? Because you run your own digital distribution system that has its own tax.


Newell: Yeah, people can use it or not use it. We give away the tools for free. They can be included in people’s products. … We’ll provide server capacity, matchmaking services, product services, and all that’s free for content developers. If a product gets sold through our system, then we take a tax. If it’s sold through retail, or if it’s sold through a developer’s website or it’s sold through Origin or Direct2Drive, then we don’t take anything.

We’re only generating money when we’re directly contributing to a sale. Our tools and services are free to use, regardless of distribution channel. If we were to create a hardware platform of our own, and put our stuff on it, the first people we would want to stand up on stage with us would be people who built competitive distribution signals, so that people understood that we actually value openness and alternatives as being critical to the long-term viability of the entertainment and games industries.


http://www.geekwire.com/2011/valves-newell-predicts-shakeup-for-closed-game-consoles/
http://www.geekwire.com/2011/experiments-video-game-economics-valves-gabe-newell/



Developers on Steam have the ability to generate practically unlimited numbers of keys for their games, so that people can buy a game not from the Steam storefront, but still get the convenience of Steam. Steam can do this because it’s ultimately to their advantage to get people hooked in to Steam and its convenience, and because they know people will buy games through their storefront as well. It is to their benefit for Steam to be the premier destination for PC gaming, even if it isn’t where people initially buy some of their games.

This system also helps create a healthy market by allowing third-party storefronts, including ones who sell bundles, to be competitive. It allows them to be competitive by being able to offer the convenience of Steam, and to offer things like DRM-free copies, or Android versions of games, at or below Steam costs. And for developers, they can often get higher cuts from these other storefronts, and they also provide more opportunities to be featured and discovered, to help sell more copies.

http://www.gamezebo.com/2014/07/10/developers-crying-lost-steam-keys-penny-wise-pound-foolish/



Want to debunk my argument?  Mail Gabe Newell, and prove it.

[albert]

Seems you were right mate 😎 the UK political party leaders could do with your research skills and determination! So c'mon Frontier, get a move on!

[Sneakytiger]

here's my question did the people behind FSX give free steam game codes to the people that bought the game on disc before it went to steam?

[TeaLeaf]

here's my question did the people behind FSX give free steam game codes to the people that bought the game on disc before it went to steam?

With respect, that's slightly different.  Microsoft had shut down FSX then years later a totally different company took over the franchise and released a steam version. That's a different situation.

Frontier has sold one game and then created a different distribution channel to which original backers have no access.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Sneakytiger]

U can add non-steam games to your steam library can't u?