A common business strategy is to be a loss leader - see Uber, MoviePass. It doesn’t matter if you burn through cash like hell in your first few years - as long as you have an external source to keep you afloat, any marketshare you gain in the following years should more than make up for it.

Harassing developers for going exclusive on Epic Store is bad. That said, this shit is more complex then what people like to focus on. I listened to Jim Sterling’s episode this week covering the topic to, I’ll link for those interested:

Except many times they used language like “You’ll get a steam key” or a “key delivered via steam”. Yes, they couldn’t have seen the EGS coming and planned for it, but those devs that used that language definitely made promises of one thing...

Here’s the monopolistic part of it... The DARQ dev was offered an Epic deal, They basically said “Nah, I don’t want to do that after I told my fans that it was coming to Steam. I’d love to also have it on Epic Store however in addition to the others so people can choose where they get it.” What was Epic’s totally not…

I’m not sure whether Epic’s paying you guys off, or if you guys just have a chip on your shoulders against PC gamers because of Gamersgate or whatever, but what on earth is going on with your Epic Games articles? You turned a story about a dev approaching a sensitive subject the right way into a condemnation for PC…

Agreed.

r/hailcorporate is leaking. More seriously, the Ooblets thing—the harrassment is inexcusable of course—but can he really be all that surprised? His original statement is dripping with condescension and every point against the EGS he brings up (to argue against) is such a lame straw man that I can’t even begin to take…

I’m getting older and I’m busy a lot and there is a lot of games out there. If you don’t make it easy for me to buy your game, I won’t bother. If you try to sell me a 60$ game for 100$ by having crap dlc? You’re out. Gameplay focused around lootboxes and microtransaction? out. I’m not boycoting stuff that comes out…

Why do people act like this is anything new?

In covering the Epic Games Store, Kotaku has written about how the consistent, perpetual rage over its mere existence

Hey look at that. He managed to do it without screwing over the fans that were already paying and supporting the game and then pulling the rug from under them(ooblets), he didn’t resort to calling the people supporting his game a bunch of petty labels(ooblets), and then didn’t tell his fans who can’t even pay for…

Thankfully, this particular situation was quickly defused because one of the officers attending the incident lives in Bugha’s neighbourhood and recognised the teen.

Things we need government oversight on: People commenting on the internet.

Things we don’t need government oversight on: People purchasing guns specifically designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible.

Fucking way to fucking go.

Sometimes the pressure is internal. Even if your friends are cool, no one wants to feel like they are holding people up. As I mentioned above, I’m visually impaired, so while I can do most of the jumping puzzles, I need a little longer to get there. Even when my friends are cool, I usually bail on it once they are…

Judging distance, timing, position and momentum = figuring something out, figuring something out is the very definition of a puzzle.

If Guild Wars and Destiny have taught me anything, it’s this: jumping puzzles in MMOs can be a lot of fun. They can make you think and engage with the world; they can break up the usual grind with something different.

That’s all well and nice but some streamers make these interactive things look like freaking myspace pages. I had one look and I was nope. I’m gonna keep my channel on Twitch for now.

This coverage is incredibly one-sided. We shouldn't condone harassment from anyone, and that should include the developers. Their hateful language and insulting rhetoric shouldn't be given a free pass. They should be admonished just like the people harassing them. 

The attacks are inappropriate. Terrorizing someone because of what storefront they choose for their game is both petty and callous.

Solidly team no one here. I’ve seen the internet harassment campaigns play out before, but the ooblet team’s pre-emptive response is incredibly shitty and passive aggressive, and so is telling patrons that they aren’t entitled to any special consideration when they helped fund the game, but can’t actually buy it…