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Why isnt this on steam yet
Wicoa
Member UncommonPosts: 1,637
in Guild Wars 2
<sigh>
Also its still cheaper for me to buy it on amazon as a packed product, instead of digital download (by almost 50%).
Comments
For the same reason they aren't putting it on sale, they don't need to have it on Steam or put it on sale. They apparently have enough sales and enough money to not have to bother with any of that type of thing.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
They are part of another service which is in competition to Steam. Also the way Steam delivers the game to you, it might not be compatible with the way GW2 is streamed out (for patches).
fair enough
they sell the old gw series on steam is all.
have ordered it on amazon.
I was giving possible explanations is all.
Heck coh and gw were among the first third party games on steam.
There's no technical reason why they aren't selling through Steam. Other games are sold through Steam with very little integration. Some games like The Secret World can launch with no interactivity with the Steam launcher.
If Anet needed the revenue, they would certainly consider selling through Steam, because they've worked with them in the past. Valve is apparently pretty easy to work with and is apparently willing to let anyone sell their game through their service, so long as the players don't complain about it.
Anet actually suspended sales of their game for awhile, saying they had 'enough' players and they didn't want to overload the servers. I don't know that I've ever heard of any game developer doing that. They are apparently willing to forgo sales to achieve whatever their goals are.
I don't know what cut Valve takes of a game's sales, but The Secret World undersold by 800,000 copies and Funcom found Valve's distribution service cheap enough to use and keep the game profitable. I can't imagine that Valve's service is so expensive that Anet couldn't make money through that service.
Either Anet doesn't think selling through Steam would net them enough sales to be worth the effort, or their financial situation related to GW2 is such that they just aren't looking for additional distribution networks.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
It's not a set fee. Valve takes a procentual cut. So, the better your game sells, the more money goes to Valve.
It's a great deal for indie companies, because Steam gives them great marketing with sales and such in addition to distribution. However, if you don't need that marketing and are already making money, skipping Steam may be a good idea.
IIRC that was when those two games had already declined in sales. GW2, on the other hand, is still in its prime.
That's the big one.
I'm just speculating, but if they just took a cut from the initial sale, GW2 would significantly benefit from being on Steam.
However, Steam also takes a cut from microtransactions which is a HUGE revenue source.
I just use the Steam overlay
"As you read these words, a release is seven days or less away or has just happened within the last seven days those are now the only two states youll find the world of Tyria."...Guild Wars 2
That is a big one.
Just to add, having it on steam serves no real purpose for them. The people that don't buy it because it is not on steam and insignificant compared to how much money they will lose with constantly having to share the profits of their Cash shop items with steam.
Then stop complaining and just by it from Amazon already. What's stopping you? Who's stopping you?
Also, why does it matter if it's on Steam or not? It never will be. Why? Because Valve wants a cut of the Gem Store items sold, and A.Net doesn't want to give them a cut of it (because it's what pays for the constant updates/server usage too).
If it's so important to you to have on Steam, just add it once you get the game.
All Steam does is launch the initial executable. That often means launching a launcher, which then launches the game. There's a yo dawg joke in there somewhere.
Anyway, there's no technical reason why it's not on Steam. The main reason any game would want to get there is to expand their audience, which is something ANET doesn't feel they need to do, or can't do on their own (I agree with them). They already have a digital distribution setup, so it's not like they need Steam for that either.
Also, getting a game hosting on Steam isn't free, as Valve takes a cut of the purchase price. NDA's prevent anyone from disclosing the actual cut, but my understanding is that it's a great deal for smaller studios, and not as good a deal for larger ones.
You make me like charity
It would be great to have it on steam, lots of people buy games on Steam and I'm sure GW2 would do amazingly well on it.
Maybe they just haven't bothered, but yeah I do think ArenaNet should do it.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
You guys do know that retail stores also take a cut too right? I mean it's not like steam was business model breaking.
Gdemami -
Informing people about your thoughts and impressions is not a review, it's a blog.
I think mainly because before launch ANet were super cocky and painted themselves into a corner with some absolute statements that would make them look a bit foolish to go back on now.
Steam's shop front is massive and would undoubedtly bring them new players that wouldn't have played the game otherwise. It seems a bit silly to say no to all their money because they don't want to share it with the distributor, especially for a game that could do with a shot in the arm profile wise at this stage of it's life.
I did write (up) that I had bought it from amazon... I just thought it was odd since their other games like GW1 with all expansions and other ncsoft products are available on steam. So I brought the question in my head to the mmoprg forums!
As someone as said before it is about the microtransactions.
Steam not only will take a cut from any shop sales it also requires that the game accept steam dollars in the game cash shop.
Currently playing: GW2
Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
Sounds about right. Maybe they will do a deal at some point.