130°

DARQ Developer Will Donate Profits to Charity If the EGS Accepts His Game Non-Exclusively

Unfold Games pledged today that if Tim Sweeney accepts to sell DARQ on the Epic Games Store non-exclusively, they will donate 100% of the profits from EGS sales to charity.

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gamingonpc.com
DaDrunkenJester2129d ago (Edited 2129d ago )

Epic is sending a very bad message with how they're handling their store. Darq and SkateBIRD both are not allowed to launch on their store because they didn't sign an exclusive deal. All the games on their store have signed an exclusive deal...

They are basically saying, you take our bribe or you can't be on our store. Which is really messed up considering their position when they first came out was that they offered better cuts for indie devs and Steam was being greedy. Well, what's the point of Epic having the better cut, if you can't even get on their store without signing their bribe deal? Epic was supposed to challenge steam in the marketplace, but all they're doing is making themselves a villain in the eyes of the community. If they don't address this Darq thing and allow him on their store for even charity? You know they don't give a shit about the devs themselves and just want to monopolize the PC market.

GamingonPC2129d ago

I don't personally think it's a bribe, though I understand why it can look like that. Ultimately, if they truly want what's best for PC gaming, they should let developers simship games on all the stores they want. Going out of their way to yank games out of Steam, GOG, etc is a very bad look and it can affect the reputation of affected studios, as Unfold Games points out in their Medium post. If they don't do that, then it's as you say, all empty words. I hope Tim Sweeney will take up this offer, since it can only help people and he truly has nothing to lose here. Mad respect to Unfold Games too, they have been incredibly professional and kind.

DaDrunkenJester2128d ago

It is a bribe. "Hey take our money and deal or you can't be on our store with the better money cut". That is the bribe.

xVOLTx2128d ago (Edited 2128d ago )

Yep. The bottom line is exclusives have no place in the PC market. It's been fine the last 40 years or however long you wanna say PC gaming has been around. It's almost like there needs to be a universal key system in place and you can buy and redeem from wherever.

Cobra9512128d ago

What's the drama? Just sell it on Steam. They don't want to lock them into an exclusive, right?

GamingonPC2128d ago

Actually, Epic tried to get it as an exclusive days after the developer uploaded a trailer that had the Steam release date. He told them that he couldn't enter an exclusive agreement since that would make him look like he's not a man of his word, but he wasn't opposed to a simultaneous release on both Steam and EGS. The EGS representative told him that they weren't interested in a non-exclusive release.

lelo2play2128d ago

This just goes to show that Epic are scumbags.
Or you go exclusive or you not aloud to launch your game on our platform...

SlagWolf2128d ago (Edited 2128d ago )

Looks like Epic really showed it’s hand with this game
So much for that “we are all about the developers” crap he farted out

akshaykhanna222128d ago

What's the drama? Just sell it on Steam. They don't want to lock them into an exclusive, right?

https://blackmoresbane.com/...

90°

It Shouldn't Take Expedition 33's Success to Remind Square Enix That Turn-Based Still Sells

TNS: Expedition 33 was the wake-up call Square Enix needed, telling it turn-based RPGs are still popular, but that shouldn't have been the case.

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thenerdstash.com
Relientk771h ago

True, but if it does get it through their thick skulls, then that works.

Although, the Dragon Quest 1 + 2 HD remakes will be turn-based and (the worst kept secret) Final Fantasy IX remake should be turn-based I would imagine. Let's see if any newer games go turn-based too.

DivineHand1251h ago

While it is true that Sqaure Enix has moved away from turn based games compared to how they were in the past, there is a good reason for it.

Older gamers will know this but during the ps2 era, we were flooded with turned based games from Japanese studios and this created a form of fatigue back then going into the next generation.

When Square released FF13, they received heavy criticism for making the game turned based like every other FF game and not doing enough to innovate. This is why they made FF15, FF7 Remake and FF16 have real time combat. It gave the series a fresh spin and has brought in new fans to the series.

I personally would be happy with either turned based FF or the real-time combat version we see today.

Shane Kim36m ago

Remake and Rebirth have "turn based" if you set it in the settings.

andy851h ago

Only need to look at their own game DQ 11 approaching 10 million to show there's a market. And that's not as big of a name as FF

Tacoboto47m ago

Another article about Expedition 33 and Square Enix and turn-based games? This is starting to sound like propaganda.

The game didn't sell because it's a turn-based game; it sold and is enjoyed because it's a really freaking good game that released completed at a good price without gamer drama attached to it. No Mtx, no wait-until-it's-patched, minimal bloat, a self-contained story, no multiplatform BS. Just a solid original game that absolutely nails what it intended to do.

CrimsonWing6916m ago

Maybe try actually listening to the fans who have supported the series for decades. This habit of ignoring your core audience just to chase people who were never interested in Final Fantasy in the first place makes no sense. And when that approach fails, doubling down on it is beyond baffling.

The battle system has never been the main reason non-FF or non-JRPG players stayed away. Gutting the series’ identity to chase a broader market doesn’t attract new players. It just alienates the loyal ones.

Keep going down this road and we’ll end up with Final Fantasy Fortnite abomination or a F2P Battle Royale game.. Oh wait…

50°

Rematch is "chasing credibility" but not realism like rival EA FC

Pocket Tactics sits down with Rematch’s creative director, Pierre Tarno, to discuss why Sloclap moved away from Sifu to chase something new.

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pockettactics.com
660°

Microsoft planning “major” Xbox layoffs next week

The cuts are expected to be announced next week.

Microsoft is also planning thousands of job cuts that will impact other parts of it businesses

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theverge.com
2d ago Replies(1)
2d ago Replies(1)
Obscure_Observer2d ago

MFs has been beating their chests over great quarterly results and big profits to shareholders while firing people by the thousands just like Sony.

I wonder if at the top of those rumored layoffs they´ll also cancel upcoming or unannounced games while shutting down more studios as well.

2d ago
pwnmaster30002d ago

Always got to throw shade at Sony smh.
Yes we get it,
MS good Sony bad
MS bad Sony is also bad lmao

2d ago
Obscure_Observer2d ago

F* them both!

Just for the record, I don´t care about your victim complex crap either. Find someone else who cares.

Terry_B1d 23h ago

Yeah..its super annoying.

blacktiger1d 23h ago

He was talking about both. Why you getting offended when he's using both names

pwnmaster30001d 22h ago (Edited 1d 22h ago )

@Blacktiger

Im not offended , that’s just his formula lol
He can’t help help himself, he needs to bring Sony down when the topic involves MS.
Whether is good news for MS or bad, it some how leads to Sony doing bad lmao.
It’s actually hilarious.

InUrFoxHole1d 17h ago

He's not wrong but im tracking what youre saying. In this case is should just be MS bad. Thats a lot of people fired

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 1d 17h ago
Tacoboto1d 23h ago

"just like Sony"

Gosh you're insufferable, not everything needs to be both-sides'd. Sony's had layoffs, but nothing like what Microsoft has been doing and is continuing to do.

CrimsonWing691d 23h ago (Edited 1d 23h ago )

I mean, no offense, but this is why you’re not some corporate business person running a major corporation. Big profits don’t mean jobs are safe. Do you understand why things like this happen:

Cutting jobs to maintain or increase profitability, especially in underperforming divisions like parts of Xbox like other gaming divisions.

Corporate restructuring and relocating resources for strategic stability in ever changing markets and consumer behaviors.

Investor expectations and optimizing operations to maintain investor confidence. Whatever boosts stock prices and improves future margins.

And there’s many other factors at play. It’s never as simple as business doing well, everyone’s safe. That’s just you not understanding at all how corporations work and have been working since the beginning. This isn’t something that’s specific to Xbox, you can bet your ass Sony and Nintendo do this and if it’s not clear by now, game development is not a stable job nor has it ever been for many. A lot of developers are contractors and guess what happens when a project is done?

Ganif1d 22h ago

Nintendo said they have no plans for layoffs, and you can't seriously claim that the scale of Sony's layoffs most of which involved Bungie which is self managed as even close to the same scale as what Microsoft has done since they purchased Zenimax. And that significantly less layoffs would have happened if those publishers had stayed independent. Keep in mind that much of these layoffs have been due to redundancies specifically related to these buyouts.

CrimsonWing691d 22h ago (Edited 1d 22h ago )

@Ganif

Nintendo:

https://gamerant.com/ninten...

Sony:

https://gamerant.com/playst...

https://techxplore.com/news...

I don’t think it’s realistic to treat Sony’s layoffs as somehow outside the norm for the industry right now. Even if Bungie is self-managed, Sony’s cuts went far beyond that like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, London Studio being shut down completely, and multiple teams across the globe took hits. These weren’t just minor adjustments.

Nintendo, I had to look up and you’re right. They seem to be an outlier, but rest assured at some point it happens. And even then there’s been layoffs, albeit a smaller amount and contractors.

Would fewer layoffs have happened if studios from acquisitions stayed independent? Maybe. But even independents have been hit hard and look at what’s happened with Embracer’s fallout, or smaller devs like Digic, Roll7, or Volition. This isn’t just a “Microsoft problem” or strictly tied to acquisitions; it’s a broader correction happening across the whole industry, and unfortunately, layoffs are a big part of that process right now.

Ganif1d 21h ago

From your article:

"According to reports, Nintendo of America restructured its testing operations, leading to layoffs of about 120 contractors, part of a strategy for global integration.

Nintendo of America, publisher of iconic franchises like Mario and Zelda, is shifting some contractors to full-time roles for better development integration."

Contractors are not employees, and even if you want to count them as that, it's 120 people vs around 7500 since Microsoft purchased Zenimax.

In an era of game industry layoffs, Nintendo is hiring more people
https://automaton-media.com...

Nintendo Announces 10 Percent Pay Raise For Devs Despite Lower Profits
https://kotaku.com/nintendo...

Nintendo CEO’s refusal to layoff staff goes viral following industry-wide cuts
"Satoru Iwata took pay cuts to ensure staff didn’t have to be let go"
https://www.nme.com/news/ga...

And as for Sony you're comparing less than 1000 total jobs to an estimated7500

Has the industry faced layoffs, yes, but that still doesn't account for the mass layoffs due to redundancies that was easily predictable, or that fact that at least 1/3 of Microsoft's layoffs and studio closures happened before the industry downturn.

thorstein1d 20h ago (Edited 1d 20h ago )

Take the L, Crimson.

People hate Nintendo, but Ganif proved why they deserve support.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 20h ago
-Foxtrot1d 23h ago

It's like banging your head off a wall, he just can't help himself.

Microsoft can do no wrong, Sony sucks at everything and Nintendo is bigged up because it's less hassle than trying to defend Microsoft all the time

What's going to happen when Microsoft finally turn completely third party, then what?

anast1d 23h ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts1d 22h ago

Did you know that the first n4g was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program.

Tacoboto1d 22h ago

I wouldn't be surprised at this point if anast and osbcure were both alts for the Admin.

We know how Obscure especially drums up additional comments and clicks with his spam-worthy remarks that somehow never get moderated

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 22h ago
LoveSpuds1d 19h ago Show
Profchaos1d 19h ago

Thats business present a strong front to your shareholders while your company burns around you.

Keep shareholders happy at all costs andnif not happy keep them numb to the reality of you organisation

Angyobangyo1d 11h ago

" Just for the record, I don´t care about your victim complex crap either. Find someone else who cares. "

Just for the record, you clearly you do if you have to vent this hard.

TheExecutioner1d 7h ago

Basically you think like kids when it come to choose between candy or chocolate.

Sonic18811d 6h ago (Edited 1d 6h ago )

Are you and Anast the same person?

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 1d 6h ago
1d 23h ago
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