A block-chain alternative to Steam. Is this really a game-changer?

[rivethead]

https://venturebeat.com/2018/01/16/...-currency-for-alternative-digital-game-store/

I've always felt that Brian Fargo was a good guy and I like the games he's involved with. But when he co-founded FIG, I was a bit concerned - gamers don't have any business being investors. FIG appears to be doing fine. Now he's co-founding Robot Cache. Interesting concept.

Will it work?

 

[JimKiler]

Allowing for resale would be cool if publishers allow it to occur. Would the Iron cryptocurrency fluctuate in price like Bitcoin and Ethereum?

 

[whm1974]

Will they support Linux?

 

[ImpulsE69]

Any of them will fluctuate greatly if they start to take off. The question is if the 'store' can survive the volatility until it settles down.

 

[KB]

Interesting idea; however the concept of used digital games makes no sense. Wouldn't the developer rather just sell new copies to everyone and make more money? Then they eventually lower the price to sell to those who were hesitant to buy at full price.

Good for them though. They should go IPO ASAP and watch their stock go through the roof thanks to blockchain.

 

[rivethead]

Will they support Linux?

If it's profitable to do so, I'm sure they will.

 

[JTsyo]

I would love to sell old games, even for 25% of what I paid. Most games I only play through once.

 

[whm1974]

Interesting idea; however the concept of used digital games makes no sense. Wouldn't the developer rather just sell new copies to everyone and make more money? Then they eventually lower the price to sell to those who were hesitant to buy at full price.

Good for them though. They should go IPO ASAP and watch their stock go through the roof thanks to blockchain.

I never sold any of my games in my life. Including my NES games. Considering that most my games on Steam were brought on sale, I could less about reselling them anyway.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I do eventually. I sold much of my SNES collection for more than I paid for it, but you can't count on that for most things.

 

[Red Storm]

Interesting idea, but I wonder how the 2nd hand selling will work. Can the owner set the price?

 

[rivethead]

Interesting idea, but I wonder how the 2nd hand selling will work. Can the owner set the price?

No. The article says that the publisher gets to set the resale price: "At first, publishers and developers weren’t excited about the idea of reselling, Fargo said. But they came around, Fargo said, when he noted that they still make as much on an Iron resale as they do on a Steam initial sale. Publishers and developers also liked the idea of setting the resale price."

 

[Red Storm]

One thing I don't understand, why would anyone buy the digital game new when you could just get it used?

 

[DaveSimmons]

The publishers will probably set the resale price higher than the Steam sale price. It might be an OK deal if you want a game "now" in between Steam sales.

 

[Stg-Flame]

gamers don't have any business being investors.

What makes you say this?

 

[DaveSimmons]

What makes you say this?

In general games are a terrible investment compared to stock index funds like the S&P 500. Gamers could put money into FIG out of enthusiasm for the game concept, with no real idea of the probable lack of profits.

I've helped fund a dozen Kickstarter game projects including Wasteland, Torment, Pillars, Shadowrun The Long Dark and Divinity OS but that was patronage not investment. For investments I use my brokerage account.

 

[rivethead]

What makes you say this?

A 20+ year career in Finance. I just see your average gamer being blinded by the game hype and not understanding the risks in making a $10K+ investment in something as undefined as a video game in concept.

 

[Stg-Flame]

A 20+ year career in Finance. I just see your average gamer being blinded by the game hype and not understanding the risks in making a $10K+ investment in something as undefined as a video game in concept.

Guess I didn't understand the whole concept. It sounded to me like a digital distributor in the form of early access/kickstarters where people would invest money in hopes that they get a small share back. I saw that as someone investing $100 and getting maybe $200 back if the game becomes the next PUBG, but likely, people back in the $15 and wouldn't see any type of profitable investment. I wasn't assuming people would start dumping their 401Ks in a developer while hoping to retire next year.

 

[sonitravel09]

There were at least a dozen different "currencies", that were suggested in the last days as a virtual form to substitute Bitcoin. Doesn't exactly raise the confidence in any of those.

 

[Tweak155]

One thing I don't understand, why would anyone buy the digital game new when you could just get it used?

You would need the supply to be there from new game sales first. A month late, but I didn't see that anyone else responded.

 

[igor_kavinski]

AMD Partner's Crypto Gaming Site 'Robot Cache' Exits Beta

The first platform that allows you to sell your digital games after you play them.

www.tomshardware.com

It's live!

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Used and digital are weird bedfellows. Used for physical media commands a discount precisely due to wear and tear, lack of warranty, etc.

What exactly is "used" in a digital product?

I appreciate the idea but it feels like another old idea being applied to new technology and it makes my head hurt cause it feels like we should be moving passed this into new modes of commerce.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I appreciate the idea but it feels like another old idea being applied to new technology and it makes my head hurt cause it feels like we should be moving passed this into new modes of commerce.

Blame all the ancient ***** who still run a lot of these companies. They are so out of touch with things they keep coming up with these archaic ideas that don't really make much sense.

 

[Thump553]

It's not my area of expertise, but my understanding is that with games you buy a license, just like music or movies. I would expect either a very limited inventory (I expect most actual owners will not permit resale of digital licenses) or this business to be swamped by lawsuits in the very near future.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Used and digital are weird bedfellows. Used for physical media commands a discount precisely due to wear and tear, lack of warranty, etc.

What exactly is "used" in a digital product?

I appreciate the idea but it feels like another old idea being applied to new technology and it makes my head hurt cause it feels like we should be moving passed this into new modes of commerce.

Those bits go bad after a while. Gotta make the most of them before they're gone forever!

 

[Shmee]

Interesting idea, but if the comment I read in the Tomshardware link is true, with only 25% going back to the seller, I doubt it will be worth it really. I would much prefer a system where games are bought and sold at market price, with a <5% fee, which could be split between the platform and game developers/publishers.

In the crypto world, even 5% is a large fee. But 75%? Forget it. Imagine if whenever a user transferred there ETH or BTC, or made a trade on an exchange, there was a fee that large. No one would do that.