Steam sales aftermath

A

arr4ws

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Nov 8, 2005
Messages
6,671
I really think there will be some effects with the end of Steam HUGE holiday sales. I saw on the steam sales thread people buying 10...15...20 games in 7 days! and im pretty sure there is people with more.

What will be the effect? I really think people will be reluctant to buy games at release on steam from now on. Hell left 4 dead 2 had a 15$ cut if i remember right?

Those sales are also a great way to help indie games developpers. I bought many 2-5$ games during the thanksgiving and christmas sales. Its seriously a good time to be a PC gamer , but i will change my way to buy games on Steam from now on. I will wait for the midweek madness or weekend deal from now on.
 
It sure helped indie games a lot. I think steam had enough sales / weekend specials that people already had the mentality of "I'll pick it up when it's below $X." Although, in this case it'd be... "I'll pick up all of these games at the end of the year!" It might hurt Q3/Q4 release titles in the future.
 
Its been this way for awhile though, these sales are nothing new. I am sure that Valve has done all the math with the large amounts of sales data that they have and see the returns of dropping prices on "new" games in such a short time period. The value of a game is all marketing, after all.

For several years now, there have been decent price drops on games for those who wait. So long as there are so many people who are impatient and want the next big new game asap, this will always be the case.

I just imagine that the marketing department sees some kind of tiers in comsumers. The "first day" lot that is willing to shell out for full price, the interested lot that wants the game soon but only when it reaches an acceptable price, and then those who would probably not buy the game normally but will when its deeply discounted.

You need to look at the big picture with the volume of games they sell. 2-5 $ may not seem like much for a game, but if its a game that has seen its sales greatly decrease, selling a large number at that cost adds up quickly.
 
Unless it's a big release, I generally always wait for the weekend sales anyway. The winter sale the past couple of years has been my way to mop up on whatever I missed throughout the year, and this year was another good year for mopping. :p
 
I agree with what someone mentioned in the steam winter sale thread that most likely a lot of the games people purchased at the holiday prices they would never have bought at retail price. I know this holds true for myself and I have a feeling for others as well. I don't think the steam winter sale is going to have a huge impact on the major retail priced games offered at steam--people are still paying $60 to play MW2. When Mass Effect 2 comes out I'll probably go ahead and get it as I don't want to wait a few years for the price to drop down to $5 :p
 
I really put the clamp-down on my gaming purchases. TBH, I don't think I bought anything from the Steam Holiday Sale, although the Ghost Recon pack and World of Goo were both very enticing.
 
I pick things up at full price if I've either been waiting a long time, am surprised by a release, or just want to fully support a dev. Otherwise, I wait for sales. Usually it will be a situation where I see something that I know I will play, but also know it's something that's nothing terribly special. Or a situation where I'm collecting something, and filling in gaps during sales. Also, when I was converting my game collection entirely to Steam, I would wait for sales since I already bought many of the games once before.
 
For me, prior to this, I was always a bargain hunter that would almost always check out the clearance sections of places like Target and Wal-Mart. Occasionally I would find some decent pick but it was never really consistent and highly YMMV. I was also a stickler for having the physical disc on hand as opposed to solely relying on a digital copy.

However, with these sales, this has completely changed the way I buy games now. Seeing as to exactly how cheap some games can drop down in price, it doesn't matter as much to me anymore about obtaining a digital copy, which has always been my gripe. I always felt that if I'm paying the same price as retail, why not have something tangible in hand? On top of that, these deals seem to last for a decent time frame so obtaining them is just a matter of finding an Internet connection and logging into my account to make the purchase.

While I will say that if there are some releases that are must haves I will still prefer to buy them at retail if I'm paying full price, but really those are few and far between nowadays. For everything else, from now on I will wait and see what Steam throws out there. :D
 
I think I've only purchased 1 game from Steam at full price, Machinarium. Everything else was through a sale. :)
 
yeah it's going to have an effect on my gaming purchases

from now on, i'll wait till weekend deals, steam sales, OR other cheap deals (i.e. Bought L4D 2 from Gamestop for $29.99)

Amazon occasionally has good deals, but still, the best deals are the ones posted in the Hot Deals forum on here, or Slickdeals

Anyone know any other good places to look at for bargains on games?
 
I now have 136 games on steam . My wife had to block my paypal account. Defense Grid: The Awakening is the best game ever EEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all.
 
2009 was the year that digital distribution won me over.

Even in 2008 I was reluctant to buy games without getting a DVD and a physical manual. I somehow felt cheated by Steam. But in 2009 it became difficult to find PC games in stores, and turning to digital distribution was the easy answer. I would never have played Risen (my game-of-the-year) had it not been for Steam.

I've reached the point now where I don't really care one way or the other if I buy a physical copy or the digital version.

If it's a cold, rainy, stormy Saturday afternoon though, and I don't feel like going out, then it's marvelous to head on over to Steam and see what they've got - this is exactly how I picked up Risen. I might reach the point where I'll actually prefer Steam or D2D.
 
WabeWalker said:
2009 was the year that digital distribution won me over.

Even in 2008 I was reluctant to buy games without getting a DVD and a physical manual. I somehow felt cheated by Steam. But in 2009 it became difficult to find PC games in stores, and turning to digital distribution was the easy answer.
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exactly. all of that.

my local frys used to have a pretty good size pc selection. now? it's almost non-existent and they are NOT filling in the gaps.
 
WabeWalker said:
If it's a cold, rainy, stormy Saturday afternoon though, and I don't feel like going out, then it's marvelous to head on over to Steam and see what they've got - this is exactly how I picked up Risen. I might reach the point where I'll actually prefer Steam or D2D.
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I actually enjoy the missions to go buy a game from a store :p Not so much these days, but I used to ring up a mate and we'd go for a drive, get some food, buy a game, buy a slab of beer, come back home and play it. Then the next day wake up and play the game again and realise its not as fun when you're not drunk :p
 
I've been sold on digital distribution since 2003 when I first signed onto Steam. The platform had some issues but I never once doubted the beauty of online distribution. Mainly because I knew it was the only way to stem piracy. I didn't want PC gaming to die in 2003 and not today either. Needless to say, having a September '03 registration put me in the first 100,000 users. I think I was #63,000 to register.

PC gaming is safe and secure now, and might even take over consoles. !! I think it's possible between Blizzards online distributions and Valve's.

THE DAY OF RECKONING IS HERE CONSOLE KIDDIES!!! 8086 DOMINATION
 
housecat said:
I've been sold on digital distribution since 2003 when I first signed onto Steam. The platform had some issues but I never once doubted the beauty of online distribution. Mainly because I knew it was the only way to stem piracy. I didn't want PC gaming to die in 2003 and not today either. Needless to say, having a September '03 registration put me in the first 100,000 users. I think I was #63,000 to register.

PC gaming is safe and secure now, and might even take over consoles. !! I think it's possible between Blizzards online distributions and Valve's.

THE DAY OF RECKONING IS HERE CONSOLE KIDDIES!!! 8086 DOMINATION
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and what exactly makes you think that steam drm is any more secure than conventional drm? if anything it makes games easier for pirates to crack and distribute. though it definitely improves consumer appeal imo, so people are more likely to buy just because it's convenient.
 
mas said:
and what exactly makes you think that steam drm is any more secure than conventional drm? if anything it makes games easier for pirates to crack and distribute. though it definitely improves consumer appeal imo, so people are more likely to buy just because it's convenient.
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Out of curiosity, are you aware of a game that HAS been pirated off Steam?
 
I bought...

Sf4
crysis pack
ghostbusters (awesome game)
stalker SoC
stalker CS
Shattered horizon

So far I've beaten ghostbusters and am playing warhead which actually runs quite well on my pc (1920x1200 no aa, all gamer settings) I get 30-50 fps.
 
lol I bought 6 games on steam during this past sale, making up 6 out of the 7 games I've bought through steam.

These 6 games also equate to about 12% of PC games I've ever bought in my entire life up to this point. Steam has done an excellent job. =p
 
radioactivez0r said:
Out of curiosity, are you aware of a game that HAS been pirated off Steam?
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Er yes...back when HL2 was released there was plenty of holes in steam which allowed pirates who didn't have legitmate copies of HL2 to actually preload the content onto the PC then apply a crack and boom, free game.

In fact the situation was a bit of a farce really, valve didn't have the necessary server capacity to allow everyone to unlock their files and play the game, so millions of gamers were left not able to play the game on launch day because it wouldn't unlock, meanwhile pirates were using steams own servers to download the game files and then simply crack it and complete the game before all the legitimate owners, it's the biggest slap in the face ever.

Now a days steam is more secure but there have been more preload scams where with the right url you can trigger a preload for a game you dont own then once it's down simply apply a crack afterwards.

Anyway my steam list stands at 120 items now, I bought a great deal of steam games over the last month or so with some great deals. Steam has become great for 2 things for me, primarily going back and buying older games that were never paid for in the past and that I enjoyed. And 2ndly for indy games like Osmos and Trials 2.

I am hesitant, in fact downright put off with buying brand new full price games off steam for 2 primary reasons:

1) The price of full games for the UK is a joke, part of the appeal of digital distribution is cheaper prices due to lack of physical media, cutting out some of the unecessary manufacturing and shipping costs. To charge MORE than store price is retarded, just...facepalm stupid. Valve have still not addressed this issue and theres a 20k+ strong steam group formed because of retarded EU pricing (1$ != 1€)

2) The release date debaccle, having a game release 2-3 days later in the UK because it takes that amount of time to ship to stores is reasonable I suppose. But for a game you've already 100% preloaded...having to wait 2-3 days for no good reason is FUCKING STUPID, it's so fucking agrovating that actually I'm never going to buy another brand new game through steam again if I have to unecessarily wait, i dont care what politics is causing them to have to delay the use of a game you essentially already have, I don't give a shit, it's fucking stupid and it takes the piss.
 
PrincessFrosty said:
1) The price of full games for the UK is a joke, part of the appeal of digital distribution is cheaper prices due to lack of physical media, cutting out some of the unecessary manufacturing and shipping costs. To charge MORE than store price is retarded, just...facepalm stupid. Valve have still not addressed this issue and theres a 20k+ strong steam group formed because of retarded EU pricing (1$ != 1€)

2) The release date debaccle, having a game release 2-3 days later in the UK because it takes that amount of time to ship to stores is reasonable I suppose. But for a game you've already 100% preloaded...having to wait 2-3 days for no good reason is FUCKING STUPID, it's so fucking agrovating that actually I'm never going to buy another brand new game through steam again if I have to unecessarily wait, i dont care what politics is causing them to have to delay the use of a game you essentially already have, I don't give a shit, it's fucking stupid and it takes the piss.
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Both of those things do really suck, but unfortunately the blame rests with the publishers, not Valve.
 
Intel_Hydralisk said:
Just about every single one... Some are harder to crack than others I think. Modern Warfare 2 is certainly a shining example of mass pirating despite steam.
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That's one crappy game people shouldn't be buying anyway.

But no, there is no Steam piracy. There are wholly illegal Steam server networks, but that's awesome.. unsupported, unpatched, half-ass networks for people too poor to buy a game on a sale day.. no thanks.

Like I said, Steams piracy preventions are not only DRM but also convenience and ease of use. I'm sure piracy is way down from the days before Steam.
 
Nothing much worth buying as either played them all all don't want them (even at cut down prices)
 
PrincessFrosty said:
I am hesitant, in fact downright put off with buying brand new full price games off steam for 2 primary reasons:

1) The price of full games for the UK is a joke, part of the appeal of digital distribution is cheaper prices due to lack of physical media, cutting out some of the unecessary manufacturing and shipping costs. To charge MORE than store price is retarded, just...facepalm stupid. Valve have still not addressed this issue and theres a 20k+ strong steam group formed because of retarded EU pricing (1$ != 1€)

2) The release date debaccle, having a game release 2-3 days later in the UK because it takes that amount of time to ship to stores is reasonable I suppose. But for a game you've already 100% preloaded...having to wait 2-3 days for no good reason is FUCKING STUPID, it's so fucking agrovating that actually I'm never going to buy another brand new game through steam again if I have to unecessarily wait, i dont care what politics is causing them to have to delay the use of a game you essentially already have, I don't give a shit, it's fucking stupid and it takes the piss.
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Indeed
 
I gifted more games then I bought. I've never bought a game for full retail on Steam, because I like a disc better.

On a side note: All these games moving to Steam Activation is extremely lame/stupid. I bought the game, why the heck do I need to use Steam? Ah well...:mad:
 
Steam has big sales every weekend, it's rarely 75% off like it was this Christmas but for those, I can wait a year until next Christmas.

If you mean games dependant on the steam network to function? Definitely, like LFD and MW2. People quickly setup their own hamachi or lan servers to run L4D through console.
 
Intel_Hydralisk said:
Just about every single one... Some are harder to crack than others I think. Modern Warfare 2 is certainly a shining example of mass pirating despite steam.
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That has nothing to do with steam as a distribution platform. The cracked versions are from retail copies and the files are different.
 
housecat said:
I've been sold on digital distribution since 2003 when I first signed onto Steam. The platform had some issues but I never once doubted the beauty of online distribution. Mainly because I knew it was the only way to stem piracy. I didn't want PC gaming to die in 2003 and not today either. Needless to say, having a September '03 registration put me in the first 100,000 users. I think I was #63,000 to register.

PC gaming is safe and secure now, and might even take over consoles. !! I think it's possible between Blizzards online distributions and Valve's.

THE DAY OF RECKONING IS HERE CONSOLE KIDDIES!!! 8086 DOMINATION
Click to expand...

Steam Profile
JonnyK
Member since: September 12, 2003
Steam Rating: 10

What's steam rating?

I am also a big fan of steam and digital download games in general. Hoping it goes all out someday.

edit: o i found what steam rating is

Rating Score Rating Title Playing time (last two weeks)
r = 10 EAGLES SCREAM! h ≥ 32.0
9 &#8804; r < 10 Still not 10 28.8 &#8804; h < 32.0
8 &#8804; r < 9 COBRA KAI! 25.6 &#8804; h < 28.8
7 &#8804; r < 8 Wax on, Wax off 22.4 &#8804; h < 25.6
6 &#8804; r < 7 Oooh! Shiny! 19.2 &#8804; h < 22.4
5 &#8804; r < 6 Halfway Cool 16.0 &#8804; h < 19.2
4 &#8804; r < 5 Master of Nothing 12.8 &#8804; h < 16.0
3 &#8804; r < 4 Shooting Blanks 9.6 &#8804; h < 12.8
2 &#8804; r < 3 Nearly Lifeless 6.4 &#8804; h < 9.6
1 &#8804; r < 2 El Terrible! 3.2 &#8804; h < 6.4
0 &#8804; r < 1 Teh Suck 0.0 &#8804; h < 3.2

scale from 0-10 on how much time you spent playing games over the last 2 weeks.
 
I purchased...

Braid
Counter Strike: Source
Crysis Maximum Edition
Grand Theft Auto IV
Lumines
Machinarium
Madballs
Stalker: SoC
Stalker: Clear Sky
Serious Sam HD
Torchlight
Trine
Unreal Deal Pack

I also gifted Burnout Paradise to a friend.
 
If someone buys 10, 15, 20 games they start to collect all these games which get very little play time, and rather than playing these games through to their finished extent, people will play the game for an hour and move on to the next and never come back to it. I think these sales open people up to the habits of excessive game buying and it's priming valve's customers to behaving differently when it comes to selecting games for purchase.
 
Aftermath = me not needing any games for a while. I'm curious to see some of the upcoming games this year but I'll largely be waiting for "weekend deals" before grabbing any of them at this rate.
 
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