No Sales Policy Is Amoral

[𒐪⎝ Epylector ⎠𒐪]

The normalization of no sales on a Steam product incentivizes other publishers to follow suit. This screws over poor kids.

For that matter, it makes me feel ripped off to after all this time still have to pay full price, though I was just thinking today about buying this game today.

But, I do not care if God made this game flawlessly, a no-sales policy is bad for everyone and creates a more cutthroat “premium” market that cuts out people who cannot afford no-sales premium products.

No sales in the first year is defensible albeit foolish -after that it is amoral greed at expense of the Steam market’s health.

This is not a 60-dollar value for 30 dollars, so I simply do not buy into the notion some may argue that “well the game is by default half-price, thus it is a fair bargain.

You are incentivizing piracy with this policy, something Steam and its market have luckily been healthy enough to normally not incentivize, barring the greed of Sims 4 DLC prices and similarly tone-deaf market-squeezing ventures.

I will just say, this policy is completely amoral, and regardless of this game’s quality of the righteous political support of Ukraine, should be abolished.

Just start with a baby step of 15% off twice a year and go from there.

[LAFtodeath]

The Ukraine public post
Please, keep the discussions about the world events (if you can't help it) specifically in threads related to this post, as we want to keep the rest of the content on topic.

At the end of the day the developers of any game have the full say of the game they spent the time and effort in. The steam community and valves approach and reason for starting steam in the first place was to make it easier to pay for a game then pirate. The proliferation of bad game launchers and tying specific titles to them is hurting the ecosystem more than a handful of developers choosing to withhold sales of their games.
Another issue on this topic I would say is more detrimental is raising the price of a game pre sale so the sale price is the same price as the typical price.
The standard of expecting $60 games is an issue that is best addressed by us the consumer refusing to pay that for a game. You should also factor in that this is an indie team not a AAA game. I don't want to digress to much but big developers have a bad history with employee treatment and labor issues and to bring up the sexual assault suites still in dispute.

That said this is probably one of top five most addictive games I've ever played. And I fully recommend this game. The time and effort spent plus their commitment to the community make this game a steal at $20 and a deal at $30.

[Geirfinna Lieselotte]

The game is permanently on sale

[GunRunner89X]

Oh f*ck off. No-one is ever entitled to a sale on anything. Be grateful for what does go on sale, but don't go whining because something doesn't go on sale! Amoral my ass! Seriously comparing a no-sale policy with support of Ukraine??? Go f*ck yourself.

[astrosha]

Originally posted by Epyc Wynn:

WAAAAAHHHH WWWAAAAAHHHH!! I'm to cheap to buy anything not on sale ever! WWWAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

Fixed that for you.

I'd argue that relying on sales makes you cheap, not that refusing to put something on sale is amoral. Morality is something that should be shared within a society, but is clearly not; a simple look at the legal system in any country is enough to show that not everyone within that country or society shares the same morals. So, saying that something is amoral is, well, laughable.

[knighttemplar1960]

Get a job. You clearly have time available to work and earn enough to pay for it your self. Solves your problem. Lots of jobs available right now.

By the way you all ready have your wish. $30 in 2016 is now $36 in 2022 due to inflation. The devs haven't increased their prices so you have essentially a 17% off sale going 100% of the time.

[PunCrathod]

Going on sales is amoral. It incentivices people to buy the game on sale and then go to resell sites to sell for profit. Supporting scalpers is the worst thing you could do to a market.

[Hurkyl]

Originally posted by Epyc Wynn:

Just start with a baby step of 15% off twice a year and go from there.

Here's an apparent secret to the no sales policy that people miss: Factorio is not locked into a $30 price tag. When they want to make the game available at 15% less, they can just change the list price to $25.50. And then you can get it at that price year round, rather than just a couple of moments per year.

[PunCrathod]

Also with sales it makes it easier to scam people by using stolen credit cards to buy the game and reselling. If the game is never on sale then when you see the game on a resell site at a cheaper price you know it is a scam.

[looplick]

Originally posted by Epyc Wynn:

For that matter, it makes me feel ripped off to after all this time still have to pay full price, though I was just thinking today about buying this game today.

You don't have to pay full price. You don't have to pay anything.

[kremlin]

Originally posted by Epyc Wynn:

This is not a 60-dollar value for 30 dollars, so I simply do not buy into the notion some may argue that “well the game is by default half-price, thus it is a fair bargain.
.

Why do people who don't AND WON'T play the game say this kind of crap?
You don't play the game to know.

[brian_va]

if the game was essential or even beneficial to survival the an argument about pricing and morality could be made. wanting a lower price (to be fair i would have paid less if that was an option) is understandable, but calling it amoral is a bit silly, and undervalues it as a real argument where it is appropriate.

[Pr0wn]

I have 800 hours on Factorio (rounded down)
The game is 30$

For other games i spend around 30$ to get 30 hours of playtime.

I can say that buying Factorio full price saved me 770$

I suggest raising Factorio base price to 300$ and then slap a 90% sale on it. That way the game will be priced for its real value and you will feel like you're getting the bargain of the century.

[RiO]

Originally posted by Epyc Wynn:

This is not a 60-dollar value for 30 dollars

You're absolutely correct. Factorio isn't a 60-dollar value title.

If you use the average triple-A title going for 70 USD offering about 40 hours of play time, then that's roughly 1.75 USD per hour of entertainment.

Given that many of us have spent literally thousands of hours in Factorio, it is indeed not a 60 dollar value game. Given the industry's going rates, it'd be more like a 1,750 dollar value game, that at a nominal 30 USD price point, you are permanently able to get at ~98% off.

Best deal you will probably ever get...

[kremlin]

I don't think he means the policy is amoral, I think he means the policy is immoral. There wouldn't be a lot of point to making the post otherwise.

[𒐪⎝ Epylector ⎠𒐪]

Originally posted by PunCrathod:

Going on sales is amoral. It incentivices people to buy the game on sale and then go to resell sites to sell for profit. Supporting scalpers is the worst thing you could do to a market.

Scalping does not matter in relation to an unlimited supply.

Originally posted by RiO:

Originally posted by Epyc Wynn:

This is not a 60-dollar value for 30 dollars

You're absolutely correct. Factorio isn't a 60-dollar value title.

If you use the average triple-A title going for 70 USD offering about 40 hours of play time, then that's roughly 1.75 USD per hour of entertainment.

Given that many of us have spent literally thousands of hours in Factorio, it is indeed not a 60 dollar value game. Given the industry's going rates, it'd be more like a 1,750 dollar value game, that at a nominal 30 USD price point, you are permanently able to get at ~98% off.

Best deal you will probably ever get...

Time spent or personal preference does not dictate a game’s value, it only reflects your personal habits. This logic would lead to every game reaching hundreds to thousands of dollars because some people really enjoy certain games or sink lots of time into them. Arguments like this would turn the whole gaming industry into a valueless subscription model to avoid such prices.

Originally posted by brian_va:

if the game was essential or even beneficial to survival the an argument about pricing and morality could be made. wanting a lower price (to be fair i would have paid less if that was an option) is understandable, but calling it amoral is a bit silly, and undervalues it as a real argument where it is appropriate.

A mispricing is a mistake.

Blatantly overpricing for extended periods, while engaging in practices such as killing sales, in an economy where sales uniquely keep it affordable and sustainable, is amoral.