Why is Steam so expensive compared to console?

[Richard I]

I could get the GOTY edition of Fallout 3, 4, and New Vegas on console for cheaper than the GOTY Fallout 4 on Steam.

[Start_Running]

Paratech2008님이 먼저 게시:

Not for retail, physical copies, which the o.p. was comparing to digital.

Actually yes. They do. They are the ones that set the MSRP, which in most cases is what the retailers charge you.

Gamestop, Wal Mart, Target, can sell physical XBOX One / Playstation 4 games at any price.

Ususally more than what they themselves paid for the game.

They do clearance sales, whereas Steam, GOG, Origin, have no clearance sales, they just stop selling the game in question.

Never actually seen that happen beyond legal reasons. In fac quite the opposite. Steam, GoG , Origin, etc are responsible for the return of many previously out of print games to the market.

[Satoru]

emanuel92님이 먼저 게시:

Steam is greedy 1/3 cut..

https://forums.galciv3.com/449009/page/8/

I think people really don’t understand how retail works if they’re gonna scream 30% is “greedy”

1) retailer margin is 30% off the bat
2) retailer charges $1-3 PER COPY of the game that BUY not what they SELL. This is NON REFUNDABLE
3) if they don’t sell all copies unsold copies are the devs cost aka the retailer has no loss for unsold copies
4) manufacturing cost of 1-3 per copy
5) oh yeah your distributor also wants their cut too

6) oh btw after taking nearly 40% your game sales they turn around and resell your game as “used” at a $5 discount, pocketing 100% of the sale price

[Start_Running]

Satoru님이 먼저 게시:

6) oh btw after taking nearly 40% your game sales they turn around and resell your game as “used” at a $5 discount, pocketing 100% of the sale price

Only if there are notable defects (scuffsmm marks,m scratches, missing manuyal, damaged cases.) Failing that most retailers I know will just shrink-wrap that sucka and slap it back on the shelf as new.

[ReBoot]

What's the point in comparing retail to digital? Theres Steam retail games just like theres XB/PS retail games and just like XB/PS retail games can fall under a clearance sale, so can retail Steam games. Any reason why you guys don't compare Steam digital sales to XB/PS digital sales?
Comparing apples to shoes doesn't exactly make sense.

[Tito Shivan]

Satoru님이 먼저 게시:

emanuel92님이 먼저 게시:

Steam is greedy 1/3 cut..

https://forums.galciv3.com/449009/page/8/

Interesting read:

To use War of Magic as an example, we sold in around 75,000 units at retail with an average MDF of $2. So the first day we wrote a check to the retailers for $150,000.

They sold around 50,000 units at retail so 25,000 units came back.

So we netted around $600,000 on sales of 50,000 units.

That's $12 per unit sold

By contrast, on Steam, if we sold 50,000 units we'd make $1.4 million and we could release the game on our own schedule without them threatening massive massive fines if we moved the release date after we signed an agreement. And Steam sells massive quantities on top of that.

$28 per unit sold, a bit more than twice the benefit over retail. With no upfront $150.000 check before sales.

Start_Running님이 먼저 게시:

Only if there are notable defects (scuffsmm marks,m scratches, missing manuyal, damaged cases.) Failing that most retailers I know will just shrink-wrap that sucka and slap it back on the shelf as new.

While accounting only one copy sold to the developer I guess. ;)

[Start_Running]

So basically..retail ain what you think. and the 30% isn't that high. Paypal takes a 10% +a fixed minimum per transaction they process. TYou talk to any credit card company and see what it takes to get the ability to process cards. It's not cheap, they take a percentage plus they charge a fixed monthly.

[sjcomix]

Exaotic님이 먼저 게시:

I could get the GOTY edition of Fallout 3, 4, and New Vegas on console for cheaper than the GOTY Fallout 4 on Steam.

Consoles are always updating to new consoles to sale, steam/pc game will always be availible on steam cloud, not like consoles; some older games you can't play on new consoles.

Note: all games were originaly created, to play on game consoles, but modified to run on pc, that's why there are so-many game issue on pc.

[Spawn of Totoro]

sjcomix님이 먼저 게시:

Note: all games were originaly created, to play on game consoles, but modified to run on pc, that's why there are so-many game issue on pc.

Not true. Most PC games were created for PC. AAA developers (the good ones) will create the game for both at the same time as the main difference is the controlls. The only ones who get noticed though are the bad AAA conversions, typicaly due to the lack of settings and controll issues.

I doubt games like Quest for Glory were ever created with a console in mind.

Now here is a funny fact for you:
All games (even console games) are created on PC/Mac first, then ported to a console using the SDKs provided by the console makers.

[Start_Running]

I still think its not accidental. The PC version I think is always gimped initially to make the console version look better and sell better...It's always been noted that the PC versions of these games generally get patched proper after the 1-3 month window.where sales are the highest for new console releases.

[emanuel92]

So many BS here :D

1/3 in today Digital distribution is GREEADY as f**k no matter who do it Steam(Valvve),EA,Google,Apple,Sony ,
there is no excuse.

Steam is just library database and authentificator + cloud, and that is it.

All other BS is irrelevant to me - core gamer.

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Devs crying about reselling of used games in retail, should do better games - so customers want to keep it for replayabilty VALUE!!!

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Paypal takes high fees coz of stupid GEOpolitics, inflation/currency exchange rates changes over time... ,

Cryptocurrency will fix that.
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Crying about bad bussiness decisions Stardock "GalCiv 2" - they should take risk and develop AAA game like Fallout 4 instead and retailers will ask for more then just 150 000 if game is GOOD.


BTW GOG is good for no DRM policy, so devs are pushed to develop good games again,
just if they finish realtime reporting for game sales and it will be superior to steam...


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Imagine fair storefront that dont tage outrageous 1/3 but just 15 percent operations fee (10 is for paypa/credicards fees) (5 percent if crypto replace obsolete Payapal/creditcard companies)

[Start_Running]

emanuel92님이 먼저 게시:

So many BS here :D

1/3 in today Digital distribution is GREEADY as f**k no matter who do it Steam(Valvve),EA,Google,Apple,Sony ,
there is no excuse.

Steam is just library database and authentificator + cloud, and that is it.

All other BS is irrelevant to me - core gamer.

Library databases require servers, people to run and maintain servers, buildings to house the servers. The Authenticator is actually free to use, and as for the cloud... well again Lots of servers there to store all those games yyou download...and then there's payiong for the bandwidth used by all of that.

Devs crying about reselling of used games in retail, should do better games - so customers want to keep it for replayabilty VALUE!!!

They can but that involves the kind of manipulative skinner box design that really, really does not benefit anyone.

----------------------------

Paypal takes high fees coz of stupid GEOpolitics, inflation/currency exchange rates changes over time... ,

Cryptocurrency will fix that.
-----------------------------

Only thing crypto is fixing is the surplus of fools with money. I mean those things ain't just falling they are ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ drilling like a polar-borer

[cinedine]

emanuel92님이 먼저 게시:

Imagine fair storefront that dont tage outrageous 1/3 but just 15 percent operations fee (10 is for paypa/credicards fees) (5 percent if crypto replace obsolete Payapal/creditcard companies)

Since you are obviously not a developer or have any concept to sales:

What do you even care? Do you think games would get cheaper if the stores wouldn't take as much of a cut?
Did games got cheaper when they removed manuals for pricing and "ecology" reasons (and kept stuffing those bloody marketing flyers)?
Did games got cheaper when they moved from euroboxed with gimmicks to standard Amaray boxes?

Games cost 60 dollar because games cost 60 dollar. And they used to cost 50 until Bobby Kotick raised the price of a CoD and people kept throwing money at him (as he predicted) and proved they were willing to pay more.
Sony promised to not raise the price of console games to 70 this generation and the first games costing 70 dollars were Sony games. And no one gave a ♥♥♥♥ and now it's the standard price for major releases.

That's not "greed". That's not "exploitation". It's gauging the market and find the spot people are still willing to pay. Also known as "running a business".

[emanuel92]

Library databases require servers, people to run and maintain servers, buildings to house the servers. The Authenticator is actually free to use, and as for the cloud... well again Lots of servers there to store all those games yyou download...and then there's payiong for the bandwidth used by all of that.


5% operation fee is MORE then enough, just look how much they earned last decade kid...

http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/cloud-storage/cloud-storage-pricing.html

use calculator kids

[RedLightning]

I think a nice point has been made.. The people seem to not give a care.. yet when someone comes in and cares.. they get jumped on and told one way or another that its the way it is.

It is the way it is cause people dont care.. or when they do .. again.. they get a line of Corp bs.

Funny that.

Go figure.

I would still call it greed.. no matter what.

[Satoru]

RedLightning님이 먼저 게시:

I think a nice point has been made.. The people seem to not give a care.. yet when someone comes in and cares.. they get jumped on and told one way or another that its the way it is.

If you want to use weasel words and have no actual facts to back that up then expect your opinion to be shredded.

Stuff you don’t like is not “greed”

“Greed” is a weasel word for not having a cogent option other than “I don’t like something”

I would still call it greed.. no matter what.

“Stuff I don’t like an am totally ignorant of” is not “greed