Call of Duty games price gouging?

[Shaddam]

Anyway I was looking thru my game folder and wishlist and saw I had Call of Duty 2 installed, don't remember when I got it must have been part of another package and wasn't aware. So I started looking at getting other Call of Duty games and saw Steam had a bundle for the entire collection, though there are a couple titles missing. COD 3 (2006) and Advanced Warfare (2014) were not included in the bundle. Anyway my issue is the price. Steam says their normal price for the entire bundle of 40 games (including all the DLC) is over $1000 and they are having a sale for $960 or something like that (I already own COD 2 so it is subtracted). They claim a 10% discount. HOWEVER. I did some research and if I didn't get any of the DLC Steam wants $605 for the bundle. In my research the same cost for those games is closer to $200, like I said without DLC. That is 60% less for me to buy from other sources. I guess i could wait for a COD sale, but I don't recall ever seeing one on that scale. What makes matters worse is the current COD games are selling on Steam for $60 while they are on sale on Microsoft and other stores for as low as $20....$30 if you want the Gold versions with DLC. Steam should definitely take a look at their prices because I don't see how they could be making many sales when other websites are selling at 60% lower prices!!! And these are not all sales, many are regular prices of 50% off. Especially the much older 2010 and previous titles Steam is selling for $20 but you can get for $10 and less anywhere else. DLC is also way overpriced, though this may be due to COD pricing and nothing Steam can do...but still....I'm not paying $15 for a pre 2015 DLC. Considering I can get a current game released in the passed 2 to 3 years with DLC for $30 why would I pay $15 for any DLC earlier than 2018?

[Crazy Tiger]

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

bunch of sheep around here....they are charging 5 times more than other websites...so you are saying publishers control the prices and have a sale on one site while leaving prices overpriced on another? Sounds pretty stupid to me....kinda like your responses....bunch of brainless idiots who will pay anything....I guess Steam has it right...they have the right customers to pay them whatever they ask for....because you are brainless idiots.

You can insult people all you want, it doesn't change how things work.

Yes, publishers control the prices. Activision sets the prices for all their games, both here and on the Microsoft store. And yes, publishers switch discounts around between selling points, to gain maximum exposure. There is no reason to have a game discounted on all the stores at the same time, that doesn't maximise profits.

[Kargor]

Publicado originalmente por Crazy Tiger:

There is no reason to have a game discounted on all the stores at the same time, that doesn't maximise profits.

Still, it's not set in stone or codified into law.

I *do* see games on sale in different stores at the same time. It's probably more frequent right now due to Easter sales which can only happen "now", but it happens at other times too.

But, it doesn't change the fact that the publishers decide the prices. If a publisher doesn't want to set a discount, then it's not happening. And within certain limits -- I don't think they can really do "whatever they want" without the store owners being able to intervene -- that means they can implement whatever pricing scheme they desire, set discounts everywhere at the same time, or do sales one shop at a time. It's up to them.

[Tito Shivan]

First things first:

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

bunch of sheep around here....
...bunch of brainless idiots who will pay anything
...because you are brainless idiots.

Please watch your language, be civil.

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

they are charging 5 times more than other websites...

Wonder which sites you're referring that charge 5 times less (That's 80% off base price) than Steam. Considering Activision has never been too fond of deeply discounting their old titles.

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

so you are saying publishers control the prices

Yes they do. If you want to make an educated guess about how Steam operates, think Ebay.
Ebay doesn't set the prices, the seller does. Same happens in Steam

Steam offers advice on pricing but last word is on the publishers. And AAA publishers already have their own marketing departments so they usually run their own pricing and sales strategies.

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

and have a sale on one site while leaving prices overpriced on another? Sounds pretty stupid to me

And that's how sales work. If you pay close attention you'll constantly (outside of big seasonal sales, IE: Christmas) see games rotating being on sale on a specific store, sometimes even different discounts, instead of a global sale offer in all storefronts. It's a pretty standard sales practice in the real world. You'll see it happening a lot if you look a bit beyond your nose.

Case in point: Bandai-Namco is right now having a sale on Humble:
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/bandai-namco-publisher-sale/
But if you look at the Steam Store their games are NOT on sale right now.
75% off On Humble:
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/dragon-ball-fighterz-ultimate-edition
Regular price on Steam
https://store.steampowered.com/app/851850/DRAGON_BALL_Z_KAKAROT/

[J4MESOX4D]

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

bunch of sheep around here....they are charging 5 times more than other websites...so you are saying publishers control the prices and have a sale on one site while leaving prices overpriced on another? Sounds pretty stupid to me....kinda like your responses....bunch of brainless idiots who will pay anything....I guess Steam has it right...they have the right customers to pay them whatever they ask for....because you are brainless idiots.

We are giving you the answer you require as you're not smart enough to understand how the industry works. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean you have to have a go at everyone. You even have Black Ops 3 on record so maybe you are a 'brainless idiot' too then?

[( ( < < <🤖> > > ) )]

if you pay more on steam they might focus
their attention on how low it is on the other
sites and raise the prices and we can all go back to being happy again....

your welcome..

[Start_Running]

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

bunch of sheep around here....

Lets not not start slinging livestock.

they are charging 5 times more than other websites...

You sure those websites aren't selling what 'fell off the back of a truck'.

so you are saying publishers control the prices and have a sale on one site while leaving prices overpriced on another?

eyup. Sometimes they do. ANd Overpriced is not the accurate term here since the non0-discounted price is just...the price.

Sounds pretty stupid to me...

Yeah but you're not making thousands or millions in publishing and selling games now are you?

kinda like your responses....bunch of brainless idiots who will pay anything....

Far from it. Most everyone waits for sales or for the price to dip into resonable ranges. WHat that range is is gouing tyo differ from person to operson.

I guess Steam has it right...they have the right customers to pay them whatever they ask for....because you are brainless idiots.

No. We are just better at this whole shopping thing than ye.

[nullable]

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

bunch of sheep around here....they are charging 5 times more than other websites...so you are saying publishers control the prices and have a sale on one site while leaving prices overpriced on another? Sounds pretty stupid to me....kinda like your responses....bunch of brainless idiots who will pay anything....I guess Steam has it right...they have the right customers to pay them whatever they ask for....because you are brainless idiots.

My favorite topics are when OP is so sure they've got a legitimate issue to discuss. And upon hearing that they don't, that many of their assumptions are wrong, which they don't like to hear, their response is to start name calling and claim that they know better than everyone else.

Products aren't uniformly priced across all stores. Sales aren't uniform across all stores either. Not sure where you conjured up that fantasy. But it's not true for most products, and video games aren't an extra special exception.

[Crazy Tiger]

I agree Brock, OP's like this do have the toddler principle worked out rather well. It's usually a pick between one of these two:
- I know better than you, you big meanie!!
- I wanna, I wanna, I WANNAAAAAAAAAH!!

[Spawn of Totoro]

Publicado originalmente por Brockenstein:

My favorite topics are when OP is so sure they've got a legitimate issue to discuss. And upon hearing that they don't, that many of their assumptions are wrong, which they don't like to hear, their response is to start name calling and claim that they know better than everyone else.

Products aren't uniformly priced across all stores. Sales aren't uniform across all stores either. Not sure where you conjured up that fantasy. But it's not true for most products, and video games aren't an extra special exception.

Target sells my shampoo at $2 more then Walmart, so they must be price gouging!

If only it were that simple... In a communist society, where the government sets prices, maybe...

[Aachen]

Publicado originalmente por Spawn of Totoro:

Target sells my shampoo at $2 more then Walmart, so they must be price gouging!

If only it were that simple... In a communist society, where the government sets prices, maybe...

Don’t forget that any unilateral price decrease (i. e. sale) would make all other retailers culpable for “price-gouging”—not really seeing how any market could function like that.

[nullable]

There's definitely some interesting consequences to (some) consumers perceptions of shopping for PC games with Steam being so dominant in the market for so long.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Publicado originalmente por Brockenstein:

There's definitely some interesting consequences to (some) consumers perceptions of shopping for PC games with Steam being so dominant in the market for so long.

Yep. They seem to think that Steam will always be cheaper then everyone else, but that isn't true of any one store, in any industry.

I've always said Steam is more like a consignment store. The owner of the content puts it up for sale at the price they want (as well as sets sales of said game) and Steam is just there to provide the floor space and accept payment.

[crunchyfrog]

Publicado originalmente por jwsutton1971:

Maybe Steam should remove them from the library if they are price gouging? Microsoft is selling the games for 60% less on their website but gouging here on Steam....just saying.

That's not a good business move.

Imagine if you started saying "yeah, that's too expensive" and removed it or refused it. Activision would rightly go "well, ♥♥♥♥ you" and go somewhere else. Then other publishers might get cold feet too.

[( ( < < <🤖> > > ) )]

"price gouging" is usually when the price or a product is increased because of demand...
and nothing more than greed is the motivation in taking advantage of the customer...


your not being taken advantage of... because you can get it cheaper elsewhere

they havent increased the price... its just not the price you want on steam

unlike my other post on devs being on a good wicket...

this person is actually having a whinge...


case dismissed....

[crunchyfrog]

Publicado originalmente por ragefifty50:

"price gouging" is usually when the price or a product is increased because of demand...
and nothing more than greed is the motivation in taking advantage of the customer...


your not being taken advantage of... because you can get it cheaper elsewhere

they havent increased the price... its just not the price you want on steam

unlike my other post on devs being on a good wicket...

this person is actually having a whinge...


case dismissed....

Very well put.