What Happened to Sales in General?

[Devilish Dave]

Sales used to be this huge thing that everyone was waiting for, looking at countdowns, saving up money, discussing with their friends what to buy and it was something everyone was looking forward to. Steam also crashed or slowed done extensively during sales and there were also events to win badges or play mini-games.

This time around apparently it is Summer Sale, but I can't tell, there's some sort of sale every week now and this one does not stand out at all, which is a shame, because I used to like the little designs and stuff that used to be present.

Is this it now, are these what big sales will look like from now on?

Edit: I am not talking about the prices, but I see many of you think that is my issue with the sale. I didn't even look at the prices and if I really want a game, I'll buy it at full price, so even a 5% discount is favourable. I'm literally just talking about the sale in general, how it is setup and served. The lackluster theme, no cards to collect, no mini-games, etc.. It just feels sloppy and not what other Summer/Winter sales used to.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by Devilish Dave:

What Happened to Sales in General?

Sales used to be this huge thing that everyone was waiting for, looking at countdowns, saving up money, discussing with their friends what to buy and it was something everyone was looking forward to. Steam also crashed or slowed done extensively during sales and there were also events to win badges or play mini-games.

This time around apparently it is Summer Sale, but I can't tell, there's some sort of sale every week now and this one does not stand out at all, which is a shame, because I used to like the little designs and stuff that used to be present.

Is this it now, are these what big sales will look like from now on?

Yes...

[crunchyfrog]

Sales are just the same but your perspective may have changed.

Many people amass more games and therfore find the choices lesser. Not the sales' fault.

Others find that things like the metagames and side things are lacking, but that's sadly due to abuse.

But as for empirical data, the discounts are no real difference, and the amount of games aren't either.

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Developers and publishers can put their games on sale pretty much whenever they like.. Capcom just had a 40th Anniversery Sale...so yes, there are more sales now.

Steam used to only do about four sales a year. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.


One winter sale, a user won every game on Steam (about 5,000 games.) That would most likely never happen now.

[Samantha :]]

I'm hugely disappointed that there isn't any kind of event or interactive element at all. The last couple of years there was the short stories and the riddles last year which were quite entertaining but this year there is literally... Nothing? Except a pointless sticker each day and the seasonal badge... And given the winter sales have just been the dull steam awards for years, the summer sale represented the last ounces of creativity when it came to the seasonal steam sales. But clearly sheer laziness has won the day. Bravo, steam, bravo.

The stickers wouldn't be so bad if you could actually do something with them... Though as it is, I doubt I will even bother to get the daily sticker on even half of the days of the sale.

[Devilish Dave]

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

Sales are just the same but your perspective may have changed.

Many people amass more games and therfore find the choices lesser. Not the sales' fault.

Others find that things like the metagames and side things are lacking, but that's sadly due to abuse.

But as for empirical data, the discounts are no real difference, and the amount of games aren't either.

My perspective hasn't changed though, there are literally things missing that made sales fun. I am not talking about the types of games that are on sale, but the mindset people had. It just feels lackluster now.

Originally posted by C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

Developers and publishers can put their games on sale pretty much whenever they like.. Capcom just had a 40th Anniversery Sale...so yes, there are more sales now.

Steam used to only about four sales a year. Spring, Summer, Autum, Winter.


One winter sale, a user won every game on Steam (about 5,000 games.) That would most likely never happen now.

Yes I am familiar with how it works, my University published some game for a course, literally anyone can publish it and they have control over these things, but that's not really what I was getting at. Summer Sales, used to just feel different from all the other ones and stood out.

Originally posted by Samantha ::

I'm hugely disappointed that there isn't any kind of event or interactive element at all. The last couple of years there was the short stories and the riddles last year which were quite entertaining but this year there is literally... Nothing? Except a pointless sticker each day and the seasonal badge... And given the winter sales have just been the dull steam awards for years, the summer sale represented the last ounces of creativity when it came to the seasonal steam sales. But clearly sheer laziness has won the day. Bravo, steam, bravo.

The stickers wouldn't be so bad if you could actually do something with them...

Yes, this is what I mean. Maybe there's a reason behind this, I guess we will see with time if it'll change or not. It was a pretty minor something anyways, but it had this neat little touch to it. I liked it.

[RebelStorm]

Sales now are nothing more than all the crappy weekly sales all happening at the same time.

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Originally posted by Devilish Dave:

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

Sales are just the same but your perspective may have changed.

Many people amass more games and therfore find the choices lesser. Not the sales' fault.

Others find that things like the metagames and side things are lacking, but that's sadly due to abuse.

But as for empirical data, the discounts are no real difference, and the amount of games aren't either.

My perspective hasn't changed though, there are literally things missing that made sales fun. I am not talking about the types of games that are on sale, but the mindset people had. It just feels lackluster now.

Originally posted by C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

Developers and publishers can put their games on sale pretty much whenever they like.. Capcom just had a 40th Anniversery Sale...so yes, there are more sales now.

Steam used to only about four sales a year. Spring, Summer, Autum, Winter.


One winter sale, a user won every game on Steam (about 5,000 games.) That would most likely never happen now.

Yes I am familiar with how it works, my University published some game for a course, literally anyone can publish it and they have control over these things, but that's not really what I was getting at. Summer Sales, used to just feel different from all the other ones and stood out.

Originally posted by Samantha ::

I'm hugely disappointed that there isn't any kind of event or interactive element at all. The last couple of years there was the short stories and the riddles last year which were quite entertaining but this year there is literally... Nothing? Except a pointless sticker each day and the seasonal badge... And given the winter sales have just been the dull steam awards for years, the summer sale represented the last ounces of creativity when it came to the seasonal steam sales. But clearly sheer laziness has won the day. Bravo, steam, bravo.

The stickers wouldn't be so bad if you could actually do something with them...

Yes, this is what I mean. Maybe there's a reason behind this, I guess we will see with time if it'll change or not. It was a pretty minor something anyways, but it had this neat little touch to it. I liked it.

The only two that stood out were Summer and Winter and again the only reason they stood out is because there were not as many sales back then as there are now. That;s why it felt different. Pubs and devs can opt out of sales. Go look, not every game is on sale right now.

[Devilish Dave]

Originally posted by C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

Originally posted by Devilish Dave:

My perspective hasn't changed though, there are literally things missing that made sales fun. I am not talking about the types of games that are on sale, but the mindset people had. It just feels lackluster now.





Yes I am familiar with how it works, my University published some game for a course, literally anyone can publish it and they have control over these things, but that's not really what I was getting at. Summer Sales, used to just feel different from all the other ones and stood out.





Yes, this is what I mean. Maybe there's a reason behind this, I guess we will see with time if it'll change or not. It was a pretty minor something anyways, but it had this neat little touch to it. I liked it.

The only two that stood out were Summer and Winter and again the only reason they stood out is because there were not as many sales back then as there are now. That;s why it felt different. Pubs and devs can opt out of sales. Go look, not every game is on sale right now.

They stood out, because Steam was decorated and had little events and collectibles. This is a major Summer sale, and we don't have that.

[Zefar]

The event games where generally disliked by people and Valve noticed that when they removed them people would just shop more.

Same was with other type of events like those Flash sales. It made people wait until the very last day before buying and when that happened, the store crashed. Sale ended and people couldn't get the games they wanted that where on sale.
Or they bought it quickly and then later saw it being on flash sale.



Now customers are browsing the deals in peace and buy the stuff they want.

[RebelStorm]

Originally posted by Zefar:

The event games where generally disliked by people and Valve noticed that when they removed them people would just shop more.

Same was with other type of events like those Flash sales. It made people wait until the very last day before buying and when that happened, the store crashed. Sale ended and people couldn't get the games they wanted that where on sale.
Or they bought it quickly and then later saw it being on flash sale.



Now customers are browsing the deals in peace and buy the stuff they want.

The real reason is Steam has a monopoly on PC gaming and knows they don't need to try anymore.

[Zefar]

Originally posted by CoronaExtra:

The real reason is Steam has a monopoly on PC gaming and knows they don't need to try anymore.

The customers liked it more when sales didn't have any events going on or when they had to check in during special times.

When they removed these it got more popular. They listened to customer feedback quite literally here.

[ﾌ卂尺丂Ҝ卂]

The discounts have been bad before and for some games it seems that the starting price has been increased to match the new game, so even a bigger discount seems very insignificant.

I might buy one game or nothing. This sale also lacks a competition, an event or a clear theme, which has been seen in previous years.

[Samantha :]]

Originally posted by Zefar:

The event games where generally disliked by people and Valve noticed that when they removed them people would just shop more.

Same was with other type of events like those Flash sales. It made people wait until the very last day before buying and when that happened, the store crashed. Sale ended and people couldn't get the games they wanted that where on sale.
Or they bought it quickly and then later saw it being on flash sale.



Now customers are browsing the deals in peace and buy the stuff they want.

Flash sales and daily sales I could understand. Events, people could just choose not to participate in them if they didn't like them. Seems unfair to end them for the people who liked them for the people who didn't like them when the latter could just ignore them

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Originally posted by CoronaExtra:

Originally posted by Zefar:

The event games where generally disliked by people and Valve noticed that when they removed them people would just shop more.

Same was with other type of events like those Flash sales. It made people wait until the very last day before buying and when that happened, the store crashed. Sale ended and people couldn't get the games they wanted that where on sale.
Or they bought it quickly and then later saw it being on flash sale.



Now customers are browsing the deals in peace and buy the stuff they want.

The real reason is Steam has a monopoly on PC gaming and knows they don't need to try anymore.

I don't think you know what monopoly means. It's why there's EA Desktop, Ubi Connect, GoG, Epic etc.


Also, people hated those flash sales, that's why they're not done anymore.

[Qbert ⭐]

Originally posted by Devilish Dave:

Sales used to be this huge thing that everyone was waiting for, looking at countdowns, saving up money, discussing with their friends what to buy and it was something everyone was looking forward to. Steam also crashed or slowed done extensively during sales and there were also events to win badges or play mini-games.

This time around apparently it is Summer Sale, but I can't tell, there's some sort of sale every week now and this one does not stand out at all, which is a shame, because I used to like the little designs and stuff that used to be present.

Is this it now, are these what big sales will look like from now on?

A.K.A "I want free stuff"