Disappointed but not surprised by Summer Sale prices

[Bob the Boomer]

I used to love steam sales, I saved money and woke up early so I could grab the games on my wishlist.

Sadly for the last year or two I see so called discounts on games that still have a non sale price that is equal to the release or there abouts. I do not see myself paying overs for older and or newer games that are cheaper elsewhere even without a sale just because they are on steam.


Just my 2 cents, hope you all have a better time with the Summer Sale than I have of late

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

You can blame the developers for the prices, because they set them. Valve has nothing to do with it.

[Bob the Boomer]

Originally posted by C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

You can blame the developers for the prices, because they set them. Valve has nothing to do with it.

Well that is a kick in the pants, ty for the reply

[Nx Machina]

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/pricing

Partners on Steam are responsible for setting and managing pricing for their products.

[Bee🐝]

Originally posted by burrfoottopknot:

Originally posted by C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

You can blame the developers for the prices, because they set them. Valve has nothing to do with it.

Well that is a kick in the pants, ty for the reply

Steep price drops were devaluing titles, which were still pretty early in their life cycle, far too quickly, so devs were losing money in the long run.

Aside from that, there's also the unfortunate truth, that once you've been on Steam for quite a while, you've most likely collected most of the older titles you really wanted, and now all that's left is newer games that won't see a price drop for the first year or two.

If you want to see really significant drops the weekly sales are sometimes far better, especially if devs have new DLC to sell.

[Bob the Boomer]

Thanks again, really interesting info and advice

[Shoggoth25]

It sure would be nice to see Sekiro dip below $30, and frankly I'm shocked Cyberpunk 2077 hasn't gone down to $15 (as a sale price)

[Haruspex]

I think a big part of it is just age and acquisition. You have a 12+ year old account with over 500 games on it. You most likely already have most of what you want, and the rest is most likely too new to be discounted too deeply.

I remember reading something about certain PC game companies being concerned about a race to the bottom. They want to keep pricing expectations high, or it will become like the mobile game industry where people aren't really willing to spend over $5 for a game, and free-to-play or "freemium" games will reign supreme. This would explain why some games are stubborn about dropping any further in price.

[J4MESOX4D]

Anyone that's been around the platform for a decade+ and has a sizeable library of titles will probably feel a bit underwhelmed purely because they have seen all the discounts many times before or they already own everything they pretty much want already from previous sales or purchases throughout the years. There is even instances as said above, where discounts throughout the year on certain titles have been better than when they are in major sale events.

Steam Sales are still good if you have a wishlist to shrink or you don't get to game as much as others but for experienced users, it's the same old stuff at the same old predictable discounts pretty much.

[Tito Shivan]

Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:

Anyone that's been around the platform for a decade+ and has a sizeable library of titles will probably feel a bit underwhelmed purely because they have seen all the discounts many times before or they already own everything they pretty much want already from previous sales or purchases throughout the years.

"Your best Steam sale is your first Steam sale"

I have a library over 1200 titles. And out of a game here and there, my sales are usually closign DLC gaps for the games I own. I have completed my 'Things I should buy to play' backlog over the years, so the bulk of the sales is about stuff I already own or stuff I won't buy yet (Because I can wait for complete editions to come up)

Originally posted by 8bitbeard:

I remember reading something about certain PC game companies being concerned about a race to the bottom.

There was a race to the bottom of sorts. Being on the Steam storefront during a big sale back then it resulted in loads of visibility and purchases. So devs made sure to offer a big discount for those 15 minutes of glory.

Over the years more digital stores appeared, which allowed devs to ease on the pedal, as they could get the same visibility without such a deep discount on different storefronts at different times.

Originally posted by 8bitbeard:

They want to keep pricing expectations high, or it will become like the mobile game industry where people aren't really willing to spend over $5 for a game, and free-to-play or "freemium" games will reign supreme. This would explain why some games are stubborn about dropping any further in price.

"Only buy the game on a flash deal"
"Only buy if 75% off or lower"
"Base price is (flash) sale price"

There was a lot of that during the old days.That eventually gets into people's heads and ends up decreasing the perceived value of games. Another reason for devs not to agressively discount their games anymore.

[nullable]

People have been going through this Steam sale disappointment thing for years.

Their memories of how absolute epic past sales were are faulty. They don't understand how Steam works, and make convenient assumptions. They don't understand the sales that did wow them weren't going to be the permanent status quo. And they don't understand why.

So the complaining will continue every sale.

[ReBoot]

Every sale is literally the worst sale eva

[Judgmental Amaterasu]

Meanwhile I got everything I was interested in at a decent discount. This summer's "the sale sucks because it doesn't have what I SPECIFICALLY WANT" thread.

[Xedhadeaus]

Well. Now that I think steam only allows 90 percent off sales max, you should always look around for that, and be comfortable thinking that unless the base price changes, this is the best deal you'll get from steam.

Just keep your eyes peeled for bundles and etc, sometimes you have to think. Maybe all the games that were willing to be on a good sale I already have. So I don't see much.

[steven1mac]

This sale has been lackluster for me, personally, but it seems to have enough discounts out there. Now that there are steam points, I don't feel like waiting to buy as much for the seasonal sales, and get the games I want on regular sales.

[Start_Running]

Seems you're expecting 80% discounts on new releases.
Care to cite one of these games?

Though from your statement it seems to be that you're just getting used to the experience so its not triggering the same levels of dopamine...which is good. It's easier to make rational decisions when your brain isn't drowning in stimulants.