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Have Steam sales affected the way you value games in general, including Xbox games ?

post #1 of 18
2/12/13 at 8:36pm
Thread Starter 
I'm putting this question in the Xbox section, because I want to specifically inquire to Xbox gamers, who also play on PC. If you play on PC, then you must be aware of the sales that Steam has several times a year, and you're also aware of the sales on Amazon Downloads and GamersGate and Green Man Gaming, etc, etc. Amazing deals on big time games are a monthly occurance.

Do all these crazy sales effect your gaming buying habits in general ?


The reason I ask, is that I've been so spoiled by getting all these great games for only 5 bucks, or for 8 bucks, that paying anything more than that seems like highway robbery. I know that I have to wait around to get these super low prices, but with an out of control backlog, patience is a virtue. I don't mind waiting 6 months, or 9 months or a year, for the game to hit the PC download bargain bin circuit. Each Steam sale that comes along quarterly, there will be a couple of games I can check off my list for as cheap as 5 bucks.


I can't even remember the last time I paid $59.99 for a video game, for myself. I have bought full price games as gifts, but not for myself. At least not for several years it seems. Yet, here comes two brand new gaming consoles. Durango and Orbis. Both will cost $400 or more, and the games will be $60 or more. Plus, there is talk about how these games might lock themselves to a specific console. It's all up in the air right now (it seems), but anything can happen when these two systems come calling. Now that Steam sales has changed my perception on what I feel like I should be paying for a video game, how the heck am I going to wrap my head around buying a new console and a handful of games ?

The thing is, as cheap as I've become as a gamer over the last couple of years, I'm still a hardcore early adopter when it comes to long awaited video game consoles. We've been waiting 8 freaking years for a new Xbox, so it's about time. My excitement level is at a fever pitch, I can't wait to see what both Sony and Microsoft have up their sleeves (despite all the no used game talk), but at the same time, I'm living in this new, post Steam sale world.

How do I make the two co-exist ?
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post #2 of 18
2/12/13 at 9:17pm
Definitely.

One of the biggest disappointments about the advent of digital storefronts on consoles is that MS and Sony have way too much control over pricing. It's a very tightly controlled and very closed environment, so there isn't a lot of space for sales, deals, and gradual price drops. It's an unnatural market that's artificially bolstered by store policies and licensing deals.

Steam has shown how to do a digital storefront the right way. Prices fluctuate greatly and push through massive numbers of units, which in turn facilitate more overall spending--which benefits everyone in the long run (publishers, developers, and gamers). Unfortunately, the console platform holders won't budge on their inordinately large hold on their respective markets. MS and Sony are forcing outdated industry practices on new methods of delivery. IMO their approach is not sustainable.
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post #3 of 18
2/12/13 at 11:56pm
It certainly has for me. I now play a lot more on my PC the last year and half then I did before. Part of it was I bought a Gaming Laptop back in spring of 2011 and with it I can play most games on 1080P on high settings with rock solid FPS. Couple that in with the Steam fire sales they have now and then and I am good. I now buy less games for me on the 360 and more for my PC. My Son (12) will buy an occasional game he saves up for on the 360. The other thing I am now doing is if I know there are XBL games that are on Steam I wait and see what the price will be on steam since you can get some of those titles for a lot cheaper as well. Case in point I pre-purchased Tomb Raider for the PC rather then 360 since the digital deluxe was on sale $52 and it came with some pre-purchase deals already.
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post #4 of 18
2/13/13 at 7:14am
Nope, I don't play PC and I certainly don't have a hard time coming up with $60 for a game I want.
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post #5 of 18
2/13/13 at 7:20am
It certainly has affected my buying habits to the point where I rarely buy or play anything on my Xbox 360. I've only bought 1 new (The Witcher 2 for $9.99 before a $5 credit at Best Buy) and around 7/8 used games in 2012. My money has been spent taking advantage of pc gaming deals. And it doesn't matter to me who's selling those games either. I take advantage of deals from Amazon, Gamersgate, GOG, Humble Bundle, etc. I haven't paid anywhere full price on a game in nearly two years.
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post #6 of 18
2/13/13 at 7:28am
Digital distribution on PC (e.g. Steam, Origin, Green Man Gaming, et. al.) has completely changed my concept of how to buy games now and in the future. Mainly price, but also for background updates, pre-loads for pre-orders, cloud availability, etc.

I'll get the next-gen consoles day one, but after the initial launch, I think most of my gaming money will return to PC distribution.
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post #7 of 18
2/13/13 at 7:39am
I do not play PC games so it easy for me to say Steam sales do not effect me. I think the biggest reason is I can get so many deals on regular Xbox games that the lure of Steam sales does not seem as great to me.
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post #8 of 18
2/13/13 at 7:45am
I bought a TON of games over the last Steam sale at Christmas. It was my first time and I went ape and bought basically everything I wanted all at once that was 50% off or better. That was over Christmas. In the approximate 2 months since then, I have played my 360 just about every day. Haven't touched my PC at all haha.

I am however excited for the rumoured Steam console. If nothing else it will finally force Sony/Microsoft/Wii to be competitive on game prices.
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post #9 of 18
2/13/13 at 10:07am
Thread Starter 
It seems that most of the replies are saying "Yep, my buying habits have been changed forever by these PC sales".


So, for those of you that feel this way, how is this going to affect your perception of the new consoles that are coming this November ? The hype for these new consoles is sure to get our blood pumping, but at the same time, if we stop and think about it, all the games are going to be $59.99, and there aren't going to be any discounts for a LONG time. That's the way it is with every console launch. When consoles have just been released, retailers typically keep the prices high because they know that people want to justify their big console purchase with some games. They are basically held hostage in a way, because you have no other choice but to buy a few games to make you feel good about your console purchase. They don't need to discount.

Normally, you only see the discounts if the console launch went poorly, and there are tons of unsold games sitting on store shelves the next February. I don't think Sony or MS will have trouble selling their new boxes (at least to their base), so I just can't see any games selling for a big discount anytime soon.


Yet, the Steam sales have conditioned us to pay so much less than the typical $65 (after tax) for a new game. It's going to be a shock to my system to be at Best Buy or wherever, and be paying $65 for Crackdown 3.
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post #10 of 18
2/13/13 at 10:17am
That first Steam sale is always kind of eye-opening, I bought literally dozens of things. Most of which is unplayed.

But it's also not stuff I particularly care about. I bought Resident Evil 5 for like $5, but really was I going to spend $60 on it? Well I did, on Xbox 360. Same with Super Street Fighter IV, I wanted costumes on PS3 but didn't want to pay $17 for the bundle. Steam was selling me the entire game and all costumes for $13 - okay, sounds good.

Here's the thing. On Xbox or PS3, I'll probably buy the game early or not at all. Like once we get out of that first few months situation it drops off my radar forever. With the PC, again I'll buy it early or forget about it. However, I might become interested again if I see the game for $5-$10.
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post #11 of 18
2/13/13 at 10:40am
Another thing about digital sales is some e-tailers occasionally have coupon codes that get additional percentage off an already good price.

Which is cool, but also bit me in the butt with Aliens Colonial Marines pre-order. mad.gif I don't think i would have pre-ordered the console version, but because of the PC's already better price plus a coupon code, it was only a $30 mistake.

If Tomb Raider and Bioshock Infinite also prove to be bombs, I may never pre-order a PC game again. The fact that these games download in an hour or two via Steam (or Origin/whatever), never run out of stock, and could go on deep sale at some point, the only thing enticing a PC pre-order is some early bonus level or weapon DLC.
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post #12 of 18
2/13/13 at 10:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by number1laing View Post

That first Steam sale is always kind of eye-opening, I bought literally dozens of things. Most of which is unplayed.

But it's also not stuff I particularly care about. I bought Resident Evil 5 for like $5, but really was I going to spend $60 on it? Well I did, on Xbox 360. Same with Super Street Fighter IV, I wanted costumes on PS3 but didn't want to pay $17 for the bundle. Steam was selling me the entire game and all costumes for $13 - okay, sounds good.

Here's the thing. On Xbox or PS3, I'll probably buy the game early or not at all. Like once we get out of that first few months situation it drops off my radar forever. With the PC, again I'll buy it early or forget about it. However, I might become interested again if I see the game for $5-$10.
This is one thing I don't understand on a lot of steam sales. People will brag about how they got a game for $5, but you also see people that admit that they hardly ever end up touching the games because they bought so many games on sale. So at that point, you're just wasting money. I buy a new game when it comes out if I really want it. If not, I will wait a few months and let it drop to around $30 and get it then and play it when we hit dead spots in game releases.
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post #13 of 18
2/13/13 at 11:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by americangunner View Post

This is one thing I don't understand on a lot of steam sales. People will brag about how they got a game for $5, but you also see people that admit that they hardly ever end up touching the games because they bought so many games on sale. So at that point, you're just wasting money. I buy a new game when it comes out if I really want it. If not, I will wait a few months and let it drop to around $30 and get it then and play it when we hit dead spots in game releases.

Most people (including myself) spend more than that for a not-particularly-good lunch or Starbucks coffee every once in a while.

So it's like, I spend the price for a cheap lunch and get a game I might have fun with down the line, why not?

I am playing through that Resident Evil 5 right now, it's quite fun. I spent like $7 on Splinter Cell Conviction and hated it, no biggie.
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post #14 of 18
2/13/13 at 8:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by americangunner View Post

People will brag about how they got a game for $5, but you also see people that admit that they hardly ever end up touching the games because they bought so many games on sale. So at that point, you're just wasting money.


There is no question that some people waste tremendous amounts of money with services like Steam, to basically "hoard" digital games. They feel like they are amassing this huge collection of games. And they are, but at the same time, there is no way you can play all of them.



Having said all of that, you also have to remember that there are gamers who are living two years (or more) behind the most current releases. I'm still playing Fallout 3 (2008 ! ), and I've got a gigantic backlog of games from the last four or five years. I don't need to run out and get the newest game that hits the market. I'm mostly gaming on the PC, and usually it's better to wait on the PC anyways, because the game will get patched several times, plus people will make some crazy mods for the games that could make it a better experience. I love being a few years behind the current games. It allows me to get all my games for 10 bucks or less.

New consoles, however could get me excited. Espeically for a brand new NBA 2K game, or a Madden game. When sports games come to a new console, the developer typcially has to start from scratch with a brand new engine, and sometimes you can see a dramatic jump forward in the quality of the simulation. This will be most interesting. It's going to be hard not to want the newest game that launches with the system but paying the full 65 bucks is going to be SO STRANGE to me. I will be paying 13 times more money than I normally pay for games.

13 Times !


Seriously. I normally pay $5 for a game ( most recent example is Crysis 2 from Origin on sale for $5). I can buy 13 of those 5 dollar games on steam, compared to a single full price launch game. Man, that's going to be hard for me to wrap my head around, but I'm just going to have to deal with it, lol...
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post #15 of 18
2/13/13 at 8:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by number1laing View Post

Most people (including myself) spend more than that for a not-particularly-good lunch or Starbucks coffee every once in a while.

So it's like, I spend the price for a cheap lunch and get a game I might have fun with down the line, why not?

I am playing through that Resident Evil 5 right now, it's quite fun. I spent like $7 on Splinter Cell Conviction and hated it, no biggie.
Agreed. What you pay eating out for lunch or getting coffee for the week you can skip out a day or two and have enough money saved up for a few games. If the game sucks, so what I only spent a few bucks on it.

As to the Original post and the new consoles coming out, I do not think my buying habits will change until the release what the launch titles will be for the system(s). I imagine I will pick up one or two depending on what is coming out for it at the time. After that I'll still be looking at Steam as my #1 source for games.
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post #16 of 18
2/14/13 at 1:38am
Not PC specifically, but the fact that *physical* console games tend to drop so quickly now. Wait a few months and that 59.99 game becomes 39.99 or less. There's just no reason for me to buy games at $60 as they just fall into an ever-increasing backlog that I just can't make a significant dent in. But to directly answer your question about PC gaming, I plan on building a mid level gaming rig later in the year and I'm sure my price threshold will drop even further once I see all the steam sales.
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post #17 of 18
2/14/13 at 1:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by americangunner View Post

This is one thing I don't understand on a lot of steam sales. People will brag about how they got a game for $5, but you also see people that admit that they hardly ever end up touching the games because they bought so many games on sale. So at that point, you're just wasting money. I buy a new game when it comes out if I really want it. If not, I will wait a few months and let it drop to around $30 and get it then and play it when we hit dead spots in game releases.

I was going to say something about coffee but I see a similar analogy has been made. $5 for a game is nothing, practically throwaway. People spend more than that on basic consumables daily. A $5 game is cheap enough to where if you only play it once for an hour, and never touch it again, you've already gotten your moneys worth. I suspect thats why so many are willing to 'throw away' $5 on a game that they may not play much or at all, because there's practically no investment and in the case of digital sales, its not something you can resell but meh who cares, you hardly paid anything so there's nothing to recoup.
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post #18 of 18
2/14/13 at 6:45am
It has changed my perception in a way, but I'm like a few others that have commented on this. I now own like 120+ titles on steam and I only have played about 5 - 10 of those titles. I ended up being more of a collector as a result of these sales I will probably never play them all, let alone 25% of the titles. I just don't have the time for that.

Sales = Library of games available (for me)

I'm like this also when it comes to movies, I own far more movies then I've watched out of my library. I just like having access to a large collection (personal netflix). I do intend to watch my titles and will very slowly, but I hardly think I'll ever get to them all.

I tend to play more Xbox games and complete them because it is currently my preferred platform of choice (achievements and etc). My PC games are mostly played strictly for PC LAN gaming and that's about it.... The only current PC game that I consistently play is SC2, and I'd probably play it on the console instead if I had a mouse/keyboard and it was available....
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