Steam pricing vs. local retail pricing

stabularasa said:
and then brag about the low price they paid for a game that nobody cares about any more.
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You'll find that the people who have the patience to wait for a special just don't care what others think.:p

Besides unless your after eye candy or multiplayer the games don't really get worse with time. Look at chess...the graphics suck (all monochromish;)) its thousands of years old and won't impress your friend/grandma/dog....and yet people still buy chess sets.

Digital distribution is the way of the future. When one buys games is a matter of preference.
 
Fivel said:
Good points, the bolded part is something I had not considered.
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+1.

If anything, I prefer having the boxes. I'm quite proud of my little shelf. But the specials can be epic.

Another factor to consider, is that when buying a game of Steam that's particularly retro (as in the case of the old UFO series, which I scored for a whopping $4.99) - they bundle it with DOSBox and all the settings in place ... which saves me from having to fiddle around. I also ended up buying X2 (again) - since my retail copy's DRM had zero compatibility with Windows 7. But I didn't consider the price much of a setback - it came bundled with X3 for $3.49.

HavocXphere said:
Besides unless your after eye candy or multiplayer the games don't really get worse with time. Look at chess...the graphics suck (all monochromish;)) its thousands of years old and won't impress your friend/grandma/dog....and yet people still buy chess sets.
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What do you mean monochromish? You're colourblind? :p I think Chess's graphics are pretty hard-core myself :D
 
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shadowfox said:
+1.

If anything, I prefer having the boxes. I'm quite proud of my little shelf. But the specials can be epic.

Another factor to consider, is that when buying a game of Steam that's particularly retro (as in the case of the old UFO series, which I scored for a whopping $4.99) - they bundle it with DOSBox and all the settings in place ... which saves me from having to fiddle around. I also ended up buying X2 (again) - since my retail copy's DRM had zero compatibility with Windows 7. But I didn't consider the price much of a setback - it came bundled with X3 for $3.49.



What do you mean monochromish? You're colourblind? :p I think Chess's graphics are pretty hard-core myself :D
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One of my friends I knew was like that un till one night they broke in and stole all his games and a few electronic stuff that was on his table and shelves.
 
Crzwaco said:
One of my friends I knew was like that un till one night they broke in and stole all his games and a few electronic stuff that was on his table and shelves.
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I'm breeding an army of cockroaches. They're part of my plot for world-domination, but in the time being they're being used for home-protection :D
 
Crzwaco said:
One of my friends I knew was like that un till one night they broke in and stole all his games and a few electronic stuff that was on his table and shelves.
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And if they steal it, then my insurance will replace. Simple. I like to see my shelf full of colourful boxes. It looks pretty and boosts my ego!

Like I said, all distribution platforms (retail & steam/GG) have their merits and I think you should, as the customer use what works best for you. You the customer should never have to be on the losing end, especially when you have a variety of options at your disposal. I'm not saying customers don't get shafted, but when their are alternatives and you didn't do your homework, it's your own fault.
 
shadowfox said:
Aggro aren't we? I never mentioned the word idiots, so would you please not put skewed interpretations to my post. A lot of people cave in to the hype surrounding games - it's a fact. There's even a thread about it on this forum. And demo's don't give you the full experience of the game. It doesn't tell you how long the game is going to be, it tends to be buggy, doesn't give you any insights about where the story is going. It's not always a deciding factor.

Borderlands was "shit" in your opinion perhaps. I actually quite enjoyed the game. As did many others. Your opinion is no more important than anybody else's. As for your mention of a well-known franchise? It guarantees nothing. Note the level of disappointment surrounding Black Ops for instance.

I said to replace category B, because, quite simply, the post concerns people who BUY games, and who don't pirate. Hence, in my opinion, it doesn't deserve mention.

Mafia II gets an average user score of 8.5 on Gamespot. So it would seem that the people playing it, are on average, relatively happy with the game. Invalidating your argument there as well.

Borderlands was released in October 2009. I bought it in December 2010. 14 months. So ... about a year.

But thanks, I do enjoy my bargain bin. And I always will.
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Listen lady, the only one who is getting aggro here is you.

Demos tell you lots about what you can expect from a game. If you can't see that then I can't help you.

Franchises do offer up disappointments, but simply stating that people who buy games on release are just caving into the hype and their games are buggy is very narrow minded. I could stoop to your level and rebut and propose that all people who wait two years until the game comes out on special are pusillanimous cheapskates.

And you can't change what category B is. Pirates are a section in the great list of getting a game from one place to another.

Average score of 8.5 on gamespot invalidates my argument? I'm not even going to justify that obvious troll comment with a response.
 
Dude ... why are you attacking me? There's a very huge difference between trolling and doing a full post. Apart from the fact that more than one person in this thread agreed with the fact that they enjoyed the particular games mentioned. I'm offering up facts as I see and interpret them - you don't feel like responding? Fair enough. You don't have to. I'll try not to cry myself to sleep about it.

Franchises do offer up disappointments, but simply stating that people who buy games on release are just caving into the hype and their games are buggy is very narrow minded. I could stoop to your level and rebut and propose that all people who wait two years until the game comes out on special are pusillanimous cheapskates.
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You seem to think that I'm trying to insult people by saying that. I'm not. Once again, it's just a fact of life ... it doesn't even apply to gaming exclusively. You'll notice I'm not being flamed by a few of the people on the forum who have admitted to caving to hype before. As I have in the past as well.

But if you want to call me a cheapskate ... feel free. I seem to recall even being called a cheap Jew once. Ummm .. yawn.

I'm not aggro at all (unless of course anyone else here feels like agreeing) ... the only one putting some really random interpretations to other people's posts here, as far as I can see, is you. In case you haven't noticed - forums are about discussions. This is what this thread is. You, on the other hand are being rather confrontational. And agressive. And completely derailing the thread.
 
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stabularasa said:
Listen lady, the only one who is getting aggro here is you.

Demos tell you lots about what you can expect from a game. If you can't see that then I can't help you.

Franchises do offer up disappointments, but simply stating that people who buy games on release are just caving into the hype and their games are buggy is very narrow minded. I could stoop to your level and rebut and propose that all people who wait two years until the game comes out on special are pusillanimous cheapskates.

And you can't change what category B is. Pirates are a section in the great list of getting a game from one place to another.

Average score of 8.5 on gamespot invalidates my argument? I'm not even going to justify that obvious troll comment with a response.
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Firstly, this whole thread is about game PRICING. Maybe you missed that. Thought I'd be kind and point it out to you. It also thus makes any comments about pirates null and void, you know, seeing as how pirates don't pay for anything and thus couldn't give a flying fuck whether or not a game is 23c cheaper on Steam than at say CNA or ZAPS.

In general though I suspect you are merely just trying to not so subtly pick a fight here and thus reinforce my personal opinion that anonymity breeds trolls.
 
stabularasa said:
Pirates are in the list because it is a list of PC gamers.

According to your post, people who buy games on release are trend-following idiots? What if they've played the demo? Or what if it's a franchise like Half Life and they pretty much know what they're going to get regardless of hype?

You can't replace category B, that's already pirates. You can have category D for people who hang back and follow what the rest of the world has to say.

And the fact that Mafia 2 is going for a pittance so soon after release says more about Mafia 2 than it does about Steam.

Borderlands was released in 2009.

And was shit.

Enjoy your bargain bin.
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Mafia II score from www.gamespot.com

GameSpot Score8.5great
Critic Score:7.6 28 reviews
User Score:8.4 3,426 votes

3426 other people seem to think it was a pretty good game. You might not have enjoyed it, but many others did. That doesn't make them all right, but neither does it you.

The fact that Steam has it on special, to me says kudos to the publishers for giving the discount. Strange how you often see Ubisoft, THQ, Rockstar, Valve and others often giving radical discounts(anything up to 75% off), but Activision and EA are seldom seen giving more than a buck or two off. But hey, it's probably because it says more about their games hey?

As for demo's, well after having played MoH beta client a mere month before final release, well it was disappointing to say the least. So yes, demos are not reliable in my opinion. Fine, it was a beta, but how incomplete could it have been a mere month from release?

I've covered the pirate angle. They might be gamers, but they are not paying gamers which excludes them from this discussion.

Nothing wrong with buying bargain bin deals. Clearly you see yourself above this and do not deem it worth your attention. How good for you, but some gamers can also only afford to shop in bargain bins and some simply prefer it, because they like to save money.

And yeah, many of us, myself included are idiots for falling for the hype of certain titles from popular franchises. Look at BC2. Look at MW2. Look at COD:BO. Look at MoH. Games that were all released with some hectic flaws and bugs. And yes, I will fall for it again when games like BF3 release, or Brink, or Duke Nukem, or Deus Ex.
 
Nice derail ppl.

So far we've established that:
A) Steam prices on release suck
B) Nobody buys via steam at release anyway
C) People have different preferences (Some buy immediately, others wait till it hits the bargain bin)

Anything else worthwhile in the thread that I missed? If not then /thread
 
HavocXphere said:
Nice derail ppl.

So far we've established that:
A) Steam prices on release suck
B) Nobody buys via steam at release anyway
C) People have different preferences (Some buy immediately, others wait till it hits the bargain bin)

Anything else worthwhile in the thread that I missed? If not then /thread
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I bought RIFT from Steam on release since not one shop in SA had any stock, and the price wasn't too bad.

But that was an exception, and I usually stick to the specials.
 
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Rift also seems to be cheaper on Steam than in stores... $49.99 (R343.00) on Steam versus R409.00 at BT-Games. Haven't checked any other distributor.
 
MrG said:
Rift also seems to be cheaper on Steam than in stores... $49.99 (R343.00) on Steam versus R409.00 at BT-Games. Haven't checked any other distributor.
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Yeah and if the exchange rate is decent we get it for even cheaper :).
 
HavocXphere said:
Nice derail ppl.

So far we've established that:
A) Steam prices on release suck
B) Nobody buys via steam at release anyway
C) People have different preferences (Some buy immediately, others wait till it hits the bargain bin)

Anything else worthwhile in the thread that I missed? If not then /thread
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Guess I am mister nobody... :D I buy most of my games on release from either steam or gamesgate. I prefer to pay their premium since they offer better value for my needs. Better service,decent price and easy access.
 
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So far we've established that:
A) Steam prices on release suck
B) Nobody buys via steam at release anyway
C) People have different preferences (Some buy immediately, others wait till it hits the bargain bin)
D) Games always in stock at Steam (Credit to Deceptor)
E) Better service and access [Subjective] (Credit to Stefan9)

Deceptor said:
Yeah and if the exchange rate is decent we get it for even cheaper :).
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Yeah. Especially that sale that coincided with the <R6 exchange rate. Serious win. :cool:

OT: Did anyone try that new 2 part email authentication thing yet?
 
HavocXphere said:
So far we've established that:
A) Steam prices on release suck
B) Nobody buys via steam at release anyway
C) People have different preferences (Some buy immediately, others wait till it hits the bargain bin)
D) Games always in stock at Steam (Credit to Deceptor)
E) Better service and access [Subjective] (Credit to Stefan9)


Yeah. Especially that sale that coincided with the <R6 exchange rate. Serious win. :cool:

OT: Did anyone try that new 2 part email authentication thing yet?
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F) no fear of having your order canceled due to kak web online ordering (bt games especially).
G) hardly if any cancellations or delays with steam.
H) Gog's witcher 2 digital ce is going to be drm free amongst other cool things.

i'm hopefully picking up my CE of shogun 2 on friday. suppose that's one plus for retail... CEs
 
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