And publishers are greedy.
You know what's really stifling the industry? Releasing crappy games is. Put out decent games, and I'll pay more for them. Years ago I used to pay full price for games, no questions asked. I bought Unreal, NOLF, Red Alert 2 and more, all with no discount attached to them.
As long as there are sales, I'll buy games during them to save money, especially if it's a game I'm interested in but has gotten mixed reviews, which is often the case nowadays. And people tend to buy games cheaper because they have to factor in the cost of DLC, season passes and other stuff that publishers want to charge us for, plus the cost of data to download and update games, because not all of us have access to an uncapped line. I personally only buy GOTY editions of games I really want, and I try my hardest to buy them in physical and not digital form.
The industry is changing, and so my spending habits have changed as well, and that is in no small part due to the rough economic times we face today. Besides, I'm certain that most people locally aren't earning the figures the average gamer in the US is.
