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STEAM- Announcements & Updates 2011 Edition
- Thread starter ClovingWestbrook
- Start date
- Status
Alright, now I can buy Heir to the Throne. Wonder why they aren't selling the Divine Wind + Heir to the Throne pack yet.
Also, for those who don't have it and don't fear a higher learning curve, get Europa and Heir, how to play the game isn't to hard to pick up, its how to win when you choice a random small nation that is. Plus, the game has a multiplayer mode.
Also, for those who don't have it and don't fear a higher learning curve, get Europa and Heir, how to play the game isn't to hard to pick up, its how to win when you choice a random small nation that is. Plus, the game has a multiplayer mode.
mclaren777
Member
Thanks. I just installed a Chrome extension to keep me updated on sale prices. Great site.Zizbuka said:
LovingSteam said:
No offense man, but computer game prices have been pretty damn steady for a long time. I mean, here is an article from CNN talking about the rise in video game prices on consoles from $50 to $60. Date of the article? September 2004!
And in that article the point is made that AAA games had been at $50 for roughly 20 years. Now, I'm more than willing to jump all over EA/Activision/Etc. for price gouging bullshit, but the truth many gamers don't want to hear is that video/computer game prices are VERY reasonable. Especially given the increase in development costs over the past 5 years. And they are only trying to get parity with console prices. I wanted to rage against this too, but given I paid $50 for X-Com when it was released in 1993, I'm trying to get over myself a bit.
Diablohead
Member
Sneaky increase on the PA games, I know they launched higher but for quite a while the default price was lower then they are now in the bundle, ah well they deserve money.
I have a real itch to play platformers since I bought a good controller with worthy dpad, looks like ares is bought tonight then
I have a real itch to play platformers since I bought a good controller with worthy dpad, looks like ares is bought tonight then
Lostconfused
Member
But there shouldn't be parity in prices. They have to pay $10 to the platform holder to publish games on that platform and they pass that cost on to the consumer thus $60 games. There is no such thing on PC thats why its only reasonable to expect PC games to be $10 cheaper than console games. Anything more is just an attempt to gouge the consumer for more money.JoeBoy101 said:
Lostconfused said:
But your ignoring the rest of my post. Is it not fair to look for a price increase once in 20 years? Is any price increase gouging? That assumes development and publish costs never increase either. And you're right, that is trying to get $10 extra over console gamers. I'll happily do that if it means I get Master Race version of the game instead of them deciding not to release a PC version.
Lostconfused
Member
I am ignoring the rest of your post because I have no problems with inflation. I have a problem with them trying to instill parity in prices between PC and console games where there is no reason for it to be any.JoeBoy101 said:
They use the excuse that because games are charged at $99 AUD at retail here, that online prices should reflect that as well and adjust it accordingly depending on the AUD-USD currency rate. Those prices only come from publishers like EA, Activision, Take2 and THQ though.JoeBoy101 said:
Thankfully once the stupid demand dies down and "game of the year" editions get released, the prices are a little more swallowable
Lostconfused said:
Fair enough. And again, your right. I'm sure its some crony's thought process of, "Hey, now we can make all games $60 and PC gamers will just have to deal because console player already have to pay it." Motives are surely greed, I just think there's some room to grow before the cost of a game compared to its inherent value (quality aside) enters ripoff land.
speedpop said:
That uniformly sucks. My sympathies.
Lostconfused
Member
This would make more sense if there was a variable pricing model in place. But I do agree that there are some games that I would consider paying more for than I actually did. But that doesn't mean they should be charging more. Because as we have seen that properly managed steam sales can lead to an overall increase in revenue, developers can make money when they charge less as long as they are smart about it and don't blow their budget.JoeBoy101 said:
Edit: Arguably its possible that for every digital sale they are making twice as much as they would have for a single sale at retail.
Edit: Anyways at this point the reaction is more emotional than rational. Nobody wants to support EA when they are so clear about trying to screw Steam and PC users in general.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
As others have said inflation is one thing, greed is another. My discontent is magnifieddue to EAs treatment of Steam recently and the consolization/ dummying down of the PC versions. I'd have an easier time paying $60 for the games that ironically will be $40-50 like Portal 2 and Red Orchestra 2.JoeBoy101 said:
I support this hostility towards EA.
I can't belief Shift was completely broken and they're locking 40 events and 3 cars to Shift 2 pre-orders. I don't care how good it turns out, I'm waiting for sub-10 dollars. I don't care if I have to wait 5 years. F them. They've clearly been breaking new ground recently.
I can't belief Shift was completely broken and they're locking 40 events and 3 cars to Shift 2 pre-orders. I don't care how good it turns out, I'm waiting for sub-10 dollars. I don't care if I have to wait 5 years. F them. They've clearly been breaking new ground recently.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Yup. I am still waiting for Shift 1 to hit $5 and I am a patient man.1-D_FTW said:
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
That's not too far from the truth. Prices are not chosen by adding a set profit on top of costs. That's a common business misconception.JoeBoy101 said:
JoeBoy101 said:
They are paying for packing materal, they aren't paying to ship all those boxes of games to stores, they aren't paying a cut to the publisher, the store, etc... They are also paying less per each game sold on the PC. So no I don't find it reasonable for them to be selling games at those prices, and refuse to pay those prices. That is why I wait for steam sales to buy anything, I haven't bought a full priced game in years, because of this.
I was at the Best Buy the other day and both Dawn of War 2 and its expansion was $29.99 a piece, which is $60 total + taxes would be $68. I got it on Steam, tax free for $15 due to a sale. I'm so happy Steam is around as an alternative.
BrassMonkey1010
Member
does Dead Space 1 have xbox controller support?
poppabk
Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Consoles require much more deliberate optimization to get the most out of the hardware. Even 'optimized' PC games are not really that well optimized.Zachack said:
Plus the entire QA on PC ports probably goes something like this:
"Did we change all the xbox prompts for keyboard prompts"
"Most of them......but they don't change when you configure the keys. And if you plug in a controller they disappear entirely"
"Good enough. Ship it"
BrassMonkey1010
Member
wsippel said:
Nice. Me and cousin are going to try and play it this weekend (we are pussys!)
Lostconfused
Member
Man that one guy working on the PC port must have had a helluva salary.Zachack said:
JoeBoy101 said:
You're ignoring the massive price drop that occurred when they stopped using cartridges. They could cost up to $30 to manufacture. That was a large chunk of the price of video games prior to the PS1.
Then the PS1 came out, and games were $40. Then $50 next generation. Now they're $60. So this whole "games haven't increased in price in 20 years!" stuff that everyone seems to peddle simply isn't true. They've increased 50% in 15 years. Whether you believe that was valid or not is up to you.
And now on the PC we've got digital distribution, and it's never been cheaper to release a video game to a wide audience. They don't have to pay manufacturing costs. They don't have to pay supply chain costs. They don't have to pay to print a manual. And, as usual, they don't have to pay licencing fees. Nevermind forgetting at the end of the day these aren't even games developed primarily for the PC. They are console ports that would cost very little to do.
They get more of a cut then they ever did, and now they want to raise prices? No thanks.
Lostconfused
Member
Guess you missed the little thread we had about it.coopolon said:
Minsc
Gold Member
Drkirby said:
Best thing is to get CrystalDiskMark and test the drives, the pictures don't tell me much.
I bet the problem that causes it to take longer than my inaccurate best-case scenario estimate is the non-SSD access time of the drives. A few of my Steam folders have like 1,000,000 files in them, that maybe total a few gigs. If there was 1 file it'd go the 100MB/s, but transferring all those 1,000,000 files individually will probably go much, much slower, as slow as a few MB/s.
Minsc said:
Yeah. Like the first thing I did with my new Samsung 1TB 7200RPM was transfer my Steam folder to it. The second thing I did was google what kind of transfer speeds I was supposed to be getting. Windows doesn't deal that great with tons of files. It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure I was mostly in the 40-60MB/sec range too. I might have hit much faster in spurts, but it was the exception.
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
PS1 games were about $60 after adjusting for inflation.legend166 said:
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Zachack said:
But it's very unlikely that those high QA costs have emerged in the last little while, meaning that either we suppose that publishers were "subsidizing" PC QA and still offering lower prices--which I find incredibly unlikely, or we suppose that the recent $10 hike the biggest publishers have given is unrelated.
speculawyer
Member
Well it costs money flip all the bits upside down!speedpop said:
Schmattakopf
Member
:lolspeculawyer said:
Huevos de Oro
Member
I couldn't pass on such a sweet deal. EUIII Complete and Heir to the Throne for 6 bucks total. I have the feeling I'm biting much more than I can chew, though. I've never played a grand strategy game before. Oh well, I'll start with the tutorials at least.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
BigAT said:
sorry about that, I bought a lot of stuff during the Christmas sale.
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
47.1%, according to this source.John said:
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