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Steam Winter Sales 2012 | Deal quality keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'

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D

Delusibeta

Banned
PaulLFC said:
Can't be that much otherwise they wouldn't do it. They've run vouchers before, plenty of times. If it wasn't good for them as a business then they wouldn't do it.
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Bluntly, I have no idea how Green Man Gaming is still in business. I realise the majority of the costs come from running the servers, but their prices, when combined with the DFS-esque regularity of their vouchers, regularly reach nonsensical lows. I think some publishers (mainly 2k here) are getting wise to their antics, however.
 
F

Foliorum Viridum

Banned
Derrick01 said:
What sales? All I see are EA-caliber deals and Amazon/GMG are the new Steam.

Hell these sales aren't even that far away from PSN level anymore :eek:
Click to expand...

The majority of my wishlist are 60-75% off. Just because we might not be getting the insane 90% deals like we used to, or that some of the newer games aren't dropping as fast, doesn't mean these sales still aren't great.
 
M

Mavromatis

Member
JaseC said:
Indeed there is: Activision had Eastern Euro MW2 keys removed from Steam accounts not based there, although I assume this applied only to those who'd played the game online as my copy is still intact.
Click to expand...

I think GamersGate just revoked their license to sell Steam Keys.
Ju8ib.jpg

Sorry couldn't make it to a proper pun.
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
Chriswok said:
If you want a Game of Thrones game, buy Crusader Kings II and download the Game of Thrones mod.
Click to expand...

This. God damn this.

It's probably the best possible Game of Thrones game we could get. A 3D action/RPG can't properly emulate it unless they decide to just focus on 1 character, and that flies in the face of one of the series biggest strengths which is jumping around and focusing on 4 different stories at once.
 
W

Wthermans

Banned
Delusibeta said:
GTFO. It's three months old.

Seriously, there's a definite stench of entitlement hanging over this thread. "Oh, I want this popular indie game that was released three months ago for three bucks!", "Oh, I will QQ if I get an automatic refund on a blatant pricing error!", "Oh publishers are ripping us off by not charging the same price on any website!". Please, just get out. (Especially the last complaint. There's literally no reason other than sheer laziness and your bank being dicks to not just buy on the cheapest site especially if the game comes in the form of a Steam key)
Click to expand...

How about no?

It has nothing to do with entitlement and everything to do with consumer tendencies. Tell me why I would spend more than I value on a game? Especially on an indie game that is more likely to increase my backlog than actually provide me enjoyment? The fact of the matter is that this Steam sale DOES suck compared to previous sales. Gone are the standard 75% off sales we had in years past. Instead we're left with standard 50% off sales with the random 66% off while we search GMG, GOG, Amazon and the other DD sources out there. As another poster said, Steam is getting to be the PSN/Xbox Live of PC sales.

I still look forward to 1PM EST every day to view the sales (and still eagerly await the Flash and Community sale timers), but my excitement has certainly waned compared to previous years due to the lackluster offers presented thusfar.

Foliorum Viridum said:
The majority of my wishlist are 60-75% off. Just because we might not be getting the insane 90% deals like we used to, or that some of the newer games aren't dropping as fast, doesn't mean these sales still aren't great.
Click to expand...

They aren't great. They are the equivalent of other competitors (and even surpassed by some of them). Compared to previous years, they are extremely lackluster.

atomic moth said:
If this FTL price is too much for you then go play the games in your backlog and wait for another sale.

If you have no games left in your backlog, then buy FTL. It's 50% off.

Win/win situation here, folks.
Click to expand...

Which is exactly what I'm doing and have done for many of the Steam Dailies/Flash sales. I'm continuing the actions I've done since the Autumn sale (and the Summer sale prior to that) and will check again for MidWeek and Weekend Deals until the next Summer sale rolls around).

Just because people say that the current sale is not worth it compared to previous does NOT mean they are abandoning all further Steam sales. Personally I'm still holding out hope that we get a nice Flash/Community/Daily which is on my wishlist and surpasses the deals we've received only a month ago.

I H8 Memes said:
Then you can wait an appropriate amount of time for a game to fall to the price point you want it at. XCOM, Dishonored, Hitman Absolution, FTL, all of these game are at most 2 months old. When have we ever gotten 75% off of a major release that was 2 months old???
Click to expand...


I certainly plan to wait. Just like I have done for every game release since the original Steam Holiday Sale started. FTL is not a major release and that was the only title I cited. I don't expect Xcom/Dishonored or Hitman to be more than 50% off, but I do expect an indie title to drop to 75% off since there have been many others that have in previous sales. Combined with the fact that FTL is not a game that I would normally play and you can certainly see my apathy towards the current sale.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Shorty11857 said:
Well it'd be surprising if publishers were giving GMG better prices than Steam, I mean makes sense with Amazon since they're so massive but I doubt GMG can
Click to expand...

I'd wager it's not publishers taking a smaller cut from GMG, but the other way around.
 
I

I H8 Memes

Member
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
I wonder how much longer that will last though if the current trend continues. I mean some of the discounts are massive in difference. Lego LOTR is $20.xx on steam right now and was $7.50 on amazon. The only thing I've bought from steam recently is stuff that is still only on steam. If it was a buck or two I don't think it would matter but some are becoming pretty large differences in price that are no longer negligible.
Click to expand...

I would expect Steam to either no longer allow Steamworks games to be sold by other retailers, or offer the option of Steamworks games only sold through Steam, and let other retailers only sell non-Steamworks versions. When you think about it, it's pretty easy for other DD stores to undersell Steam when they don't have to worry about bandwidth costs. It's 100% profit for them.

For us this means the dream is over for having a centralized library. Amazon, greenmangaming, gamersgate, Origin, Steam, + how many more. We are going to have to run a dozen programs to have access to our full game library.


Wthermans said:
How about no?

It has nothing to do with entitlement and everything to do with consumer tendencies. Tell me why I would spend more than I value on a game? Especially on an indie game that is more likely to increase my backlog than actually provide me enjoyment? The fact of the matter is that this Steam sale DOES suck compared to previous sales. Gone are the standard 75% off sales we had in years past. Instead we're left with standard 50% off sales with the random 66% off while we search GMG, GOG, Amazon and the other DD sources out there. As another poster said, Steam is getting to be the PSN/Xbox Live of PC sales.

I still look forward to 1PM EST every day to view the sales (and still eagerly await the Flash and Community sale timers), but my excitement has certainly waned compared to previous years due to the lackluster offers presented thusfar.
Click to expand...


Then you can wait an appropriate amount of time for a game to fall to the price point you want it at. XCOM, Dishonored, Hitman Absolution, FTL, all of these game are at most 2 months old. When have we ever gotten 75% off of a major release that was 2 months old???
 
M

M.D

Member
Madouu said:
Just to let people know that I bought both the Bethesda bundle and Football Manager from Gamersgate only to have my account deleted with only an email notice after it had been done. I have contacted their support three days ago and I still haven't received a response with any reasons to why they have locked my account. But I am willing to be patient since this is a holydays period.

I was able to grab my FM key as well as 3 Bethesda keys before they closed my account and they are working fine. I assume I'm at the risk of having them disabled any time though.

Meanwhile, I have also received a refund (which I didn't ask for) for my football manager payment. I have not received any refund for the Bethesda bundle.

The way they handle their business seems amateurish to me, and I must say that I regret now having bought anything from them.

I will keep you posted.
Click to expand...

That really sucks, hope you get this sorted
I don't think I'll be buying from them again anything soon... I just hope me and everyone else can get their refunds without any issues
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
Prelithe said:
Wow. I thought they were only going to refund packs that didn't access any codes... Now this, they're actually going to lose even more.
Click to expand...

Could be a legal issue. If they don't refund the entire thing, they could be obligated to provide keys for everything. In the end, it might just be that they'll lose less by refunding orders and cutting their losses. The outstanding keys would probably cost much more to fulfill.
 
D

Delusibeta

Banned
Derrick01 said:
What sales? All I see are EA-caliber deals and Amazon/GMG are the new Steam.

Hell these sales aren't even that far away from PSN level anymore :eek:
Click to expand...

...

Have you seen an EA sale? Last week, it was buy a full price game, get its prequel, which coincided with Steam making a mockery of it by sticking a "everything involving Crysis" bundle for 25% of the asking price of EA's version. EA is worse than Sony when it comes to sales.
 
K

kitzkozan

Member
Zimbardo said:
those lackluster steam sales. its gotta be because the publishers want to try and leech as much as they can from steam customers. they know steam has the highest user base, so they wanna keep the prices higher to make more profit.

and gamersgate taking back the bethesda collection, etc? that's some bullshit right there ...if an order went through, that should be the end of it. you win.
Click to expand...

I'm sure publishers do want more money and Valve as well since the userbase must be significant at this point, so it's interesting to see what will happen with GMG and Amazon.

I'm sure most of us are happy with the gmg deals, but where's the profit for them? If gmg is currently growing, the 30% coupons will eventually go away. I'll give them credit for coming through with the best deals thus far (Sleeping dogs for 7$ is insane), forcing me to disregard the steam sale prices. How long will it last however?
 
I

inky

Member
Delusibeta said:
...

Have you seen an EA sale? Last week, it was buy a full price game, get its prequel, which coincided with Steam making a mockery of it by sticking a "everything involving Crysis" bundle for 25% of the asking price of EA's version. EA is worse than Sony when it comes to sales.
Click to expand...

Buy FIFA 13 for $50, get FIFA 12!!! Great deal EA, Merry Christmas to you too.
 
S

Shorty11857

Member
Have a few keys from Humble Bundle VII

Binding of Isaac + Wrath of the Lamb
The Basement Collection
Cave Story+

Just quote and tell me the game you want
 
M

M.D

Member
The Bethesda collection is now gone from my library, but still not email (got no email when I purchased it as well) or refund on PayPal
 
X

x3r0123

Member
Mavromatis said:
Don't worry people. I asked Steam Support to improve the sale. Hold tight while we get amazing sales tomorrow!
http://i.imgur.com/WuR81.png[IMG][/QUOTE]

ok so in valve time, we'll get it for sure

[quote="Shorty11857, post: 45807938"]Have a few keys from Humble Bundle VII

Binding of Isaac + Wrath of the Lamb
The Basement Collection
Cave Story+

Just quote and tell me the game you want[/QUOTE]

CS+
Click to expand...
 
A

alstein

Member
Delusibeta said:
GTFO. It's three months old.

Seriously, there's a definite stench of entitlement hanging over this thread. "Oh, I want this popular indie game that was released three months ago for three bucks!", "Oh, I will QQ if I get an automatic refund on a blatant pricing error!", "Oh publishers are ripping us off by not charging the same price on any website!". Please, just get out. (Especially the last complaint. There's literally no reason other than sheer laziness and your bank being dicks to not just buy on the cheapest site especially if the game comes in the form of a Steam key)
Click to expand...

It's entitlement that the publishers/sellers of games have brought on themselves. All these sales have cheapened the value of games in our eyes. Great for us as consumers, bad for the folks who need to charge full price to make a profit.

We have so many games, that many of us can wait for the 75%'s on most titles. I got no problem using other sites, but I'm not as Steam-reliant as many of you guys. I'm ok with Steam, but I don't need it. About half my games are still non-Steam.
 
Z

Zaraki_Kenpachi

Member
I H8 Memes said:
I would expect Steam to either no longer allow Steamworks games to be sold by other retailers, or offer the option of Steamworks games only sold through Steam, and let other retailers only sell non-Steamworks versions. When you think about it, it's pretty easy for other DD stores to undersell Steam when they don't have to worry about bandwidth costs. It's 100% profit for them.

For us this means the dream is over for having a centralized library. Amazon, greenmangaming, gamersgate, Origin, Steam, + how many more. We are going to have to run a dozen programs to have access to our full game library.


How about no?

It has nothing to do with entitlement and everything to do with consumer tendencies. Tell me why I would spend more than I value on a game? Especially on an indie game that is more likely to increase my backlog than actually provide me enjoyment? The fact of the matter is that this Steam sale DOES suck compared to previous sales. Gone are the standard 75% off sales we had in years past. Instead we're left with standard 50% off sales with the random 66% off while we search GMG, GOG, Amazon and the other DD sources out there. As another poster said, Steam is getting to be the PSN/Xbox Live of PC sales.

I still look forward to 1PM EST every day to view the sales (and still eagerly await the Flash and Community sale timers), but my excitement has certainly waned compared to previous years due to the lackluster offers presented thusfar.


Then you can wait an appropriate amount of time for a game to fall to the price point you want it at. XCOM, Dishonored, Hitman Absolution, FTL, all of these game are at most 2 months old. When have we ever gotten 75% off of a major release that was 2 months old???
Click to expand...

Eh, it would be interesting if steam did that but I'm assuming they still get a cut of those keys since they have to be bought from steam (as far as I know from amazon starting to stock them) so it should be interesting. And it's not like all keys redeem where amazon or other competitors have 0 bandwidth costs. Either way we'll find out soon enough, still interesting though.
 
M

Mavromatis

Member
I don't know where to activate this game but I have it on Steam already.
So I'm giving it away. Theatre of War 2
Just a reminder it's from the famous GamersGate.

Quote this to get it, and please reply if you take it.
 
cicero

cicero

Member
Foliorum Viridum said:
The majority of my wishlist are 60-75% off. Just because we might not be getting the insane 90% deals like we used to, or that some of the newer games aren't dropping as fast, doesn't mean these sales still aren't great.
Click to expand...

But clearly they aren't AS great as they were, and then add in the removal of their achievements/meta-game and you have the recipe for an inferior sale that isn't nearly as fun or exciting as previous sales.
 
D

Delusibeta

Banned
inky said:
Buy FIFA 13 for $50, get FIFA 12!!! Great deal EA, Merry Christmas to you too.
Click to expand...

Yeah. It's basically equivalent to pointing at the ongoing Xbox Live sale (admittedly the best XBL sale in recent memory, hands down, but still terrible by PC gaming standards) and proclaiming it better than this Steam Sale.
 
1

1-D_FTW

Member
0, 33, 0, 25, 50, 35, 50, 25, 25, 25, 25, 35, 25, 50, 40, 50, 33, 50, 25, 50, 0, 0, 66

That's my wishlist right now. A number of those are Daily's right now. Including Sleeping Dogs at 66.

Would have just bought Sleeping Dogs for 12 + 6 dollars credit at GMG, but apparently my Paypal balance is treated like a bank and said "bank" rejects GMG on gambling grounds.
 
P

PaulLFC

Member
YianGaruga said:
Profit is not the only thing a business needs, especially when you are just starting. 30% is a typical profit margin for these stores, and I can imagine them completely pass on it to build a large userbase. It seems like it's working so far.
Click to expand...
True, although GMG have been around for a while and will presumably have a decent sized userbase, even if it's nothing on the size of Steam's. More users is always nice, but they're going to want to make some profit somewhere.

Delusibeta said:
Bluntly, I have no idea how Green Man Gaming is still in business. I realise the majority of the costs come from running the servers, but their prices, when combined with the DFS-esque regularity of their vouchers, regularly reach nonsensical lows. I think some publishers (mainly 2k here) are getting wise to their antics, however.
Click to expand...
It does surprise me how cheap some stuff can be, but I'd be surprised if they don't want to make money - this plan will be working for them somewhere, otherwise they'd just stop the voucher.
 
Z

Zaraki_Kenpachi

Member
Torraz said:
Didn't other people in this thread say that amazon sold it for 7.50?!
Click to expand...

They did for just christmas day I believe, it's still only been out a month and I think most of us were floored that amazon would offer it that low. It's really not shocking at all that it's 33% off, that's just a moronic complaint. And if you were that worried I would think you would have picked it up at amazon since the likelihood of steam beating that price was 0%.
 
B

buhdeh

Member
Wthermans said:
How about no?

It has nothing to do with entitlement and everything to do with consumer tendencies. Tell me why I would spend more than I value on a game? Especially on an indie game that is more likely to increase my backlog than actually provide me enjoyment? The fact of the matter is that this Steam sale DOES suck compared to previous sales. Gone are the standard 75% off sales we had in years past. Instead we're left with standard 50% off sales with the random 66% off while we search GMG, GOG, Amazon and the other DD sources out there. As another poster said, Steam is getting to be the PSN/Xbox Live of PC sales.
Click to expand...

Then don't buy the game. Valve doesn't owe you anything. Why are you even complaining that a game you don't even want isn't cheap enough?
 
cicero

cicero

Member
I H8 Memes said:
I would expect Steam to either no longer allow Steamworks games to be sold by other retailers, or offer the option of Steamworks games only sold through Steam, and let other retailers only sell non-Steamworks versions. When you think about it, it's pretty easy for other DD stores to undersell Steam when they don't have to worry about bandwidth costs. It's 100% profit for them.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make sense, what would be the point of them pushing Steamworks as a DRM solution then? So you think the Publishers, after having been sold on digital copies of their product being pushed with Steamworks, are going to suddenly revert back to physical only copies with activation codes, or propping up Steam alone and turning them into a monopoly overnight? A monopoly that would then control and pressure the publishers?
 
W

Wthermans

Banned
buhdeh said:
Then don't buy the game. Valve doesn't owe you anything. Why are you even complaining that a game you don't even want isn't cheap enough?
Click to expand...

Can you please cite where I said they owe me anything? I believe you'll be hardpressed to find any citation.

I do want FTL, but not enough to only pay 50% of the MSRP during the "best sale of the year" for the platform I prefer.
 
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