Do people actually buy games from Steam?

Drakar

... with a physical copy

I'd quite happilly pay to avoid having to keep discs (which scratch, let lost etc), and installation keys, boxes, patches et al.

For me its always worth checking the difference, but sale stuff (xcom complete for $2 ffs) Steam's hard to beat.

The point is they can charge what they wish (like all companies), as consumers you have to make whatever is the correct decision for you (some people would be happy extra to predownload and play at midnight on day of release perhaps with some different pre-order bonuses, some would prefer to pre-order on one of the many other sites and save like €20/€30 for a day or two's wait, that decision is going to be different for many people and neither is "wrong").

Antar Bolaeisk

I buy quite a lot of games from Steam, for example I bought Dues Ex there the other day when it was on sale, but I very rarely pay the Euro prices as the Sterling prices are generally about 40% cheaper, more so in extreme cases. Thankfully there's someone who helps me out getting the games through the uk store.

tman

L31mr0d wrote: »

In saying all that, I hate Steam as an application. I hate having to open it everytime I want to play a game. I use it mostly in offline mode now due to constantly being forced to sit there and watch the updater hang at 99% for 5 minutes.

I got a bit sick of that too. Went to play a game that I hadn't played for a few weeks, but then had to wait around for ages while it downloaded a huge update. In the end I just gave up and set it to autostart with Windows and keep all of my games up to date, it's not exactly a resource hog if you just have it running in the background...

They do update it ridiculously frequently though, seems like barely a day goes by without a steam client update

To answer the OP - I generally just buy games when they're on offer, Steam sucks balls for new releases (even Valve's own games!)
Left 4 dead 2 is £30 at the moment, but I got it from Amazon shortly after release for half that!

Davidius

Drakar wrote: »

I'd quite happilly pay to avoid having to keep discs (which scratch, let lost etc), and installation keys, boxes, patches et al.

Well in the case of the Orange Box, you have to have Steam anyway and the physical copy will just be faster than a download. Either way, is it really worth €15 for the convenience of not being given a copy? That costs them less, why would you happily pay more? Personally I'd be of the mind that I should only pay more if it's actually warranted.

The point is they can charge what they wish (like all companies), as consumers you have to make whatever is the correct decision for you (some people would be happy extra to predownload and play at midnight on day of release perhaps with some different pre-order bonuses, some would prefer to pre-order on one of the many other sites and save like €20/€30 for a day or two's wait, that decision is going to be different for many people and neither is "wrong").

Of course they can charge what they wish but they still charge what they're getting away with. In certain cases I feel I can be a bit annoyed at the choices of other consumers. By buying through Steam they're keeping the prices at a level they should be nowhere near.

Coriolanus

They're damned if they do, damned if they don't.

If they went and leaned on all the distributors to let them sell at a lower rate than the bricks and mortars, we'd all be complaining that steam were killing the high street retail sector of pc gaming. :P

super_furry

Nevore wrote: »

They're damned if they do, damned if they don't.

If they went and leaned on all the distributors to let them sell at a lower rate than the bricks and mortars, we'd all be complaining that steam were killing the high street retail sector of pc gaming. :P

High street retail PC Gaming is dead. You're lucky if you get one small shelf hidden away in the corner of GAME or Gamestop and they're hopelessly out of date, with the likes of Tabula Rasa still for sale.

Coriolanus

super_furry wrote: »

High street retail PC Gaming is dead. You're lucky if you get one small shelf hidden away in the corner of GAME or Gamestop and they're hopelessly out of date, with the likes of Tabula Rasa still for sale.

Most people complain of the opposite, that it's near impossible to get anything but the new releases. *shrug*
And yeah, it more or less is, people would still be complaining if steam was exacerbating that for the last few years however.

tomhappens

The Steam sales are worth having an account for.

Other that that I have bought about 10 games from them but I am happy to wait until new releases hit the < 20 Euro mark.

I'd never have bought Stalker Clear sky.... but for 5 Euro you can't go wrong

VinLieger

I only buy steam stuff when its on sale and even then i still have a serious beef with the whole lack of an exchange rate so they just copy the price directly from dollars to euros which rips us off a huge amount and the VAT differences between us and the US

Nirnias

I emailed Steam about their prices a couple of weeks back and this is the responce i got back:

"Hello Stephen, Thank you for contacting Steam Support. Currently, the Steam Support Team provides support for technical issues only. We appreciate your feedback regarding the pricing in Steam. Being able to accept multiple currencies through Steam has been a feature that many of our users have been waiting for. We are always working with publishers to adjust prices to be in line with what you would find at local retailers and online shops. We are unable to allow users to purchase in other currencies that are not already listed on your local Steam Store. If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you. "

Doesnt really answer my question though.

Elessar

super_furry wrote: »

High street retail PC Gaming is dead. You're lucky if you get one small shelf hidden away in the corner of GAME or Gamestop and they're hopelessly out of date, with the likes of Tabula Rasa still for sale.

You should see Apple resellers: Only two weeks ago I saw a brand new unopened original copy of Deus Ex (big box!) for mac at a retail price of €49.95! And it probably only worked on powerpc macs!

Regarding steam, the way it was explained to me about online pricing was, publishers don't want cheaper online sales canabalising sales of retail games. So they are kept at a higher price. You also have to factor in the fact that there is a perceived premium about getting a game instantly online. And add in the fact that retailers themselves can price games at lower than RRP if they buy in bulk.

pwd

Yes i buy games from steam.
I find the features it provides useful. It's a convenient way of getting a game. The frequent special offers are often good value. I find it particularly useful to be able to uninstall and reinstall games without needing the discs.
I like it when a demo of a game is avaialable. I prefer to be able to see what sort of settings the game will run on on my computer, and I like to see if I enjoy the game.

Overheal

Nirnias wrote: »

I emailed Steam about their prices a couple of weeks back and this is the responce i got back:

"Hello Stephen, Thank you for contacting Steam Support. Currently, the Steam Support Team provides support for technical issues only. We appreciate your feedback regarding the pricing in Steam. Being able to accept multiple currencies through Steam has been a feature that many of our users have been waiting for. We are always working with publishers to adjust prices to be in line with what you would find at local retailers and online shops. We are unable to allow users to purchase in other currencies that are not already listed on your local Steam Store. If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you. "

Doesnt really answer my question though.

Sure it does.

Steam: "Our hands our tied. This is not a Technical Issue; its a Business Issue"

Steam is plenty capable, from a technical perspective, of displaying correct currency and local pricing to wherever you are browsing from... that is not the issue.

Publishers set their own prices on Steam. Im sure Steam isnt happy about it. You know they arent. Theyd love you to buy from them. But they have to respect the Publisher's demands/wishes, or lose them and their titles.

Nirnias

yeh but these would be the same publishers for the selling of the game in retail also. I use Steam to buy games when they are on sale or a good price. But iv never bought a new release from them cause they are always like 50 euro, whereas i can just go to Smyths and get the same game for maybe 30 or 35 euro.

They said its for technical issues only because i probably emailed the wrong department. Could of sworn i sent it to the sales email but must not of.

Sierra Oscar

They certainly do, game sales on Steam have increased by over 100% every year for the last few years and the membership of Steam increased by 200% from Feb 09 to Feb 10.:)

The large sales attract the most attention. Agreed that new games are usually pricey.

Overheal

Nirnias wrote: »

yeh but these would be the same publishers for the selling of the game in retail also. I use Steam to buy games when they are on sale or a good price. But iv never bought a new release from them cause they are always like 50 euro, whereas i can just go to Smyths and get the same game for maybe 30 or 35 euro.

They said its for technical issues only because i probably emailed the wrong department. Could of sworn i sent it to the sales email but must not of.

they said it was Not a technical issue:

"the Steam Support Team provides support for technical issues only."

witnessmenow

Overheal wrote: »

Sure it does.

Steam: "Our hands our tied. This is not a Technical Issue; its a Business Issue"

Steam is plenty capable, from a technical perspective, of displaying correct currency and local pricing to wherever you are browsing from... that is not the issue.

Publishers set their own prices on Steam. Im sure Steam isnt happy about it. You know they arent. Theyd love you to buy from them. But they have to respect the Publisher's demands/wishes, or lose them and their titles.

Thats a nice argument for steam, but what about valves in house games? who is twisting the arm there?

Overheal

witnessmenow wrote: »

Thats a nice argument for steam, but what about valves in house games? who is twisting the arm there?

My guess is thats the publishers they use to sell their titles Brick and Mortar. And on Xbox Live, etc.

mewso

I love the way Valve always get a pass over their prices. It's always the publishers and noble Valve have tried their best in our imaginations to keep the price down. I doubt it. If I want to buy MW2 right now it will cost me €59.99 on steam or I could try Gamesplanet and get it for £34.99. Hmm both digital stores.

I think it's naive not to expect Valve to be playing a serious part in the resulting price. They are the most popular online store and they want to get their piece of the pie. All I ever hear in the Steam prices argument is it's the publishers. It's just not that simple imo.

marco_polo

mewso wrote: »

I love the way Valve always get a pass over their prices. It's always the publishers and noble Valve have tried their best in our imaginations to keep the price down. I doubt it. If I want to buy MW2 right now it will cost me €59.99 on steam or I could try Gamesplanet and get it for £34.99. Hmm both digital stores.

I think it's naive not to expect Valve to be playing a serious part in the resulting price. They are the most popular online store and they want to get their piece of the pie. All I ever hear in the Steam prices argument is it's the publishers. It's just not that simple imo.

I wouldn't give them a free pass, and indeed some of what they say is not reflected in their pricing strategies for there own games. However it is not quite that simple as EA are the retail publisher for Left4Dead for example, so presumeably this contract would be a complicating factor and may not allow agressive digital undercutting. The guy on steamreview make a good point about large sellers of the retail version like Amazon not approving as well.

Just on the MW2 prices there is the known 100% euro rip off that Valve are definately 100% guilty of to factor in. The UK price is 39.99 pounds (Still friggin dear). Hoping against hope that the EU will sort this out some day.

Because of the fact that they release all their DLC for free and show signs of rampant greed on that front, means I would certainly take much more of what they say at face value TBH. Maybe all this free DLC just a cunning plan on valves part to gain our trust:p

KeithM89_old

Once Steam comes to Mac next month il definitely be buying a few games - especially Portal 2

Fnz

There are some reasons, but no excuse, for games to be more expensive when distributed via Steam.

It's a shame the Euro pricing wasn't rejected outright by Valves customers.

Spunog UIE

The thing is tho when Steam first came out they marketed themselves a new cheaper way to deliver games and for a while they were cheaper than anyone. Then they refocused their business and viewed themselves not just a seller but started to put more emphasis onto the service aspect, delivery, updates, and of course community gaming.

When they started to offer prices in euro and used a direct rate of 1dollar = 1 euro is when the prices started to go mad and they haven't really recoverd to what they a reasonable price for new games since from what I can see.

It's still a fantastic service tho and I love buying games with them for all the benifits people have already outlined, I just wish new releases were back down to the normal 35-40euro price. 40euros would definitly be my price limit for a pc game Their christmas sales this year were excellant and I now have a tonne of games that might not even get to play.

Something that ya should watch out for tho is that you can buy some games in the retail shops, install it as normal, and then activate it on steam with very little downloading. They tend to be valve's own games tho, the last one I got was Left 4 Dead 2, which I got for 33euro while it was being sold on Steam for close to 60! The bizzare thing about it was that you can only play left4dead2 on steam, its a steam only game, so my 33euro got me a case, a dvd, and delivery with absolultely no difference other than price and downloading than if I had bought it on steam to begin with. Same thing with CODMW:2

cherryghost

thing is, sales would be bolstered if the prices were cheaper too. and less physical disks and manufacturing would be required too. it's all a bit topsy turvy, really

Fnz

cherryghost wrote: »

thing is, sales would be bolstered if the prices were cheaper too. and less physical disks and manufacturing would be required too. it's all a bit topsy turvy, really

Or, maybe, having the the price so high guarantees that people go nucking futs any time they have a sale.

I've seen people say "oh great, I've been waiting for Title X to come down in price" when it could have been bought for that price (or cheaper) from other online stores.

Sierra Oscar

witnessmenow wrote: »

Thats a nice argument for steam, but what about valves in house games? who is twisting the arm there?

Well, Valves own games are cheaper than most other titles - or at least the prices do come down. Take Left 4 Dead 2, its €29.99. Modern Warfare 2 which came out around the same time is still €59.99.

Also, Valve have pretty much totally moved away from the concept of having all of their games on Steam cheaper than retail alternatives. As Spunog pretty much summed up, they changed their strategy to improve and build the Steam client package in order to attract people to buy games on Steam (Hence the release of the Steam Community, Steam Cloud and so on). That's because they realized that they could not get publishers on board if the publishers did not have a major input into the pricing . . . if Valve kept pushing the issue there would be far fewer games on Steam.

No doubt the customer is getting shafted in regards the pricing either way anyways.:(

thebman

L4D2 was more expensive on steam or just as expensive as in store.

I don't buy new releases from there. I used to but they started taking the p*** seriously and I can walk into game and buy a Pc game cheaper than on Steam now for a new release.

For other games I consider it but for new releases not anymore. The prices are too expensive.

I waited for them to reduce the price on L4D2 before purchasing and was strongly considering skipping it and kind of wish I had now as its a lot more fun but harder to get good games than the original.

Sierra Oscar

Well the great thing with SteamWorks games is that you can buy them in a retail store at the cheaper price and still get all the features of Steam. I would always go for the cheapest price, especially if it is a SteamWorks game.

wayne040576

It's not just steam though in terms of the high prices. All of the bigger digital distro sites have higher prices, Steam, Impulse, gamersgate and direct2drive.
For example, I was just looking at Mount and blade warband a few minutes ago. It's 29.99 on steam, gamersgate and 25 pounds sterling on d2d (about 29 euro). It's only 21 on impulse and 17 on Amazon.

Impulse is probably the best deal there when you take the postage cost from amazon into account. Although if I remember correct, they now do the free super saver post to Ireland?
UPDATE: Tried it there. No super saver delivery on this item. 6 euro postage.

A few weeks back, Metro 2033 was 49 on steam. I got it for 29 sterling on Eurogamer/gamesplanet. They just sent me a code to register on steam.

Steam is good for smaller titles and the ocasional sale when they actually are cheaper then the shops.

Spunog UIE

wayne040576 wrote: »

It's only 21 on impulse and 17 on Amazon.
Impulse is probably the best deal there when you take the postage cost from amazon into account. Although if I remember correct, they now do the free super saver post to Ireland?
UPDATE: Tried it there. No super saver delivery on this item. 6 euro postage.

Amazon super saver delivery kicks in once your purchase goes over 25 quid. Actually I think thats where I got Left4Dead2 from for 33quid.