Holiday sales...the darkside.

Jarhead0331 · December 31, 2013, 07:01:15 AM

So I'm getting pretty tired of the holiday sales. They are totally predictable and totally lackluster. There is really nothing out there that I truly consider an exciting bargain that I don't already have, or that has not been available in a holiday sale for years prior. The worst part? The sales seem to place a freeze on the rest of the gaming world. Nothing new gets released, no new content, no new patches, no updates, nothing on the horizon is advertised or marketed...its like the entire gaming world goes into hibernation. Heck, its damn near impossible to even find the future release section on steam.

I understand that a lot of people take vacation and things in general slow down this time of year, but still, its a business and these days, downtime tends to be more limited in the retail environment. Here, however, the world seems to stop from the week before Christmas to the week after New Years. Too long in my opinion. Get back to work!

Grim.Reaper · December 31, 2013, 07:15:54 AM

I do agree the holiday sales have been less than exciting, although I picked up a few minor things that went pretty cheap, but overall nothing too special. Think we are just at a time when sales/cheap prices are more frequent throughout the year so everything seems the same to us, unlike when they first came out a few years ago.

However, I am not sure the holiday sales have anything to do with the lack of new releases/patches/user support at this time of year. Its just a traditional time of year when a lot of folks have vacation/time-off (therefore, not a lot of support around) and a lot of companies go into "freeze" mode because of year end closing activities they need to complete. My company goes into a freeze starting in the 2nd week of December through mid January where nothing but critical items get released. Likely depends on the type of business your in, but in the software business, not uncommon at all to go into some form of a year-end freeze.

I have also had a number of my games get patches in the later part of December, although maybe not considered the bigger title software (Wings Over Flanders Field, Football Manager, ActionPC Baseball, etc.)

But in the end, I am with you, after this dead part of the year, I am ready for everyone to get back to providing us more stuff!!!!! :) Let's hope 2014 turns out to be a good year.

Slick Wilhelm · December 31, 2013, 09:16:32 AM

You must have a great deal more of free time than me, Jarhead. I've got such a backlog of games I've purchased but haven't spent more than 15 minutes with, that I could probably play for three years solid without running out of them.

A lot of businesses go into hibernation mode at this time of year, and for good reason. They've squeezed their employees' brains night & day for the big push to release something in Q4, and once that's done, everybody finally gets to take a break and recharge the batteries.

I worked at IBM for ten years, and during that time, all major releases were scheduled to ship right before a major holiday. This had the effect of making sure everyone worked round the clock to finish so that we could actually take a vacation during the holidays instead of working through the holidays(which happened a few times).

IBM management was great at squeezing every last ounce of juice from you, then send out a magnanimous email at the end of the year, encouraging you to take time off and spend time with loved ones, etc. It was all a bunch of BS, of course, but that's how IBM plays the game. I'm sure many other software houses are similar.

Anyway, back to your point...I guess it all depends on how many games you own.

Ubercat · December 31, 2013, 09:31:52 AM

You reminded me of this bit.

Get back to work before I give ya a beatin'!

Jarhead0331 · December 31, 2013, 09:33:01 AM

Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on December 31, 2013, 09:16:32 AM
You must have a great deal more of free time than me, Jarhead. I've got such a backlog of games I've purchased but haven't spent more than 15 minutes with, that I could probably play for three years solid without running out of them.

A lot of businesses go into hibernation mode at this time of year, and for good reason. They've squeezed their employees' brains night & day for the big push to release something in Q4, and once that's done, everybody finally gets to take a break and recharge the batteries.

I worked at IBM for ten years, and during that time, all major releases were scheduled to ship right before a major holiday. This had the effect of making sure everyone worked round the clock to finish so that we could actually take a vacation during the holidays instead of working through the holidays(which happened a few times).

IBM management was great at squeezing every last ounce of juice from you, then send out a magnanimous email at the end of the year, encouraging you to take time off and spend time with loved ones, etc. It was all a bunch of BS, of course, but that's how IBM plays the game. I'm sure many other software houses are similar.

Anyway, back to your point...I guess it all depends on how many games you own.

I can guaranty that I do not have more free time than you. I'm an attorney working in the NYC metro area, a guard reservist and I have a 7 month old at home. However, I can also guaranty you that I have a terrible case of gaming ADD, which is likely the cause of my anxiousness.

I'm also not moved by the argument that employees who work in the gaming industry are in serious need of a long term break. I'm at my clients' beck and call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It never ends and even when I'm on vacation, I have my laptop and smartphone and I'm working. The only time I get a break to recharge my batteries is when I'm unemployed.

Take a few days off. Ok. Don't work on Christmas. Don't work on New Years Eve, but other than that? BACK TO THE COAL MINES!

Tpek · December 31, 2013, 10:20:19 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 31, 2013, 07:01:15 AM
So I'm getting pretty tired of the holiday sales. They are totally predictable and totally lackluster. There is really nothing out there that I truly consider an exciting bargain that I don't already have, or that has not been available in a holiday sale for years prior. The worst part? The sales seem to place a freeze on the rest of the gaming world. Nothing new gets released, no new content, no new patches, no updates, nothing on the horizon is advertised or marketed...its like the entire gaming world goes into hibernation. Heck, its damn near impossible to even find the future release section on steam.

I understand that a lot of people take vacation and things in general slow down this time of year, but still, its a business and these days, downtime tends to be more limited in the retail environment. Here, however, the world seems to stop from the week before Christmas to the week after New Years. Too long in my opinion. Get back to work!

+1

Quite true, except:
1) We've already got pretty much everything. So massive sales are no longer so "massive" for us anymore.
2) Patches still get released. The reduced rate of patching is because of the holidays rather than the "sales".

Slick Wilhelm · December 31, 2013, 10:30:00 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 31, 2013, 09:33:01 AM

Take a few days off. Ok. Don't work on Christmas. Don't work on New Years Eve, but other than that? BACK TO THE COAL MINES!

I've had a few bosses with that attitude. They never could understand or empathize with people who weren't also of the same mindset. That's why I won't work for those types anymore.

I respect your desire/need to work 24x7x365, but I also expect...nay, demand, that others respect my need for work/life balance. I'm old enough now to not be afraid to tell the workaholics to enjoy that lifestyle, but they can go f*$@K themselves if they think I'm going to do that anymore.

Whatever floats yer boat. I know what floats mine and I'm no longer compromising.

mirth · December 31, 2013, 10:33:07 AM

The holidays are for playing the backlog of games I already have. No need to worry about what's on sale or what new releases are in the queue!

PanzersEast · December 31, 2013, 10:34:50 AM

Don't worry Jarhead... I've got ya covered.

PE

tgb · December 31, 2013, 10:38:27 AM

I've purchased more this sales season then ever before - 17 games in the last month and counting. I attribute that to 2 things: lower prices than ever on a lot of titles (I bought several games for less than $5, and a few gems for about 80 cents), and the fact that my business was down through most of the year to the point that I didn't want to spend money on games I might have bought otherwise at release.

Still, 17 games and I only spent $120, so I guess I'm set until the Summer sales start

Greybriar · December 31, 2013, 11:08:18 AM

Those who benefit most from these holiday sales are the gamers who didn't rush in and buy games when they were first released. I snagged Might & Magic Heroes VI: Complete Edition for $9.99 and there are similar savings for many other recent titles. It's like the proverb, "All things come to those who wait."

Slick Wilhelm · December 31, 2013, 11:12:15 AM

Quote from: PanzersEast on December 31, 2013, 10:34:50 AM
Don't worry Jarhead... I've got ya covered.

PE

Wow, PE, that's a beautiful F-16. Is that shot from a Falcon 4.0 mod? I tried to get into jets many times, but my poor feeble brain can't handle that much activity.

Rayfer · December 31, 2013, 11:18:25 AM

Quote from: Greybriar on December 31, 2013, 11:08:18 AM
Those who benefit most from these holiday sales are the gamers who didn't rush in and buy games when they were first released. I snagged Might & Magic Heroes VI: Complete Edition for $9.99 and there are similar savings for many other recent titles. It's like the proverb, "All things come to those who wait."

You nailed it....at least from my perspective you did. I rarely ever buy new releases at full price because inevitably they are on sale for 50% off in 6 months then 75% in a year....I can wait, I have a back log of games to play. The exception is the hardcore wargames from Matrix, HPS and Battlefront that don't have those types of sales.

endfire79 · December 31, 2013, 11:30:22 AM

I'm on call as well, and looking at another field-trip to UK end of January. On call with the client, and with the engineering/development team I support. The lead up to Q4 was very hectic, but heck the whole year was hectic, but we made our milestones and we got the paycheck. My current client base is military, so Christmas has basically no activity. The civil aviation department has more activity though, although we try to get our deployment people home for the holidays, unless they want to stay or if there's a product or service that needs attention.

There's tons of people who don't have holidays this time of year around the world, and they have development teams as well who are eager for the work. It is a 24-7 industry, and lots of competition. Someone can definitely pick up the slack.

Tpek · December 31, 2013, 01:23:05 PM

Quote from: Greybriar on December 31, 2013, 11:08:18 AM
Those who benefit most from these holiday sales are the gamers who didn't rush in and buy games when they were first released. I snagged Might & Magic Heroes VI: Complete Edition for $9.99 and there are similar savings for many other recent titles. It's like the proverb, "All things come to those who wait."

But that exact sale comes at least once a month somewhere.
I already got this deal last year as an example.