Steam Lunar New Year Sale - or, Valve come up with yet another excuse for a sale

[Boggit]

I didn't even know Thai's boxed at all. I thought they did Kung Fu. And I thought a Yak was a Water Buffalo. That had turned Orthodox. By being circumcised. Or was that castrated? I get the two confused because both are against my beliefs--- leave THAT area as just like you got it. Anyway, $30 for both DC games is a deal. Too bad I already have them.

ROFL! ;D Touché! Good reply Sir Slash.

[ArizonaTank]

this is the "Why would I ever pay full price" sale.

[Huw the Poo]

this is the "Why would I ever pay full price" sale.

And therein lies the problem.  All these ridiculous sales are devaluing games.  How many of us have a library full of games as yet unplayed, because they were bought at a deep discount "for a rainy day"?

Am I the only one feeling a touch of disquiet about the whole thing?

[-budd-]

this is the "Why would I ever pay full price" sale.

And therein lies the problem.  All these ridiculous sales are devaluing games.  How many of us have a library full of games as yet unplayed, because they were bought at a deep discount "for a rainy day"?

Am I the only one feeling a touch of disquiet about the whole thing?

nope your not the only one....but neither am i signing up to pay more ;)

I already picked up Vanishing of Ethan Carter and we'll get Bioshock infinite now that i have a computer to play it. That will be all.........I think

[sandman2575]

I never thought I'd reach the point of Steam Sale Fatigue, but with this completely unexpected (and seemingly pointless) sale, I think that's where I now am... 

[JasonPratt]

I was surprised at a number of games NOT on sale. (Not counting things like the Games Workshop franchises which were just on sale the other day, so naturally aren't now.)

[Huw the Poo]

Well, when the sale started isthereanydeal.com emailed to let me know that 56 games on my wishlist are on sale.  It's strange, but I was actually a tiny bit annoyed.  I'm fed up of the constant temptation to buy games that are always on sale.  I know some developers don't like it either, especially indies.  A number of them have spoken publicly about how they too feel their games are being devalued, and they have to set lower prices than they think is fair.  I'm always seeing comments on Steam about how £15 is apparently a lot of money for a brand new game.  What?  That's half the standard price for a new game, and now many developers feel like that's a maximum they can ever charge!

Then when a game you've been eyeing does get a discount, chances are a lot of other games you want are also discounted and even at the new lower prices you only have so much to spend.  Some of the games on my wishlist have been there literally for years.

I suppose the sheer number of games being developed these days has some bearing on it, but again, I can't help but feel a bit disquieted about the whole thing.  You're right though, Budd; even I'm not signing up to pay more either.

[Grim.Reaper]

I haven't even looked at anything myself....sales just aren't good enough anymore, typically I can find it just as cheap or cheaper through other distributors throughout the year, no need to wait.  Plus, even with these other services that track sales, I find it way too daunting going through all the sell items to even see if anything worth buying.  And since these sales pop up somewhat regularly, I don't feel as obliged to purchases right away as I did in the past....that last sentence scares me since I have always been an impulse buyer:)

[GibbyG]

I would think some developers are happy.  A good chunk of these games are old and probably don't sell much any more.  I have a lot of "rainy day" games too, games I never would have bothered to by without the steep discount.  So even though it isn't much, the developers are getting some additional income from me.

[Huw the Poo]

That's a good point challerain.  I have games that I've never played, so that's essentially free money for the devs.  Without a god's-eye view of all game purchasing statistics this discussion will never be more than academic I suppose.  The constant sales still annoy me though.

[Arctic Blast]

And oh hai, Helldivers Deluxe and Steve Jackson's Sorcery...

[Nefaro]

this is the "Why would I ever pay full price" sale.

And therein lies the problem.  All these ridiculous sales are devaluing games.  How many of us have a library full of games as yet unplayed, because they were bought at a deep discount "for a rainy day"?

Am I the only one feeling a touch of disquiet about the whole thing?

"Devaluing"?

They may be cheaper on an individual basis, but look at how many extra copies they've sold to all of us who didn't even plan on using them anytime soon, if ever.  I have so many un-played games, and quite a few may never get played, only because they were on a big sale at some point.  That's a success from a sales point of view.  I paid them for stuff I didn't need or necessarily even want at the time.  Brilliant.

I think they're being quite crafty at making all those extra sales which they would never have garnered at all in the first place. 

[Huw the Poo]

I've already conceded that point, Nef.  But you say as much yourself - we just pick up games without a second thought and don't even get around to playing them in some cases.  So, yes...devaluing.

[Father Ted]

I get the devaluing Huw.  I'd describe it as like buying a 2-for-1 deal on fresh food and then throwing half away because you're never going to eat it all.  There's no real loser commercially, but it still feels wasteful.  Also it means that you might pick up, as I have in the past, say, a Total War title, for peanuts and then not bother to do anything with it because, well, you only paid peanuts for it.  Again, there's no real loser, but it just feels wrong to me that all those hours game-development, and of potentially engrossing gameplay, can be picked up and then tossed aside like a magazine you bought to pass the time on the train.

[Huw the Poo]

Thanks Ted, that's much better than I put it.  You hit the nail right on the head.  I'm sure some developers do better than they might otherwise through these silly sales, but I'm equally sure others are hit by them.  Ultimately, it just doesn't feel right.  I rarely get excited about buying a game any more, I know that much.

Here's what Cliffski, developer at Positech, had to say about it in 2014.