Codemasters STEAM Pricing

Gimpymoo · 20 May 2009 at 13:33

So, I asked on their forum why they choose to price their products so un-competitively.

http://community.codemasters.com/forum/showthread.php?t=354572

What a crock of a reply in my opinion.

The last response I feel in NO WAY answers anything I have asked.

Aloreth · 20 May 2009 at 13:41

You are complaining that you can get it cheaper elsewhere - they are telling you that you are more than welcome to buy it elsewhere!

The reason you want to buy it through steam is that steam is awesome - I admit their pricing policies are a bit steep but it isnt up to you to control their company. Using phrases like 'STEAM pricing structure as it is currently a very old fashioned way of doing buisness with a modern distribution system' doesnt really make any sense. They have a unique product and are chosing to milk it. When a competitor arrives the prices will drop.

If people are buying it why drop the price?

Deanje · 20 May 2009 at 13:51

Gimpymoo said:
The last response I feel in NO WAY answers anything I have asked.

I'd say it does.
You posed the question "Why are you pricing them soo high?" in regards to the Steam pricing, the CR pointed out that they set the RRP and that the retailer decides on their price based upon this.

So, you should really be ranting about Steam and not Codemasters.

IdburnU · 20 May 2009 at 13:56

Aloreth said:
You are complaining that you can get it cheaper elsewhere - they are telling you that you are more than welcome to buy it elsewhere!

The reason you want to buy it through steam is that steam is awesome - I admit their pricing policies are a bit steep but it isnt up to you to control their company. Using phrases like 'STEAM pricing structure as it is currently a very old fashioned way of doing buisness with a modern distribution system' doesnt really make any sense. They have a unique product and are chosing to milk it. When a competitor arrives the prices will drop.

If people are buying it why drop the price?

Excellent post and that pretty much nails it. I don't get why people continue to pay more for less with Steam, but the fact is a lot do and as long as they continue to do so that essentially validates the prices that Valve is charging.

Codemasters is basically saying in a politically correct way that they don't control the pricing, aren't changing the pricing and either don't buy it, buy it elsewhere, pay more for Steam or "tough ****".

Antar Bolaeisk · 20 May 2009 at 14:06

The only complaint I have against Steam is their unequal pricing structure which will have a game priced for £X for the UK and €Y for Europe but the prices in no way correspond to the actual conversion rate and can be as much as 50% more expensive to buy in euro.

For example, the last weekend deal was Call of Duty: World at War for €25 or £15, if you convert the sterling to euro it comes to about €17 which is a difference of about €8 or a 53.33% increase on the sterling price (I realise there are ways around this but that's not the point).

With regards to games being more expensive on Steam than other retail outlets that doesn't really bother me as you're buying a service, and an excelent service at that, as well as the game. It's just up to the individual if that service is worth the extra cost over buying from other sources.

Gimpymoo · 20 May 2009 at 14:09

Deanje said:
I'd say it does.
You posed the question "Why are you pricing them soo high?" in regards to the Steam pricing, the CR pointed out that they set the RRP and that the retailer decides on their price based upon this.

So, you should really be ranting about Steam and not Codemasters.

What?

STEAM dont dictate ANY of the prices on the platform other than for their own products.

Gimpymoo · 20 May 2009 at 14:13

Antar Bolaeisk said:
With regards to games being more expensive on Steam than other retail outlets that doesn't really bother me as you're buying a service, and an excelent service at that, as well as the game. It's just up to the individual if that service is worth the extra cost over buying from other sources.

Thats kind of my point though, Codemasters set the price. This is not about STEAM but ALL their digital distribution.

D2D will have the same price, where are the additional services there?

eekfek · 20 May 2009 at 14:20

i love Satine, her personal responses and help are always spot on.

Satine :Hi there,

Thanks for your feedback. On Steam the official retail RRP is usually matched.

Indeed you can find the game priced more competitvely elsewhere and by all means take advantage of individual retailer promotions!

With Steam, you have the option of not leaving your house and downloading the game direct to the PC so it's more convenient. It's a question of weighing up the convenience with how much you want to pay at the end of the day.

Satine : As with any retailer, Codemasters do NOT control how retailers price their goods. The RRP is set and after that it's up to the individual retailer to decide how much they want to charge for goods - hence why you see such varying prices from retailer to retailer.

your beef should be with Steam and how they price games they sell ... she even tells you to go take advantage of lower priced retailers if you find them.

alex24 · 20 May 2009 at 14:23

I don't see the problem at all. If it's too expensive for you just don't buy it! Go and get it cheaper elsewhere. Steam can sell stuff at RRP if they want, it's up to them to reduce the price if it's not selling, so obviously these things sell anyway and people are prepared to pay the extra for the convenience of steam. The RRP codemasters has set seems pretty normal for most new releases, over time they reduce do they not? (Unless it's COD4!).

You seem quite peeved about what they have said and I don't see why.

Sleepery · 20 May 2009 at 14:31

She seems to me to be saying that Steam do set the prices for Codemasters games. Codemasters tell them the recommended price, as they do for any other retailer, it's just that Steam go with that whereas a lot of other retailers discount it.

Or am I reading it wrong?

Gimpymoo · 20 May 2009 at 14:32

Valve do NOT set the prices on STEAM, why should I take it up with them?

Remember, when a STORE purchases stock, that stock then becomes the property of the store, the publisher have allready got their money when they shipped it to the shops supplier so baring any RRP contract, the store can do with the item what they wish price wise, either make a penny profit or £50 profit.

With digital distribution, the etailer will give the Developer/Publisher a percentage of the sale when it is made.

IdburnU · 20 May 2009 at 14:53

Gimpymoo said:
Valve do NOT set the prices on STEAM, why should I take it up with them?

Remember, when a STORE purchases stock, that stock then becomes the property of the store, the publisher have allready got their money when they shipped it to the shops supplier so baring any RRP contract, the store can do with the item what they wish price wise, either make a penny profit or £50 profit.

With digital distribution, the etailer will give the Developer/Publisher a percentage of the sale when it is made.

I think that though Valve may not dictate the base price, they instead dictate their markup for providing the medium of distribution just like retail stores do. The difference is competition or lack thereof, resulting in more markup at this time. I don't know what Valve charges a publisher for releasing a new title on STEAM, but rest assured that cost is passed on to the consumer. Add on the premium that they are certainly charging for the "convenience" of the relatively new service and there is your final price.

As to their cost, Valve and other digital delivery service providers also have to figure bandwidth expenditures not just for the initial download, but for the multiple more installations that a lot of consumers may make over the years, updates and patch delivery, back end work maintaining it all etc. There is more to it than just a magic link which also adds to the cost.

Not to turn it into a retail versus STEAM thing, but getting the box, disc and manual for LESS than you are getting a download is somewhat ironic and why I only do STEAM for those first party Valve titles.

Gimpymoo · 20 May 2009 at 15:04

Good post.

Factoring in a 50% Valve profit margin (unrealistic) on each sale, that still equals the same money some online stores will sell the item for yet STILL EVERYONE is making a profit when a game costs £15 despite all of the overheads.

Deanje · 20 May 2009 at 15:11

So, who sets the prices for the special offers on Steam?

Gimpymoo · 20 May 2009 at 15:19

The Developer/Publisher.

Valve cant just say "We will reduce COD World at war by 50% this weekend" as they will have a contract with Activision stating that Activision will get xx percentage from every sale.

Take COD - World at War, I am guessing that sales have dropped so Activision maybe contacted STEAM and said "Look, we need you to do this". What percentage increase in sales do you think that game got over the weekend compared to the weekend before? Better to sell 10,000 games at £15 than 2,000 at £30 (All hypothetical figures).

Think about all the independent games which have gained exposure on STEAM via the weekend deals, Valve dont do it out of the goodness of their hearts, they make money.

Sleepery · 20 May 2009 at 15:27

Gimpymoo said:
The Developer/Publisher.

How do you actually know though? The Codemasters mod is basically saying the opposite, and she kind of makes sense to be honest.

Von Luck · 20 May 2009 at 15:30

Deanje · 20 May 2009 at 15:35

I highly doubt the publishers dictate the special offers, it's not impossible that on the odd occasion the offer stems from request, but I'd say it's more than likely it's Valve who propose said deal.

I'd also say the Codemaster's CR confirms this by stating it's the retailer that decides the pricing after being guided by the RRP.

Chris [BEANS] · 20 May 2009 at 15:42

Just echo what others have said, i appreciate that it's convienient to have games on steam, but it's your personal choice how much this convienience is worth....

My real life example from this afternoon.....

I can buy Company of Heroes Gold, which is the first one, plus the first expansion pack for £16.99, and I can then buy the new (2nd) expansion pack for £29.99 on steam.

This totals £46.98 for the game plus both expansions, they'd be on steam, no disc's to faff about with, all fully patched and ready to go and I'd be playing them by this evening.

However, I found Company of Heroes : Anthology on a large online retailer. This is the original and both expansions for £17.99 inc free delivery.

If I buy from the online retailer I will have to wait 3 or 4 days to get it, I will have to use discs which I would rather not and I will probably have to install patches when it arrives too which depending on size may take some time....

I have ordered from the online place because despite the advantages of steam, to me personally they are not worth the additional £28.99. Some people would think otherwise.

Horses for courses

Gimpymoo · 20 May 2009 at 15:44

Deanje said:
I highly doubt the publishers dictate the special offers

LOL

So when you go into your local Supermarket and baked beans are reduced and just happen to be at the end of the aisle it is because the supermarket want to out the goodness of their hearts?

Dont talk soo daft.

The manufacturers PAY THEM to do it, it is called a "Promotion".

You have a weekend deal on STEAM, you got put on the STEAM homepage and pretty much the entire gaming community hears about it.

Deanje said:
I'd also say the Codemaster's CR confirms this by stating it's the retailer that decides the pricing after being guided by the RRP.

Blimey, I thought you lot were more intelligent than this.

All the CR rep confirms is that "On Steam the official retail RRP is usually matched".

You quote a sentence from another post from which the rep is talking about "Bricks and mortart" retail which we allready know how that works.