Steam is certainly the future of how we obtain our PC games, but boy are the prices on Steam way too high.
I was looking over some of the ‘cheaper’ for sale items on Steam this morning and noticed Tomb Raider Legend – quite an old game now. Its listed with most retailers online at about £3 - £7. Steam wants £13.99 for it, its just one example. Nearly twice as much as the most expensive online retailer.
Steams prices set by them or the devs is, to be quite frankly disgusting. I’m very much in favour of Steam seeing as how high street retailers seem less and less keen to hold stock of PC games, after all their core market is consoles. And they need the shelf space for what is no doubt their biggest profit margin… so if obtaining games online is fast becoming the only violable method then Steam need to get their prices inline with everyone else.
Waiting for Steam sales, as great as they can be is not the answer. Say, I wanted to play that tomb raider game. What’s my only option now? Buy from online retailer but not have the game listed and updated by Steam but have physical media and wait on postage or wait for Steam to push it out in sale, if that ever happens? Granted, you’d say Valve have to pay for the storage space and upkeep of the game, but its not worth twice the cost..!! Maybe an additional 1 – 2 quid.
Anyhow, retailers are maybe jealous of the fact that Steam seems to sell at full price whereas retailers have to discount heavily to get goods out the door. I don’t know for sure, but one thing I do know. Steam is way, way too expensive unless you grab stuff in the sales.
