Retail backlash against Steam

[Tefal]

I never really accept that. If that was the case, you wouldn't see games being reduced in shops.

Not really shops buy units at X price and can sell for whatever they like, steam doesn't buy games they charge a fee for a pub to sell their games.

small but powerful difference.

 

[iv-tecman]

and you can see why, if they undercut stores then the big names really would cut out their products which the publishers don't want till steam is the main way of buying games anyway.

I'll agree with this, but Steam need to make the move. Nearly ALL PC gamers have a decent net connection - note I said nearly all. Downloading 6 - 8GB of game data overnight once you've purchased your game isn't too hard for most.

Once Steam start selling on day of release and past the release date at prices more inline with everyone else Steam will not overtake physical sales.. Not yet anyhow. Once they start to undercut everyone else, then I’d gladly buy EVERY single PC game I want to play via Steam.

I thankfully got my f1 2010 for under £20 before it got pulled and went Steam only. £26.99 wasn’t too bad I guess for launch price, but now its £29.99 and you can only get it on Steam. Hmmm How come Stores could sell this for £20 but Steam want £30? I don’t buy this devs set the prices… I’m sorry but provided the publisher gets their cut, then its up to the retailer on how much they charge past the RRP or under RRP provided the publisher gets their percentage.

Steam Sales fantastic… Steam full price on or after release – bit of a joke at the moment IMO.

 

[Tummy]

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.

RAGE

STEAM DO NOT SET THE PRICES.

We all know that the prices are too high, that's why Steam sales are so awesome! You have a problem with the prices go ****ing complain to the publishers and the developers!

Shops sell things cheaper because they can afford to lose money on games, they recoup it by selling other ****. Amazon don't JUST sell games do they? Asda don't just sell games do they? They profit they make on other items covers the loss on games and they still make millions of profit.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

This is exactly why Steam prices are so high and why they have to get around it with holiday sales.

 

[Metatron]

if anyone is going to be leading digital distribution I'm glad its Valve, rather them than EA, Activision or anyone else.

Damn right.

 

['Wes]

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.

Basically this, i also do know Steam don't set the prices but i have a feeling later on they do have a say being the popularity and convenience of Steam, i just can't seem to understand why the prices aren't matched to a competitive level to other places [which i think i can't mention] as i've seen more people move over to the cheapest site.

 

[Ysmalari]

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.

I quite agree, my main worry with steam is that once the physical stores stop selling pc games completely then there really is no competition any more and the devs can charge whatever they like.

People will say that they won't buy over a certain price, but look at how COD games have slowly pushed their price up over the last few years and still people buy them.

Don't get me wrong, I like steam and it is a great service, but if they get a complete monopoly on PC gaming then consumers will suffer.

 

[iv-tecman]

RAGE

STEAM DO NOT SET THE PRICES.

We all know that the prices are too high, that's why Steam sales are so awesome! You have a problem with the prices go ****ing complain to the publishers and the developers!

Shops sell things cheaper because they can afford to lose money on games, they recoup it by selling other ****. Amazon don't JUST sell games do they? Asda don't just sell games do they? They profit they make on other items covers the loss on games and they still make millions of profit.

Yeah yeah... Whatever.. Now go away and spend your money on overpriced games seeing as you've not got a problem with..

And, its a discussion..

 

[Sleepery]

why dont stores just stop selling games , start selling "game cards" like time cards for wow etc but they unlock a game on steam.

maybe stores would make less money on them but they could try to get an agreement wherre any unsold cards can be bought back for the price they paid.

no sale = no loss

stores happy , steams happy , customers are happy, they could even sell the cards before release because steam timelocks the game anyway

That is the most ill thought out idea I've heard in years. If someone visits a shop, it's because they want a physical product, now. The shopkeeper might as well tell them to bugger off and download it otherwise. Which is precisely what you're suggesting.

 

['Wes]

I really ****ing dislike it when people say this.

STEAM DO NOT SET THE PRICES OF THE GAMES.

Steam, is brilliant and it has come a long way since it first started, amazing bit of software imho, don't see how people can complain about it.

I didn't complain about the software, i said various prices are ridiculous compared to other places, and because of this, a lot of people have decided to drift over to other sites to get it cheaper elsewhere.

The software itself is brilliant, but on a competitive level some prices aren't compared to other places, unless it's a sale.

 

[Sleepery]

and because of this, a lot of people have decided to drift over to other sites to get it cheaper elsewhere.

Source?

 

[Calabi]

Its kind of ironic(or not I may be using this wrong). They've become the default pc digital distributer by accident. They've had no major marketting push's or done anything that a normal company like Apple or Coca Cola would do to gain market in an area.

They've just won by being there, and being better than rest of the crap. The consumers have bought this result, no one else. At least Valve have more likelyhood of being benevolent than other companies, and they are at the moment.

I cant see these retailers obstinacy resulting in anything, but steam rolling even further up the digital hill. They have to make, at least an adequate alternative.

 

[Tummy]

Yeah yeah... Whatever.. Now go away and spend your money on overpriced games seeing as you've not got a problem with..

And, its a discussion..

I'm sorry can you read?

I've not said I don't have a problem with the prices of games being high

I'm pointing out, that Steam do not set the prices of the games. You can buy retail copies and add them to steam (something that I do annually with Football Manager) and I often wait for the sales they have on.

Yeah it is a discussion?

 

[KNiVES]

Stop selling Steam games or we'll remove the tiny spinning PC game shelf full of old second hand copies in the corner

The shops can go **** themselves, maybe if they started dedicating shelves to PC games again we'll give a damn? Why do these mouthbreathing morons not realize why we're all buying games via Steam?

 

[iv-tecman]

I'm sorry can you read?

I've not said I don't have a problem with the prices of games being high

I'm pointing out, that Steam do not set the prices of the games. You can buy retail copies and add them to steam (something that I do annually with Football Manager) and I often wait for the sales they have on.

Yeah it is a discussion?

I can read. I think..?? But it came across like you have no problem with higher prices, granted you did mention the Steam sales. But if you read my post I said NO MATTER WHO SETS THE PRICE. They are too high.

The Steam sales are fantastic, I did say that in my post as well. But if Steam becomes the only way to soon get PC games and with these prices, well I can't see it going down too well.. Again, I'm not saying this will happen.

And yes you can add games to Steam but its not quite the same. It won't patch or manage them etc... You can however still use the Steam overlay.

anyhow, maybe we both got our wires crossed....

 

[Bloomfield]

But if you read my post I said NO MATTER WHO SETS THE PRICE. They are too high.

I don’t buy this devs set the prices… I’m sorry but provided the publisher gets their cut, then its up to the retailer on how much they charge past the RRP or under RRP provided the publisher gets their percentage.

And yes you can add games to Steam but its not quite the same. It won't patch or manage them etc... You can however still use the Steam overlay.

He's talking about steamworks games, where you add it to steam (not just create a shortcut to the game in steam), and it works exactly how a normal steam bought game would work, with auto patching, achievements etc. .

 

[Tefal]

I'll agree with this, but Steam need to make the move.

How can they?

If they slash the prices (without the pub slashing the prices) they make a loss on the game.

They can't just go on making a loss forever.

And yes you can add games to Steam but its not quite the same. It won't patch or manage them etc... You can however still use the Steam overlay.

You can add retail steamworks games though, that's what i did with l4d

 

[Tummy]

See posts above.

I think we didn't get our wires crossed your wires aren't working properly.

Steam prices are too high when compared to retail, the beauty of Steam is that you can purchase and download a game without leaving the house, the hassle of installing and patching.

I was talking about Steamworks where you add games to steam via the code you get, Football Manager being an example of a game I've done this with for the past couple of years.

I think you're a bit confused.

 

[WingZero30]

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/41746/Retail-threatens-Steam-ban


Since when have retailers cared about PC gaming, oh since they started doing digital sales too. Seems a bit of an empty threat considering if you walk into most high street stores the selection of pc games is at best poor.

:

Yeah agree. In most retail stores there is only the usual console sections with few odd pc games stuffed among the console counterparts.

 

[gizmoy2k]

I love steam but have recently purchased BC2:vietnam and today MOH with DLC from EA Store

Both had voucher codes from hot deals uk and i got MOH for £16.50, the hotzone DLC for £3.77 today, still £29.99 on steam and not likely to go on offer anytime soon

Theres no doubt steam should lower its prices, or at least be competitive with online retilers on release, unlock times could be tuned also, and preloading of games to avoid a rush

COD i purchased from online retailer for £10 cheaper than steam so its totally nonsense, I would still pay £40 to steam than £40 to a high street retailer though, wouldnt give them the satisfaction