DayZ Price Increases by 15%, Immediately has "15% Off Sale" - Update

[Steven Bogos]

DayZ Price Increases by 15%, Immediately has "15% Off Sale" - Update

DayZ is currently "on sale" on the Steam Store for the exact same price it was prior to the sale.

Update: Bohemia Interactive has responded to our request for comment. A spokesperson stated:

"As you mentioned we tried to describe the situation in the latest press release and in my view it's very clear: 'The current price of 23.99 EUR/29.99 USD will still be available during the Steam Fall sale', we aren't promising any special price or discount during the sale, we're just keeping the current price that's it. I'm very sorry if you understand this message wrong."

However, this doesn't really answer the question of why the game has the "15% off" tag, when as Bohemia itself stated, it isn't a "special price or discount".

Original Story: In what can be seen as a shady business move, DayZ developer Bohemia Interactive has Steam Fall Sale [http://store.steampowered.com/app/221100/]. This essentially means that DayZ is now "on sale" for the exact same price that it was before the sale - a practice that is actually against the law in countries such as Australia and the UK.

In a press release, Bohemia explained the mark-up [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/231061/DAYZ_Status_and_Pricing_Policy_Updates.php]: "Along with the updates, you can expect a new price point for DayZ which will be 34.99 USD. This is part of a gradual price change as we progress with the development, and reach the goals that we set for the project. We would like to avoid a sudden increase in price once we hit the final release version. The current price of 23.99 EUR/29.99 USD will still be available during the Steam Fall sale. If you want to start surviving in DayZ, then now is the best time to get involved."

While the press release does clearly explain the gradual price increase and its reasoning, it is not made clear when users go to purchase the game on the Steam Store that its price had increased immediately prior to the sale.

Disregarding the legality of raising a game's price and then putting it on sale, the very fact that the price is being raised should be a concern to us. Usually, games become cheaper over time, not the other way around (with the exception of that whole Xenoblade Chronicles [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.825288-GameStop-Releases-Xenoblade-Chronicles-Stock-Increases-Price] thing last year).

We have reached out to Bohemia for comment, as well as Australia and the UK's consumer watchdogs to inquire on the legality of the move.

Source: reddit [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/231061/DAYZ_Status_and_Pricing_Policy_Updates.php]

Correction: Many people have pointed out that my math is, in fact, flawed, and an addition of 15% followed by a subtraction of 15% does not even itself out. For what it is worth, the game is technically "on sale" from its original price: it is $29.74 on Steam, meaning you save a whopping 25 cents off the pre-sale price.

Permalink

 

[seditary]

So yeah. Fuck that. Not sure what else to say except to completely condemn practices like that.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Yeah, that's scummy. But I don't care. If people want to buy Early Access titles, let them. That subject's been covered a million times.

 

[kuiper]

great way to make a sale feel "cheap". I doubt I will ever buy this game or any game these guys create from now on.

 

[Omey]

I donot agree with the comments on this post.

The game is still in early access. So its completely logical for the price to increase. It would be weird if early adopters are made to pay a higher price for a unfinished product. So for a early access game the prices should go up.

I think this is actually the best solution to Day Z's problem. If they go on sale now (and they absolutely have to, since it is a steam sale), they are essentially giving out the game at a cheaper rate for late adopters than early adopters. That is not how a early access game release should work. It needs to be completely opposite in early access where you encourage early adopters to buy the game by charging a lower cost. I think the developers made the completely right choice here and if I had already bought the game, I would be happy that the developer did this.

 

[Steven Bogos]

The problem is that for customers that don't know any better, they see the game on "sale" and buy it without realizing that it has been the same price all along. "Oh, DayZ is on Sale! I was thinking of getting that!"

It's dishonest advertising. They should have increased the price a week or so before the sale, and then lowered it again for the sale.

 

[Duder Dudeson]

A 15% increase followed by a 15% decrease does not bring you to the same price. There is still a slight discount.

 

[Jiggle Counter]

There's a four letter word used to describe people like that, but I can't quite remember what it was... It started with a "C" and ended with a "T"... I guess I'll go ask the drug-abusive Australians at the train station, they'll know what I'm talking about.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

Isn't this pretty much what Minecraft did? In alpha it was about £10, beta £15 then at release it was £20, if I'm not mistaken.

Maybe seeing as the game isn't officially released they can get away with things like this. Although I don't agree with it at all. It's a shame because I was planning on getting it once it released, but I probably won't now, unless it goes free to play or something.

 

[Sillarra]

If they are going to increase the price anyway, why not do it after the steam sale ends? Telling people that they are increasing the price and then putting it as "15% off" is just scummy in my opinion. It cheats those who wants to get the game on sale but don't follow the development process.

You don't have to put the game on sale even if now is the Steam winter sale...is it? Developers aren't forced by Steam to put their games on sale during this time right?

 

[Jiggle Counter]

is now "on sale" for the exact same price that it was before the sale - a practice that is actually against the law in countries such as Australia and the UK.

Considering I'm an Aussie, should I ring up the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and tell them about this?

Last time, the ACCC took Valve to court over shitty refund policies, and that was fun to watch.

 

[Makabriel]

Isn't this pretty much what Minecraft did? In alpha it was about £10, beta £15 then at release it was £20, if I'm not mistaken.

Maybe seeing as the game isn't officially released they can get away with things like this. Although I don't agree with it at all. It's a shame because I was planning on getting it once it released, but I probably won't now, unless it goes free to play or something.

The thing is they are (trying to) fool the public in thinking they're getting a deal. Whether to get more sales or what. It's underhanded. There's no reason why they couldn't have kept the price exactly the same and then raised it after the fall sale. And it's -kind of- what they are doing, but they are passing it off as a deal. It's not.

It's brilliant from a marketing standpoint, but pretty shady..

 

[Queen Michael]

A 15% increase followed by a 15% decrease does not bring you to the same price. There is still a slight discount.

I was just thinking that. 15% of the original price isn't the same amount as 15% of the new price.

 

[pearcinator]

There's a four letter word used to describe people like that, but I can't quite remember what it was... It started with a "C" and ended with a "T"... I guess I'll go ask the drug-abusive Australians at the train station, they'll know what I'm talking about.

I'm sure they will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmL72sgVdAQ[/youtube]

The game is shit anyway. I won't be buying it even if it was 95% off.

 

[Lillowh]

A 15% increase followed by a 15% decrease does not bring you to the same price. There is still a slight discount.

Yeah, I was about to say that as well, too many people just accepting bogus math. I get that's what you get for sourcing reddit.

Either way, normally I would be more than okay with an early access game price increase, but this does not sit right with me. This action is for sure not pro consumer, or else they could have just kept the game off sale like many other games and increased afterwards, or announced their "planned" price increase beforehand. Instead they're abusing people's up knowledge that was true until this incident. That knowledge being that a game on a big steam sale means it's on (keyword) sale for cheaper than it's price the moment before the steam sale. Steam isn't PSN where it doesn't update most days of the week, the developers can request updates and changes to the store page at practically any time. There's no excuse except for anti-consumer intent.

Being a US resident, I'm real jealous of actual consumer protection you seem to have in the UK/AUS, thought don't envy your prices. Can't win.

Edit: I'm bored so here's the math for those who are bad with basic percentages.

A +15% price increase from $30 (Rounded for simplicity) will increase the price by $4.50.
30*0.15 = 4.5

So the new price would be $34.50, not $34.99. Since it's a larger number 15 percent of 34.5 is going to be higher than 15 percent of 30, so:
34.5*0.15= 5.175.

So, if the title was true, the game would be on sale for $29.33. Either way, not really a sale and a blatant attempt to increase sales under false pretenses for a game that is progressing so slowly and poorly and slowly that even the original creator and main designer said "screw it" and left working on it.

 

[Shocksplicer]

That is... Utterly despicable. Go fuck yourself Bohemia, companies like you make me sick.

 

[The Bucket]

I donot agree with the comments on this post.

The game is still in early access. So its completely logical for the price to increase. It would be weird if early adopters are made to pay a higher price for a unfinished product. So for a early access game the prices should go up.

I think this is actually the best solution to Day Z's problem. If they go on sale now (and they absolutely have to, since it is a steam sale), they are essentially giving out the game at a cheaper rate for late adopters than early adopters. That is not how a early access game release should work. It needs to be completely opposite in early access where you encourage early adopters to buy the game by charging a lower cost. I think the developers made the completely right choice here and if I had already bought the game, I would be happy that the developer did this.

But opinion aside, the real problem is its literally illegal to put a product on sale without having it at the undiscounted price for a period of time beforehand i many areas (21 days in my country or something like that I think)

 

[Lillowh]

We have reached out to Bohemia for comment, as well as Australia and the UK's consumer watchdogs to inquire on the legality of the move.

Also, in regards to the legality of this in the United States, a case could actually be made against this particular scenario. It directly violates scenario (C) in FTC Regulations, Title 16, Chapter I, Subchapter B, Part 233, Section 233.1. Just a little law knowledge drop.

 

[MHR]

This is how great early access is. Instead of getting cheaper with age, a game gets more expensive as development drags on for an age.

 

[VanQ]

I'm not sure what people in this thread are more bothered by.

The bogus sale or the bogus math in the article?