Games for Windows Marketplace Relaunches

[obisean]

Uh, you guys do realize that Microsoft doesn't set the prices, right?

Uhh... then who does?

MSRP stands for Manufacturer's SUGGESTED Retail Price

The vendor can set the price to whatever they want, but the mfg will suggest a price point for them to sell it at. Even if the MSRP is listed right on the object (think of a 99 cent bag of chips or something like that), the vendor doesn't have to sell it at that price.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Well, I'm honestly surprised how crap it appears to be. Even by setting the bar on the ground, Microsoft dug underneath it.

 

[fyrh56]

Uh, you guys do realize that Microsoft doesn't set the prices, right?

Uhh... then who does?

Publishers do. Same thing went on with steam when it introduced localized sales (before it was all US dollars) and suddenly we found ourselves paying 30? for a game that cost $25 the night before. This at a time where 1? was worth a little under $2. Everyone went batshit crazy over "Valve's" prices. Turns out publishers had "special" prices for euros.

 

[jetsterjinx]

I don't know what everyone's complaining, about, honestly. I can access it fine (only one error on launch day, pretty impressive considering Steam's launch day scenario) and some of the game deals on there look genuinely good. The whole point of this, i guess, is that there are good game deals here, and if you don't think a game deal is good, don't buy it. Borderlands for 9.99? Osmos for 2.49? Bioshock 2 for 19.99? Deus Ex for 9.99? GTA:SA for 14.99? Supreme Commander: FA for 19.99? Saints Row 2 for 29.99? GTA IV for 11.99? Those aren't bad deals - I suggest sorting by price and picking up -- write this down, revolutionary idea here -- ONLY THE GAMES YOU WANT.

That said, where's the client update that lets me access this without a web browser? Why am I still lugging around the entire client on my computer, when I could be using a barebones download application? Why is there STILL no way to organize my games, or hide them, or view them from the web store? And why, oh why, Microsoft, is your in-game user interface SO BAD?

Microsoft, this better not be followed by another 3 years of no updates while Steam becomes awesome.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Publishers do. Same thing went on with steam when it introduced localized sales (before it was all US dollars) and suddenly we found ourselves paying 30? for a game that cost $25 the night before. This at a time where 1? was worth a little under $2. Everyone went batshit crazy over "Valve's" prices. Turns out publishers had "special" prices for euros.

I knew you were going to say that.

I think you'll find that publishers set a "suggested" price but they don't have any direct control over the pricing on the Marketplace, or anywhere else for that matter. Valve, for instance, says it wants to give away various content updates for TF2 and L4D (and it does for the PC) but it has to charge for it because of Microsoft policies. Same basic thing here: Microsoft could very easily say, well, we want to make a big impression so we're going to eat it for a month, and sell games on GFW Marketplace the same way they sold the 360 when it was new and they were trying to entrench themselves in the market: At a loss.

And that notwithstanding, the sheer inconsistency of the pricing is laughable. 40 bucks for Arkham Asylum, 50 for the GOTY edition? Full price for Fallout 3 and the DLC, but no GOTY release that offers it all for less? Bioshock 2 for $19.99 is a regular retail price these days, as is Saints Row 2 for $29.99. The only real deal I saw was Osmos for $2.49, which is great but let's be honest, Osmos is not going to carry your platform very far. Maybe they're "not bad deals" as jesterjinx said, but they're sure as hell not very good either. Given the situation this platform is in, "not bad" isn't nearly good enough to make a meaningful impression.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

What's funny is that Arkham Asylum requires Games for Windows Live, and thanks to pricing it's probably still better to get it off Steam and endure the two separate layers of DRM.

Bioshock 2 is another matter though. $20 you say? That's actually cheaper than Steam's price. If I weren't boycotting it on principle...

 

[LoganN]

I think you'll find that publishers set a "suggested" price but they don't have any direct control over the pricing on the Marketplace, or anywhere else for that matter. Valve, for instance, says it wants to give away various content updates for TF2 and L4D (and it does for the PC) but it has to charge for it because of Microsoft policies. Same basic thing here: Microsoft could very easily say, well, we want to make a big impression so we're going to eat it for a month, and sell games on GFW Marketplace the same way they sold the 360 when it was new and they were trying to entrench themselves in the market: At a loss.

And that notwithstanding, the sheer inconsistency of the pricing is laughable. 40 bucks for Arkham Asylum, 50 for the GOTY edition? Full price for Fallout 3 and the DLC, but no GOTY release that offers it all for less? Bioshock 2 for $19.99 is a regular retail price these days, as is Saints Row 2 for $29.99. The only real deal I saw was Osmos for $2.49, which is great but let's be honest, Osmos is not going to carry your platform very far. Maybe they're "not bad deals" as jesterjinx said, but they're sure as hell not very good either. Given the situation this platform is in, "not bad" isn't nearly good enough to make a meaningful impression.

Assassin's Creed 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction are cheaper on GFWL than compared to Steam as well, a whole ten dollars each. There is nothing wrong with shopping around.

The web marketplace seems to have some update lag. Fallout 3 is listed as $20 in the client, but a full $50 on the web, as well as the web not showing all the games right away. That is the only issue I've seen so far.