GTA V and Other Games Have Their Prices Raised as Steam Sales Begin

ShakerSilver

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Nov 13, 2009
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Source.

Notice the sharp increase at the end of the graph. It should be noted that now the game can't be bought standalone now and can only be bought when bundled with the in-game currency as well, "Shark Cash Cards", so now the price on sale costs nearly just as much as it does normally. It should be noted that Rockstar isn't the only company pulling this.
https://www.steamprices.com/us/app/286160/tabletop-simulator
https://www.steamprices.com/us/app/229790/might-magic-heroes-vi-shades-of-darkness
https://www.steamprices.com/us/dlc/244390/war-thunder-ace-advanced-pack
https://www.steamprices.com/us/app/230070/the-age-of-decadence
https://www.steamprices.com/us/app/266290/helicopter-simulator-2014-search-and-rescue

DayZ was caught doing this a while back as well iirc. Seems like developers and publishers are doing anything to make get that "-50%" label. As if this sale wasn't bad enough with Steam forcing you to play a shitty Cookie Clicker minigame just to gain access to much of the sales. [http://steamcommunity.com/minigame/]

Edit: It seems Rockstar has listed GTA V as an individual game rather than forcing the bundle anymore. Still just at the normal price though and the bundle price is still inflated.
 

gibboss28

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Feb 2, 2008
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I don't get the logic of this. Even under the logic of being greedy it doesn't make any sense.
 

Robeltu

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Sep 19, 2012
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Tabletop Simulator just came out of EA so that one is a bit less shady, plus the price went up two weeks ago or something not today
 

tippy2k2

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gibboss28 said:
I don't get the logic of this. Even under the logic of being greedy it doesn't make any sense.
It makes your game look like a better sale is the logic.

Basically you raise the price right before it goes on sale and then the sale drops the price.

So if your game was $50 and you drop it to $25, it is 50% off.
If your game is raised to $60 just before the sale starts and drops to $25, it looks 58% off.

That's the slightly less shady version. Another situation is that a game might normally cost $50 but they raise it to $60 before the sale and then it "goes on sale" for $50.

It shouldn't make a difference in your buying habits but us humans are kind of stupid :)
 

ShakerSilver

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Nov 13, 2009
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WeepingAngels said:
I read on Reddit that the refund policy doesn't apply to bundles.
I believe it was for the GTA + Shark Cash Card bundle that was being pushed, as you cannot refund dlc or microtransactions, I believe.
 

WeepingAngels

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May 18, 2013
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ShakerSilver said:
WeepingAngels said:
I read on Reddit that the refund policy doesn't apply to bundles.
I believe it was for the GTA + Shark Cash Card bundle that was being pushed, as you cannot refund dlc or microtransactions, I believe.
You can get a refund on DLC as long as the host game has less than 2 hours of play since the purchase of the DLC.
 

Skatologist

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Jan 25, 2014
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BloatedGuppy said:
Wait, there's a Steam sale beginning?
Began dude, it started about 4 and half hours prior to me posting this.

OT: Peeved, but not surprised. I've seen department stores do similar things before.

Good thing nothing I liked betrayed me
 

CaitSeith

Formely Gone Gonzo
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Jun 30, 2014
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gibboss28 said:
I don't get the logic of this. Even under the logic of being greedy it doesn't make any sense.
It's trying to get advantage of the J.C. Penny effect. Marking something as in sale without really altering the net price can give to the consumer the sense that they are taking a good deal when they don't notice it. But in games a lot of people can sense the trick because of how familiar they are with AAA titles pricing at launch day.
 

sXeth

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gibboss28 said:
I don't get the logic of this. Even under the logic of being greedy it doesn't make any sense.
They want their full cut, but they know people won't pay it inherently (GTA is after all, a 2 year old game, and not as highly praised now as when its initial shiny new factor was on it). So they jack up the price and put it on "sale", making people think they're getting a discount.

Its almost become standard retail model, furniture and automotive sales are basically never at the MSRP at all anymore, but the initial price before 30/50/70/80 percents off is just insane. There's a store next to my work thats never not having at least a 30 (sometimes up to 90%) sale, but a patio chair there is 2-300 dollars to begin with.
 

SamtheDeathclaw

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ShakerSilver said:
As if this sale wasn't bad enough with Steam forcing you to play a shitty Cookie Clicker minigame just to gain access to much of the sales. [http://steamcommunity.com/minigame/]
Worth noting that the discounts unlocked through the Cookie Clicker are unlocked for all Steam users, not just those who played the game.
 

Azex

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Jan 17, 2011
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i was really pissed when i found this out, dissapointed in a dev i really liked too. With these shady dealings and no RDR for PC im ready to quit rockstar for life.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
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Meh.

As shady business practices go that's about as small beans as it gets. Right up there with pricing things at $9.99 instead of $10.

If people are seriously suckered into buying something because it says -X% off without considering the actual price then I'm happy to chalk that up as a stupidity tax.
 

Treeberry

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Nov 27, 2013
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Calling it now. They "parody" (using that term verrrry loosely) the people complaining about this in their next GTA game.