Valve: If Steam Sales Didn't Work We Wouldn't Run Them

[T_ConX]

For a company that wants to unseat Steam as the king of digital distribution, EA is doing a piss-poor job of it. Right now, I regard Origin as little more than the program I'd have to put up with if I were to play Dragon Age 2 on my PC.

My feelings for Steam, on the other hand, are best communicated through this:


The most critical point that EA fails to understand is that the though process a Steam user goes through during a sale is significantly less scrutinizing than when a game is at full price. If a game is $40, you have to ask yourself a lot of questions, and the answers tend to direct away from the purchase button. You've got other games you're playing, the reviews might not be all that great, you're not really into the genre, etc.

But if Gaben slaps a '75% off, but only for 48 hours' sticker on a game, all those reservations fly out the window. 'I don't have time to play this' turns into 'I'll buy it now and play it SOMEDAY!'

Not only that, you make more money when I buy a game for $10 than when I'm NOT buying a game at $40.

 

[Rednog]

Amazon can be really finicky with downloads if you don't live in the US. An attempt to download a soundtrack turned into a series of loops that ended with a "sorry this service isn't avalible outside the US."

Like I said I was looking at the rankings for the North American client. Also, Spec Ops the Line requires Steam, it was for a steam key.

How does that make you lose faith in Steam's community? If anything, I think it is telling that people are more willing to pay extra cash and put up with Steam than save money, because the service works so well.

It makes me lose faith because you're paying for the same exact thing, both are steam keys, but you pay more to steam just because you like them? Then the whole we love steam because they give us sales becomes a bit muddled.

Amazon.com wont let people outside the US purchase from the site, so it has very little to do with that.

Hey, there's another good thing about steam over it's competitors. It's not region specific!

Once again I said North American client. Also, you'd be surprised to know but Valve does region lock some (if not all) of it's own games. I spent 3 years living in Europe and much to my surprise when I came back to the US to find that Portal 2 and another game would no longer work unless I was connected to a European IP.

that's not steam's fault, people just are too lazy to check all over every single day, and for the most part steam has ridiculous sale deals, so it allows these people to save money, and be lazy...what's not to love?


plus was it a physical copy or a digital download for that spec ops game?

captcha: fuzzy wuzzy

yes i am

It was up on Amazon for 2 weeks, and it is for a steam key of the game.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

I just wrote a three paragraph rant trying to educate EA but what's the point? You can trim the fat, get a boob-job and carve your nose into all kinds of shapes and sizes, but as Ron White said, "you can't fix stupid."

Steam gets my money and you don't, Origin. Just deal with it.

 

[Waaghpowa]

North American client.

Well I'm Canadian and I couldn't get it off Amazon without help from some American friends. Here's a thought, does steam count the actual purchases or activations? I got the CD key and it's a steam activation and I've noticed that simple activations are listed as purchases in the "Friends purchased X" thing.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Is EA doing this on purpose? Do they actively try to be the biggest pricks in the gaming industry. Is there a douchebag achievement they are aiming for?

yes, there is.

there's an award handed out annually for the 'worst US Company'. they won last year. my guess, they're going for 2 in a row

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

It was up on Amazon for 2 weeks, and it is for a steam key of the game.

while that is a shame people missed out on it, i still stand by the fact that people are lazy, they just check steam because it's known for having sales (amazon clearly had a better deal, but when i do pay attention, that's a bit fewer and far in between than steam is, and usually when i find them they are physical copies that are cheaper)

still, spec ops i had zero interest in, so i didn't miss out, amazon just doesn't advertise like steam does i guess.

 

[Flight]

Is "intellectual property" the new "artistic integrity" for EA, or is it just me? Also, I like Steam, I love their sales, and while it definitely has its flaws, I prefer it to Origins. Given EA's general treatment of their customers, bad PR, and the declining quality of their games, I'd say they're just mud-slinging in an attempt to get attention and distract from their shortcomings.

 

[praus]

One thing that the EA people just seem to ignore (or don't realize) is that the Steam sales builds customer loyalty (seems kinda obvious if you think about it too).

I would never have even downloaded Origin if I didn't need it for ME3. Now that my Origin and ME3 is having server issues, I wont bother playing it for a while and stay away from Origin as long as I can.

Whereas Steam, I actually downloaded and installed precisely because they were having massive sales. The fact that they continue this, makes me continue coming back and turns no sales, into actual sales. I bought more games then I have had time to play, but I keep getting them since they are such great deals and I am happy to support Steam.

EA is just lucky they had ME3, otherwise most people wouldn't have bothered with Origin. Honestly, the EA comment seems kinda business ignorant and shortsighted.

Meh

This is 100% true! I was one of the lucky ones to get Portal for free one of those times it was free. It's because of the experience I had with my free version of Portal, that I bought Portal 2 when it came out. I'm more loyal to Valve now then I ever was before, EA can go suck a dick IMO.

 

[grigjd3]

EA needs to realize that sales aren't cheapening their IPs, EA is. I'm not willing to spend $60 on an EA title because they generally suck. When their games get down to the $5 range, I might consider playing them but otherwise, I don't want to waste my money.

 

[Callate]

"You, you Valve-heads with your 'customer loyalty' and your 'business model that works'... In my day, we made them pay full price for the game, mugged them before they left the shop, and kicked 'em in the ass on the way out! And everyone liked it just fine! Consarn it..."

 

[lacktheknack]

My feelings for Steam, on the other hand, are best communicated through this:

Video: Favorite'd. The internet is totally crazy, but they come up with hilariously relevant things.

 

[scw55]

100% chance what I am about to post has already been said:

a) If a game is discounted, players who have been hesitant about buying, are more likely to buy it due to it being better value for money. If there are more than one games the buyer was interested in, he or she will be more willing to buy more discounted game due to 'getting into the retail frenzy'. Also impulse buying.

b) A player buys a game cheap/gets it for free, essentially gets a copy of a game they wouldn't normally have. They play the game and really enjoy it and/or recommends it to one of their friends. The friend buys the game during/after the promotion.

That's my theories as to why Valve's discount sales work.

A consumer will opt to buy a game cheaply than pirate it for free. For a start they have insurance that the product is 100% functional and get get support. But secondly don't feel guilty. It's also pathetic stealing (well cloning) £5.

 

[Ukomba]

Surprising a large American company like EA doesn't understand capitalism.

 

[Lunar Templar]

yes, there is.

there's an award handed out annually for the 'worst US Company'. they won last year. my guess, they're going for 2 in a row

Ahh yes I remember. Well then! I would venture a guess. They will at this rate in deed be on that metaphorical stage again thanking the gamers and their parents for the support, or rather the lack of it if you will.

and then, hopefully, go under >:3

 

[cynicalsaint1]

I think EA's biggest problem is that its run by a bunch of 'old-white-dude-executive' types who tend to have a very narrow scope of how business models should work. Most of whom are afraid to try new things and tend to forget how much goodwill can be worth.

Valve meanwhile has managed to figure out a way to turn goodwill into vast sums of money.

 

[Arcane_squirrel]

valve and a select few others are the only thing that gives me hope for the future of gaming. man i love them

 

[Thyunda]

Just for my own amusement a while back, I dug up and listed out my top 100 games.

96 of them were made by EA.

None were made by Valve.

CONCLUSION: I continue to not be a Valve customer. Cya Valve, hope everything works out.

I hate Valve's games. I think they're overrated, which is the least of my criticism.
However. Steam is the best damn marketplace I've ever seen. I've bought more over the past week of the sale than I've bought in an entire year. And I've still probably spent less. Say what you will about Valve's own games, but their marketing is fantastic.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Amazon can be really finicky with downloads if you don't live in the US. An attempt to download a soundtrack turned into a series of loops that ended with a "sorry this service isn't avalible outside the US."

Like I said I was looking at the rankings for the North American client. Also, Spec Ops the Line requires Steam, it was for a steam key.

You included me as part of your evidence aginst the Steam community (or at least the American one, of which I am not a part of.) I'll keep an eye on Amazon but the runaround and their apparent stupidity in not checking wheather credit cards match addresses have made me wary of their service.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Just for my own amusement a while back, I dug up and listed out my top 100 games.

96 of them were made by EA.

None were made by Valve.

CONCLUSION: I continue to not be a Valve customer. Cya Valve, hope everything works out.

I'm courious, could you break down the list if you still have it? (ie early or late EA, physical dsisk or DD, uses Origin or not? And weather the devs still exist or not?)

 

[oldtaku]

I honestly lost faith in the steam community when Spec Ops hit like #5 of top sellers on the North American client. Amazon had it for $25 and no one bought it. People are head of heals for steam that they'll willingly pay more to buy it directly from them than save a handful of money.

I'm quite willing to pay an extra $8 to have the game on Steam instead of Amazon or Origin or wherever. I don't need or want multiple game services, and I don't want physical media cluttering up the place.