Postat inițial de Petrichor:

Steam sales and rising costs

Maybe Im missing something and forgive me if Im wrong. Yes Im thankful for having any sale at all as well as discounts on games from time to time. Yes Devs and Artists deserve to be recognized and rewarded for their time and money spent on producing games and content for us to enjoy. I just feel as a gamer for over 40yrs the cost to play title games along with micro transactions and DLCs within some games has become over the top and I have to rely on sales to play more so now than before or just settle for similar cheaper versions. So with that being said I feel the rising cost of games along with hardware components to enjoy the game in its entirety is a bit much. I know I will prob get some backlash trolls and thats ok but I would really like to hear other perspectives for a clearer perception and continue to keep my passion for gaming. Possibly some better discounts and sales could be helpful.

Because...

What about Black Friday?!

Don’t worry—Steam has you covered if you were still hoping to run discounts during the unofficial official start to the holiday shopping season, known in many regions as Black Friday and Cyber Monday (and the days in-between!)

Though Steam will not be hosting a Black Friday sale of its own, we will have Black Friday special offers on our Discounts and Events page from November 24 through December 1st as a way to surface discounted titles of all genres during this time period. This is just like our usual Special Offers Page that we have year-round on Steam, but with extra theming and artwork around Black Friday.

This means November 24th through December 1st is still a great option for running discounts; just be aware that participating in Black Friday Special Offers triggers the usual discount cooldowns and is not exempt the way our seasonal sales are.

https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/532104542613932038

https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/groups/steamworks/announcements/detail/532102384016426892

Even with rising AAA game prices, gaming is cheaper as its ever been. I haven't paid more than 20€ for any game for over 10 years. I can sometimes buy 20 games for like 100€. There are tons of bundles over the months and years online that give you tons of good games for almost free.
For example, the Batman bundle that was on humblebundle twice now took me 6 months to finish all the games in it, for just 14€ for 13 games or something? You don't need to buy the newest releases and preorders and you certainly don't need to do any ingame purchases. Buy older games, buy indie games, buy only in bundles or sales. No other hobby has such high discounts and cheap bundles for anything other than gaming.

Postat inițial de Dan5000:

Even with rising AAA game prices, gaming is cheaper as its ever been. I haven't paid more than 20€ for any game for over 10 years. I can sometimes buy 20 games for like 100€. There are tons of bundles over the months and years online that give you tons of good games for almost free.
For example, the Batman bundle that was on humblebundle twice now took me 6 months to finish all the games in it, for just 14€ for 13 games or something? You don't need to buy the newest releases and preorders and you certainly don't need to do any ingame purchases. Buy older games, buy indie games, buy only in bundles or sales. No other hobby has such high discounts and cheap bundles for anything other than gaming.

You have a valid point as far as hobbies but I guess I was pointing more towards the AAA games on just Steam. I would like to see better deals and discounts here so I wouldnt have to search somewhere else or maybe what Im seeing is limited. I tend to stay with one place to buy games and have heard of humblebundle but never used it. Ty for your input

The gaming industry is projected to surpass $236.4 billion in 2025
That`s Billion with a B ...

It is an industry driven by the usual suspects which mean that of course AAA is expensive now for what you get and their owners only get greedier because we enabled them, but you don`t need to buy and if you do, why continue to support their practices if it turns out to be junk ?

I have old AAA and indie games with thousands of hours in them, where some cost a lot and some cost well under a tenner and i have newer AAA that cost a small fortune with 4-5 hours of playtime from companies i will never buy from again
They made the choice to cash in, i made to choice to never buy from them again which seems like a short term strategy on their part until you realize a lot of people buy their garbage anyway, some even think it is good because they don`t know any better having grown up with their practices, some have money to burn, just don`t care and some compare the cost to other things

Which brings me to expensive, yes, but compared to what
According to my purchase history in WoW i spent 4260 USD which seems like a lot, but i played it for over 14 years so it amounts to 25 USD a month or half the price as my car insurance which i`ve never used, or movie and a coke once a month if you will
Of course if you add that to the 12 million subs which was peak in 2010 you get a slightly different picture ...
One that would explain why so many investors suddenly wanted to be a part of that industry they only a few years earlier had proclaimed "would go nowhere as it was for children and basement dwellers"

I don`t consider my self a gamer, though it is the label most people would put on me simply because of the hours i put in
I have played games since Pacman in 82, but only recreational
I was never into the who`s where and what, i just liked to get lost in the worlds which is why i only have a bit over 100 games on Steam and a couple hundred DLC`s

The thing is i only play a hand full of them as i find the facilitator for half finished AAA games that cost a small fortune, but are still filled with micro transactions, DRM`s demanding you to always stay online, forced 3`rd party clients and account creations, in game ad`s, key manipulations, review bots, games used for crypto mining, sold privacy, hub mods that ban users and remove unwanted elements that contradict the narrative on the junk they are selling, volunteer moderators that can delete posts out of spite, mark them as "malicious" just to get someone banned, because they have a different world view than others, and in the process of bending over for the all mighty dollar become something i do not want to support anymore
So i don`t
I still play those that are impossible to find elsewhere and those i have thousands of hours already in, but apart from that i could care less about Steam

Does it make a difference ? Unless everyone starts doing it, no, but it does not hurt either

Postat inițial de Petrichor:

Postat inițial de Dan5000:

Even with rising AAA game prices, gaming is cheaper as its ever been. I haven't paid more than 20€ for any game for over 10 years. I can sometimes buy 20 games for like 100€. There are tons of bundles over the months and years online that give you tons of good games for almost free.
For example, the Batman bundle that was on humblebundle twice now took me 6 months to finish all the games in it, for just 14€ for 13 games or something? You don't need to buy the newest releases and preorders and you certainly don't need to do any ingame purchases. Buy older games, buy indie games, buy only in bundles or sales. No other hobby has such high discounts and cheap bundles for anything other than gaming.

You have a valid point as far as hobbies but I guess I was pointing more towards the AAA games on just Steam. I would like to see better deals and discounts here so I wouldnt have to search somewhere else or maybe what Im seeing is limited. I tend to stay with one place to buy games and have heard of humblebundle but never used it. Ty for your input

I buy like 90% of my games on Steam aswell. If you don't want to use other sites like Humblebundle, you do lose some deals, but Steam in itself also has lots of good things to offer. I got lots of games above 70% off over the years. Need for Speed Heat for example even was 95% off. You just gotta keep your eyes open and as I said before, not buy all the new releases, but instead wait a year or something before buying things.

Postat inițial de Petrichor:

Postat inițial de Dan5000:

Even with rising AAA game prices, gaming is cheaper as its ever been. I haven't paid more than 20€ for any game for over 10 years. I can sometimes buy 20 games for like 100€. There are tons of bundles over the months and years online that give you tons of good games for almost free.
For example, the Batman bundle that was on humblebundle twice now took me 6 months to finish all the games in it, for just 14€ for 13 games or something? You don't need to buy the newest releases and preorders and you certainly don't need to do any ingame purchases. Buy older games, buy indie games, buy only in bundles or sales. No other hobby has such high discounts and cheap bundles for anything other than gaming.

You have a valid point as far as hobbies but I guess I was pointing more towards the AAA games on just Steam. I would like to see better deals and discounts here so I wouldnt have to search somewhere else or maybe what Im seeing is limited. I tend to stay with one place to buy games and have heard of humblebundle but never used it. Ty for your input

Humble Bundle (and especially Fanatical) usually have better deals on Steam games than Steam itself does. Plus with Humble you earn money back towards your next purchase and with Fanatical they email you a 5% off coupon with every purchase (during certain events you can get better coupons). All the discounts have expiration dates, of course and at least with Fanatical can’t be used on all non-bundled games. But you don’t need to pay for the monthly bundle to buy individual games off Humble Bundle.

I know you said you’d rather stay here, and I get that, but Fanatical often has deeper discounts (sometimes flash-one day only-discounts) on new AAA games than Steam. Humble Bundle prices I’ve found so far to largely be either the all-time-low for a game on SteamDB or be a prediction for a game going on deeper sale during the next Steam sale-but that’s not always the case. (I bought ALL of Dead Cells-base game + all DLC including Return to Castlevania-recently on HB for a little over $23-all but the RtC DLC in a bundle that isn’t even on Steam anymore for less than it ever was on Steam). And I bought Tales of Arise + its DLC (Beyond the Dawn Edition) for $15 recently.

I’ve also bought games like the Silent Hill 2 Remake, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Fatal Frame IV, Persona 5 Royal and quite a few other new or new-ish AAA titles or indie games through Fanatical for discounted prices I still haven’t seen hit Steam (sometimes separately, sometimes through bundles). Fanatical doesn’t have a sub model for any of its bundles, they just release new bundles frequently (every day of a weekday during busy seasons-like now-that’s also when they’re most likely to have numerous daily flash deals).

Side note that with both of these sites you are still buying keys that are redeemable through Steam-so they’ll still be a part of your Steam library (as long as the game in question has the Steam logo and not the GOG or Epic logo). It’s just that you have to go to their sites to find the deals.

Postat inițial de KrakenGreywolf:

Postat inițial de Petrichor:

You have a valid point as far as hobbies but I guess I was pointing more towards the AAA games on just Steam. I would like to see better deals and discounts here so I wouldnt have to search somewhere else or maybe what Im seeing is limited. I tend to stay with one place to buy games and have heard of humblebundle but never used it. Ty for your input

Humble Bundle (and especially Fanatical) usually have better deals on Steam games than Steam itself does. Plus with Humble you earn money back towards your next purchase and with Fanatical they email you a 5% off coupon with every purchase (during certain events you can get better coupons). All the discounts have expiration dates, of course and at least with Fanatical can’t be used on all non-bundled games. But you don’t need to pay for the monthly bundle to buy individual games off Humble Bundle.

I know you said you’d rather stay here, and I get that, but Fanatical often has deeper discounts (sometimes flash-one day only-discounts) on new AAA games than Steam. Humble Bundle prices I’ve found so far to largely be either the all-time-low for a game on SteamDB or be a prediction for a game going on deeper sale during the next Steam sale-but that’s not always the case. (I bought ALL of Dead Cells-base game + all DLC including Return to Castlevania-recently on HB for a little over $23-all but the RtC DLC in a bundle that isn’t even on Steam anymore for less than it ever was on Steam). And I bought Tales of Arise + its DLC (Beyond the Dawn Edition) for $15 recently.

I’ve also bought games like the Silent Hill 2 Remake, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Fatal Frame IV, Persona 5 Royal and quite a few other new or new-ish AAA titles or indie games through Fanatical for discounted prices I still haven’t seen hit Steam (sometimes separately, sometimes through bundles). Fanatical doesn’t have a sub model for any of its bundles, they just release new bundles frequently (every day of a weekday during busy seasons-like now-that’s also when they’re most likely to have numerous daily flash deals).

Side note that with both of these sites you are still buying keys that are redeemable through Steam-so they’ll still be a part of your Steam library (as long as the game in question has the Steam logo and not the GOG or Epic logo). It’s just that you have to go to their sites to find the deals.

Ty for the info and I will look into these sites for future purchases. I was second guessing in making this a discussion but I was sure there had to be others that dont have money to burn on games so thought it was warranted to get different insight and info on purchasing.

Provided you're willing to wait several years, and can snag the occasional humble bundle. Todays pricing is akin to the market crash of the early eighties. There are plenty of AAA titles available for as little as a few dollars. Games depreciate faster then literally everything else.

The games you have your eyes on still being too rich for your blood. Doesn't change the fact that hundreds of cheap alternatives do exist. Heck I got a Humble Bundle a couple months back with seventeen Lego games for fifteen bucks.

The further away you're willing to get from the bleeding edge. The more you find that gaming as a hobby can be dirt cheap. Stop chasing after those golden apples, and expand your horizons just a little bit.

Postat inițial de Dodece:

Provided you're willing to wait several years, and can snag the occasional humble bundle. Todays pricing is akin to the market crash of the early eighties. There are plenty of AAA titles available for as little as a few dollars. Games depreciate faster then literally everything else.

The games you have your eyes on still being too rich for your blood. Doesn't change the fact that hundreds of cheap alternatives do exist. Heck I got a Humble Bundle a couple months back with seventeen Lego games for fifteen bucks.

The further away you're willing to get from the bleeding edge. The more you find that gaming as a hobby can be dirt cheap. Stop chasing after those golden apples, and expand your horizons just a little bit.

Yeah your right and I also have found myself straying away from the latest releases. Seems the hype usually doesnt mean quality anyways lol ty for your input

Many points are valid. And while I do think that games are expensive, per se, the money per hour cost is a lot less than other mediums can be.
In any case, it's not like we are talking about the cost of food, housing or clothing. Gaming is sort of a luxury but you don't need to play the latest blockbuster. I've bought 5 or 6 games from this sale. All great games with amazing ratings and dirt cheap. OK, some are a little bit older, but probably still better than some of the new "top games". In theory, some of my favourite genres could encompass the likes of EAFC26 (I love a footy game but dreadful ratings and judging by the past ones, just avoid at all costs) is with 50% discount. Still even lower steam rating. A game from one of the most popular franchises that came out a month or so ago is already at 50% discount. Honestly, I wouldn't pay 5 euros for it.

I just bought the entire Wasteland collection (except Wasteland 3 that I already had). The entire collection is 24.50 euros. 3 amazing games and also includes remastered versions of Wasteland 1 and 2, plus some goodies. Hours and hours of great gaming for 24.50.

My rule is (almost) never go for launch day. First, higher price. Second, no feedback. There is only one game I grab DLCs on launch day (but I've been playing Rimworld for almost 10 years now). That and Phantom Liberty for Cyberpunk 2077. Apart from that, I mostly look for deals. And often older games are crazy cheap and amazing value. I don't need the latest graphics and the latests games.

Solution...don't buy the games with MTX and DLC.

Postat inițial de Petrichor:

Maybe Im missing something and forgive me if Im wrong. Yes Im thankful for having any sale at all as well as discounts on games from time to time. Yes Devs and Artists deserve to be recognized and rewarded for their time and money spent on producing games and content for us to enjoy. I just feel as a gamer for over 40yrs the cost to play title games along with micro transactions and DLCs within some games has become over the top and I have to rely on sales to play more so now than before or just settle for similar cheaper versions. So with that being said I feel the rising cost of games along with hardware components to enjoy the game in its entirety is a bit much. I know I will prob get some backlash trolls and thats ok but I would really like to hear other perspectives for a clearer perception and continue to keep my passion for gaming. Possibly some better discounts and sales could be helpful.

You should adjust prices for inflation. Take your golden year of games prices. Adjust them to 2025 dollars, are they suddenly as expensive as modern games?

Seems like your real complaint is stagnant wages not keeping up with inflation. And this may not be a problem for game makers to solve.

Ultimately if you're unable or unwilling to pay for something, that's not a problem that needs to be solved.

So for example, I bought Super Mario RPG new in 1996 for $79.99 at Wal-Mart. That makes it a lot more expensive than most AAA games in 2025, even with DLC included.

And Super Mario RPG, while one of my favorites isn't terribly large or long either.

I'm not disagreeing with how you feel personally. But there's lots of ways to look at things. I also like to figure out cost per hour. Anything that ends up costing less than a dollar an hour is cheap entertainment in my opinion.

But anyone who just wants to be unhappy is welcome to it.

Postat inițial de nullable:

Postat inițial de Petrichor:

Maybe Im missing something and forgive me if Im wrong. Yes Im thankful for having any sale at all as well as discounts on games from time to time. Yes Devs and Artists deserve to be recognized and rewarded for their time and money spent on producing games and content for us to enjoy. I just feel as a gamer for over 40yrs the cost to play title games along with micro transactions and DLCs within some games has become over the top and I have to rely on sales to play more so now than before or just settle for similar cheaper versions. So with that being said I feel the rising cost of games along with hardware components to enjoy the game in its entirety is a bit much. I know I will prob get some backlash trolls and thats ok but I would really like to hear other perspectives for a clearer perception and continue to keep my passion for gaming. Possibly some better discounts and sales could be helpful.

You should adjust prices for inflation. Take your golden year of games prices. Adjust them to 2025 dollars, are they suddenly as expensive as modern games?

Seems like your real complaint is stagnant wages not keeping up with inflation. And this may not be a problem for game makers to solve.

Ultimately if you're unable or unwilling to pay for something, that's not a problem that needs to be solved.

So for example, I bought Super Mario RPG new in 1996 for $79.99 at Wal-Mart. That makes it a lot more expensive than most AAA games in 2025, even with DLC included.

And Super Mario RPG, while one of my favorites isn't terribly large or long either.

I'm not disagreeing with how you feel personally. But there's lots of ways to look at things. I also like to figure out cost per hour. Anything that ends up costing less than a dollar an hour is cheap entertainment in my opinion.

But anyone who just wants to be unhappy is welcome to it.

Thats true about theres lots of ways to look at things and thats part of why I made it a discussion to see different perspectives and not look directly into a negative mindset. Ty for your input

Postat inițial de x:

Many points are valid. And while I do think that games are expensive, per se, the money per hour cost is a lot less than other mediums can be.
In any case, it's not like we are talking about the cost of food, housing or clothing. Gaming is sort of a luxury but you don't need to play the latest blockbuster. I've bought 5 or 6 games from this sale. All great games with amazing ratings and dirt cheap. OK, some are a little bit older, but probably still better than some of the new "top games". In theory, some of my favourite genres could encompass the likes of EAFC26 (I love a footy game but dreadful ratings and judging by the past ones, just avoid at all costs) is with 50% discount. Still even lower steam rating. A game from one of the most popular franchises that came out a month or so ago is already at 50% discount. Honestly, I wouldn't pay 5 euros for it.

I just bought the entire Wasteland collection (except Wasteland 3 that I already had). The entire collection is 24.50 euros. 3 amazing games and also includes remastered versions of Wasteland 1 and 2, plus some goodies. Hours and hours of great gaming for 24.50.

My rule is (almost) never go for launch day. First, higher price. Second, no feedback. There is only one game I grab DLCs on launch day (but I've been playing Rimworld for almost 10 years now). That and Phantom Liberty for Cyberpunk 2077. Apart from that, I mostly look for deals. And often older games are crazy cheap and amazing value. I don't need the latest graphics and the latests games.

Ty for input

Postat inițial de Petrichor:

So with that being said I feel the rising cost of games along with hardware components to enjoy the game in its entirety is a bit much. I know I will prob get some backlash trolls and thats ok but I would really like to hear other perspectives for a clearer perception and continue to keep my passion for gaming. Possibly some better discounts and sales could be helpful.

You are not imagining things. Wage growth has not kept up with inflation. The per seat price for games are actually cheaper than ever, but games cost more to make.... Inequality is so bad that game companies have to practice price discrimination by default. All game companies must capture whales......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination

https://www.blog.udonis.co/mobile-marketing/mobile-games/mobile-games-whales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTIrWx9Wxhw

The economics for games is becoming worse. Microsoft is giving up in many ways.

If you want to make gaming more accessible, you kinda have to do hard activism like increasing housing supply... Housing cost is screwing over your hobby by destroying your fellow gamer spending power....

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/build-baby-build-a-plan-to-lower-housing-costs-for-all/

https://www.theatlantic.com/economy/archive/2025/06/zoning-sun-belt-housing-shortage/683352/