Steam - can they really keep it up?

[Anjel]

This is for Steam users mainly, but I appreciate others comments as well. Just want to know if I'm the only one who has noticed any differences.

So in my opinion, Valve may have shot itself in the foot with the volume of deals they're launching. I've been using Steam since Half Life 2 was released but it is only over the past two years or so I've started buying games on there. It used to run like clockwork, I'd get home on a Wednesday night, load up Steam at 6pm (UK) and would be presented with an advertisement for Midweek Madness and whatever deal they were offering. Friday nights were Weekend Deal and various different concepts for the festive period, summer deals and the regular school holidays (or so it would seem).

Very recently they have launched the daily deals and it seems since then they have been struggling to launch the deals on time, Midweek Madness and Weekend Deals seem to have moved back a day, they have been marking down the wrong games/advertising the wrong games and the 'preparing download' window seems to take a lot longer to complete (although this may just be something my end).

Is all of the administration work that goes into the deals (and the money) finally getting to them or am I noticing things that are mere blips on your average Steam users radar?

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

im gonna be honest here. i just realised steam had weekend deals, looked at steam after reading this and saw the witcher on the weekend deal. What have i been smoking....

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

Yes there have been problems, mainly right after a deal goes up or a new game goes live or whatever, its the same on the escapist, at 5pm on wednesday the escapist gets really slow for me.. so i think its just something you have to deal with. I dont think its affected anything serious.
Also i think the fact that the deals finish a day after they're supposed to, i think is to compensate for people in other timezones

 

[Smooth Operator]

What you are noticing is Steam success, digital distribution is steadily on the rise and they are siting in the middle of it all, no doubt they need to expand to accomodate all the extra users (new servers, new staff,...).

And while upgrades are made not everyone is at their usual post so some extra mistakes slip through, and some servers are taken offline so the response times go up.

 

[The Apothecarry]

I haven't seen a great choice in titles on their deals. Most of it is games I've never heard of or don't want. I know there are plenty of impulse buyers, myself included, who will jump on a sudden deal, so using the sales to generate income will always work. For whatever game is on sale, someone somewhere will buy it.

I haven't noticed staggers or difference between sales and the corresponding dates. I've been trying to avoid buying anything (stupid Terraria).

 

[Anjel]

im gonna be honest here. i just realised steam had weekend deals, looked at steam after reading this and saw the witcher on the weekend deal. What have i been smoking....

Is it pot? It's pot. I can smell it from here! When I checked last night it wasn't The Witcher in the UK, so maybe we're getting something you're not, I don't know.

*insert penis joke here*

OT: I've not noticed any problems, really. But their deals are slowly fading in importance to me. Hell, I haven't seen a deal on a game I actually want and don't have in... ages.

I'm still picking up the odd game, but mainly it's indie stuff. It seems they're too scared to lower the prices of new games - even outside of deals. The Witcher 2 is dropping in price retail, yet Steam are still overcharging.

Off-topic: Why is Brink not on the UK store?

Yes there have been problems, mainly right after a deal goes up or a new game goes live or whatever, its the same on the escapist, at 5pm on wednesday the escapist gets really slow for me.. so i think its just something you have to deal with. I dont think its affected anything serious.
Also i think the fact that the deals finish a day after they're supposed to, i think is to compensate for people in other timezones

It's nothing serious yet. But I'm just worried that they will piss off people with the little problems, lose customers and go bust. I like Steam

its just an adjustment period, its extra work and their just getting used to it.
And yeah we get a bigger patch each day to show the deals etc. Totally worth it.

Ofc they can keep it up

I hope you're right

 

[Anjel]

Off-topic: Why is Brink not on the UK store?

Usually caused by rating issues or the game not being released there yet.

It has released here. I can buy it retail and on other services, just not Steam :/

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Off-topic: Why is Brink not on the UK store?

Usually caused by rating issues or the game not being released there yet.

It has released here. I can buy it retail and on other services, just not Steam :/

I bought Brink on Steam in the UK?!? My friend has it also
did they take it down or somthing.

 

[Anjel]

Off-topic: Why is Brink not on the UK store?

Usually caused by rating issues or the game not being released there yet.

It has released here. I can buy it retail and on other services, just not Steam :/

I bought Brink on Steam in the UK?!? My friend has it also
did they take it down or somthing.

I can't find it at all... I can find the trailers when I search, but that is it. How bizarre.

 

[KrubixCube]

I love Steam...I think their business model is genius. Did you know they make more money per head than google or apple? So I think they're doing alright.

That said, do I think Daily Deals are a good idea? Maybe not for my heart pressure, but they're a good thing I think. I like Steam, weirdly enough I think they've got a lot of integrity.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I think they can keep it up, they've realised, before the rest of the industry, that after about 6 months or so, sales of a title are virtually nothing.

Therefore a 75% sale is actually more profit than charging full price, especially with the negligible costs of digital distribution.

Say a game has dropped to maybe 10 sales a month after its peak period, so they chuck it out for 75% off for a weekend

10 x£30 = £ 300
200x£ 7.50= £1500

Without having any facts to back it up, I'd suggest that's an understatement in terms of sales on discounted titles.

 

[Anjel]

Did you know they make more money per head than google or apple?

I do now. They are leading the way compared to other digital distribution platforms for games, right? Apple have the app store of course and many games are purchased off of there, do they count towards Apples sales figures (as the proceeds will go to the developer obviously)?

 

[veloper]

Did you know they make more money per head than google or apple?

I do now. They are leading the way compared to other digital distribution platforms for games, right? Apple have the app store of course and many games are purchased off of there, do they count towards Apples sales figures (as the proceeds will go to the developer obviously)?

They take a big cut.

 

[Anjel]

10 x£30 = £ 300
200x£ 7.50= £1500

Without having any facts to back it up, I'd suggest that's an understatement in terms of sales on discounted titles.

LOL! Really? I'd be pissed if I only sold 200 copies of a game on a global service such as Steam But I get what you mean, and I used this concept to explain to my (blonde) partner how they can afford to discount a game to £3.75 and still turn a profit.

 

[KrubixCube]

Link to the article if anyone's interested: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0228/technology-gabe-newell-videogames-valve-online-mayhem.html

 

[Anjel]

They take a big cut.

Ohhh... sorry, I haven't played a game on a mobile since Snake on the Nokia 5110 (I think it was a 5110 at least) I'm a complete noob when it comes to mobile game sales. Thanks

 

[teebeeohh]

of course they can, valve can give you a 7 hour manhunt.

in all fairness while i always look at the offers on steam i hardly ever wait for it and/or pay special attention, if it's something that really interest me i will notice it sooner rather than later anyway.