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A Game I love is on sale at a deep discount. Happy or Sad?

Happy because the sale probably means a lot of new players will get to experience a great game that I love.

Sad because the cut price probably means that the game wasn't the commercial success that enthusiasts hoped it would be.

Happy because sales do work according to Gabe Newell and the sale will probably generate a much needed revenue bump for the  company and help them to keep up their good work.

Sad because the revenue bump from a Steam sale is still only a trickle compared to the massive earnings of Call of Duty 999 and other top sellers that never need to go on discount.

Happy because discount sales tend to bring sanity to the overall game market lowering prices all around and allowing gamers like myself to enjoy many more games than we otherwise could afford.  

Sad because it is human nature to equate price with quality and deep discounts within a few months of launch probably do damage to the reputation of a game.

This post was triggered by the observation that Bethseda/Id's game Rage is currently on sale from Gamefly for next to nothing. I liked the game a lot. The post was also heavily influenced by THQ's Humble Bundle giveaway before Christmas. The bundle generated a quick revenue boost for the company but was apparently not enough to keep it from bankruptcy and likely break up.


Comments

Jayedub said…
I couldn't agree more with your price vs quality and discount statement. In the case of RAGE, the game has been out for some time so I'm not totally surprised to see it at such a low price.

Personally I think RAGE was amazing and very underrated.
mbp said…
Hi JD you are right about Rage it came out last year but $3 is still a very low price for such a good game.

The price=quality thing is actually a pet bugbear of mine. My wife believes in it absolutely whereas I much prefer to look for a bargain. If she goes shopping she will only ever look at the most expensive brands but I prefer discount brands and generics. My wife will point out the times my purchases have turned out to be cheap rubbish. I on the other hand counter that for the price she pays I could buy two of everything and simply throw out the stuff that didn't work.

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