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[webadict]

Don't forget secondary sales. That could be anywhere from 10% of sales to 50%.

But, it also is at a cheaper price, since it's secondhand.

[forsaken1111]

Don't forget secondary sales. That could be anywhere from 10% of sales to 50%.

We're talking about Steam games I thought. How can you have secondary sales?

[Micro102]

Don't forget secondary sales. That could be anywhere from 10% of sales to 50%.

But, it also is at a cheaper price, since it's secondhand.

Not to the company that made it it isn't. That secondary sale could have been a primary one.

Don't forget secondary sales. That could be anywhere from 10% of sales to 50%.

We're talking about Steam games I thought. How can you have secondary sales?

That's the point. Steam games should be cheaper because they make more money off of them then disk games.

[forsaken1111]

Secondary sales don't usually kick back anything to the publisher either, so that isn't an issue.

[Sergius]

Secondary sales do give back money to the first owner of the game, meaning he has more money to spend on new games.

[cerapa]

I highly doubt that the person in question would use the sale money to buy another copy of the game.

[forsaken1111]

Secondary sales do give back money to the first owner of the game, meaning he has more money to spend on new games.

Well when I buy groceries at the store they get money which is paid to their workers who can then buy video games so BUYING HAM SUPPORTS THE GAME INDUSTRY.

[Sergius]

I highly doubt that the person in question would use the sale money to buy another copy of the game.

A *different* game. 

[Sergius]

Secondary sales do give back money to the first owner of the game, meaning he has more money to spend on new games.

Well when I buy groceries at the store they get money which is paid to their workers who can then buy video games so BUYING HAM SUPPORTS THE GAME INDUSTRY.

Yeah it's called "the economy."

[Necro910]

Secondary sales do give back money to the first owner of the game, meaning he has more money to spend on new games.

Well when I buy groceries at the store they get money which is paid to their workers who can then buy video games so BUYING HAM SUPPORTS THE GAME INDUSTRY.

DEAR GOD

WE MUST BUY MOAR HAM

[kg333]

So many sales have been going through steam, meaning less cost for making disks and no second hand market. Yet they don't drop the average price of games. Discuss 

Don't know about you, but I haven't paid more than $20 for a game in years due to Steam sales, which don't have a brick & mortar equivalent.  The last game I can think of that I paid full price was Mechwarrior 4 back a year or so after its release at $50.

People will still pay the same price, leading to more profit for Valve. It's not hard to figure out.

This pretty much sums things up, though.  People are willing to continue paying that price, be it due to convenience or what have you. 

I'd be curious to see what the sales figures are for a few games on Steam for during sales and during regular pricing, though.  I suspect for a lot of games that the average price paid comes out a bit lower than retail price, due to sheer volume during the sales.

KG

[alway]

That's the point. Steam games should be cheaper because they make more money off of them then disk games.

You forget one thing though: games don't fit the traditional market schema simply because there is a minuscule variable cost. Digitally distributed game prices are completely decoupled from the costs which went into making the game; it's simply a question of 'what combination of price point, price reductions, and sales will make the most money.' You aren't paying based on dev costs or marketing costs, you are paying based on a schema in which they have attempted to guesstimate what will maximize revenue.

Which, as it turns out, has a marketing strategy similar to the following:
1. Release at full price; this is the price at which real fans or those looking forward to the game will buy it (maximize initial revenue)
2. Promotional sale/s some time afterwards, moderate discount (long enough afterwards for those who purchased in group 1 to feel like their earlier purchase was worth buying at full price)
3. Drop price point over time depending on number of people still buying the game with occasional extreme sales (for example, Oblivion for $5) in order to bring in the last bits of revenue and potentially generate new fans for future releases
That's pretty much how you get the most sales and the most revenue from a game, and I don't see that changing any time soon. This from a 4th year Game Dev major who has had to present business cases for game design pitches in class.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/10/24/less-is-more-gabe-newell-on-game-pricing/

[cerapa]

Secondary sales do give back money to the first owner of the game, meaning he has more money to spend on new games.

Well when I buy groceries at the store they get money which is paid to their workers who can then buy video games so BUYING HAM SUPPORTS THE GAME INDUSTRY.

Yeah it's called "the economy."

But we are talking about profits for developers here, not the overall healthiness of the economy.

It is far more likely for the person who is going to buy the game to well, buy the game, and such support the developer. Leading back to my post earlier.

[Sergius]

Secondary sales do give back money to the first owner of the game, meaning he has more money to spend on new games.

Well when I buy groceries at the store they get money which is paid to their workers who can then buy video games so BUYING HAM SUPPORTS THE GAME INDUSTRY.

Yeah it's called "the economy."

But we are talking about profits for developers here, not the overall healthiness of the economy.

It is far more likely for the person who is going to buy the game to well, buy the game, and such support the developer. Leading back to my post earlier.

The ability to sell the game itself again already increases the value and likelihood of that game being purchased. This is calculated by the shopper *in advance* when buying the game, since they know they can sell it later for 20% or whatever, to them that's tangible enough that the game may as well cost 20% less.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/28/technology/28scene.html
Reading Between the Lines of Used Book Sales - NY Times

Same thing applies to games.

[Micro102]

That's the point. Steam games should be cheaper because they make more money off of them then disk games.

You forget one thing though: games don't fit the traditional market schema simply because there is a minuscule variable cost. Digitally distributed game prices are completely decoupled from the costs which went into making the game; it's simply a question of 'what combination of price point, price reductions, and sales will make the most money.' You aren't paying based on dev costs or marketing costs, you are paying based on a schema in which they have attempted to guesstimate what will maximize revenue.

Which, as it turns out, has a marketing strategy similar to the following:
1. Release at full price; this is the price at which real fans or those looking forward to the game will buy it (maximize initial revenue)
2. Promotional sale/s some time afterwards, moderate discount (long enough afterwards for those who purchased in group 1 to feel like their earlier purchase was worth buying at full price)
3. Drop price point over time depending on number of people still buying the game with occasional extreme sales (for example, Oblivion for $5) in order to bring in the last bits of revenue and potentially generate new fans for future releases
That's pretty much how you get the most sales and the most revenue from a game, and I don't see that changing any time soon. This from a 4th year Game Dev major who has had to present business cases for game design pitches in class.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/10/24/less-is-more-gabe-newell-on-game-pricing/

You forgot "Use the old price while making production cheaper and reducing secondary sales and hoping no one complains" part.

What do you think full price is? It's a number based off the cost of the game materials (disk/packaging/storage/ect) and the loss of profits that the company will incure from secondary selling and surplus. Steam came later and got rid of all that. The "full price" should be lower.