Why not it affects consoles, handhelds, so why not pc game prices, afterall pc game prices are only as low as they are because console has the majority of the audience.
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I think they will keep the same, affordable prices for the steam box and pc gaming, if it works with games from you steam pc account even better! Owning over 100 games myself, I would only need to buy the console and still get games through steam sales and good bundles (Humble Bundle ^^). Steam box is a great idea only if they port the games from pc to it. Steambox i think will be announced, but with the nice, affordable steam prices! :D
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I don't see a connection. Sure "normally" console games are way more expensive than PC ones and have lesser discounts. However, that doesn't necessarily mean Valve would try to match their prices with Xbox/PS as for them a living room device is a business diversification. I'm sure Valve for now will stay pc-oriented and certainly won't destroy their core business like that. Rather it has a good chance of gaining foot in the living room via cheaper game prices/more attractive offers.
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Its not valve you have to worry about, Its the gaming companies.
IF 2 million people switch from consoles to steambox - that is alot of lost profit on consoles now to counter it they raise pc prices, its the same with gamepads, apps, phones.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND BABY
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Games are delivered digitally. Copies are made as demanded.
So, supply is infinite.
If you wanna go supply and demand, here:
There's an infinite supply and a limited demand (both now and in the case of steambox)
Supply being much higher than demand, prices should be near 0.
A small change in demand doesn't affect the ratio against infinite. Therefore all games should be free.
Supply and demand doesn't work with the inifinite supply of digital goods.
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true but they can only sell as many as people want and that is still demand playing a part.
they can only supply what is demanded
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I don't really think you understand the concept of supply and demand, not even in the slightest. The only reason supply is relevant in the traditional economic model is that supply dictates inherent value, together with how great the demand for something is. With a very low supply and a very high demand, prices go through the roof. With a very high supply and a very low demand, prices drop to near nothing. With digital goods, though, there's infinite supply, which means the whole "supply and demand" model is useless to apply. The digital games market is 100% about demand.
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Well, I understand your point. You're basically telling me "what if one day Valve sells so many boxes they'll become more important for Valve than PC and thus it'll crank up the prices of games". I understand that, but as I said - opposite is also possible. "If" Valve consoles become so big as you expect them to MS and Sony might consider lowering their game prices in turn.
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You are talking about a monumental shift in what is currently the common practice. If anything, the Steambox will more likely encourage even further flexibility in the way ALL games are marketed. The only way a Steambox will be able to gain on the firmly held ground by the major consoles in the living room (MS, Sony, and Nintendo) is by offering an alternative with their first line of attack and argument for the Steambox being software pricing. A successful Steambox could also shift console game prices downward depending on how much ground Steambox gains. It will be a slow process before the masses are ready to embrace traditional PC games in the living room to begin with.
I cannot see your scenario coming to fruition. More competition = lower prices.
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your logic is correct, but only from a company standpoint of consoles, Gaming companies will be the ones that change platform prices.
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Its common sense though and in every major commercial industry, more options = lower prices. From the car to computers. I would say the majority of my friends/age bracket (I'm in my early 30s) are not PC gamers. They've lived and breathed consoles since Atari. The only way you're going to get that group of people (regardless of age) to even consider changing the way they view and approach gaming is by offering an alternative that gives them the same quality at a lower price. What's the incentive for a console gamer to switch to Steambox if its the same thing their Microsoft or Sony console that they've been attached to for years provide? The only reason Valve would consider stepping into this arena is to get those people to be their customers and they're not going to fuck over people by changing the way their already large userbase approaches game marketing. Your angle is a completely negative one and extremely unlikely. This could open doors for lower development costs (as its easier to develop for PC) to a plethora of other positives that can't even be predicted at this point.
Every gamer, no matter their preference of how they game/platform of choice, should be rooting for the Steambox to be a success.
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I am rooting for steam to be a success why do people think i am not,
Cmon if 80% of the current console audience switches to steambox, do you really think they will leave prices the same for games on consoles....NO it will be a price drop.
But those who make the games will be losing alof of profit so will instead increase the prices on the biggest game sales % which could very well be steambox.
hence my arugument
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Do you actually think that 80% of the console only gamers would switch? That's an extremely huge # and very unlikely and if it did happen would take YEARS to get to. The video game industry has only become as big as it is now in the last 10 years. What do you think Microsoft and Sony would do if that happen? Again, your logic is on the extreme negative side and is incomparable to any similar industry. More movie theatres = less ticket prices - more people seeing movies. More car companies = lesser car prices = more people driving.
Do you realize how many more sales a developer of any game would get if hardware was cheaper? The supposed loss you speak off would be offset by the sheer size of the userbase. That's why Steam has amazing deals and we get stuff like bundles. The userbase is already massive! Raising prices would only hurt that.
I see what you're trying to accomplish with this pseudo-argument, but it's just not logical and flies in the face of economics and the history of commercial capitalism. More users = lesser prices = larger bottom line.
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What you are forgetting on this point is that as it stands console gamers take the brunt of the prices currently. If we own the market share then it will be us that takes it.
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The chance of us owning the market share anytime in the near future is basically slim and none. If Microsoft and Sony have competition for their customers it forces prices DOWN. Look at the console wars and how price cuts occur - it starts with the hardware and trickles to the software. There's always a back and forth as to who will cut the lowest. There's always going to be developers who keep prices premium b/c they can afford to. If hardware is cheaper, it leaves more $ for gamers to spend on games!
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Steam only sets the prices for its own games, i am talking about companies that make the game like bethesda etc, if they are not making the money on consoles due to lack of audience, then they will raise prices to account for that.
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But we're already used to that. There are always going to be developers that have a huge following (another example would be Rockstar) that don't discount until much later in a particular game's lifestyle. Bethesda and Rockstar can also afford to do this since they've got such a firm foothold already. They have a set userbase that doesn't mind paying the premium prices for YEARS on their titles. On the flipside you have developers of something like Mark of the Ninja, or Super Meat Boy, who make even more money because they're able to market their games at a competitive value and get known b/c of this. They can't compete with the big boys' marketing, they have to compete in other ways. Bundles, discounts, etc.
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totally agree, i hope it stays that way aswell as it caters to both end of the markets.
I just really hope that drops in console game sales because of a steambox- Causing more people to be on pc which is awsome btw, dont cause a raise in pc game prices to account for it.
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How is the current situation with windows and gaming affecting prices or bundles existing at all?
Why would a new system allowing you to play games make PC gaming more expensive?
Your total lack of arguments is not helping me believe you in any way.
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Its about gaming markets, the companies charge for a game based on how many they can sell on a given platform, smaller the guaranteed sales audience the lower the prices. If more people are pc gaming through steambox that will change the ratio.
I know people will argue with me but its how the market works i have seen it for years.
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Yes when you are dealing with fewer people, but when you are dealing with a large audience and only a very small % is guaranteed to buy from you, that is when price drops occur so they can convince more to buy.
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You totally got it wrong: fewer customers mean higher prices. And more customers mean higher prices too. The only scenario where prices might drop is if there are actually rivaling producers (and indie games actually is one of the very rare cases where this actually is given).
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Yes but we are not talking about that are we, We are talking about a change of audience from one platform to another. Prices are the way they are now because of the current trend towards consoles.
If the trend goes back to pc. expect game prices to rise on pc and lower on console.
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Steam is saving the video game company, I do not expect to end this nonsense.
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I agree with you and i am backing steam all the way, just saying this is a possibility.
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My guess is, that the Steambox will be nothing but a little, inexpensive cube to run SteamOS and connect your hardware (Keyboard, Mouse, Gamepad) to.. or maybe a hybrid like the nVidia Shield, capable to run smartphone-grade-games.. but in both cases, the PC will do the heavy lifting and its just another method to access and enjoy your games.
But no matter how it turns out, Valve understands the PC Gaming Culture like noone else and they have my full trust to keep it alive.
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There is 3 different options. One of them will be a streaming box.
the others are not
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There is a market for the nVidia Shield. The streaming games functionality is really appealing to me.
So if SteamOS does that part right, kudos to them. I actually want this quite badly.
(Putting my pc near the tv is not an option. Any other options are either way too complicated or way too expensive)
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Kinda, people think its steam that will raise prices but infact it is game dev companies like 2k/bethesda etc if they are not making the sales on consoles but on pc then prices on pc will reflect that :(
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Well actually the reason why console games are more expensive is becuasethere is only 1 market for each console. PC has dozens of digital stores who fight each other to be the cheapest. But if Valve becomes too big. It will be 1 dominated market on PC so publishers will do the samething to PC as they did to consoles.
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Well guess i was wrong then but in a way what i said could happen still possibly could.
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If the Steambox can make HL2, L4D2, Portal 2 or even CS work it can be possible to see your whole library of steam games into the Steambox, but only 3 of those games have the controller support so it will be quite hard.
The first real problem you should ask yourself for the Steambox is the controller support.
That answers the question by only old games will be supported (mostly indies as the OUYA), new games won't because of the high graphics that the console won't be able to handle.
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http://i.imgur.com/pqqyicR.png
It could be fake, but it have a lot of sense O_o
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Your first argument is flawed. In the last 2 years more games were sold for PC (windows + mac + linux, because I mean "personal computer" and not IBM-Compatible x86 computer with MS-DOS when I say PC) than for consoles. Not sure why people are bothering with "PC is dying, sales are low" crap, that was something that was relevant before digital distribution took over the entire market on PC.
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Closing due to steam abuse- wow people really need to grow up
My arugment is invalid, I was only stating a possibility, next person to msg me shit gets reported.
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Steambox could affect gaming prices.
If it manages to gain support and snatch profits from consoles prices will rise.
lets check the sales numbers here
Now Consoles own the market and they are also the highest priced games - pc being the lowest priced and the least popular in sales.
Now the more sales and the bigger the popularity of steam, the greater the increase in price.
You can all deny it as much as you want, but prices scale with the popularity from apps to console games.
Reworked my case- and shown possible reasons.
P.s didnt come for a argument, just wanted to show a possible side affect.
A comment i made that should show my logic :D
I am rooting for steam to be a success why do people think i am not,
Cmon if 80% of the current console audience switches to steambox, do you really think they will leave prices the same for games on consoles....NO it will be a price drop.
But those who make the games will be losing alot of profit so will instead increase the prices on the biggest game sales % which could very well be steambox.
Prices are set high on console games because they own the market share, Pc not so much hence the low prices because in comparison to console its nothing big.
If pc reclaims more of the share then expect a price rise in pc games to reflect it.
but then you have to account for other things like competition, Publisher console game prices are the way they are not just because of the shares but the dominated market and pricing being the same across the board.
Pc is lucky that everyone is fighting for sales and prices are cool becuase of that, nice deal, Bundles etc.
Its many small retailers and not one big dominated market, not if steam takes off because of a steambox that could make the market more dedicated which unfortunately also results in a rise in prices because publishers will do exactly what they did on consoles.
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