Steam Summer Sale!

[CaptainApollo]

Thanks, everyone! You were all very helpful!

[Rainbowtrout]

This special newsflash is brought to you by Mudkip National News.

"On the sixth month, faithful citizens of the Steamdom celebrate the holiest few days in the land: The Summer Sale. It is our Gabegiven right to celebrate these sales, and we will do just that."

I've picked up Hotline Miami for £1, and I'm weighing up what to do next. I will pass on GTA V for now, maybe if it's a great deal I'll consider it. But remember this wisdom for when you are debating a purchase:

[Drunken Hobo]

Civ 5 is great, but is not as good as Civ 4. You don't have as much control over espionage. The trade-off is the religions, and ability to influence game development through the spread of culture. Overall, I would still recommend it. In fact, I would venture to give it :D

Whilst I probably preferred Civ IV to Civ V, when you go back and play IV there are a few annoying things you start to notice. I personally think the combat system in V is far better than the "stack of death" tactics you had to employ in Civ IV. Other civs constantly pestering you to give them free technologies was also annoying in IV, and diplomacy in general is better in Civ V... well as long as you have the expansion packs. It was notoriously awful in the base game, as you could be effective allied with another civ for the entire game only for them to turn around and stab you in the back for absolutely no reason.

Just a shame Civ V was so restrictive to mods. Some of the ones from Civ IV were quite literally like playing a new game.

Civ V is definitely worth it, as it is a very good game that's also quite different to Civ IV, which makes it worth buying. It's also exactly why Beyond Earth absolutely isn't worth buying.

[FleshJeb]

Homeworld Remastered is on sale, get it while it is hot!

I was really excited...then I read the reviews. Holy crap, it sounds like they murdered the gameplay.

[Flymetothemun]

This special newsflash is brought to you by Mudkip National News.

"On the sixth month, faithful citizens of the Steamdom celebrate the holiest few days in the land: The Summer Sale. It is our Gabegiven right to celebrate these sales, and we will do just that."

I've picked up Hotline Miami for £1, and I'm weighing up what to do next. I will pass on GTA V for now, maybe if it's a great deal I'll consider it. But remember this wisdom for when you are debating a purchase:

http://i.imgur.com/hOvdqbr.png

That Gaben in the upper-right corner looks like the average Steam user after a summer sale. Disappointing and depressed that his wallet went from 2 inches thick to only having 2 dollars (Or pounds, euros, or what have you).

But I've seen that flowchart before and I'm gonna be using it this year. Only bought one bundle (A Game + all it's DLC) on a steam summer sale before, got a good deal on it (30 bucks standard, got it for 7), but could've got a better deal on it if I waited a couple hours.

[oriramikad]

*bought a new computer*

*is dead broke*

[dryer_lint]

*bought a new computer*

*is dead broke*

I must be spoiled. How much do you guys spend on summer sales? 20 bucks is my average and it doesn't feel like that much

[Superfluous J]

I must be spoiled. How much do you guys spend on summer sales? 20 bucks is my average and it doesn't feel like that much

So far this year I've spent $2, on Mount & Blade. I expect by the end I'll spend $20 or $30 total, tops. Less if I don't find anything.

But yeah, if you can afford a computer that can play modern games, you can afford a couple games from the Steam Sale.

[segaprophet]

I had to splurge on the Command & Conquer titles, those and Prison Architect. $20 spent and only the second day oh Gaben please have mercy on me . .

Edited June 13, 2015 by segaprophet

[Camacha]

The game is being a bit annoying, with huge gold scores of around 150 million disappearing in thin air. Time to move on, I guess.

[Red Iron Crown]

Cities: Skylines is a daily deal today, 33% off for those who don't have it yet.

[Camacha]

Cities: Skylines is a daily deal today, 33% off for those who don't have it yet.

I am thinking about buying a second copy, it is just a tad on the expensive side for that.

[r4pt0r]

Every steam sale I budget for $60, the price of a brand new full price game. I never spend more than that in total, and usually dont come near that. Im up to $30 so far.

[dryer_lint]

I am 33 cents short from buying Cities:Skylines.

ಠ_ಠ

[Flymetothemun]

I am 33 cents short from buying Cities:Skylines.

ಠ_ಠ

Even with the Daily Deal?

I don't blame you though, Skylines pretty much assassinated my treasure chest. Had $50 yesterday, ended yesterday with $40, now only have $20.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Flymetothemun

[Camacha]

I am 33 cents short from buying Cities:Skylines.

ಠ_ಠ

Can't you sell two or three cards?

[segaprophet]

Just bought Wickland, Dungeon Siege, Majesty Gold HD and World in Conflict! LORD GABEN WHY DO YOU TORTURE ME SO???

[pxi]

I must be spoiled. How much do you guys spend on summer sales? 20 bucks is my average and it doesn't feel like that much

Up to €100 usually, but bear in mind I generally put away €10 or so per month in anticipation of the sales, and I hardly ever buy anything outside of the sales.

I've since bought Creeper World 3, Magica, Legend of Grimrock 2 and Chivalry.

[Camacha]

I must be spoiled. How much do you guys spend on summer sales? 20 bucks is my average and it doesn't feel like that much

Depends very much on the sale, but I think it is usually 25 dollar or less. Now it will probably be a bit more, due to a couple of games being in the sale that I have been eyeing. Then again, it is summer and they are still a tad expensive, so I might very well wait until december. I already got one of the two I nearly bought outside of the sale.

I hate the though of tying lots of money to Steam, as you never know when they call quits and everything is gone forever. That will not happen soon, but probably sooner than most people think, as the life span of digital platforms is typically quite limited.

[pxi]

I hate the though of tying lots of money to Steam, as you never know when they call quits and everything is gone forever. That will not happen soon, but probably sooner than most people think, as the life span of digital platforms is typically quite limited.

Don't know about what it's like where you live, but over here if you want to buy games retail on PC, you're pretty much limited to what's in the top 10.

Yeah it's a small gamble with steam in the long term, but an acceptable risk imo, and compared to what I used to spend on games retail, a lot cheaper to boot.

[Camacha]

Yeah it's a small gamble with steam in the long term, but an acceptable risk imo, and compared to what I used to spend on games retail, a lot cheaper to boot.

It is not a gamble, you know what the outcome will be. The question is how long you think it will take and whether you feel the prices for renting games for that timespan on Steam are acceptable. I say renting, because you are, by the conditions, buying the right to use the game, not the game itself or anything physical. That is the very definition of renting something.

I use Steam too. It has a certain convenience, but a lot of developers simply force you to use Steam - even when you buy physical copies. However, I have no illusions about what is going on and that my Steam library will one day disappear into thin air. I already accepted that and makes me limit by spendings a bit.

[segaprophet]

It is not a gamble, you know what the outcome will be. The question is how long you think it will take and whether you feel the prices for renting games for that timespan on Steam are acceptable. I say renting, because you are, by the conditions, buying the right to use the game, not the game itself or anything physical. That is the very definition of renting something.

I use Steam too. It has a certain convenience, but a lot of developers simply force you to use Steam - even when you buy physical copies. However, I have no illusions about what is going on and that my Steam library will one day disappear into thin air. I already accepted that and makes me limit by spendings a bit.

I'm not quite so confident that the offerings on Steam have a finite lifespan, necessarily. If Steam ever changes, I see it being sold or transferred to another company, and in that case, the terms might change for better or worse, but the game catalog remains. Also, Gaben has made statements in the past to the effect that if Steam ever ended, they would take steps to make the games playable offline, so that might be a possibility as well.

I'm not saying it's not possible that Steam might go belly up one day and leave us all in the lurch, but it's not a forgone conclusion either.

- - - Updated - - -

Another thought, there is also the possibility of Valve doing away with their current DRM scheme and making offline copies playable as part of their business strategy. Apple did it with iTunes. It's possible Valve might eventually make that decision to better compete with their DRM-free competitors like GoG.

[Camacha]

I'm not quite so confident that the offerings on Steam have a finite lifespan, necessarily. If Steam ever changes, I see it being sold or transferred to another company, and in that case, the terms might change for better or worse, but the game catalog remains. Also, Gaben has made statements in the past to the effect that if Steam ever ended, they would take steps to make the games playable offline, so that might be a possibility as well.

I'm not saying it's not possible that Steam might go belly up one day and leave us all in the lurch, but it's not a forgone conclusion either.

If you look at the lifespan and accompanying path of online services like these, it is quite optimistic to think it will go any different. The intention Gaben communicated is laudable, but without hard terms and conditions to back that up, it is nothing more than a pleasant suggestion. They are in no way obligated to do so, and as far as I am aware, have made no arrangements to makes this happen. Both a third party buying Steam and there being financial problems in paradise are scenarios where the people in charge of the money tend to keep it for themselves, meaning that there will be no effort to change availability. There are actually certain legal requirements for companies in trouble that would mostly forbid a move like these, further reducing chances of it ever happening. Though if you look at the legal conditions as they stand, they can pretty much pull the plug tomorrow if they please and there is little anyone can do.

So yeah, the future is hazy, but looking at how online services generally fare, and how big companies deal when it comes to consumer promises without any legal basis (and even then declaring bankruptcy will void any promises and contracts) there is little doubt how the end user game libraries will end up. I would love to be proven wrong, but it is somewhat silly to expect it.

The only realistic way of approaching things is that you view it is a renting service, for however long Steam will exist. Between 5-15 years seems a reasonable expectation. Consider your library already void, and you will be much happier in the future.

- - - Updated - - -

Another thought, there is also the possibility of Valve doing away with their current DRM scheme and making offline copies playable as part of their business strategy. Apple did it with iTunes. It's possible Valve might eventually make that decision to better compete with their DRM-free competitors like GoG.

That does not change much, as you can hardly expect people to not only download their full library to disk, but also to backup it properly and to maintain all files in a runnable and usable condition for years. Files will get corrupt and other problems will arise. It might mitigate the problem for a little while, but it does not solve it. Though I will concede that it is more like a physical copy, which sooner or later gets damaged, incompatible or lost.

[Superfluous J]

I hate the though of tying lots of money to Steam, as you never know when they call quits and everything is gone forever. That will not happen soon, but probably sooner than most people think, as the life span of digital platforms is typically quite limited.

The life span of (individual) games is limited KSP is a massive exception in that I still want to play it more than a year after starting.

If 99% of my steam library disappeared tomorrow I'd not even notice it. Plus, oh no years later the $100 I've spent over the past decade will be gone. I could spend that in a fancy restaurant and it'd be gone the next time I went to the bathroom.

[Camacha]

If 99% of my steam library disappeared tomorrow I'd not even notice it. Plus, oh no years later the $100 I've spent over the past decade will be gone. I could spend that in a fancy restaurant and it'd be gone the next time I went to the bathroom.

We are all different, but I still play very, very old games that I bought new back then. I do this with more games. I tend to try a lot of games, and latch on to a few. I will play those ad nauseum, and over a long period of time.