Who buys PDX games at full price ?

[Atomcreator]

I'm curious to know who does, or has.

Currently if I was a new player and wanted to buy a full PDX game these are the prices. In GBP, as unfortunately that's where I am. Price is for game and all DLC, on steam, rounded up or down.

Stellaris - £141
CK2 - £255
EU4 - £305
HOI4 - £108

From a purely sales point of view, who would spend this sort of money in one go ? Do you think it puts new people off ? Do you think it is contributing to the negative criticism currently aimed at PDX ?

I realise that most people wait for sales, which begs the question, why do they keep older games at high prices year round ? The sales outside of sale time must be pretty bad.

 

[orochi2k]

I do.
Pretty much because they are like 50% cheaper in China comparing to the price in UK. (Well, they can be even cheaper in Russia. )

 

[Atomcreator]

I do.
Pretty much because they are like 50% cheaper in China comparing to the price in UK. (Well, they can be even cheaper in Russia. )

Well that's an eye opener. That much cheaper ?

 

[orochi2k]

Well that's an eye opener. That much cheaper ?

Take CK2 base game as an example: https://steamdb.info/app/203770/ (click the "price" on the left side to see the global price)
In UK it is £29.99
In China it is ¥ 112 which is about £12.84
In Russia it is 599 ₽ which is about £7.38
But usually people in China and Russia doesn't have very high income comparing to those in UK, thus the price is still justified.
Take China for example, a worker (who works from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week, as people call it "996" in China -_-) may have a monthly income of ¥ 3000 here which is between £300 to £400

 

[Atomcreator]

Thanks for the info. Very enlightening.

 

[DesNibelungen]

I do. I buy the game when it comes out, then buy the DLCs as they come out. I don't even notice the cost, and regardless, the amount of entertainment I get out of the games is well worth it. When I recommend the games to others, I just tell them to pick up one of the collections during the many sales that go on throughout the year.

Adding up the full, non-sale price of all content, ignoring the fact that they are actually released over a period of years and are frequently available at substantial discounts, really misrepresents the true cost of playing PDS games. It implies that this price is the entry level for all players, which is completely untrue.

 

[GundamMerc]

Same here, I often buy at full cost, though if a regular sale (steam winter and summer sales in particular) is nearing I will wait for that. It really is much ado about nothing. They're not forcing you to buy it all at once, and I sure as hell didn't. $15 every couple of months isn't exactly expensive.

 

[fuser312]

Its almost 66% ceaper in India where I am. But this number can be misleading as almost everything in India is cheaper compared to western nations including our wages so the burden on wallet is almost same. I don't buy everything at full price though, it really depends on how bad I want something. I generally wait for a sale for DLCs and then buy them in a bundle but some DLCs I want them right away, so it really depends.

If you are a new player, I will suggest to first get somewhat comfortable with base game then look for advice for essential/must have DLCs. Then wait for a sale to get further DLCs that you think you need. Furthermore if you are big into multiplayer, you don't even need all the DLCs to enjoy them, just the host needs them, which imo is actually a great feature.

 

[zorkman]

I have in the past bought the game on release, but won't be doing that in future. Have been disappointed way the recent games have been going, & will await to see if they are set up to be a quality single player experience, rather than set up primely to play multiplayer.

 

[Eelectrica]

I've bought the Stellaris expansions at full price and will continue to do so.

Expansions are usually cheaper than a months netflix subscription and lasts a lot longer so that's cool.

 

[RAID186]

I buy at full price generally- as I am stable. However that's just me buying from the start. The game on release if I'm interested(not Stellaris, for example) and then whatever DLCs are released. If I'm late, like with CK2- I'll just wait for a big sale and buy all of them up to date.

Sales are best for those who have fallen behind on the updated game, it's brilliant.

 

[General Von Trapp]

I only play Crusader Kings 2 and Hearts of Iron 4 so that starts off cheaper and you don’t have to own every Paradox game.

For those games I would usually buy on release (if I am playing it or consider to do so), so it’s kind of like monthly (yearly) installments. Its also better to wait further, especially with Hearts of Iron 4’s latest release because it was not playable until recently. I’m changing my strategy in buying Paradox strategy games , now I wait and see if there are any issues before I buy.

I think if I was someone going to buy all of Stelleris, it would be logical to wait for the steam summer or winter sale. You would only buy them at full price if you was so desperate to play it.

 

[Commonblob]

I realise that most people wait for sales, which begs the question, why do they keep older games at high prices year round ? The sales outside of sale time must be pretty bad.

That would be a poor business decision. Sales create urgency, i.e. they incentivize the people who only half-want the game into actually getting their wallets out. Besides, outside of sales paradox are still going to get a few people buying a base game plus maybe 1/2 dlc. Not everyone feels they need the absolute full package to play.

 

[DesNibelungen]

I can't believe this isn't obvious, but....if you keep everything at sale price all the time, you can't ever have sales. And sales incentivize people to purchase things. Think about it for a minute...

 

[Grzegorz Grzybek]

When I started, I didn't buy at full price. In Poland it's quite expensive. But after buying base games + old DLC "packs" at highly discounted price (~70% off) I started preordering new DLCs.
I agree - it'd be expensive to buy everything when not on sale, but it's definitely affordable to buy at full price when DLCs come out. The playability/price ratio for PDX games is the highest I've ever seen.

 

[Atomcreator]

I can't believe this isn't obvious, but....if you keep everything at sale price all the time, you can't ever have sales. And sales incentivize people to purchase things. Think about it for a minute...

Of course. It is a little more to do with keeping 7 year old games at £30 full price. ( CK2 - for example )

 

[Te. Kenzo]

I do.
Pretty much because they are like 50% cheaper in China comparing to the price in UK. (Well, they can be even cheaper in Russia. )

So the point of the OP is respected, even if technically you buy them are full prices de facto you avoid your local prices.

 

[orochi2k]

So the point of the OP is respected, even if technically you buy them are full prices de facto you avoid your local prices.

I am currently live in China. Thus, that's my local price.
Sometimes I will travel to Hong Kong physically, to bypass some regional lock/censorship in China.

 

[Te. Kenzo]

I am currently live in China. Thus, that's my local price.
Sometimes I will travel to Hong Kong physically, to bypass some regional lock/censorship in China.

I understand

 

[General Von Trapp]

Of course. It is a little more to do with keeping 7 year old games at £30 full price. ( CK2 - for example )

Crusader Kings 2 is still worth its price though, sure the graphics are outdated but if you enjoy strategy games or role playing, you get your money’s worth still to this day.