Originally Posted by dracula http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...3-2ab35ad7ed73 $10 at the moment for american mcgee's alice on xbox live marketplace. not worth it. if you don't own any of the alice franchise yet, definitely, now is a good time to bite by getting the franchise on the amazon sale with coupon. unfortunately, many of us already has alice maddness returns and just won't double dip to get this franchise version.

that xbox version is a dlc for madness returns

Originally Posted by dracula http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Pr...3-2ab35ad7ed73 $10 at the moment for american mcgee's alice on xbox live marketplace. not worth it. if you don't own any of the alice franchise yet, definitely, now is a good time to bite by getting the franchise on the amazon sale with coupon. unfortunately, many of us already has alice maddness returns and just won't double dip to get this franchise version.

"This add-on works with:"

I think it requires the original. The Origin version launches from within Alice Madness Returns, I think. EA treats it as DLC of sorts.

Originally Posted by Idiotekque Ouch. lol at Tony defending Mooby. All in all, gonna mirror the sentiment. These deals are unimpressive. But since saying that without explaining oneself in detail is somehow "derailing" the thread, I'll explain it. (Disclaimer: Mooby, you publicly ignored me--again--so I don't want to see you complaining about this post. Keep me on your ignore list, old chap.) So far, the BF/Winter/Publisher coupon sales were better than what we're seeing here. The only noteworthy sales going on are on relatively new games that are hitting relatively good prices. Examples being, MP3 (Good price.) TSW (Only a hit because the end of year bonuses somehow got extended.) TWD (Good price, but with a developer who doesn't care about fixing a widespread save bug, not as appealing.) NBA2K13 (Not a bad price, but it's a sports game that is getting closer to replacement, and is said to be much worse than past titles.) DS2 Pack (Great price, but it's THQ, who is in the habit of almost PAYING you to take their stuff. It will be cheaper, soon.) Dark Souls (Okay price, but it's a horrible port that is only made to be worthwhile on the PC with user mods that could get you banned from GFWL. I'm sorry, but that kills the value.) Far Cry 3 (Good, but just a hair cheaper than Steam's price.) So here I'm saying, yes, these are prices that don't simply deserve to be called total garbage. Just hopping on the thread and saying "This is all crap" could be called derailing, sure. Civilly stating one's disappointment in the deals is not, with or with a wall of text (like this, lol) of reasoning. I don't understand why you'd consider that derailing, Tony, while an equally abrupt and useless "Deals are awesome" is not. Blind praise is just as useless as blind criticism. You're know marketing, I'm sure you don't need to be told this. Anyways, back on point, this is a month of sales. Naturally some things are going to be worthwhile, like I pointed out above. That said, there are a lot of very weak and useless sales going on. A lot of them came about by annoying ways, too. For example, an American company, GameFly, had Mass Effect 3 DD for $12.99 (I think it was) during the publisher coupon event. You stated that you would not price match that price because it might conflict with a sale in January. Okay, that leads us all to believe that you're going to run the same price or better in January, not a worse price, which is what we're seeing now. That's extremely disappointing. Same thing happened with Syndicate, although it was a sillier situation where it would have been $0.09 after coupon. $5 on Syndicate is nothing new. Further, I'm thinking that it feels like a bit of a slap in the face to customers when you have a higher price on something an entire year later. From what I'm hearing, the Dragon Age pack was $11.99 last January, while it's $12.99 now. An entire year later, and you're raising the price? That's not very cool. Is it a good price? Yes, but the fact that the price was raised such a long while later pretty much invalidates that, arguably on the principle of that matter. Putting the crosshairs on the cheap games, there are some good prices. For example, Spec Ops and Darkness 2 for $2.50 each. That's cool, but is still a repeat and/or worse deal than what we saw in December. I grabbed the Crazy Action Pack for $5, and I'd say that that's a much better deal that Darkness $2 alone for $2.50. The Crazy Action Pack is still around, that's cool, but it's still just a repeat sale. Good price, don't get me wrong, but it's backwash, which you (Amazon) are doing more and more often lately. Amazon is quickly becoming the go to place for THQ deals, 2K deals, with a small amount of Ubi and WB thrown in, along with weak EA deals (can't really fault you there though, it's EA). Oh, and Paradox, lol. I'm sure a lot of the negative sentiment on this thread comes from people wanting for new deals, not the same ones over and over again, coming back for a dollar or two cheaper every so often. From my personal perspective, I'm never going to be all that impressed with newish games like Far Cry 3, Dark Souls, TWD, etc for these prices, since I know it won't take a great deal of waiting to see them cheaper (though probably not so much for TWD), and a lot of them have technical issues that turn me off to them. I come to Amazon for two things that I think you guys typically do very well. I come to Amazon for 1. Bundles for great prices and separate keys, and 2. Older titles for rock bottom prices (although there are exceptions, like preordering BL2, buying TSW, KOA, etc). I'm not necessarily seeing either of these things in January, and that's influencing my criticism here. I've been waiting for ages on certain things, like the Madden/NHL pack. They're ANCIENT games with zero developer support, and they've been at $4-5 over and over again. When I heard they'd be on the EC list, I was expecting something better than the $4 price tag again. If I was in the market for that THQ bundle (I'm not, since I have most of the games, but it would be a typical buy from me on Amazon), I'd be really disappointed. Why? It was $5 after coupon in December, and now it's $7 after coupon. Saint's Row 3? Considerably more expensive in January (although I know that's mostly because of a December price match). Alice pack? Just not a great price, as the first game has been on sale over and over again, and even at a $2.50 price. Even the "good" cheap game sales are just very uninspiring, like NFS The Run for a whopping $1 cheaper than it's been before. Yes, it is a good price, but beating previous sales by a hair on a very poorly reviewed game isn't going to turn heads. And just for reference, here are some prices I would have caved in on (AFTER coupon prices): Mass Effect 3 - $5-$7.50 Mass Effect 3 DD - $10-$12.50 Syndicate - $2.50 or less Risen 2 - $5-$7.50 EA Classic Sports Pack - $3 or less OR just Madden for $2 (no need for NHL) Sims 3 Starter Pack - $30 or less (it's a common sentiment for Sims players to see no value in "stuff packs") XCOM - $15 (maybe, just spitballing numbers) Mass Effect Trilogy - $15 TWD - $5 And of course I'd probably pick up any free games. *hint hint* Anyways, I've gone on for way too long. TL;DR, the deals are not impressive and I've stated in depth reasoning behind this criticism. I've got my fireproof suit on, because you've amassed an army of fans and defenders, Tony, which is awesome, but admiration and "keep it ups" don't encourage progress. You know I love you to death man, but this is coming from a cheapass to a businessman. Keep it up, just keep it up a little better.

See this is feedback I can do something with as opposed to "This is disappointing" in this case "do something with" means:

"Identify that the price points Idiotkque is excited about are well below what data and statistics tell us are the best prices for those games to be at right now based on past sales performance".

That's fine and helps me identify actual misses in analysis vs. just not being at the right price point for you personally.

Also, I wasn't defending Mooby lol and have asked everyone, multiple times, to stop calling each other names. I've been discussing a solution with a mod and he's going to drop in to comment as well.

That being said, even under the new rules this kind of feedback is still exactly what I'm hoping to encourage rather than flamebait (which you have to admit you often post as well lol).

Lastly,

I agree, that negative feedback vs. a deluge of positive feedback absolutely leads to better ideas as a whole. We just need to stop all the shouting back and forth.

Cheers,
Tony

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Did people complaining about the sale and say its the same+$5 even watch the winter sale?
in the EC sale so far:

Dark Souls was cheaper
TSW was cheaper
BF3 Premium Service was cheaper
Hotline Miami was cheaper
ME3 was cheaper
XCOM was cheaper
Darkness 2 was cheaper
Darksiders 2 pack will be cheaper
Walking Dead is cheaper
Many packs are/were cheaper

etc etc. People must be crazy. I bought enough games for about 10 coupons and have used about 4 of them on things that weren't on sale or things that are now priced cheaper

Originally Posted by Amazon DVG Deals See this is feedback I can do something with as opposed to "This is disappointing" in this case "do something with" means: "Identify that the price points Idiotkque is excited about are well below what data and statistics tell us are the best prices for those games to be at right now based on past sales performance". That's fine and helps me identify actual misses in analysis vs. just not being at the right price point for you personally. Also, I wasn't defending Mooby lol and have asked everyone, multiple times, to stop calling each other names. I've been discussing a solution with a mod and he's going to drop in to comment as well. That being said, even under the new rules this kind of feedback is still exactly what I'm hoping to encourage rather than flamebait (which you have to admit you often post as well lol). Lastly, I agree, that negative feedback vs. a deluge of positive feedback absolutely leads to better ideas as a whole. We just need to stop all the shouting back and forth. Cheers, Tony

Glad we're on the same page.

And sometimes this thread is just a bit too chilly (and not silly enough) for my tastes.


EDIT: Although, while I understand my "standards" being lower than what sales work for you in some cases, there's no excuse for stuff like the Dragon Age pack for a higher price than you last had it an entire year ago. The "Idiotekque's price point" is too low clause doesn't work there, and the same goes for more than one sale price happening here. There's a reason that I'm just one of many people on this thread who are civilly explaining why these prices are less than amazing. Keep that in mind.

Originally Posted by Tolyngee "always" To quote Inigo Montoya: that word, I do not think it means what you think it means

Blah-di-blah, excluding flash and community votes. They invariably price match dailies, midweek, and weekend deals from Steam and other U.S. outlets.

Originally Posted by tham1988 unless EA buys darksiders 2 on the 22nd

Oh shut up, don't joke about evil stuff, it would be the end of the franchise.

Hmm, that THQ news may prompt me to pick up the Amazon deal. I was planning on refraining from buying anything for more than a couple bucks until I'd worked through some of the stuff I've got waiting to be played, but the prospect of Darksiders getting picked up by a less discount-friendly publisher might change that.

The only other thing that might change that? The addition of some of those recent Paradox bundles that I kept just barely deciding to pass on to the EC list. Hint, hint.

Been following the thread all day and haven't seen any mention of a reprisal of the Dark Souls deal. Any chance of a repeat at $17.99 or cheaper? Thanks a bunch!

Also, thanks for the heads up on Far Cry, currently my most wanted title.

Tony,

Any chance we can see a sale on MX vs ATV Reflex ? It is a THQ game and I think the only title they have that I don't own and do want. Maybe they'd be willing to to do a deep sale on it since they never have before anywhere?

BTW, how did Toilet Tycoon do on sales?

Originally Posted by MysterD Nice @ EA Sports pack. So in for that. We really need to get some modern-day NHL and Madden games from EA on the PC - that'd be great.

Agreed. $3.99 for a version of Madden on PC I can mod isn't too shabby at all.

Tony and I would like to implement a new rule that we think will cut down on a lot of the thread de-railing.

Complaints regarding the quality of deals:

If you are unhappy with the quality of a given deal, do not post feedback that is not actionable. This negativity invites response by those who may have previously requested the deal you are commenting on. If you would like to leave feedback on the quality of a deal please structure it as 'I am not interested in this deal but I would be at $xx.xx'.

Please do not expect a response, from Tony or others in the thread to such complaints, these discussions tend to immediately derail the thread for pages.

Lastly, if you see a complaint and you'd like to respond to it, please do not, these conversations have proven unproductive and thread derailing.

As always, report all posts that break the rules, or feel free to PM me.

Originally Posted by Trakan Tony and I would like to implement a new rule that we think will cut down on a lot of the thread de-railing. Complaints regarding the quality of deals: If you are unhappy with the quality of a given deal, do not post feedback that is not actionable. This negativity invites response by those who may have previously requested the deal you are commenting on. If you would like to leave feedback on the quality of a deal please structure it as 'I am not interested in this deal but I would be at $xx.xx'. Please do not expect a response, from Tony or others in the thread to such complaints, these discussions tend to immediately derail the thread for pages. Lastly, if you see a complaint and you'd like to respond to it, please do not, these conversations have proven unproductive and thread derailing. As always, report all posts that break the rules, or feel free to PM me.

Thanks Trakan,

Adding this to post 2 now.

Cheers,
Tony

Originally Posted by tritangle Yes, a lot of the complaining and whining isn't helping Tony (or Amazon), but at the same time, replying with "Tony is da best" or "Whiners just want free games" isn't helping either. A lot of the deals that Amazon have provided since Black Friday have been great (2K Packs and Darksiders for example) and I think overall Amazon kicked Steam's ass this holiday season. However, if Amazon is have people consider their January Editor's Choice sale as a super-sale event -- one of the best of the year, then it must step-up. Tony has been presenting a lot of the games as being a great deal AFTER COUPON. But Amazon must keep in mind that not everyone have those $5 coupons. If we are to compare the BEFORE COUPON price with previous deals that Amazon, Steam, and others have had, then this Editor's Choice Event has been lackluster. That's not to knock on Tony -- he's been a great representative for both Amazon and gamers -- nor is it a complaint, but it's an honest criticism of this sale thus far. Again, I want to re-iterate: Amazon has kicked Steam's ass in deals this season, but the Editor's Choice Sale hasn't been as good as previous Sales that Amazon and their competitors have had, in my opinion.

Just want to echo ALL of this. It is really hard to complain about these prices, but it is also hard to commit on a few when they aren't reaching new lows. Still, it isn't really a surprise to not see anything being a "freebie" as that writing was on the wall as soon as Hotline was bumped up to 7.49 before the month started. I can't say I blame Amazon for it, and while notice of no freebies would have been nice - had Tony outright said there wouldn't be freebies, people would be even more off their hinges regarding the two price glitches that led to freebies. I don't think there was anything that could have been done to make us all ecstatic on that front.

We are definitely spoiled by the market being driven down so fast. And really, the prices are still really solid (not like Steam selling Terraria and several others for HIGHER prices a full year later during this recent Winter Sale). It may just be time for a pause and a chance to catch up on games that I have recently purchased.

Of course, I only have one coupon left so I may bite on Syndicate at the same price, or the EA sports pair. So long as it lets me keep to my New Year's Resolution (no game purchases over 9.99) it may be considered.

Originally Posted by xRidley Did people complaining about the sale and say its the same+$5 even watch the winter sale? in the EC sale so far: Dark Souls was cheaper TSW was cheaper BF3 Premium Service was cheaper Hotline Miami was cheaper ME3 was cheaper XCOM was cheaper Darkness 2 was cheaper Darksiders 2 pack will be cheaper Walking Dead is cheaper Many packs are/were cheaper etc etc. People must be crazy. I bought enough games for about 10 coupons and have used about 4 of them on things that weren't on sale or things that are now priced cheaper

BEFORE EC, I already owned -> Dark Souls; Hotline Miami; ME3; Darkness 2; Darksiders Pack.

Bought from EC sale -> The Walking Dead.
Got 8 coupons left to burn.

TSW was CHEAPER on GMG a bit ago at $5.xx (before it hit no subs).
XCOM: EU was real cheap at GMG a few weeks back at $17.50.
Borderlands 2 was ultra-cheap at $21; its Season Pass was $10.50; Mechromancer was $3.50 on GMG few weeks back.
I should note - I really DO NOT expect Amazon DVG on NEW games to top International site GMG. They're tough to beat on the newest of stuff. Plus, International markets can be different, on certain things.

Originally Posted by Mooby Blah-di-blah, excluding flash and community votes. They invariably price match dailies, midweek, and weekend deals from Steam and other U.S. outlets.

I can absolutely assure you they did not PM ME3 DE. Otherwise I certainly would have bought it from Amazon, as I would have gotten yet another EC coupon out of it back during BF holiday sales, making it effectively below my insta-buy threshold in my mind.

I'm not saying that Amazon doesn't indeed often PM. But you were and are continuing to use absolutes that are false.

It's ME3 -- consider it a public service by Tony to spare you from the horror!

Originally Posted by DonRamon Oh shut up, don't joke about evil stuff, it would be the end of the franchise.

well hopefully WB or take two will buy metro
anything either of those two companies buy will be better than it would have been with thq

Originally Posted by Amazon DVG Deals An update to this is that we're waiting on the Strat First pack to do the stress test then figuring out the 1C bundle. Cheers, Tony

Good! if there's going to be a price glitch, I'd much rather it happen on the strat first bundle than 1c

Tony,

Back to feedback on the sales, one of the main reasons I bought some of the games from steam vs. Amazon was that they usually also carried the older versions of the games and they did a good job marketing the older titles together with the newer ones.

I'll have to go back and list what I bought from steam because of this (and this was the first time I bought anything from steam in any meaningful amount) but one area where I think Amazon can continue to work on is to make sure it carries the older copies of the popular games AND market them together with the newer title.

Amazon is probably losing some impulse purchases by not carrying/marketing titles together as much as they could. I realize you're adding more classic titles every day but finding them when you're in the middle of a buying frenzy is still a challenge/missed opportunity.

Originally Posted by Necrotron Agreed. $3.99 for a version of Madden on PC I can mod isn't too shabby at all.

Abso-freaking-lutely.
I'm MOST DEFINITELY looking forward to this deal w/ Madden 2008 and the NHL 09 game combo pack.
Gotta' love the modders.

EDIT:
Anyone know if there's a fair deal of NHL 09 mods floating around?