Amazon PCDD $12.49 Walking Dead ($7.49 after coupon)

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Amazon DVG Deals

Amazon DVG Deals

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Hi CAGs,



I'll be posting deals we're running on Digital Games (PC/Mac, Free to Play, Sony/Microsoft Points/Subs).

I'm also here to answer questions you might have, get you closer to the developers by hosting Q&As, setting up podcasts, live streaming gameplay etc. If I don't respond to a question you have in thread please send me a PM. These ping my email address and make it more likely that I will see your question and respond more quickly.

FYI. EA Games sold by Amazon will not activate on Steam.
Digital Holiday

1/5-1/12

The Walking Dead - $12.49 ($7.49 post coupon)

1/11-1/13:

Alice: Madness Returns: The Complete Collection - $11.99 pre coupon (6.99 after coupon) - not Steam
Dragon Age Pack PC - $12.99 pre-coupon ($7.99 after coupon) - not Steam

1/18-1/20:

Need for Speed: The Run - $8.99 ($3.99 after coupon) - not Steam
EA Sports Classic Pack - $8.99 ($3.99 after coupon) - not Steam
Syndicate - $9.99 ($4.99 after coupon) - not Steam
Crysis Maximum Maximum -$17.99 ($12.99 after coupon) - not Steam

1/13-1/19:

Tantalizing THQ Medley - $11.99 pre coupon ($6.99 after coupon) - Steam

1/11-1/12:

Darksiders Franchise Pack - $13.19 before coupon ($8.19 after coupon) - Steam
Saints Row The Third: The Full Package - $12.49 pre coupon ($7.49 after coupon) - Steam

1/29-1/31:

Burning Hot Bundle - $11.99 ($6.99 after coupon)

F.A.Q.S.:

1. Does the game I'm buying from Amazon Activate on Steam/Origin/Uplay? What DRM does the game use?

There are two places to identify DRM on a digital video game detail page:

At the top of the page, below the title:

16hm7a8.png


In the "Product Description" section:

r06ykl.jpg


2. Note on Electronic Arts Games - For the most part, EA games sold on Amazon do not activate on Steam. Most activate on Origin.

3. Note on DRM with limited activations:

Our Policy



4. Sometimes I'll do giveaways.

5. I work with developers and publishers to get fun (or at least what I think is fun) content to share with you all. Here are some examples:

a. Check out the Pax Gameplay videos here: Xcom: Enemy Unknown I played Xcom with Jake, the Creative Director for the game, a few months before the game came out Also, on this page, check out the Q&A, also a community driven event.

b. Check out the interview on this page: Borderlands 2 we did this interview at E3 with Randy Pitchford this year.

c. We've partnered with the ++GoodGames Podcast to feature many of the games we carry. They talk to the developers about the game development process, how the games are conceptualized and managed, all kinds of fun stuff. I'm working on putting together full link list and will update when I have it.

What else do we sell?

Xbox Live Points and Subscriptions:

1600 Microsoft Live Points
4000 Microsoft Live Points
12 Month XBOX Live Subscription
3 Month XBOX Live Subscription]
12 Month + 1 XBOX Live Subscription

PSN+ Subscriptions and PSN Points:

$20 PSN Points
$50 PSN Points
12 Month PSN+ Subscription
3 Month PSN+ Subscription

We also have a Free-2-Play store supported by our GameConnect technology. Gameconnect allows you to link your Amazon.com account with free-2-play and MMO accounts so that you can buy things like in game currency, premium game time/subscriptions, in game items, etc. on Amazon.com using your Amazon.com payment options and have this content delivered directly into your game.

To check out the Free-2-Play games we offer you can visit our storefront here:

Free-2-Play Store
 
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Was tempted by the EA pack for $10, but couldn't pass it up for $7.50. Double dipping on Mirror's Edge and Bulletstorm, but I kept Bulletstorm in my Steam inventory and my Mirror's Edge was a physical disc that's who knows where. Now I can put up my Steam version of Bulletstorm for trade and I'll have more than KoA on my Origin account, so maybe I'll use it a bit more.
 
[quote name='Corpekata']You should avoid some sales simply because those were mediocre prices. All of those games have been much cheaper several times over the past year. The only decent deal in the WB debut was Lego Batman 2.[/QUOTE]

This. I posted the same thing during that sale period. A lot of those games were cheaper during other sales. When you buy games, if you want the best deals you should really look at past sale history.
 
[quote name='Idiotekque']I have to agree to a certain degree. It's frustrating when you buy something and it is immediately put on a better sale month or so later.

We buy some of these deals thinking, okay, Tony pushed and got a really good price on these games, and we buy them. Yet when a month or so later they're way cheaper? That begs the question of why they weren't just that price the last time.

Obviously you win some you lose some, but that's kind of a surefire way to frustrate customers a bit. The same thing has happened to me a handful of times recently. It almost feels like we should just ignore every bundle deal Amazon puts together the first time, and wait a month till it repeats at a better price. That's kind of weird.

(It would be nice if we could "price match" within a certain amount of time, but that's probably asking too much.)[/QUOTE]

Again, just curious what you think the time frame between promotions should be? Or if you're suggesting that we don't test out pricing to see what works?

I'm happy to alleviate customer frustration, and strive to do so regularly. Understand that feedback like this will absolutely result in fewer bundle deals getting re-run at better prices though.

It is something we absolutely discuss regularly.

Cheers,
Tony
 
I think a month is fine. This example just stands out more because generally when Amazon puts up older games on sale, you're discounting far more thant 50 percent. 50 percent is usually reserved for new titles (Max Payne, Sleeping Dogs, Spec Ops). I don't exactly see this sort of situation repeating that often given the unusual circumstances.
 
[quote name='Idiotekque']I have to agree to a certain degree. It's frustrating when you buy something and it is immediately put on a better sale month or so later.

We buy some of these deals thinking, okay, Tony pushed and got a really good price on these games, and we buy them. Yet when a month or so later they're way cheaper? That begs the question of why they weren't just that price the last time.

Obviously you win some you lose some, but that's kind of a surefire way to frustrate customers a bit. The same thing has happened to me a handful of times recently. It almost feels like we should just ignore every bundle deal Amazon puts together the first time, and wait a month till it repeats at a better price. That's kind of weird.

(It would be nice if we could "price match" within a certain amount of time, but that's probably asking too much.)[/QUOTE]

I will agree it is frustrating, but I don't think they are doing anything wrong. Your main regret is you wish you had waited. No company ever advertises planned sales far in advance, otherwise everyone would wait for the price to drop. It's pretty generous Tony advertises his sales in as far advance as he does sometimes.

You buy the game because the price advertised was worth it to you at the time, and part of that higher price you pay is the time you got to enjoy the game before the price dropped again. The prices fluctuate because it's still a business. They want to shift as many units as they can for most possible money. Sometimes this means dropping the price even further. It's not like they had the sale today for 50% off, and then tomorrow it was 75%. A month gap is a huge amount of time in game sales. I don't think Amazon is doing anything wrong, and those of us who waited get to benefit from it.
 
Hey Tony,

Don't know if you answered my question but can Amazon Price Match the current Gamefly sale on Noric Games? link

Would be great to get Spellforce on Amazon.

Thanks!
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']Again, just curious what you think the time frame between promotions should be? Or if you're suggesting that we don't test out pricing to see what works?

I'm happy to alleviate customer frustration, and strive to do so regularly. Understand that feedback like this will absolutely result in fewer bundle deals getting re-run at better prices though.

It is something we absolutely discuss regularly.

Cheers,
Tony[/QUOTE]

I totally disagree with what he said. People who don't like a price can wait and hope the price drops further (this is what I do usually, but in instances where I haven't I don't blame Amazon). A think you've waited at least a month before reissuing bundles at cheaper prices. I like how you are currently doing it.

Versus on Steam, where it takes months before a game goes on sale again. Personally I do not like that system at all.
 
[quote name='Scorch']Am I supposed to avoid the holiday sales now because there's probably going to be a better sale a few weeks after?[/QUOTE]You should pay the price you feel comfortable and happy paying. If that $15 then pay $15. If it goes cheaper later, at least you paid what you felt was good at the time. If you'll feel upset that you haven't even played it yet, don't keep a backlog and only buy games you're immediately ready to play.

I won't lie; I'd be disappointed if I bought something and saw it on sale soon after for less money. But I don't think you should hold it against the vendor.
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']Curious what the general thought here is, should we not be promoting products within 2 months of each other?[/QUOTE]

Everything cheaper always forever. Just don't do it within the same sale like Steam does sometimes and you are fine.

Now hurry up and re-run a sale on Spec Ops.
 
i agree with the 1 moth or whatever the current strategy is. if you change it to 2 months, you run the risk of lost sales to other stores. you might also get complaints from people who then say "well i bought it 2 months ago".
 
[quote name='Syntax Error']You should pay the price you feel comfortable and happy paying. If that $15 then pay $15. If it goes cheaper later, at least you paid what you felt was good at the time. If you'll feel upset that you haven't even played it yet, don't keep a backlog and only buy games you're immediately ready to play.

I won't lie; I'd be disappointed if I bought something and saw it on sale soon after for less money. But I don't think you should hold it against the vendor.[/QUOTE]

I agree 100%. Very well put.
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']Again, just curious what you think the time frame between promotions should be? Or if you're suggesting that we don't test out pricing to see what works?

I'm happy to alleviate customer frustration, and strive to do so regularly. Understand that feedback like this will absolutely result in fewer bundle deals getting re-run at better prices though.

It is something we absolutely discuss regularly.

Cheers,
Tony[/QUOTE]
Well for example, the EA pack ran what, a month and a half ago? It was $13.49 I think. I (and obviously a lot of other people) people bought it then, because it looked like a really awesome price for those games. I certainly didn't think it would get cheaper a very short time later.

I'm not asking that you don't strive for better prices, but it's frustrating when those better prices come immediately after the first wave of buyers grabs the games at the first price. I thought you pushed hard and managed that $13.49 because it was the best Amazon could get. Those are all fairly older games, so why couldn't you have pushed for $9.99 the first time around?

I'd completely understand if 6 months to a year later the price gets better, because that's generally how the digital market goes. If something is $20 in the Steam Summer sale, it'll be $10 in the Steam Winter sale, for example. I think it's fine that Amazon does something different, but like I said above, how it's being carried out can be kind of frustrating.

My theoretical solutions are probably asking too much, but I don't know. It would be nice if we could get the price that's going to happen a month or so later the first time around. That would be the easiest, but may not be possible. It would also work if say, if a bundle sells for $13, and within a few months later it sells for $10, can everyone who bought it for the original price get a $3-5 coupon or account credit? That would still give early buyers an incentive to jump on deals the first time around, instead of waiting for the better price a month later. The same thing happened drastically with the big Paradox pack. It went from $20 to under $10 within a couple months. That hurt.

As it stands though, I'm not going to grab the Kalypso pack I've been anticipating for $12. Why? Because I know I'm probably going to see it for $10 in a month or two. If this pattern continues, a lot of people are probably going to do the same.

(And sorry if I seem rude or harsh at all, I'm just trying to provide raw feedback.)
 
[quote name='Idiotekque']I have to agree to a certain degree. It's frustrating when you buy something and it is immediately put on a better sale month or so later.

We buy some of these deals thinking, okay, Tony pushed and got a really good price on these games, and we buy them. Yet when a month or so later they're way cheaper? That begs the question of why they weren't just that price the last time.

Obviously you win some you lose some, but that's kind of a surefire way to frustrate customers a bit. The same thing has happened to me a handful of times recently. It almost feels like we should just ignore every bundle deal Amazon puts together the first time, and wait a month till it repeats at a better price. That's kind of weird.

(It would be nice if we could "price match" within a certain amount of time, but that's probably asking too much.)[/QUOTE]


Prices for games change sometimes every month, especially right after launch. You can't expect a great deal for a game that's just been released a month ago to be the same as a great deal for a game that's just released TWO months ago. Or four. Or six.

If you want the game right at launch (or right at launch on a new service), then you'll pay more. A month later, you could easily pay a lot less. It happens all the time.

The only way for you to really run through these scenarios and not get burned is to simply set yourself a price point for a given game at a given time. I know, for myself, I always say if a game's "regular" price that I regularly see it for is $59.99, then a great sale price is $20. If it's regular price is $30, I think a great sale price is $15. Etc. I factor in how long the game has been out, how close I am to Black Friday, is it Steam/Origin?, the publisher and their history of price drops (Squaresoft likes to drop like a rock, but Activision is stingy. EA is fast on the drop, but Rockstar can be slow yet hits the price drops hard when they hit them), and my overall desire for the game.

Then I use that as a baseline to determine. Is the deal great enough to warrant my wallet opening? If it is, then I do not cry or whine or wail when the game is later (a month, a week, or a day, it doesn't matter) going for a lower price because I got a great deal on the games that I was fine with at the time when I got it and I'm content that the deal was worth it for me.

Knowing that with deals you will always win some and you will lose some, too, will keep you from going crazy. You have to start looking at your savings over the long term rather than worrying yourself silly over the individual sales. Remembering when Amazon sold me The Witcher 2 for $16 makes me fine with the fact I paid $10 for Saints Row The Third when Steam sold it the next day for $13 for it plus all DLC. Or a non-Amazon example, remembering Origin gave me BF3 for $12 makes me fine with the fact that I got ME3 for $12 when Amazon had a deal for ME3 DD for $20. Sure, these are different services, but the argument is the same. I could have been angry I didn't get the best deal, but the fact is the overall net effect of what Tony and deals in general do is great because I'm saving money. Maybe not always getting the best deal, but usually.

As long as you are paying what you feel is a great price at the time, you shouldn't do anything with future sales for the same game digitally except learn perhaps from the sales pattern with said publisher and/or said franchise and wait longer next time. If you can wait. Never underestimate how much having that game an extra month can be worth to some people. That's the reason many people pay $60 for a game when I will NEVER pay $60 for a game. Not ever.

You had those games a month. If the deal you enjoyed wasn't great enough, that's one problem and it's one you should learn from. You should wait for the deal that IS great enough that in the face of superior deals you're still fine with the deal you got. Comparing the deals you took advantage of in the past to the deals you see others getting now... well, that's going to leave you disappointed a lot of the time. And if deals aren't better in the future than they were in the past, then the deals won't sell because how many times can you run the same game at the same price repeatedly before you've got thousands of people skipping the same game and not going to your site because, hey, you won't drop your prices any lower? Is it fair to expect a guy who didn't buy the game a month ago because the deal wasn't great enough for them to keep getting the same deal over and over just to make things seem okie dokie to you?

TL;DR: Wait until the price is low enough that you won't be upset if a better deal comes along for every game you buy and you won't fret over the individual sales where you didn't get the best deal ever. Attain discipline and reap the rewards.
 
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[quote name='Idiotekque']Well for example, the EA pack ran what, a month and a half ago? It was $13.49 I think. I (and obviously a lot of other people) people bought it then, because it looked like a really awesome price for those games. I certainly didn't think it would get cheaper a very short time later.

I'm not asking that you don't strive for better prices, but it's frustrating when those better prices come immediately after the first wave of buyers grabs the games at the first price. I thought you pushed hard and managed that $13.49 because it was the best Amazon could get. Those are all fairly older games, so why couldn't you have pushed for $9.99 the first time around?

I'd completely understand if 6 months to a year later the price gets better, because that's generally how the digital market goes. If something is $20 in the Steam Summer sale, it'll be $10 in the Steam Winter sale, for example. I think it's fine that Amazon does something different, but like I said above, how it's being carried out can be kind of frustrating.

My theoretical solutions are probably asking too much, but I don't know. It would be nice if we could get the price that's going to happen a month or so later the first time around. That would be the easiest, but may not be possible. It would also work if say, if a bundle sells for $13, and within a few months later it sells for $10, can everyone who bought it for the original price get a $3-5 coupon or account credit? That would still give early buyers an incentive to jump on deals the first time around, instead of waiting for the better price a month later. The same thing happened drastically with the big Paradox pack. It went from $20 to under $10 within a couple months. That hurt.

As it stands though, I'm not going to grab the Kalypso pack I've been anticipating for $12. Why? Because I know I'm probably going to see it for $10 in a month or two. If this pattern continues, a lot of people are probably going to do the same.

(And sorry if I seem rude or harsh at all, I'm just trying to provide raw feedback.)[/QUOTE]Seems extremely unreliable, honestly. Why not wait a few more months for it's inevitable $8 dollar price drop? In fact, why buy anything? Amazon has been known to have free game promotions.

Ideally, you would get as low prices on as many items as possible within reasonable spacing. More so than trying not trying to avoid customers getting buyer's remorse over other people getting a better deal.
 
[quote name='Idiotekque']As it stands though, I'm not going to grab the Kalypso pack I've been anticipating for $12. Why? Because I know I'm probably going to see it for $10 in a month or two. If this pattern continues, a lot of people are probably going to do the same.

(And sorry if I seem rude or harsh at all, I'm just trying to provide raw feedback.)[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what you should do. If the price doesn't seem good enough to you, don't buy it. But there are plenty of people that will buy it at $12 so they can enjoy the game right away rather than wait.
 
One month is fine for me to start to see those MAJOR price cuts (50% or more) - especially when companies are often pushing (often overpriced) DLC out at a crazy rate.

As a rule of thumb - I nowadays do like to wait until a game hits EITHER...
$10 or less (especially true on major expensive titles);
OR at 75% off (on any title - Indie, Triple-A title, whatever).

Sometimes, VERY hard for me to do so - i.e. Mass Effect 3 ($30 from Amazon in Retail Box b/c I was fiending for it so badly).
 
[quote name='HisDivineShadow']Prices for games change sometimes every month, especially right after launch. You can't expect a great deal for a game that's just been released a month ago to be the same as a great deal for a game that's just released TWO months ago. Or four. Or six.

If you want the game right at launch (or right at launch on a new service), then you'll pay more. A month later, you could easily pay a lot less. It happens all the time.

The only way for you to really run through these scenarios and not get burned is to simply set yourself a price point for a given game at a given time. I know, for myself, I always say if a game's "regular" price that I regularly see it for is $59.99, then a great sale price is $20. If it's regular price is $30, I think a great sale price is $15. Etc. I factor in how long the game has been out, how close I am to Black Friday, the publisher and their history of price drops (Squaresoft likes to drop like a rock, but Activision is stingy. EA is fast on the drop, but Rockstar can be slow yet hits the price drops hard when they hit them), and my overall desire for the game.

Then I use that as a baseline to determine. Is the deal great enough to warrant my wallet opening? If it is, then I do not cry or whine or wail when the game is later (a month, a week, or a day, it doesn't matter) because I got a great deal on the games that I was fine with at the time.

You win some, you lose some. As long as you are paying what you feel is a great price at the time, you shouldn't do anything with future sales for the same game digitally except learn perhaps from the sales pattern with said publisher and/or said franchise and wait longer next time.

If you can wait. Never underestimate how much having that game an extra month can be worth to some people. That's the reason many people pay $60 for a game when I will NEVER pay $60 for a game. Not ever.

You had those games a month. If the deal you enjoyed wasn't great enough, that's one problem, but comparing the deals you got in the past to the deals you got now... well, that's going to leave you disappointed a lot of the time. If deals aren't better in the future than they were in the past, then the deals won't sell because how many times can you run the same game at the same price repeatedly before you've got thousands of people skipping the same game and not going to your site because, hey, you won't drop your prices any lower?[/QUOTE]
I completely understand the "you win some you lose some" and that waiting is always best ideas. You're completely right, I agree.

Tony asked for feedback on how they're doing it though, and I'm just speaking my mind. It's one thing for a game that was just released and went on sale for $40 to suddenly go on sale for $25 or $30 a month later, but that doesn't typically happen for bundles. When Amazon started putting up these bundles, I thought they were deep discounts that were pushed hard for. I guess they were, but these are some extremely short timeframes for discounts on the same bundles.

If it is what it is, that's fine. But I, as well as probably a great deal of other buyers, are going to recognize this pattern and just wait for the second time these bundles go on sale. It's an extremely short wait, and we'll save money. That's a fine solution if that's what it takes, but giving early buyers a bit of an incentive in the way of coupons/account credit may be a good idea both to the buyers and to Amazon, since those coupons will encourage buyers to buy MORE! That's a good thing, right?
 
[quote name='UW_Shocks']Usually you have to buy the Bundle to get it at that price. However, I'm also interested in knowing whether the individual games will get some sort of discount.[/QUOTE]

Yeah hopefully.

If anyone is interested in splitting up the Batman pack, I'm only interested in Arkham Asylum, let me know.

Wish I got to use that code on the EA Bundle.
 
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[quote name='BernardoOne']Hey Tony. Any plans on doing a horror-game bundle this month? I think it would be a awesome idea :)[/QUOTE]

That does sound like fun. Too bad they don't have Steam keys for Capcom games. Dead Rising 2, DR2: Off the Record, RE5, DMC3, these would all be good. Or Silent Hill Homecoming, even.

They do have Dead Space 1 and 2, though.
 
[quote name='Idiotekque']I completely understand the "you win some you lose some" and that waiting is always best ideas. You're completely right, I agree.

Tony asked for feedback on how they're doing it though, and I'm just speaking my mind. It's one thing for a game that was just released and went on sale for $40 to suddenly go on sale for $25 or $30 a month later, but that doesn't typically happen for bundles. When Amazon started putting up these bundles, I thought they were deep discounts that were pushed hard for. I guess they were, but these are some extremely short timeframes for discounts on the same bundles.

If it is what it is, that's fine. But I, as well as probably a great deal of other buyers, are going to recognize this pattern and just wait for the second time these bundles go on sale. It's an extremely short wait, and we'll save money. That's a fine solution if that's what it takes, but giving early buyers a bit of an incentive in the way of coupons/account credit may be a good idea both to the buyers and to Amazon, since those coupons will encourage buyers to buy MORE! That's a good thing, right?[/QUOTE]


You've every right to speak your mind. I'm not telling you to stop. I'm offering a counter point because I think that feedback is best when considered in total, not just with the side that seems to be the most unhappy. Too often, people consider opinions only when they're angry or upset with something rather than along with the people who are happy and content with the way things are or perhaps are merely satisfied with the overall balance of the way things are handled.

I think your argument runs the risk of being hyperbole when you believe one set of deals implies an overall pattern for the entire site. I remember when I missed the Mass Effect 3 deal ($22 for the standard, $30 for the DD) back in May. I kept poking/reminding/begging/promising away firstborns to Tony to repeat the deal, but he couldn't. Not for months and I waited. Once I threw in my undying admiration, he put up a better deal... after Origin offered a deal I decided was my threshold. Oh well.

Thing is, I wouldn't say that the overall deals at Amazon were defined by that one experience or how I missed it because it was a one day thing and I should have been hyper aware of deals on a site when they were easy to miss. I'd say that was one deal that I wanted badly that just didn't go the way I wanted it to at the time when I wanted it to.

The overall experience is how you define something, not just the one time it went a way you didn't like.

PS:

Tony,

Sleeping Dogs for $22.50 was too good to pass up. I just finished Saints Row The Third and I was ready for some more open world shenanigans of a different sort. Thanks!
 
OK, well here is where I would stand:

1. People complaining about a 2-4 dollar price drop on an insane bundle - just get over it. Either price was freaking amazing.

2. Scorch, I feel your pain, but my policy is I only buy what I am going to play or anticipate playing immediately at a higher price. Everything else I just wait. Almost every PC game will eventually hit $5 and with these bundles lately (indie and amazon) I find myself getting awesome AAA games for $2 or less sometimes! So unless I absolutely want something I just wait. Especially if I had a bandwidth cap.

Overall, I'm fine with the strategy. I buy at the price I am comfortable at. I bought Darkness II at $9.99 and turns out I might not be able to play it as soon as I though. Heard a $5 Halloween sale might be possible - great. No complaints here. I paid what I wanted when I wanted. I think a month is more than enough time between promoting the same game at a lower price. If you didn't play it within that month you need to adjust your strategy of buying games and wait until the $5 price point or lower for games that are getting into the backlog.

Also, I am hoping for a cool Halloween themed sale. Selection is probably limited and I likely have everything that'll be on sale, but Halloween is my favorite holiday so I love anything Halloween themed.
 
[quote name='HisDivineShadow']You've every right to speak your mind. I'm not telling you to stop. I'm offering a counter point because I think that feedback is best when considered in total, not just with the side that seems to be the most unhappy. Too often, people consider opinions only when they're angry or upset with something rather than along with the people who are happy and content with the way things are or perhaps are merely satisfied with the overall balance of the way things are handled.

I think your argument runs the risk of being hyperbole when you believe one set of deals implies an overall pattern for the entire site. I remember when I missed the Mass Effect 3 deal ($22 for the standard, $30 for the DD) back in May. I kept poking/reminding/begging/promising away firstborns to Tony to repeat the deal, but he couldn't. Not for months and I waited. Once I threw in my undying admiration, he put up a better deal... after Origin offered a deal I decided was my threshold. Oh well.

Thing is, I wouldn't say that the overall deals at Amazon were defined by that one experience or how I missed it because it was a one day thing and I should have been hyper aware of deals on a site when they were easy to miss. I'd say that was one deal that I wanted badly that just didn't go the way I wanted it to at the time when I wanted it to.

The overall experience is how you define something, not just the one time it went a way you didn't like.

PS:

Tony,

Sleeping Dogs for $22.50 was too good to pass up. I just finished Saints Row The Third and I was ready for some more open world shenanigans of a different sort. Thanks![/QUOTE]
I understand. Like I said, if it's going to continue going the way it has been going, that just teaches me and others to wait. Elsewhere, "waiting" mean waiting a long time. If the wait is only a month or two on Amazon though, that's barely an inconvenience.

There are also lots of times where the deals here do not get better, because they were already amazing. I grabbed the Alice + Mirror's Edge pack for $8. That's a great price, because Alice has only been down to $4 at the lowest, and Mirror's Edge similar (although it's in the EA pack and can be picked up for $2 from a CAG). That's a great deal, and it hasn't repeated at a lower price because that's pretty much a rock bottom price. It's also been quite awhile since it ran.

Another one is the Bioshock bundle for $7.49. Great price. Has it repeated for lower? No, that's a rock bottom price.

So I suppose I'd enjoy seeing that from Amazon more often. If a deal is going to run, it would be nice to see it run at the rock bottom price (when it comes to older games in bundles, not newer releases). If not that, everyone loves when Amazon does coupons. Incentive to early buyers not only makes people happy, but it also encourages people to spend more money on the next wave of sales.

But if not, that's okay too. It will become a pattern that people will adjust to, and that will be that.

Things can always get better though, right? I don't suggest they get worse via feedback, only that they get better! Are people really opposed to coupons? ;)

[quote name='CheapLikeAFox']1. People complaining about a 2-4 dollar price drop on an insane bundle - just get over it. Either price was freaking amazing.[/QUOTE]
And Fox, I'm not complaining. Don't misunderstand, I'm glad I had to chance to grab these bundles at either price, but Tony always encourages and welcomes feedback, so I'm offering my thoughts on how it could possibly be better. If he likes the ideas? Cool. If not, oh well. :)
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']Nope, my guys have gone dark...I think they are getting tired of daily emails/phone calls.

Cheers,
Tony[/QUOTE]

Hamsters ARE nocturnal, right?
 
This is the nature of digital games. Prices go down quickly. Turnover is frequent. Sales are highly competitive.

Each person should think about what he/she wants to pay for a game, or what they value that game to be worth. If you buy something on sale and are happy with it, and it goes down later in a month, I don't think you can be too upset. You paid a price you found fit.

There's nothing misleading or crappy about Amazon having better discounts down the road on games that have been out a little while longer. That's just how it goes.

This is personally why I don't mind waiting 6 months to play games. Just look at Sleeping Dogs - $22.50 compared to $50 just two months ago. I can wait, plus I don't play many games to begin with.
 
At least Amazon waits at least a month before re-releasing bundles for cheaper. I know a lot of people who were pissed a steam because they halved the price of the Saint's Row Franchise Pack the same week as the original summer deal. And then Jade Empire went for cheaper literally the day after the summer sale ended.
 
Tony, just don't wait years to put a game on sale and then have it be a daily for 30% off and then have it be a daily the next day for 75% off and everything will be fine. (Like Steam did with Jade Empire -- the only time I felt truly trolled by a price drop.)

98% of us understand that prices tend to trend downward for all games as they get older, and we won't complain that you lower the price of a bundle or add a game to it or whatever you have to do to make the bundle more enticing to people who passed it up the first time.

It seems weird that people would complain about a lower price a month later. I can't concentrate with that fox licking a window. Oh my god it is so funny! I can't look away!
 
[quote name='Dr Sasquatch']I can't concentrate with that fox licking a window. Oh my god it is so funny! I can't look away![/QUOTE]

It was funny at first, but now it's really creeping me out. Look at it's eyes man. Look at it's eyes.
 
[quote name='Scorch']This is really crappy of Amazon. They were 50% off on Labor Day. I purchased all five of these. Fear 3 was $15, Fear 2 was $7.50, Fear was $5, Batman AC was $15, Batman AA GOTY was $10. It was a huge deal because WB had just joined Amazon and the games joined the 50% off promotion. That ended up being $52.50.. now they're $20? I could've saved $32?! I feel completely screwed over, especially since that was a holiday sale and this is just a regular sale. I'd shrug it off if it was a few bucks, but $32 is a lot.

I've only been able to install AA since they're all so heavy on the disk space (Fear 1 + expansions is 17+ gb).[/QUOTE]
How is that exactly crappy? You should pick and choose when to buy your games. You felt that those deals were worth it for you at the time, so you bought them.

Case in point: I REALLY REALLY REALLY ....REALLLLLLLLLLY want to play Sleeping dogs, and could buy it for 22.50 + tax after the 25% code Tony supplied today... But that simply isnt my price point. I know that it will drop low and fast because it is a new IP and holiday season is coming around.

When it hits the price point I want to pay and play it. I think the full price of admission on Sleeping dogs is worth it, but I just do not have that budget.

You have no reason to complain. I could see if it was a day or two the price changed, sure...but this is nearly a full month you are asking for leeway for here.
 
I don't have any problem with the way deals are going now. Am I going to end up buying something at a price that is higher than it will be later? Of course. That's the way thing's go - prices for digital games go down over time. I buy when I think the price is right for me. A lower price being offered later doesn't change the fact that when I bought I was happy with the price.

Amazon is trying to make money. It makes sense financially to offer a product at one price, then later reduce it to entice people who didn't think the product was worth the higher price. Besides, I imagine in at least some cases, it's sale data from previous sales that convince publishers to agree to a lower sale price.

I also think about a month in between sales of the same product is a good time frame.
 
[quote name='CheapLikeAFox']
2. Scorch, I feel your pain, but my policy is I only buy what I am going to play or anticipate playing immediately at a higher price. Everything else I just wait. Almost every PC game will eventually hit $5 and with these bundles lately (indie and amazon) I find myself getting awesome AAA games for $2 or less sometimes! So unless I absolutely want something I just wait. Especially if I had a bandwidth cap.
[/QUOTE]
Amen.

Yeah, if I'm dropping $20+ on a game, I'm gonna be playing it ASAP - the more it costs, the more IMMEDIATELY it is to play. NOW. No wait period. Everything else gets delayed for EXPENSIVE shiny game.

Most other games, which normally end-up in my always rapidly growing backlog - I usually wait for games to hit $10 or less (especially if it's a Triple-A title); OR a 75% off sale.
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']I hear your feedback, but I'm curious, what time period do you think is acceptable for spacing between promotions? Our general rule of thumb is 1 month. Additionally, it makes more sense to launch products at a lower discount, see how customers respond, and then plan future promotions based on that response.

When I say "it makes sense" I am speaking from a statistical/financial/logical perspective.

Curious what the general thought here is, should we not be promoting products within 2 months of each other? Does that mean that Black Friday discounts should be the exact same as Christmas Sale Discounts?

Cheers,
Tony[/QUOTE]

Since I'm a rabid pro-consumer type of guy, I would say that whenever you can find a reason to drop the price, do so.

From a marketing standpoint, I think that you get more sales by not establishing a set pattern. Yes, the price may go slightly cheaper. On the other hand, the price may not hit that low for quite some time. For example, Amazon ran a promo on Modern Warfare 2 for $5. I don't think it's ever returned to that price. I didn't expect the 5-game EA pack to go below $10 at least until Christmas, so I was surprised but not upset -- except with my own ability of prediction. I thought about it maybe going $7.50 like the THQ pack and made the calculated decision. I never expected you would drop this quickly, or that EA would allow you to drop this quickly. Well done!

I think with a degree of uncertainty, the interest and excitement is raised, which should increase sales overall.

The only thing I would suggest for your consideration is that there maybe be a 1 month price guarantee with specifically promoted items and/or pre-orders -- as it is with other goods from some retailers. Meaning, if you buy X and it drops further in price, the customer is credited the difference in game credit. That should only increase sales overall as purchasers would feel more confident in making their purchase decision. But since I don't have access to your sales data and plans, this strategy may cost more than what it is worth.

And let me apologize in advance, but I am going to hit up your customer service for said credit with one of my purchases. I do like to get the best possible bargain and it never hurts to ask. Of course, if the rep says no I'm not going to hold it against Amazon or you, throw a tantrum, or stop saying all the nice things I do say about Amazon's customer service and aggressive pricing.

But I would appreciate the gesture and it would make me feel better about shopping with Amazon. ;)
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']Again, just curious what you think the time frame between promotions should be? Or if you're suggesting that we don't test out pricing to see what works?

I'm happy to alleviate customer frustration, and strive to do so regularly. Understand that feedback like this will absolutely result in fewer bundle deals getting re-run at better prices though.

It is something we absolutely discuss regularly.

Cheers,
Tony[/QUOTE]
Hopefully you don't get too discouraged by the vocal minority, Tony. I get people sending me bitchy PMs from the GMG thread all the time (and I am not even an employee) about miniscule price differences. A lot of people here like getting the "best" deals on stuff more than actually playing the games they buy.
 
The Batman bundle would have been a hell of a bundle if Arkham City was GOTY too ... Any chances to make that happen? Would be must buy for me in that case :)
 
[quote name='gomikeoh']How is that exactly crappy? You should pick and choose when to buy your games. You felt that those deals were worth it for you at the time, so you bought them.

Case in point: I REALLY REALLY REALLY ....REALLLLLLLLLLY want to play Sleeping dogs, and could buy it for 22.50 + tax after the 25% code Tony supplied today... But that simply isnt my price point. I know that it will drop low and fast because it is a new IP and holiday season is coming around.

When it hits the price point I want to pay and play it. I think the full price of admission on Sleeping dogs is worth it, but I just do not have that budget.

You have no reason to complain. I could see if it was a day or two the price changed, sure...but this is nearly a full month you are asking for leeway for here.[/QUOTE]

My problem w/ Sleeping Dogs at $22 or so is...
1. There'll be at least 6 months of planned DLC for Sleeping Dogs;
2. That I'm currently playing Diablo III;
3. I began Legend of Grimrock days ago and probably will go back to that eventually, after D3's done with...;
4. MW3 is now in my backlog (which probably won't be there very long...);
5. AND my backlog is getting EVEN bigger!

If all the above crap wasn't in my way, I might be interested in Sleeping Dogs right now...
 
Tony,
Last year one of the best deals I thought you had around the end of the year was Dungeon Defenders... I put out 100 hours in that game alone...Since then there has been a bunch of DLC for that game, are you guys planning on carrying them anytime?

Also +1 for Dark Souls sale!
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']EDIT Thanks The End.

Cheers,
Tony[/QUOTE]

Wow I sent a PM right when you posted it, but apparently it never went thru. oh well
 
[quote name='gomikeoh']Tony,
Last year one of the best deals I thought you had around the end of the year was Dungeon Defenders... I put out 100 hours in that game alone...Since then there has been a bunch of DLC for that game, are you guys planning on carrying them anytime?

Also +1 for Dark Souls sale![/QUOTE]

Dark Souls: PTD is one of those games I'm VERY-VERY interested in...
...at least Durante's Mod pretty much looks like it'll cure most of my concerns about "lazy-PC port syndrome."


EDIT:
[quote name='MC Kage']Wow I sent a PM right when you posted it, but apparently it never went thru. oh well[/QUOTE]

I'm curious what kind of FREE games hook-up Tony was giving out to the one who won that "PM me fast" contest, hehe.
 
[quote name='nategator']Since I'm a rabid pro-consumer type of guy, I would say that whenever you can find a reason to drop the price, do so.

From a marketing standpoint, I think that you get more sales by not establishing a set pattern. Yes, the price may go slightly cheaper. On the other hand, the price may not hit that low for quite some time. For example, Amazon ran a promo on Modern Warfare 2 for $5. I don't think it's ever returned to that price. I didn't expect the 5-game EA pack to go below $10 at least until Christmas, so I was surprised but not upset -- except with my own ability of prediction. I thought about it maybe going $7.50 like the THQ pack and made the calculated decision. I never expected you would drop this quickly, or that EA would allow you to drop this quickly. Well done!

I think with a degree of uncertainty, the interest and excitement is raised, which should increase sales overall.

The only thing I would suggest for your consideration is that there maybe be a 1 month price guarantee with specifically promoted items and/or pre-orders -- as it is with other goods from some retailers. Meaning, if you buy X and it drops further in price, the customer is credited the difference in game credit. That should only increase sales overall as purchasers would feel more confident in making their purchase decision. But since I don't have access to your sales data and plans, this strategy may cost more than what it is worth.

And let me apologize in advance, but I am going to hit up your customer service for said credit with one of my purchases. I do like to get the best possible bargain and it never hurts to ask. Of course, if the rep says no I'm not going to hold it against Amazon or you, throw a tantrum, or stop saying all the nice things I do say about Amazon's customer service and aggressive pricing.

But I would appreciate the gesture and it would make me feel better about shopping with Amazon. ;)[/QUOTE]
Very well put.

People don't seem to be understanding that I (I don't know about anyone else) am not "complaining" about losing a few bucks by buying a bundle a month before it drops in price. I'm not completely clueless here, I know prices go down.

But Tony expressly tells us to offer feedback on this stuff. That's why I suggest the idea that maybe if the price on a bundle drops quickly like it did with the EA pack, that the early buyers get a little kickback in the way of a coupon or account credit (or something like nategator said above). It makes early buyers even happier about their purchase, and it encourages them to buy more.

I'm a bit confused why/if people are opposed to that idea. Could anyone explain how this is a bad idea, or any negatives about it? I'm curious.
 
[quote name='mm3n']The Batman bundle would have been a hell of a bundle if Arkham City was GOTY too ... Any chances to make that happen? Would be must buy for me in that case :)[/QUOTE]

I looked at that too, fortunately all the dlc can be purchased directly through Steam, I thought it might be only theough Games for Windows Live Marketplace (looking at you Bioshock 2), but even at this price it's a steal, and you could wait for the winter sale for the DLC. Still waiting to see if securom is included though.
 
Just want to drop in and say, Tony I have no problem if you further decrease the price of games on sale right now after a month or two. There is nothing wrong with that all.
 
[quote name='walkonshadows']I looked at that too, fortunately all the dlc can be purchased directly through Steam, I thought it might be only theough Games for Windows Live Marketplace (looking at you Bioshock 2), but even at this price it's a steal, and you could wait for the winter sale for the DLC. Still waiting to see if securom is included though.[/QUOTE]

Steam put out a new rule a while back:
All games released that are on Steam, ALL of their expansions and DLC MUST be ALSO sold on Steam.
Or else, they wind-up kicked off just like Dragon Age 2 did and Crysis 2 did (for a while, until Crytek put Crysis 2 Maximum Ed on Steam w/ ALL DLC).
Bioshock 2, ME2, DIRT 3, and many others are grandfathered in to stay on Steam b/c their exclusive DLC was released BEFORE Steam put up that new rule...UNLESS they plan to get BRAND NEW DLC released.
 
weird that Dishonored isn't available digitally through amazon.
 
[quote name='MysterD']Dammit, I missed out on free stuff!
[pouts][/QUOTE]

I was just in the right place at the right time. Had I not been compelled to comment on Fox's creepy tongue fox gif, I might have just moved on to the next thread.

By the way, Tony had me test out the keys for Batman: Arkham City & Batman: Arkham Asylum to see if they would activate on steam. I'm happy to report 100% success.

Thanks again Tony. :)
 
[quote name='Amazon DVG Deals']Want to save an additional 25% on anything we're selling that is NOT a pre-order or new release within the last 30 days?

Type in "OCTOFUN1" in the promotional code area at checkout.

Cheers,
Tony[/QUOTE]

Do you have a section or filter on Amazon DVG so we can check EVERYTHING that you guys have had released in last 30 days?

Also - I think you'll see if you have something having a special sale, people might be more likely to try to stack that special sale + your promo code (OCTOFUN1 in this case) TOGETHER for a MAJOR-MAJOR deal.
i.e. Sleeping Dogs for $30 + OCTOFUN1 code = $22.50.
 
[quote name='jer7583']weird that Dishonored isn't available digitally through amazon.[/QUOTE]
Zenimax and Bethesda are NOT on board w/ Amazon DVG. :(

EDIT:
BTW, I'd love to see Tony get Bethesda and Zenimax to join them!
 
[quote name='The End']I was just in the right place at the right time. Had I not been compelled to comment on Fox's creepy tongue fox gif, I might have just moved on to the next thread.

By the way, Tony had me test out the keys for Batman: Arkham City & Batman: Arkham Asylym to see if they would activate on steam. I'm happy to report 100% success.

Thanks again Tony. :)[/QUOTE]

Oh, I already have those from elsewhere - Batman: AA from G4WL; Batman: AC from Origin.
If I "won", I would've had to have Tony pick someone else to redeem those! :p
I wouldn't want to basically "waste" those keys, more or less.

EDIT:
Enjoy those games. Both are awesome.
 
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