The Steam Deal Thread V7 - The soda wars have ended, but the deals rage on.

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Welcome to the Steam Deal Thread V7! You can find link to past threads at the bottom of this post. Read post #2 of this thread for Steam FAQs and more.

Since the V6 thread, we've decided to leave regular minor sales out of the OP. This post will keep track of major sales (Summer sale, etc.), Steam deals available through other sellers (like Amazon), Preorder deals, and Group Buys.

I would still greatly appreciate help from you folks at home in keeping this smaller-scale OP up-to-date. This is a Wiki post so anyone can contribute. Wiki instructions:
Thanks for your help! If you notice a sale has ended, feel free to delete its line from the sale list. Of course, if you see something does need to be added, then kindly add it to the list.

Make sure your changes match the thread's format! For example, every game that's on sale is part of an unordered list. When adding a game to the list, copy an existing line and update the link, title, and prices. That way, the format stays correct. Do not list percentages off! We list the original price and the sale price here. If you have any suggestions for major changes to the post/thread, PM me (EastX) about them.

Steam Sales - Updated 5/20


CAG Threads Featuring Steam Games on Sale Elsewhere - Updated 1/9


Preorder Deals - Updated 1/10
Group Buy Deals - Updated 1/9/13
Several multiplayer Steam games are available in 2-packs or 4-packs. These packs offer a discount over buying multiple copies of a game separately. We also maintain group buy trade threads for several games, so please use those threads if you're interested in setting up a group buy.


Free Stuff - List needs updating with F2P games!
There are several free games and mods on Steam. These are a few choice ones; you can find a full list here. Note that free games are not permanently attached to your Steam account like actual purchases would be. You'll need to manually download a game again from the website if you uninstall it.


Steam around CAG

If you are interested in joining the Steam CAG Community or participating in a trade or group buy with fellow Cheap Ass Gamers, please do so in the dedicated threads and not in the deal discussion thread. In the dedicated threads you will find CAGers with the same specialized interest who will be much quicker (and happier) to respond than in the Deals thread.

Past Special Sales

Visit www.steamgamesales.com to check previous sale prices on Steam games. We do keep track of some older sales here though:

Steam Retail Key List

What is a CD key and where can I find it?

Steam's explanation and list of Steam-activatable keys

The CD Key is a serial number with a combination of 13, 18, or 25 letters and numbers - it can be found on a sticker inside your game's case or printed on the game's quick reference card. The CD Key acts as your proof of purchase for the game - Steam Support may ask for it if you need to establish your ownership of an account. It is recommended that you keep your CD Key in a safe place to ensure the security of your account.

Other Keys that can be redeemed on Steam (CAG tested & verified)
11.gif

  • The Ball (bought @D2D, tested by voken)
  • Supreme Commander Forged Alliance (gives both FA and original, bought @amazon, tested by vism)

Indie Bundles thread on Steam forums (link)

Past CAG Steam Deal Threads
 
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[quote name='tfr']I still have a physical copy of bleem! to remind myself of past mistakes.[/QUOTE]

How was it a mistake for you? I thought it was pretty great, honestly. I didn't have a Playstation, though.
 
Checked this morning when I remembered about the beta, got in, had my spare invites. Now I'm idling TF2 for cards. I'm hoping to have enough market credit to get something free come the Summer Sale. While I feel I should care about collecting cards to complete sets, I can't see myself giving up the potential value of the cards in order to keep them rather than unload them.

[quote name='MysterD']Oooh, Simon's Quest was good. Flashback!
I actually gave that cart away long ago, after I beat it.
I bought that PC Contra/Castlevania Konami Collection numerous years back at Retail.[/QUOTE]

I have that collection. Bought it on clearance once upon a time, though I've never actually played it since I own all of the NES carts...

[quote name='asheskitty']What?!? People actually own it? I thought it was like the TurboGrafx 16...

I've known Atari Lynx & Jaguar owners, but some other consoles just don't exist in the real world.[/QUOTE]

I have two Turbo Grafx's. One was seven bucks at the flea market, and I couldn't say no.

Also, as of last Saturday's garage sailing, I have a Panasonic Real 3DO.

[quote name='Mooby']I only had about four or five games for TurboGrafx -- I think Keith Courage came with it. The others were uh... Vigilante (sort of a Double Dragon clone), Dungeon Explorer (?), China Warrior and... can't remember.[/QUOTE]

Double Dungeons, perhaps? That one's available on Wii Virtual Console.

[quote name='Jon7']You might want to try playing the gamecube remake of MGS1, the Twin Snakes on the Dolphin emulator if you can. It'll be higher res and the controls are updated to be like MGS2.[/QUOTE]

This.
 
[quote name='tfr']I still have a physical copy of bleem! to remind myself of past mistakes.[/QUOTE]

Being able to play PSX games on your DC/PC isn't a mistake, especially if you never owned a PSX. Lots of great games came out for that system. Didn't it also play burned games, meaning that you could simply burn a copy of something as rare as Tomba? There was also a Treamcast, so I'm not sure. But if true, it's probably the best investment you ever made in the 90's. ;)
 
[quote name='Blade']Being able to play PSX games on your DC/PC isn't a mistake, especially if you never owned a PSX. Lots of great games came out for that system. Didn't it also play burned games, meaning that you could simply burn a copy of something as rare as Tomba? There was also a Treamcast, so I'm not sure. But if true, it's probably the best investment you ever made in the 90's. ;)[/QUOTE]


It was possible to burn perfect copies of PSX games. The make a perfect copy you would have to copy some of the errors correctly too (which very few CD burners could do, I owned at least one capable of this... never owned a PSX though.)
 
[quote name='supershammy']Picked up Reus. It plays like a 2D real-time mashup between Black & White and Civilization, but a bit more peaceful. It's really nice, actually, and surprisingly complex. You'll be doing a lot more tile renovation than you normally do in Civ, though, so that mentality of "build around what you've got" goes out the window, since most tile renovations have no time delay. Anyway, I recommend it at the current price of $9.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the mini-review! Been looking a Reus and I'm pretty tempted by it. RockPaperShotgun gave it a decent build-up so I was hoping it'd turn out to be pretty good. The only question is whether to buy now or hold out until the Summer Sale :)
 
Sold my item yesterday on the Marketplace. I've been so out of things for the last six months, being back in school. I got duplicates of a Don't Starve card, so I thought I'd sell. I listed for about .10 under current value, and it sold within 5 minutes. Pretty darn cool.
 
[quote name='utopianmachine']Sold my item yesterday on the Marketplace. I've been so out of things for the last six months, being back in school. I got duplicates of a Don't Starve card, so I thought I'd sell. I listed for about .10 under current value, and it sold within 5 minutes. Pretty darn cool.[/QUOTE]

They sell really fast even at the current value, people are gobbling up these cards.
 
[quote name='DPsycho']
Also, as of last Saturday's garage sailing, I have a Panasonic Real 3DO.
[/QUOTE]

Nice find. Lucky coming across one of those in a garage sale of all things. I need to start looking for another one for backup or parts.
 
[quote name='momouchi']They sell really fast even at the current value, people are gobbling up these cards.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I'm figuring that out. It'll be interesting to see how the pricing of cards goes as time goes by. Depending on the frequency of drops, cards value could potentially escalate by a fair margin.
 
I didn't get any duplicates of any cards, which kind of sucks because I can't trade or sell any for Steam wallet money. And I'm not this into the card thing to buy the rest. Thinking about just selling them all to get money for the Summer Seal.
 
[quote name='Blade']I didn't get any duplicates of any cards, which kind of sucks because I can't trade or sell any for Steam wallet money. And I'm not this into the card thing to buy the rest. Thinking about just selling them all to get money for the Summer Seal.[/QUOTE]

I know this a typo and you probably meant summer sale, but I couldn't help but think of summerseal.com which handed out steam coupons for various frozenbyte games last year
 
[quote name='LazyTriangle']I know this a typo and you probably meant summer sale, but I couldn't help but think of summerseal.com which handed out steam coupons for various frozenbyte games last year[/QUOTE]

I meant to call it "seal" because "sale" is 2 manstreaum ;)
 
So I went and toured Valve on Friday and it was easily the coolest place I've ever seen or been. Unfortunately (and very sadly) I wasn't able to take pictures, but the experience was really awesome. After the tour I was able to ask a few quick questions about Enhanced Steam and the possibility of working there. I know they probably get about 10,000 applicants every day so I'm not holding my breath, but I think it'd be a great place to work.

I got to see some of the current stuff Valve is working on
there are no "3"s involved
and got a pretty good idea of exactly how quirky of a company they are. Being there made me feel like I was in Wonka's chocolate factory. :cool:

Anyway, thought I would share and if anyone has any questions about what it's like I'll try to answer them as best I can. I had a lot of questions myself, many of which were brought up on this thread, that when I asked I kind of got round-a-bout answers. :roll:
 
[quote name='jshackles']I had a lot of questions myself, many of which were brought up on this thread, that when I asked I kind of got round-a-bout answers. :roll:[/QUOTE]
I'm not too surprised - especially after seeing the current trading card crap and how they're responding it... and it reminding me of how they seem to respond to criticism and suggestions regarding Steam in general, for that matter. :lol:

(Also, isn't it interesting how TF2 keys have tanked since trading cards were introduced.)
 
[quote name='Detruire']I'm not too surprised - especially after seeing the current trading card crap and how they're responding it... and it reminding me of how they seem to respond to criticism and suggestions regarding Steam in general, for that matter. :lol:

(Also, isn't it interesting how TF2 keys have tanked since trading cards were introduced.)[/QUOTE]

I could foresee all this trading card stuff being retired in the not too distant future. Especially if they become economically worthless.

Or...it could be like the past Steam summer sales. You buy a game to get the achievements to get specific prizes. I imagine sales of Don't Starve, for example, have escalated in the wake of the trading card system. I could see this helping a game's sales, nice times like this.
 
It occurred to me the other night that they could also use the cards as a pre-order incentive. Say for instance, when you pre-order a game, you have 5 or 6 drops instead of the 4 that seems to be the average.
 
[quote name='The End']It occurred to me the other night that they could also use the cards as a pre-order incentive. Say for instance, when you pre-order a game, you have 5 or 6 drops instead of the 4 that seems to be the average.[/QUOTE]

Or a card incentive. Like, the only way to get this one card is to preorder the game. Possibly, you could resell that card and make back a fair portion of the game cost.

Or hell, they could do the same thing with backgrounds and emoticons.
 
Can I unlock cards by idling on the main menu, or if the game is running in the background while I do other stuff on my PC? I know it defeats the spirit of playing the games, but I just don't feel like playing em.
 
[quote name='Solid-Snake-Eyes']Can I unlock cards by idling on the main menu, or if the game is running in the background while I do other stuff on my PC? I know it defeats the spirit of playing the games, but I just don't feel like playing em.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I got all my unlocks that way.
 
[quote name='anarchyoblivion']Yes, I got all my unlocks that way.[/QUOTE]
Thanks a lot.

Nice! Already got one, "The Lab" from Portal 2. And now "Finale"
 
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[quote name='supershammy']How was it a mistake for you? I thought it was pretty great, honestly. I didn't have a Playstation, though.[/QUOTE]

I don't have a problem with bleem! itself, but the company. They spent a lot of time on the disc check(which is cracked so fast after release) instead of improving the actual product, and dropped PC support entirely to work on bleemcast.
Virtual Game Station on the other hand was amazing, the first release plays psx games on a pentium2 at full speed with high compatibility.
 
Today's deal is Tropico 4 and all DLC 75% off:

Tropico 4: Steam Special Edition ~ 75% off @ $7.49
Tropico 4: Collector's Bundle ~ 75% off @ $9.99
Tropico 4: Megalopolis DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Vigilante DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Pirate Heaven DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Modern Times ~ 75% off @ $4.99
Tropico 4: Quick-dry Cement DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Plantador DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Junta Military DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Prima Official Strategy Guide ~ 75% off @ $2.49
Tropico 4 + Prima Official Strategy Guide ~ 75% off @ $8.74
 
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[quote name='asheskitty']$10 gets you the complete edition, which I expect most CAGs want. (We'd first seen $10 for that almost two months back -- I picked it up then.)

Thanks for saving me money! (since I already own it) :lol:[/QUOTE]

yeah, I saw they had everything Tropico 4 related on sale as well, but you replied before I could edit my post:cool: I'm still holding out for
 
[quote name='MrNinjaSquirrel']Today's deal is Tropico 4 and all DLC 75% off:

Tropico 4: Steam Special Edition ~ 75% off @ $7.49
Tropico 4: Collector's Bundle ~ 75% off @ $9.99
Tropico 4: Megalopolis DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Vigilante DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Pirate Heaven DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Modern Times ~ 75% off @ $4.99
Tropico 4: Quick-dry Cement DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Plantador DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Junta Military DLC ~ 75% off @ $1.24
Tropico 4: Prima Official Strategy Guide ~ 75% off @ $2.49
Tropico 4 + Prima Official Strategy Guide ~ 75% off @ $8.74[/QUOTE]

I eventually plan to pick up the full collection (probably during the summer seal or when it hits $5). But for the benefit of anybody who jumped in on the Indie Gala Tropico bundle, does anybody know which of these DLC are particularly important?
 
[quote name='The End']I eventually plan to pick up the full collection (probably during the summer seal or when it hits $5). But for the benefit of anybody who jumped in on the Indie Gala Tropico bundle, does anybody know which of these DLC are particularly important?[/QUOTE]


Modern Times is bandied about as *the* one to own... a few others are supposedly good though such as quick dry cement.

Tropico 4 Complete just game out a few months ago with $40 MSRP... so 75% makes it $10. I think it'll be a while before it hits $5.
 
That's OK, it'll be a while before I play it.

BTW, New Borderlands 2 shift code: WB5TJ-J5BCC-BHXJB-J3BTJ-RRFHK
That one is good for 5 keys.
 
[quote name='MrNinjaSquirrel']yeah, I saw they had everything Tropico 4 related on sale as well, but you replied before I could edit my post:cool: I'm still holding out for
 
[quote name='The End']That's OK, it'll be a while before I play it.

BTW, New Borderlands 2 shift code: WB5TJ-J5BCC-BHXJB-J3BTJ-RRFHK
That one is good for 5 keys.[/QUOTE]


Thank the Gods! I was afraid I was going to have a shift-key free weekend... I was already getting DTs
 
[quote name='momouchi']They sell really fast even at the current value, people are gobbling up these cards.[/QUOTE]

Well, I bought the cards I needed to complete my Don't Starve set, so could have been me. Sold off my Portal 2 cards and broke about even. I like the system so far, and I'd love to see more games added to it.
 
[quote name='crzyboy88']I got a TF2 Medic Foil card. Are they that rare?[/QUOTE]

Well, you have to have level 10 experience on your profile to even have a chance for them to drop, and last foils I looked at sold for almost ~$15-20. I'd look it up on the market and sell it while the demand is high myself, but prices could actually go up, who knows.
 
[quote name='crzyboy88']I got a TF2 Medic Foil card. Are they that rare?[/QUOTE]

Marketplace currently has 329 regular Medics starting at $0.43. They also have 8 Foil Medics starting at $12.99. So the foils are far less common and defiantly worth a good deal more. Price seems to be falling though. The were selling for over $50 a few days ago.
 
I had 3 drops in Don't Starve, ended up getting a double (2 wilson, 1 willow). I just don't get the appeal to this system. When I first heard of this, I thought it would be tied to certain achievements but it's only tied to a relatively small amount of game time. There's no way to get a complete set without trading or buying cards, and you don't get enough from one game to keep card trading within that game. Does anyone get the appeal of it? That being said, if someone wants an extra Wilson card and has one I don't have, friend me on Steam and I'll trade it.
 
[quote name='mikeja72']I had 3 drops in Don't Starve, ended up getting a double (2 wilson, 1 willow). I just don't get the appeal to this system. When I first heard of this, I thought it would be tied to certain achievements but it's only tied to a relatively small amount of game time. There's no way to get a complete set without trading or buying cards, and you don't get enough from one game to keep card trading within that game. Does anyone get the appeal of it?[/QUOTE]

There definetly is appeal with the OCD people that have to achieve the max level. In order to do this you need 5 sets of cards to get the 500 exp max per game. Currently, there are 6 games that require 5-9 cards per set. To max out every game, you need a total of 215 cards - only 20 of those (or around 10%) are given free as "drops". The remaining 195 cards have to be purchased (or traded) from the marketplace. Cards currently range from around .50 to over $1. Meaning, some people have clearly have spent over $100 just to max their "level".

I've already seen a couple dozen players achieve level 24+ by purchasing all the cards. Even in the small beta, you can see the potential for Valve to profit here in the marketplace.
 
[quote name='anarchyoblivion']There definetly is appeal with the OCD people that have to achieve the max level. In order to do this you need 5 sets of cards to get the 500 exp max per game. Currently, there are 6 games that require 5-9 cards per set. To max out every game, you need a total of 215 cards - only 20 of those (or around 10%) are given free as "drops". The remaining 195 cards have to be purchased (or traded) from the marketplace.

I've already seen a couple dozen players achieve level 24+ by purchasing all the cards. Even in the small beta, you can see the potential for Valve to profit here in the marketplace.[/QUOTE]

But the level isn't tied to anything aside from acquiring the cards somehow. At least with other achievement type systems, the number being built towards is based on how much/many games you've played. This is just how much you've managed to collect by purchasing (through barter or actual money). I get some people have OCD or just want to collect things, but not giving enough drops (even with doubles) to complete a set for a game on your own seems terrible.
 
[quote name='mikeja72']But the level isn't tied to anything aside from acquiring the cards somehow. At least with other achievement type systems, the number being built towards is based on how much/many games you've played. This is just how much you've managed to collect by purchasing (through barter or actual money). I get some people have OCD or just want to collect things, but not giving enough drops (even with doubles) to complete a set for a game on your own seems terrible.[/QUOTE]

Terrible for the user, perfect for Valve. Their cosmetic market for TF2 Hats has performed exceptionally well. This new trading beta is merely Valve trying to translate this market to a larger, mainstream base; it's purely exploitative on their part.
 
[quote name='mikeja72']I had 3 drops in Don't Starve, ended up getting a double (2 wilson, 1 willow). I just don't get the appeal to this system. When I first heard of this, I thought it would be tied to certain achievements but it's only tied to a relatively small amount of game time. There's no way to get a complete set without trading or buying cards, and you don't get enough from one game to keep card trading within that game. Does anyone get the appeal of it? That being said, if someone wants an extra Wilson card and has one I don't have, friend me on Steam and I'll trade it.[/QUOTE]

:applause:
My thoughts exactly. I can't be bothered to leave TF2 running in the background just to get some cards that ultimately amount to nothing. I thought this would be like you said, tied to achievements and finally making them worth something. Right now I don't care in the slightest about the cards, but I guess Valve is banking (pun not intended) on the crazy OCD gamers that have to much money to know what to do with it:drool:
 
The bioshock infinite deal at amazon is a bit weak. Especially when I've heard of AMD card keys going for 30$, wherein you get lots of games.

Can anyone write a simple guide to getting the cards? Which games and how?
 
[quote name='sleeping_lights_on']The bioshock infinite deal at amazon is a bit weak. Especially when I've heard of AMD card keys going for 30$, wherein you get lots of games.

Can anyone write a simple guide to getting the cards? Which games and how?[/QUOTE]

Go with buying a bundle on Ebay for around $25-$30. I bought the Bioshock / Tomb Raider bundle for $25 and sold Tomb Raider and Blood Dragon a la carte for $27 total.

Trading cards? Just start the game and idle for 1.5 hours and there you go - 4 cards.
 
Man, if you put the cards for sale on the Market for their current minimum sale price, it'll sell in a matter of minutes, if not seconds.
 
[quote name='facls']Man, if you put the cards for sale on the Market for their current minimum sale price, it'll sell in a matter of minutes, if not seconds.[/QUOTE]

this is true sold all mine and i have 16 dollars in my steam wallet after it

all i did was idle...very little effort for some free steam credit

oh i also had a bunch of tf2 hats and crap from owning other games i guess...i never play tf2 so they went up on the marketplace too
 
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