The Steam Deals + Cards Thread V8 ~ Summer Sale Encore Day! | Rage $4.99 | Retro City Rampage $2.99 | Crysis $5.99 | Endless Space $10.19 |

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MrNinjaSquirrel

MrNinjaSquirrel

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It had to be done, welcome aboard the new thread, Steam Deal Thread V8!

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

Disclaimer: Because of the ridiculous number of games on sale and the speed at which sales change, it is likely I will not be able to catch everything . Be sure to check the update time for the OP, and visit the Specials Tab to see all current sales. If you see something not listed in the OP, please feel free to PM me and I will see that it is added. Thanks, enjoy the sale  :D

Before you buy anything be sure to check out both BigSpoonyBard's Super Tips for Steam Sale Newbies (and Vets) and jshackle's Enhanced Steam Extension/Plugin for Chrome/Opera/Firefox!

Steam Summer Sale

Flash Deals


[*]Retro City Rampage - $14.99 $3.00
[*]Endless Space Gold - $34.99 $11.89[customspoiler='Contents']


[*]Total War Grand Master Collection - $164.99 $41.24[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Rome: Total War - $9.99 $2.49
[*]Empire: Total War - $14.99 $3.74

[*]Napoleon: Total War - $14.99 $3.74

[*]Total War: SHOGUN 2 - $29.99 $7.49

[*]Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai - $29.99 $7.49

[*]Viking: Battle for Asgard - $14.99 $3.74
[*]Total War Battles: SHOGUN - $4.99 $1.24
[*]SHOGUN 2: Rise of the Samurai Campaign - $9.99 $2.49[/customspoiler]

Expired

Community Choice

  • Rage - $19.99 $4.99
Expired 

[*]​Round 2

[*]​Round 3

[*]​Rounds 4

[*]Round 5

[*]​Round 6

[*]​Round 7

[*]Round 8

[*]Round 9​

[*]Round 10

[*]Round 11

[*]​Round 12

[*]Round 13

[*]Round 14

[*]Round 15

[*]Round 16

[*]Round 17

[*]Round 18

[*]Round 19

[*]Round 20

[*]Round 21

[*]​Round 22

[*]Round 23

[*]Round 24

[*]​Round 25

[*]​Round 26

[*]​Round 27

[*]Round 28

[*]Round 29

[*]Round 30

[*]​Round 31

[*]Round 32


​​


Daily Deals



[*]Borderlands 2 - $39.99 $10.19 (4-Pack - $89.99 $30.59)[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Bioshock - $19.99 $4.99
[*]Bioshock 2 - $19.99 $4.99
[*]Bioshock Infinite - $59.99 $29.99
[*]Torchlight - $14.99 $3.73
[*]Torchlight 2 - $19.99 $4.99 (4-Pack - $59.99 $14.99)
[*]Sid Meier's Civilization® III Complete - $4.99 $1.24
[*]Sid Meier's Civilization IV: The Complete Edition - $29.99 $7.49[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization - $19.99 $4.99[/customspoiler]

[*]Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gold Edition - $49.99 $24.99[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Tomb Raider Collection - $69.99 $17.49[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]The Walking Dead - $24.99 $6.24
[*]Kerbal Space Program - $22.99 $13.79
[*]Dishonored - $29.99 $10.19[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Skyrim: Legendary Edition - $59.99 $36.00[customspoiler='Contents']


Yesterday's Deals


[*]Natural Selection 2 - $24.99 $6.24
[*]Worms Collection - $89.99 $22.49[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Worms Revolution - $14.99 $3.74

[*]Worms Ultimate Mayhem - $14.99 $3.74


[*]Starforge (Alpha) - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Counter-Strike Complete - $29.99 $7.49[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Saints Row: The Third - The Full Package - $29.99 $7.49[customspoiler='Contents']


[*]Assassin's Creed Pack - $169.95 $57.78[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Assassin's Creed III - $39.99 $23.99[/customspoiler]

[*]Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - $9.99 $3.39
[*]Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords - $9.99 $3.39
[*]Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing - $14.99 $3.74
[*]Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed - $29.99 $7.49[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Sonic 3 and Knuckles - $4.99 $1.24
[*]Sonic 3D Blast - $4.99 $1.24
[*]Sonic Adventure 2 - $9.99 $2.49[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Sonic Adventure DX - $8.99 $2.23
[*]Sonic CD - $4.99 $1.24
[*]Sonic Spinball - $4.99 $1.24
[*]Sonic the Hedgehog - $4.99 $1.24
[*]Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - $4.99 $1.24
[*]Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 - $9.99 $2.49
[*]Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 - $14.99 $3.74
[*]Sonic Generations - $14.99 $3.74[customspoiler='Contents']

Expired

Persistent Deals

(if you notice a daily/flash sale in here by mistake, please let me know)

-75% or More

-50% to -74%


[*]The Political Machine 2012 - $3.99 $0.99 (4-Pack - $9.99 $2.49)[/customspoiler]

[*]Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity - $19.99 $6.79
[*]The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition - $19.99 $9.99
[*]The Witcher: Enhanced Director's Cut - $9.99 $4.99
[*]Dead Space - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Dead Space 2 - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Hitman 2: Silent Assassin - $6.99 $3.39
[*]Hitman: Blood Money - $8.99 $4.49
[*]Hitman: Codename 47 - $6.99 $3.39
[*]Saints Row: The Third - The Full Package - $29.99 $14.99[customspoiler='Contents']


[*]Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition - $29.99 $14.99
[*]The Cave - $14.99 $7.49
[*]Sonic Hits Collection - $29.99[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Sonic 3 and Knuckles - $4.99 $2.49
[*]Sonic 3D Blast - $4.99 $2.49
[*]Sonic Adventure 2 - $9.99 $4.99

[*]Sonic Adventure DX - $8.99 $4.47
[*]Sonic CD - $4.99 $2.49
[*]Sonic Spinball - $4.99 $2.49
[*]Sonic the Hedgehog - $4.99 $2.49
[*]Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - $4.99 $2.49
[*]Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 - $9.99 $4.99
[*]Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 - $14.99 $7.49
[*]Sonic Generations - $14.99 $7.49


[*]Mirror's Edge - $19.99 $9.99
[*]McPixel - $4.99 $0.99
[*]Euro Truck Simulator 2 - $39.99 $19.99
[*]Euro Truck Simulator - $8.99 $4.49
[*]FTL - $9.99 $4.99
[*]Cart Life - $4.99 $1.99
[*]To The Moon - $9.99 $2.99
[*]VVVVVV - $4.99 $2.49
[*]Kerbal Space Program - $22.99 $20.69
[*]Sid Meier's Civilization V: Gold Edition - $49.99 $24.99[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Need for Speed: Undercover - $9.99 $4.99
[*]Need for Speed: Shift - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Shift 2: Unleashed - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Magical Diary - $14.99 $5.24
[*]Super House of Dead Ninjas - $6.99 $2.37
[*]The Blackwell Legacy - $4.99 $1.99
[*]Jack Lumber - $7.49 $2.24
[*]Anna - Extended Edition - $9.99 $3.39
[*]The Bridge - $14.99 $7.49
[*]Alice: Madness Returns - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Payday The Heist - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Counter-Strike - $9.99 $2.49
[*]The Orange Box - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Half-Life Complete - $39.99 $19.99[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]Rockstar Hits Collection - $89.97 $44.98[customspoiler='Contents']

[*]LA Noire - $19.99 $9.99
[*]Max Payne 3 - $39.99 $19.99[/customspoiler]

[*]Starseed Pilgrim - $5.99 $2.69
[*]The Binding of Isaac - $4.99 $2.49[customspoiler='Contents']

All Current Specials

Preorder Deals - Updated 24/6

  • The Raven - Legacy of a Master Thief - Pre-Purchase and receive: [customspoiler="Free upgrade to the Digital Deluxe Edition"]
    Digital poster (printable) 
  • Papercraft mask of The Raven (printable)
  • “Making of” booklet 
  • Story book (plenty of background info and artworks)
  • Soundtrack[/customspoiler]

[*]Europa Universalis IV - Pre-Purchase now and receive: [customspoiler="The 100 Years War Unit Pack DLC"]
  • This DLC adds new, unique unit models to the belligerent nations of the
    100 Years War. Included are 11 infantry models for the warring nations,
    including England, France, Scotland, Burgundy and many more! [/customspoiler]

[*]Saints Row IV - Pre-Purchase now and receive: [customspoiler="3 Exclusive Team Fortress 2 Weapon Costumes"]
  • Pre-Purchase Saints Row IV and get 3 exclusive Team Fortress 2 weapon costumes to use in Saints Row IV: The Rainblower, the Flamethrower and the Rocket Launcher, only with Pre-Purchases on Steam! [/customspoiler]

[*]Rise of the Triad - Pre-Purchase now and receive: [customspoiler='The Apogee Throwback Pack']
  • The Apogee Throwback Pack is a collection of four classic Apogee
    Software titles all in one kick ass package. Blast your way across the
    galaxy as British Special Agent Blake Stone in "Aliens of Gold" and
    "Planet Strike", then take on an ancient evil menace as the H.U.N.T in
    "Rise of the Triad".[/customspoiler]

[*]Divinity: Dragon Commander - Pre-Purchase and receive: [customspoiler='Immediate access to the Divinity: Dragon Commander beta']
  • As an extra bonus, you will also receive a free upgrade to Divinity: Dragon Commander Imperial Edition.
  • The Imperial Edition includes a golden dragon skin, a Dragons On Earth
    campaign map, a digital soundtrack by award winning genius Kirill
    Pokrovsky, and behind the scenes information like concept art,
    classified design documents, confidential decision tree flowcharts and a
    unique documentary.[/customspoiler]

[*]Total War: Rome II - Pre-Purchase and receive: [customspoiler="The Greek States Culture Pack"]
  • The Greek States Culture Pack includes three new playable Factions for use in Single or Multiplayer Campaign modes and Custom and Multiplayer Battles. These factions are the diplomatic Athens, shrewd Epirus and formidable Sparta as playable factions. Each offers range of special tactics to achieve cultural and martial victories, and lethal elite units to crush foes in battle.
  • The Greek States also share a number of common goals, philosophies and general diplomatic aims. However, they are defined by their fierce independence and between them demonstrate a huge variety in approach to civil and military challenges that often brings them into conflict with the wider world, and each other.
  • Plus, Pre-Purchase and receive the Greek Hellenic Armor for The Pyro & Egyptian Cheetah set for The Scout in TF2. More to come!  [/customspoiler]

Indie Bundle Threads
 
Groupees
Indie Gala
Indie Royale
Humble Bundle

IndieGameStand
 
Free Stuff
 

There are quite a few free and free2play games and mods on steam. 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.


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:

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

Past CAG Steam Deal Threads

 
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asheskitty said:
Aaah, bummer. I wanted to say that I'd expect it to be the same EGO engine as the Dirt series (expecting the same version as Dirt 2).. but it's not, different dev (Asobo) and different engine, A.C.E. (Asobo Conception Engine). Which I find kind of hilarious as I read that ASBO. (U.K. 1998-2010, An anti-social behaviour order or ASBO is a civil order made against a person who has been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. It was typically given for stuff that wouldn't warrant criminal prosecution.)
Click to expand...
I'm sure it'll run fine when I get whatever MSI sends to me, but I like to use demos as a way to determine how much I'll play of a game.

The End said:
Word on the street is that Antichamber is really good. But yeah, I agree with AK. I'll wait until it hits 75% at least. If not wait for it to hit HiB 9.
Click to expand...
66-75% for me for Antichamber. I played the beta? or whatever back when it had a different name and loved it, but I have such a backlog games need to be cheaper for me to grab them.

 
MrNinjaSquirrel said:
asheskitty said:
@MrNinjaSquirrel

You call that a deal?!? I mean it looks kinda interesting and metacritics quite well, but $10...
Click to expand...
I just post em like I see em
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IDK... I mean you even used CAPITAL LETTERS, and didn't use a neutral word like "sale" or just "daily".

<Notes in MrNinjaSquirrel's permanent record: "has difficulty filtering information"> ;)

 
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asheskitty said:
Aaah, bummer. I wanted to say that I'd expect it to be the same EGO engine as the Dirt series (expecting the same version as Dirt 2).. but it's not, different dev (Asobo) and different engine, A.C.E. (Asobo Conception Engine). Which I find kind of hilarious as I read that ASBO. (U.K. 1998-2010, An anti-social behaviour order or ASBO is a civil order made against a person who has been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. It was typically given for stuff that wouldn't warrant criminal prosecution.)
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jini12.jpg


2iasb4h.jpg


2q096pe.jpg


 
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Just an update on the great steam card market crash of 2013.  Finally sold my ARES Foil for $6.50.  Only a handful have sold and the price has been dropping like crazy with every sale.  Only one ever sold for more than $10 and the last 4 that sold were between $6.50 and $6.81. 

 
Probably this is how Valve wanted the market to behave.  Getting games for free after selling the cards isn't probably what they wanted in the beginning.

 
asheskitty said:
Aaah, bummer. I wanted to say that I'd expect it to be the same EGO engine as the Dirt series (expecting the same version as Dirt 2).. but it's not, different dev (Asobo) and different engine, A.C.E. (Asobo Conception Engine). Which I find kind of hilarious as I read that ASBO. (U.K. 1998-2010, An anti-social behaviour order or ASBO is a civil order made against a person who has been shown, on the balance of evidence, to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. It was typically given for stuff that wouldn't warrant criminal prosecution.)
Click to expand...
I know what an ASBO is thanks to Doctor Who (cf., "School Reunion"). The more you know. . . .

 
Frithsblessing said:
Great news! Steam gift cards available at 7-11.
Click to expand...
Ah, good, so people buying Slurpees for experience-gain codes from console shooters or special World of Warcraft edition reusable cups can see the light and join the Steam crowd. Steam gift cards in 7-11, the Gideon's Bible in the hotel room of the gaming world.

 
Estbarul said:
Probably this is how Valve wanted the market to behave. Getting games for free after selling the cards isn't probably what they wanted in the beginning.
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I doubt they mind as they still get around 10-15% of each market transaction. And the games aren't necessarily free -- the money had to have been initially fed into the system at one point.

 
Mooby said:
Estbarul said:
Probably this is how Valve wanted the market to behave. Getting games for free after selling the cards isn't probably what they wanted in the beginning.
Click to expand...
I doubt they mind as they still get around 10-15% of each market transaction. And the games aren't necessarily free -- the money had to have been initially fed into the system at one point.
Click to expand...
This. The only people getting fucked by the trading cards would be the weirdos who buy them. If you buy a game for $5 and sell cards from it for $7, Valve/the publisher/the storefront and the developer are splitting up that initial $5 and then Valve gets roughly 5% of that $7 and the developer gets roughly 10% of the $7 on the cards.

Valve gets more money from it, the developer gets more money from it, the person selling the cards gets more money from it, and the only person at a disadvantage is the degenerate furry who bought the cards in the first place.

 
Indeed.  Also consider there was zero chance I would have bought Go Home, Dinosaurs were it not for the cards.  Anyway, Valve's profit margins are a moot point.  The ridiculous amount of cash they haul in from non-existent hats in TF2 and full-on outifts from Dota2 means they can do a hundred different social networking experiments and never worry about their bottom line.  They are probably the most secure developer/publisher in the industry.

 
Got my Saints Row IV pre-order taken care of on Steam. This'll be the first game in a long time I've pre-ordered and been pretty excited for.

 
Mooby said:
Indeed. Also consider there was zero chance I would have bought Go Home, Dinosaurs were it not for the cards. Anyway, Valve's profit margins are a moot point. The ridiculous amount of cash they haul in from non-existent hats in TF2 and full-on outifts from Dota2 means they can do a hundred different social networking experiments and never worry about their bottom line. They are probably the most secure developer/publisher in the industry.
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I was always under the impression that Valve was sourcing all of those TF2 hats from virtual sweatshops full of exploited women in "developing" countries.

 
asheskitty said:
Mooby said:
Indeed. Also consider there was zero chance I would have bought Go Home, Dinosaurs were it not for the cards. Anyway, Valve's profit margins are a moot point. The ridiculous amount of cash they haul in from non-existent hats in TF2 and full-on outifts from Dota2 means they can do a hundred different social networking experiments and never worry about their bottom line. They are probably the most secure developer/publisher in the industry.
Click to expand...
I was always under the impression that Valve was sourcing all of those TF2 hats from virtual sweatshops full of exploited women in "developing" countries.
Click to expand...
Sort of. Valve sources all of their officially released items from the community. The community makes stuff, Valve patches it into the game, people buy it, Valve pays the contributors and take a small cut for themselves. They can add more items to the game without having to create anything and still make money from it. Genius.

 
Estbarul said:
Probably this is how Valve wanted the market to behave. Getting games for free after selling the cards isn't probably what they wanted in the beginning.
Click to expand...
You're not getting the game "for free", you're just getting someone else subsidize it for you with Valve getting a cut of that as well. Win-win.

 
Mooby said:
Indeed. Also consider there was zero chance I would have bought Go Home, Dinosaurs were it not for the cards. Anyway, Valve's profit margins are a moot point. The ridiculous amount of cash they haul in from non-existent hats in TF2 and full-on outifts from Dota2 means they can do a hundred different social networking experiments and never worry about their bottom line. They are probably the most secure developer/publisher in the industry.
Click to expand...
Not to mention the ~30% or whatever they make from merely selling other people's games on their storefront.

Valve is a cash monster.

 
All true, but I doubt Valve is all that pleased about all the games you funded entirely with Steam cards. I have't gone out of my way to buy any games to get cards and I have $20 in my Steam wallet and I've already spent $7.50 on "free" Steam games.

I'm sure they're still making a profit, but there's a lot of Steam wallet floating around with this system and making loads of purchases "free".

 
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Idiotekque said:
All true, but I doubt Valve is all that pleased about all the games you funded entirely with Steam cards. I have't gone out of my way to buy any games to get cards and I have $20 in my Steam wallet and I've already spent $7.50 on "free" Steam games.

I'm sure they're still making a profit, but there's a lot of Steam wallet floating around with this system and making loads of purchases "free".
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I don't understand why you'd think they would care. If I buy a $5 game funded with Steam cards, it was still paid for. It was just paid for by Users X, Y & Z. And they paid a 15% surcharge for the priviledge of buying my game. The only way money enters the system is by people putting real cash into their Steam Wallets. Valve should be thrilled to have people buying games that actually cost Price+15% and all Valve has to do to make that 15%* is provide us with pretend cards to shuffle around.

*I know the developers get a cut. 10%, 5%, whatever it is, it's still basically free money for Valve.

Oh, and I'm sure GabeN loves all the money in Steam Wallets. The only way money leaves the Steam Wallet is by buying stuff from Valve/Steam. Someone decides they just need a $1.15 card and has to put $5 in their Steam wallet... Ca-CHING!

 
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Syntax Error said:
Estbarul said:
Probably this is how Valve wanted the market to behave. Getting games for free after selling the cards isn't probably what they wanted in the beginning.
Click to expand...
You're not getting the game "for free", you're just getting someone else subsidize it for you with Valve getting a cut of that as well. Win-win.
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well that's true, but I am getting the game free. Still it's kinda soon to tell where this is all going, valve can change something about the system that could totally kill it or make it better, as it is, I do like it, even if I can't sell regular cards at 2$

 
Syntax Error said:
I don't understand why you'd think they would care. If I buy a $5 game funded with Steam cards, it was still paid for. It was just paid for by Users X, Y & Z. And they paid a 15% surcharge for the priviledge of buying my game. The only way money enters the system is by people putting real cash into their Steam Wallets. Valve should be thrilled to have people buying games that actually cost Price+15% and all Valve has to do to make that 15%* is provide us with pretend cards to shuffle around.

*I know the developers get a cut. 10%, 5%, whatever it is, it's still basically free money for Valve.
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Well, I'm sure they're still doing fine in the grand scheme of things, but say you sell your cards for $5. Valve gets 5% of that, so they get 25 cents. Now you go and buy a game for $5 with that Steam wallet. What did Valve get? 25 cents.

 
Idiotekque said:
Well, I'm sure they're still doing fine in the grand scheme of things, but say you sell your cards for $5. Valve gets 5% of that, so they get 25 cents. Now you go and buy a game for $5 with that Steam wallet. What did Valve get? 25 cents.
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Huh? I put $5 into my Steam Wallet. I buy a card from you for $3.00 ($3.45 w/ charges). You buy a $3 game.

Valve now has $3.45 of my money in their pocket (Your $3 game bought with my cash and the 45¢ fee)

You have a new game

I have a pretend video card and $1.55 in Steam Wallet.

Without this system, Valve would have $3 of your money and you'd have a game. By using cards, Valve made an extra 45¢ for doing essentially nothing.

Edit: Again, I'm just calling it 15% because that's the fee. I know Valve doesn't keep all of it.

 
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Idiotekque said:
Well, I'm sure they're still doing fine in the grand scheme of things, but say you sell your cards for $5. Valve gets 5% of that, so they get 25 cents. Now you go and buy a game for $5 with that Steam wallet. What did Valve get? 25 cents.
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No. They got $5.25 someone else just gave them the $5

Btw antichamber is awesome and I don't think you will see it in a bundle for a long time. It's well worth the asking price and that is a good deal. I paid around $15 and found it well worth it. Be aware that it did not have gamepad support at launch but it may now.
 
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Well I'm genuinely confused. I don't get the "You buy a $3 game" part factoring into how much money Valve got off cards. I do understand that if someone went out of their way and bought a game FOR cards, Valve is coming out ahead, but like in my case, I haven't done that. All the cards I've gotten have been from games that I already had, so it's like I was just given a bunch of Steam wallet for doing nothing new. Therefore I can sell those cards, putting no money out on my part, while someone else gives Valve a 5% cut of what they spend, and in return I get to buy games for free.

Valve is making money on the card fees, but the game I just bought for free, they're getting nothing.

 
Idiotekque said:
All the cards I've gotten have been from games that I already had, so it's like I was just given a bunch of Steam wallet for doing nothing new. Therefore I can sell those cards, putting no money out on my part, while someone else gives Valve a 5% cut of what they spend, and in return I get to buy games for free.
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But that Steam wallet all came from someone else. The only way Steam Wallet comes into existance is by someone buying it in $5 chunks. It's all just US dollars being shuffled around in the form of GabeN Bucks. You got games that weren't paid for out of your pocket because I paid for them out of mine when I bought your cards.

 
Syntax Error said:
But that Steam wallet all came from someone else. The only way Steam Wallet comes into existance is by someone buying it in $5 chunks. It's all just US dollars being shuffled around in the form of GabeN Bucks. You got games that weren't paid for out of your pocket because I paid for them out of mine when I bought your cards.
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Yes.

It's a closed system.

Money goes in, but without a weird scheme of buying games and selling them for paypal or something it does not leave, so it's all making it to Valve the second it enters.

 
Card buyer (aka sucker) collects cards and pays you, the card seller (aka opportunist) for your cards. Valve takes the suckers money and a cut of your profit for selling your cards.

You then use the money the sucker gave you to buy a new game. Cards don't create currency, they are just virtual goods like hats that mr. Or ms. Sucker are willing to buy from you. Ultimately someone is paying just not you.
 
Syntax Error said:
But that Steam wallet all came from someone else. The only way Steam Wallet comes into existance is by someone buying it in $5 chunks. It's all just US dollars being shuffled around in the form of GabeN Bucks. You got games that weren't paid for out of your pocket because I paid for them out of mine when I bought your cards.
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What about when most of the card games I have have been gotten from dirt cheap bundles where Steam is making almost nothing?

 
I think a lot of you steam fanbois are missing another point in the Steam TCG... it encourages steam purposes over other storefronts (Desura, Origin, Retal, etc)

Gabe doesn't care if you get your game for free as long as he gets his cut.

 
What you're missing is that when you sell a card (even one that you got from a game that was free, since where the GAME came from is irrelevant), someone else is putting the full value of the card sale into Valve's pocket.  The $5 you get in your wallet from selling cards, someone paid that money to Valve (and a little more).  It's in your wallet, but the actual 5-dollar bill is in their bank.  Later, you'll redeem your $5 credit for a game, and Valve will pay a fraction of the $5 that they've had in their bank all this time to the dev or publisher.

When you sell a virtual card, someone else is buying you a Steam gift card.  Valve gets all its money up front, just like any physical retailer would when you have a gift card to their store.

 
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Idiotekque said:
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But that Steam wallet all came from someone else. The only way Steam Wallet comes into existance is by someone buying it in $5 chunks. It's all just US dollars being shuffled around in the form of GabeN Bucks. You got games that weren't paid for out of your pocket because I paid for them out of mine when I bought your cards.
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What about when most of the card games I have have been gotten from dirt cheap bundles where Steam is making almost nothing?
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Doesn't matter. In order for you to sell cards someone had to give valve money in exchange for steam wallet. It's always win for valve. There is no way for them to lose.
 
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DPsycho said:
What you're missing is that when you sell a card (even one that you got from a game that was free, since where the GAME came from is irrelevant), someone else is putting the full value of the card sale into Valve's pocket. The $5 you get in your wallet from selling cards, someone paid that money to Valve (and a little more). It's in your wallet, but the actual 5-dollar bill is in their bank. Later, you'll redeem your $5 credit for a game, and Valve will pay a fraction of the $5 that they've had in their bank all this time to the dev or publisher.

When you sell a virtual card, someone else is buying you a Steam gift card. Valve gets all its money up front, just like any physical retailer would when you have a gift card to their store.
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I still don't see it. If both me and the person who bought the card got the game for free (like Faerie Solitaire), or for a pittance (say, 25 cents in a bundle), and I'm getting $5 for those cards I sold, how is Valve getting that $5? They aren't making $5 on the CARD sales, they're getting 5% of $5. If you're counting how much the card buyer paid for the game into the price, I understand, but what if the buyer also got the game for free or cheap?

It's not like I think Valve is losing money with the cards, but I don't understand how Valve is profiting more than without the card sales in the scenario above. Games like Faerie Solitaire and games that were in cheap bundle are gotten for free or very cheaply by both card buying and selling parties, and are basically creating a high amount of Steam wallet vs how much the games set the buyers back. Faerie Solitaire was free (and this same idea applies to a game that was 25-50 cents too, I'd say), so when you sell all your cards for $2, you're creating $2 out of nothing, while the buyer of your cards (who also got the game free, or cheaply, in the case of other cheap games) is giving Valve 5% of that $2.

So in that case, Valve is making 10 cents off free games. That's good, but then there's $2 in your Steam wallet that you can use to buy something that otherwise would have put money in Valve's pocket. When you got that Steam wallet for free, that's not profit for them.

But again, like I said, I'm sure the card beta is helping Valve in general. I'm just thinking about it from CAGly viewpoint.

 
Idiotekque said:
DPsycho said:
What you're missing is that when you sell a card (even one that you got from a game that was free, since where the GAME came from is irrelevant), someone else is putting the full value of the card sale into Valve's pocket. The $5 you get in your wallet from selling cards, someone paid that money to Valve (and a little more). It's in your wallet, but the actual 5-dollar bill is in their bank. Later, you'll redeem your $5 credit for a game, and Valve will pay a fraction of the $5 that they've had in their bank all this time to the dev or publisher.

When you sell a virtual card, someone else is buying you a Steam gift card. Valve gets all its money up front, just like any physical retailer would when you have a gift card to their store.
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I still don't see it. If both me and the person who bought the card got the game for free (like Faerie Solitaire), or for a pittance (say, 25 cents in a bundle), and I'm getting $5 for those cards I sold, how is Valve getting that $5? They aren't making $5 on the CARD sales, they're getting 5% of $5. If you're counting how much the card buyer paid for the game into the price, I understand, but what if the buyer also got the game for free or cheap?

It's not like I think Valve is losing money with the cards, but I don't understand how Valve is profiting more than without the card sales in the scenario above. Games like Faerie Solitaire and games that were in cheap bundle are gotten for free or very cheaply by both card buying and selling parties, and are basically creating a high amount of Steam wallet vs how much the games set the buyers back. Faerie Solitaire was free (and this same idea applies to a game that was 25-50 cents too, I'd say), so when you sell all your cards for $2, you're creating $2 out of nothing, while the buyer of your cards (who also got the game free, or cheaply, in the case of other cheap games) is giving Valve 5% of that $2.

So in that case, Valve is making 10 cents off free games. That's good, but then there's $2 in your Steam wallet that you can use to buy something that otherwise would have put money in Valve's pocket. When you got that Steam wallet for free, that's not profit for them.

But again, like I said, I'm sure the card beta is helping Valve in general. I'm just thinking about it from CAGly viewpoint.
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The point is steam wallet never comes from nothing. Someone always put real money in a 1:1 ratio for it. Everyone can get a game free and they would still make money if people buy the cards.

Person A got the game for free
Person B got the game for free

Person A puts $5 of real money into their steam wallet to buy cards from Person B
Person B uses the $5 for more games on steam.

Valve collects the money as soon as person A put it in the system. The 15% is really icing on the cake.
Basically it's not much different then if you went into GameStop with a buddy and sold him a baseball card if he bought you a game at GameStop. GameStop wouldn't care where or who the money came from just that they have it. For valve though its more profitable since they own and tax the sale of the virtual goods.
 
pROvIs said:
The point is steam wallet never comes from nothing. Someone always put real money in a 1:1 ratio for it. Everyone can get a game free and they would still make money if people buy the cards.

Person A got the game for free
Person B got the game for free

Person A puts $5 of real money into their steam wallet to buy cards from Person B
Person B uses the $5 for more games on steam.

Valve collects the money as soon as person A put it in the system. The 15% is really icing on the cake.
Basically it's not much different then if you went into GameStop with a buddy and sold him a baseball card if he bought you a game at GameStop. GameStop wouldn't care where or who the money came from just that they have it. For valve though its more profitable since they own and tax the sale of the virtual goods.
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I knew I was missing something... Didn't think about people needing to put money into their Steam wallet to buy cards. I guess the only people who would have had Steam wallet prior would be TF2 players who sell on the marketplace, or people like Fox who had tons of TF2 freebies from past purchases that gave him $10+ Steam wallet now.

All that thinking, now I feel dumb. :)

 
True dat.

By extension, the reason card prices are dropping is that there are fewer people determining that it's worth it to pump more (actual) money into their wallets to fund their card purchases.  The amount of new money entering the system is less, so the monetary pool can't sustain values at so high a level any longer.

(Of course, it's more complicated than that, but it's an easy way to look at it in broad terms.)

 
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Idiotekque said:
I knew I was missing something... Didn't think about people needing to put money into their Steam wallet to buy cards. I guess the only people who would have had Steam wallet prior would be TF2 players who sell on the marketplace, or people like Fox who had tons of TF2 freebies from past purchases that gave him $10+ Steam wallet now.
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y u ignore DOTA 2 idiot?

 
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Valve is riding the wave of neo-digital-capitalism in a way that will have them remembered for a long time as business revolutionaries far ahead of their time.

 
Idiotekque said:
I knew I was missing something... Didn't think about people needing to put money into their Steam wallet to buy cards. I guess the only people who would have had Steam wallet prior would be TF2 players who sell on the marketplace, or people like Fox who had tons of TF2 freebies from past purchases that gave him $10+ Steam wallet now.

All that thinking, now I feel dumb. :)
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Based on other posts, I knew you were too intelligent to not come around. I'm headed to Hawaii on Thursday and if you didn't get it, I figured I'd see what economic tricks I could pull on the natives ;)

Even in fox's case or people who have balances from TF2. Someone put money in the system for him to have it. All around Valve is getting money in ways they previously didn't and they are marketing items which literally cost nothing to make. Money is growing on virtual trees for them.
 
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asheskitty said:
y u ignore DOTA 2 idiot?
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venum no lyk doota 2

pROvIs said:
Based on other posts, I knew you were too intelligent to not come around. I'm headed to Hawaii on Thursday and if you didn't get it, I figured I'd see what economic tricks I could pull on the natives ;)

Even in fox's case or people who have balances from TF2. Someone put money in the system for him to have it. All around Valve is getting money in ways they previously didn't and they are marketing items which literally cost nothing to make. Money is growing on virtual trees for them.
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Yeah, I'm sick and in a daze right now (I feel like I'm high after I wake up after a night of Nyquil sleep). I knew I was missing something, lol.

 
The thing that's really intriguing here is that Valve could have created these and then sold them to people directly, possibly with prices that increase with demand and decrease with lulls, and it would have been an entirely different beast.

Instead, they rewarded the cards to people who own particular games.  There's the step of having the games run which could appeal to devs, but from a monetary standpoint, it's just an arbitrary delay in receipt.  In effect, we're given the number that there are drops.

And then they left it to us to run the market however we please, using credit gained from somebody paying up front along the way, and always skimming a bit whenever credit changes hands.  And people seem to be (or have been) eating it up, and I don't doubt that they've taken in much more money this way than they would have had they simply sold the cards themselves, or the ultimate badge rewards for that matter.

Virtual property that they give away, but to buy/sell it, you have to purchase their Monopoly money.  It's BRILLIANT.  Add to this that people are using Steam more and considering buying more games and talking about Steam, and there's more value to this than can be measured.

 
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I think the cut between valve and the devs is 12%. Just price something at $1 and look at your cut. The more times the same money runs through the market the less valuable it gets to the consumer as well.

For example, and basing this off someone that said Valve gets like 30%. If person a drops $10 into their account, then spends it on $10 worth of games: person a has $10 worth of games, Valve has $3, and the devs have $7.

If that money was run through the marketplace 5 times here is what it would look like.
Person a buys a card from person b for $10.
Person b now has $8.80, and buys a card from person c for that same amount.
Person c now has $7.74, and buys a card from person d for that same amount.
Person d now has $6.81, and buys a card from person e for that same amount.
Person e now has $5.99, and buys a card from person f for that same amount.
Person f now has $5.27 and spends that on a game

In this example person a, b, c, d and e all have nothing of value.
Person f has $5.27 worth of games.
Valve has $3.16 and the devs have $6.84.

I don't know how accurate those percentages are, but essentially they make 33% of the money skimmed off marketplace transactions. Now if their cut of normal sales us way less than 33%, they definitely want that money tied up in marketplace transactions as opposed to direct game sales. Of course they are also getting extra income from the sale of games with cards as well.

Sorry, that's a really long post and I was interrupted halfway through and was typing on my phone, but I think it makes sense.
 
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