Half of all PC gamers wait for a game to go on sale before buying

4.5
Sales may be killing developers’ chances of getting gamers to pay full price for new releases.

Half of all PC gamers in the US wait for a game’s price to drop before buying it.

That’s according to a report by the NPD Group, via GamesIndustry.

The report, which draws on a June survey of 6,255 individuals, said 46% of respondents who game on PC bought a title digitally in the last year, but those who download games rather than visit the shops are “far less likely” to pay full price.

“Consumers’ expectations may be the greatest barrier to maximizing spending in the PC gaming space,” NPD analyst Liam Callahan said.

“Since half of PC gamers who play digital and/or physical games on the computer are expecting there to always be a sale right around the corner, publishers and retailers alike need to better manage these expectations.”

As a consumer, you may be thinking something along the lines of “half of all PC gamers are very sensible, then”, but some developers – particularly indies – have strong concerns about the effect of sales on the games industry.

Posted:
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2014/09/10/half-of-all-pc-gamers-wait-for-a-game-to-go-on-sale-before-buying-report/

Comments

"Half of all PC gamers wait for a game to go on sale before buying" :: Login/Create an Account :: 66 comments

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BCWPosted:

I usually look out for games that are on sale, so this will be interesting I guess.

BCWPosted:

Dusknoir I am the kind of person that waits for games to go on sale before I purchase it.


Lol, I used to be that way too.

It's annoying though.

DusknoirPosted:

I am the kind of person that waits for games to go on sale before I purchase it.

RSKPosted:

Jovetic
Odin
Ethics Yeah I do exactly this. What do they expect though?.. Some games are way over priced. Maybe they should add demos to all of the games.


Overpriced for countless hours of work? In fact most games are underprice, be considerate of the people that work their ***** off to make these games for you.


It was a good attempt to justify it, but nah.
http://puu.sh/bAGWv/cfd8f97565.jpg


But I think you're forgetting. CoD isn't a real video game.
I'm joking of course, but for whatever reason Activision likes to reel in cash by not lowering the prices of their games that are pretty much all crap anyway (imo)

Squirt_TTGPosted:

Haha as if gamers do that, I just buy a game if it looks sick but if i dont think ill play it alot then i'd probably wait for a sale.

AchePosted:

I typically buy a game when I see it's interesting... I very rarely wait on it to go on sale.

I have to keep myself entertained somehow. ;)

21Posted:

I personally don't wait for sales. If I want a game, I buy it. I actually buy games that I wouldn't usually buy, during sales. Although, I'm aware that people don't buy games and just wait for the sales to get the games they want. Personally, if I like/want a game enough, I'll support the developers by purchasing the game at the price it is when I want it, instead of waiting for it to go down in price.

OnlyKicksPosted:

I always love looking out for the Sales for PC Games.

TohkaPosted:

Now that I think about, I don't think I've ever purchased a full price game on Steam. I always look out for sales.

TaigaAisakaPosted:

Ehhhh I do this at times, but only if after looking at multiple reviews and people have the same opinion that the game isn't worth the $20 or something, I will normally then wait for a sale on it, then buy it. However, most of my games I have bought at full price.