Originally Posted by
Hockeyhacker
Because general chat is good in any open server multi player game?
And you do realize that for Steam to put something on sales like 80% off they have to get publisher approval right? Reason brick and morter stores don't have to is because the publishers get the money up front and if the store wants to take a hit to get the product off the shelf to get a new product on the shelf the publishers still get the same money as if it where marked at retail value of when it was shipped to the store as a pose to some huge sale price... Steam has to get approval because unlike physical stores they do not have to get rid of the old crap to make room for the new product and so if they are doing some 80% off sale they are still making a profit on it which means the developer/publisher is not making as much as if it where retail priced...
Steam sales are the publisher and developer pushing for some "please give us some money, making 100,000 sales at $5 profit is better then making 200 sales at $30 profit, we need to sell our product to people who may never spend retail price for it but are more then willing to spend $5-10 for it since that's the price of a fast food lunch now a days"
On top of that it gets the title out their again of games people may have forgotten about, where you push out a ton of sales that may or may not have happened eventually at retail value make some profit there but then get those people telling their friends going "Man I just got Dues Ex for $8 during the 24 hours it was on a great sale and played through it and its freakin awesome it is well worth $30 for go buy it you will not be displeased"
Point being unlike physical stores where they have sales to get rid of last months games to make shelf space for this months games, Steam sales are more of a form of marketing for publishers since it gets their name out there again for a game that has been out long enough to where the fans have moved on, but people who never saw it in the first place can get it and then get their friends to get it at retail price. Steam does not have to do sales where they take a lose on a product just to free up shelf space to gain more back from the "next big thing".
Edit: (deleted edit, since I summed up disjointed thoughts into a re edit)
(sorry if the edit doesn't make sense I know sometimes when my thoughts get rambled together and writen out of order it can many times be in a structure that doesn't read well, either way I was trying to say that because of a Steam sale I got reminded I had a great game and because I replayed said game it peaked my friends interest and so he will probably buy it at retail value since the sale has been long since over, hence reinforcing the fact that Steam sales can be great marketing)