"Valve is not your friend, and Steam is not healthy for gaming"

[Cerebralbore101]

Barozi said:

shikamaru317 said:

They get 30% from every game sold? Wow. I think I heard that Microsoft and Sony only get like 10% on their digital stores. Surprised so many indie devs release on PC first before moving on to console ports. I know that Steam has the biggest install base, but still, 30% is alot. 

Nah both MS and Sony get their 30% as well.

I had a college course on this a few years back. The console manufacturer gets $7-10 in fees. Next the publisher gets $10. Marketing is usually $10, but can be nothing if you don't want to market. Stores take $10-15. Shipping is $5. For a heavily marketed game where the developer is not the publisher, the dev gets $10 of your $60.

Nintendo makes a huge profit on their games because they are the dev, publisher, AND own the console. They also spend way less on marketing.

IMO Valve should only take $10 off every new release sale. With digital they can forego console royalties, publisher fees, store middlemen, and packaging. AAA PC titles could easily release for $40, but Valve and the devs want to make more money, instead of pass the savings on to the consumer. This is my main beef with digital sales right now. They are just a rip off at those prices.

Best Buy doesn't even charge the $15, which makes their games $45. They are banking on you buying additional products from their store, or paying interest on a credit card.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/02/anatomy-of-a-60-dollar-video-game.html