Cerebralbore101 said:
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. |
Must have been a pretty shitty course if it conveyed the false impression that all these shares are set in stone and don't vary depending on negotiations (devs <-> publishers), different stores with different impact/reach <-> publishers, circulation strength of a game, margins for back catalog titles...
| Cerebralbore101 said: IMO Valve should only take $10 off every new release sale. |
$10, no matter if the price on Steam for the game (set by the publisher) is $20, $30, $40, $50, $60, $70 or $80?
| Cerebralbore101 said: AAA PC titles could easily release for $40 |
And you can find almost any PC title easily for $40 (or less) right at launch or within the first month. Even if a game needs Steam, Valve ain't the only one selling the game. Valve has some many partners like GreenManGaming or the Humble Store allowing a healthy competition for Steam-bound games.
| Cerebralbore101 said: But Valve and the devs want to make more money, instead of pass the savings on to the consumer. |
Supply and demand are the base of a price, not the production or distribution costs.
| Cerebralbore101 said: 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. |
And why should Valve care about Best Buys prices? Valve has a much bigger marketing reach than Best Buys... so you can add some of your ten bucks for marketing to the Steam price.
