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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Are the PS+ "free games" the crack that will bring down the industry?

No, just no. By the same logic everyone that waited until prices come down would bring down the industry. After all, you can always just wait until the price comes down and play other, older games in the meantime.



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If this was true then nobody would ever buy games day one. They'd just wait 6 months for the pice to go down.



Sigs are dumb. And so are you!

Fusioncode said:
If this was true then nobody would ever buy games day one. They'd just wait 6 months for the pice to go down.


Isn't that what most Steam users do nowadays?



I think you are missing the point of the strategy of playstation plus. Like some said the games that appear are often at least a year old or sometimes less than a year old but still the reason why it works is because games have their selling time and then take a serious dive. Games like Little Big Planet Karting sold poorly so then it is put free because the months pass and it still sells crap. Do you understand? So Sony does not loose money by putting it for free as its selling meagerly or nothing at all. Instead people that get it for free will try it and then two things can happen:

1. They will buy dlc for the game gladly, especially if they enjoyed them

2. They now could be willing to buy day 1 a potential Little Big Planet Karting 2. This might not have ever happened if the game was never given for free as the game was poorly advertised and or the reviews might have scared customers away.

You have to take those two given points into consideration. It is a way to try to bring greater awareness for a game that failed comercialy but that could now spike up interest for a potential sequel and profit through dlc.

There are also games like Bioshock Infinite that sold well you could say but that its current sales have taken a huge nose dive. It is a scenario where it sales are now probably meager and its fanbase unlikely to expand. The only way for this to happen is to give it to people who are not willing to pay for it for free and as they play they might learn that they like the game and then might go on to buy not only dlc for it but maybe even Bioshock 1 and 2 if they never played them. For 2K, they probably figure that they can only benefit from putting on playstation plus. 

 

Now let me tell you. Grand Theft Auto V will not be appearing until its sales decrease significantly. And think about it, call of duty is never offered. Why? Because these are games that have a different sales trayectory and continue to sell in a way and for a long period of time that most other game do not. Sony and developers are happy that you try their games as you said that you would only buy Dark Souls 2 day one. Maybe you will buy dlc for these free games and or fall in love with one of the free games you get.

To end, I would agree with you if Sony put for free a game on its launch day or withing 1, 2, or 3 months of its release. That would negatively impact sales. Half a year later is when everyone that really wanted the game already bought it. That game will then sell very little.



Wright said:
Fusioncode said:
If this was true then nobody would ever buy games day one. They'd just wait 6 months for the pice to go down.


Isn't that what most Steam users do nowadays?

Sure I guess, but I thought this was more about console gaming. 



Sigs are dumb. And so are you!

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Fusioncode said:
Wright said:
Fusioncode said:
If this was true then nobody would ever buy games day one. They'd just wait 6 months for the pice to go down.


Isn't that what most Steam users do nowadays?

Sure I guess, but I thought this was more about console gaming. 


What, wasn't Steam linked somehow to Ps3?



Wright said:
Fusioncode said:
Wright said:
Fusioncode said:
If this was true then nobody would ever buy games day one. They'd just wait 6 months for the pice to go down.


Isn't that what most Steam users do nowadays?

Sure I guess, but I thought this was more about console gaming. 


What, wasn't Steam linked somehow to Ps3?

The only thing you can do is link your steam account with your PS3 account and that will get you a free copy of Portal 2, if you bought it on the PC. The two services are completely different.  



Sigs are dumb. And so are you!

Kratos0Ace87 said:

I think you are missing the point of the strategy of playstation plus. Like some said the games that appear are often at least a year old or sometimes less than a year old but still the reason why it works is because games have their selling time and then take a serious dive. Games like Little Big Planet Karting sold poorly so then it is put free because the months pass and it still sells crap. Do you understand? So Sony does not loose money by putting it for free as its selling meagerly or nothing at all. Instead people that get it for free will try it and then two things can happen:

1. They will buy dlc for the game gladly, especially if they enjoyed them

2. They now could be willing to buy day 1 a potential Little Big Planet Karting 2. This might not have ever happened if the game was never given for free as the game was poorly advertised and or the reviews might have scared customers away.

You have to take those two given points into consideration. It is a way to try to bring greater awareness for a game that failed comercialy but that could now spike up interest for a potential sequel and profit through dlc.

There are also games like Bioshock Infinite that sold well you could say but that its current sales have taken a huge nose dive. It is a scenario where it sales are now probably meager and its fanbase unlikely to expand. The only way for this to happen is to give it to people who are not willing to pay for it for free and as they play they might learn that they like the game and then might go on to buy not only dlc for it but maybe even Bioshock 1 and 2 if they never played them. For 2K, they probably figure that they can only benefit from putting on playstation plus. 

 

Now let me tell you. Grand Theft Auto V will not be appearing until its sales decrease significantly. And think about it, call of duty is never offered. Why? Because these are games that have a different sales trayectory and continue to sell in a way and for a long period of time that most other game do not. Sony and developers are happy that you try their games as you said that you would only buy Dark Souls 2 day one. Maybe you will buy dlc for these free games and or fall in love with one of the free games you get.

To end, I would agree with you if Sony put for free a game on its launch day or withing 1, 2, or 3 months of its release. That would negatively impact sales. Half a year later is when everyone that really wanted the game already bought it. That game will then sell very little.

I agree. This is the situation as it now stands. I fully see the reason behind it and the way it makes profit through DLC and stuff.

Though, seing my own strategy towards it along with others' apparently (I quote a friend above)...

And I kind of get what the OP is saying. I've bought zero physical Vita games because I'm banking on them arriving "free" on PS+. I've also cut my PS3 purchases in half because of all the great games available through PS+. I'm seriously considering returning BioShock Infinite and Borderlands 2 since both are on PS+, although I imagine I'll like them so much I'll want to keep them in perpetuity.This

...I dared  take the thought a little further. See where this is going, or where it might lead. So, I made a "what if" scenario and posted it here for discussion. I've explained that many times here, but people do not seem to get it is a hypothesis.

Now, let's get back to it, shall we? I've also been clicking the "download now" button on any Vita game offered, so if one day I get to buy one I will have a whole library at my disposal,without spending a single extra buck!

What_if more people thought that way? Who would buy the games day-1 and pay the full price? Wouldn't that hurt the devs' earnings, long term? Would they, then opt to move to more profitable markets?

It's a scenario that could happen. Could it not?



This, I stole from grandpa...It's called soap.

Fusioncode said:
Wright said:
Fusioncode said:
If this was true then nobody would ever buy games day one. They'd just wait 6 months for the pice to go down.


Isn't that what most Steam users do nowadays?

Sure I guess, but I thought this was more about console gaming. 


And that makes it different, how?



This, I stole from grandpa...It's called soap.

kabamarutr said:
Fusioncode said:
Wright said:
Fusioncode said:
If this was true then nobody would ever buy games day one. They'd just wait 6 months for the pice to go down.


Isn't that what most Steam users do nowadays?

Sure I guess, but I thought this was more about console gaming. 


And that makes it different, how?

Is Steam on consoles? No? Ok then. 



Sigs are dumb. And so are you!