So I'm 33 now... almost 34. I've been gaming since I was probably 8 or so with the Atari first, then NES, SNES, 64, Genesis, Playstation, every system I've played in some shape or form (owned or played). I've been buying games the last 20 years and started out with the mom and pop shops... then big retailers... and then moved to online purchases. Most of my first online purchases were via big names like Amazon, EB Games (now Gamestop), etc and were physical copies of games. I then went to Steam, Origin, and GoG buying digital copies. But then I figured out that I can buy the same exact digital products for at LEAST 20% off.

I discovered places like Green Man Gaming that have a blanket 20% off discount coupons for everything in the store (sometimes in upwards to 25% off). Pre-orders, early access titles, and even indie games. That particular website is 100% legitimate and trustworthy. Other websites I've gone to (like CDkeys) have even bigger discounts (I picked up Just Cause 3 for example, for $25). They are recommended by IGN and the sale was e-mailed to me being one of their Prime members. Even further... you can visit less than reputable sites (which I wont recommend nor mention) that give even bigger discounts. Keys from them are absolutely hit or miss.

That all said... when you have options to buy these digital products (that ultimately activate on Steam the EXACT SAME way as Steam sells them to you for $15 more), why are you guys paying full price for games? Why waste the money?

This is a serious question and not a sales pitch. I mention two places by name I frequent not because I get a kickback or discount. I've included no links and you can even edit out the two names and the message is still the same. In 2015... you can buy games for significantly less than mainstream retailers are selling them for. You get the exact same product that Steam tries to gouge your wallet for. Wait do you keep doing it? Is there any particular reason?

I asked this same question on Steam and got no solid answer from anyone. I showed people they could buy Fallout 4 for $39.99, $45, etc... and they still paid $60 on Steam. For no reason at all, they paid more. I'm extremely curious if there's some reasoning behind this. Is it comfort? Bad habit? Lack of knowledge?

Just curious.

A lot of people buy games exclusively on Steam and they like the Steam Integration and overlay. However Steam does run some righteous sales so you can get bargains from them just like any other legitimate source of games.

Now, in a general sense, I never pay full price for a game, unless it's a Fallout or TES title, and that is usually because I am getting the Collectors Edition, so it even costs more. However the other 99% of the games that I have? I doubt I paid full price for 10 of them in the last 3 decades. It is a rare title that I have to get on or near release. In fact, just last month I picked up the first two Assasins Creed games for the PC for $4.95 or some price like that. So, I am a bargain hunter for sure. Now, being mainly a PC Gamer, I do have to buy "new" physical or digital copies, no used games for me. That being said, I do have some consoles (none of the newest ones) and I do pick up some used bargains for them from time to time.

I sitting right next to you on this rowboat

$60 for a video game is too much, in my opinion. Very few games have met that price expectation. TES and Fallout have given me awesome "bang for my buck", but 99% of games released today just are not worth the price tag, in my opinion.

I spend most of my gaming money at GOG. I appreciate older games anyway and they have a nice selection, though not perfect (still wanting Need 4 Speed 2: Hot Pursuit circa 1997).

I guess I am blessed in that new games just do not excite me anymore, like they used to. I can pretty much count on every new game in the "genres" I like to be about the same. Different settings. Different stories. Same mechanics and very similar activities. It seems as gaming gets more popular, the gameplay I like goes away.

For me, it is not only games I look for "bargains." I pretty much shop that way all around

Very easy answer for me: I can't do digital due to my data cap and lack of any other internet option where I live. That being said, I still don't pay full price for games, I wait for them to get older and hit the sales rack before I buy them. Only a very select few get bought while they are brand new(TES mostly). But yeah I imagine most peoples answer are either: I have enough money to not care about saving a few bucks, or I live where internet svcks and thus can't do digital. Or the people who prefer the feel of a physical copy.

I'm happy to pay full price for a Bethesda game. I've spent hundreds of dollars on Morrowind over the years and consider it to be the best entertainment money I have ever spent. But when it comes to the games made by all other developers, I wait for sales.

Yeah I don't get the mentality of "I must ONLY buy on Steam"... when you can buy elsewhere and get a legitimate Steam key for half the price. Makes no sense to me. But I'm with you and others in the thread, I buy new games at a discount 99% of the time (I've never paid $60 for a game ever)... and I snag older games when they drop to the bargain bin (like Steams $5 sales).

As for physical copies... I can understand the bandwidth issues. Before we could download everything was on disc. Even the first spurt of downloaded games was utterly painful on 56K connections. If I was limited on my internet I'd lose my mind. But the only physical copies I seem to buy now are Super-Duper Special Outrageous Editions (the last being the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition). If it has a statue or something interesting I can put on my shelf, I might buy it. But a standard copy with no incentive (as in an exclusive bonus from that retailer), I don't get those.

To be perfectly honest, I don't really understand peoples obsession with all digital. Why do you want to own something that you can't physically see or touch? I like knowing that 50 years from now, the games sitting on my game shelf, are still going to be there. Can anyone say with any degree of certainty that the games they buy from Steam are actually still going to be available to them? Because last I checked, there are no such guarantees, just the flimsy word of one person saying that if they ever go under they'll patch something in so people can play the games without Steam, but realistically a company going under isn't going to be even thinking about such a thing, and if they are going under, nor will they care if they piss of their playerbase.

So yeah, my internet may stifle my ability to download games, but even if I had it, it's unlikely I'd use it for more then a handful of games as I do much prefer having a hard copy there that will be there till the day I die.

i don't really, there is usually a deal on GMG, so i usually get it cheaper anyway, but it all depends how much i want to play the game and whether i think it's worth it, and who the company is, i don't buy Ubisoft's games at full price on release.

I don't mind paying $60.00 for a new game but I also love the bargains Steam can offer as well. So far I've gotten CoD: MW2, Half-Life 1&2, Bioshock Infinite (BT9 I love this game) and Tom Clancy's EndWar. Next month I'm getting MW3, Ghost, Advance Warfare and Mushihimesama (THANK YOU STEAM!!! Now I can play the first game since I've played the sequel on the 360).

So far I'm loving Steam, I still don't support it being a third party DRM lock out on PC games but being able to buy games I love on the 360 and PS3 is SOOO worth it .

I dont pay full price for most of the gammes that I buy. I mostly get them used at the reduced used prices and often wait until games are older and the prices have dropped pretty significantly.

Only Bethesda games and the classic Nintendo franchise games get bought at full price because I know I wont regret my purchase and want to fully support those companies.

I wish I could buy a new game for $60. I live in Australia, so to put it into perspective:

- Steam is still in USD (For whatever reason) and Fallout 4 on there is $79.95 USD which is around $114 AUD at the current exchange rate.

- Green Man Gaming is $74.99 AUD which is $60.00 AUD with the 20% off.

- The cheapest physical copy appears to be $69 AUD

So I'd love to pay less than $60 for a new game. Turns out I just can't!

Having said that, I have 2 kids now. Like I have the time to play many computer games!

To support developers that make good games. And the prices of games should be around $70-$80 USD about now but the price has been static for almost 15 years.

I'm 35 and only buy games at full price if I trust the developer, like Bethesda Game Studios or Obsidian. Most of the time I buy bundles from Steam sales.

Because I want to support the people that make the games that I love. Do I take advantage of sales? Of course. But I have absolutely no problem with paying full price for a game.

couldn't have put it better myself

This too. I also buy them at full price because damn it I want it right now. If I can wait for a sale, I will
And lastly, it's my money.

I do not care about paying full price for a Game I have enjoyed playing, and I will likely buy other Games from a Publisher or Game Studio that has not dissapointed Me.

I have an old Laptop that has had a defective Disc Drive since 2010, Steam and GOG have made the Laptop irreplacable for older Games that can not be played on newer PC's. The Laptop runs Vista and is missing the W and Q keys, and I fear the day I am forced to retire it.

At the moment with the Australian dollar so low its cheaper to buy hard copies than digital off steam, other than old games which maybe at really low prices, otherwise. Also its more expensive with digital if you don't have high download limits, i installed a game a few weeks ago walked away and it downloaded patches total came to 15 gig on my monthly limit it meant i had to be careful doing anything after a download that big in one go.

I rarely do. Fallout 4 was the first in a long time. That one i bought at full price because i have probably played 10.000 hours of their previous games put together over the years

So, pretty much guaranteed to be worth it.

I'll also be buying Divinity Original Sin 2 at full price, whenever that becomes available. Though i think that may be cheaper than 60€.

I would like to clarify that I do wish to support good game developers. The difference for me is supporting with a mid-size car, or a luxury car

I pay full price when I think it is worth it, or if I am too lazy too look up another price (or don't trust the party offering the lower price).

I do like to have fysical copies of the games I own, so I usually don't download. them.

Sometimes you are unable to, and there is nothing wrong with that.

The standard was $50 for the last 10 years or so. Before that $40. We've only started seeing console prices ($60) in the last couple years. About the time the 360 came out. So no, I don't think we should be at $70 or $80.

As for developer support... unless you're buying direct like say Star Citizen... retail price has no relevance on what the devs see. Devs/publisher sell a million keys to Amazon for $45... Amazon turns around and sells it for $60. You're not helping the devs. If you buy the game at a discount for say $50 retail... the devs see no more or less. The exception here would be pirated games or bad keys obviously.

Did you end up buying Fallout 4?

You aren't accounting for inflation. According to this online http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ an item that coast $50 in 2004 is likely to cost $62.98 in 2015.

and if we take some games from the late 80s or early 90s and adjust for inflation its even more expensive.