The Orange is Now Gold

[Thortok2000]

It's not how "worth it" it is to get EP2, Portal, and TF2.



It's that re-buying HL2 and EP1 is equivalent to throwing away the money we've already spent on it.

[ma_cherie]

but you're not rebuying it... that's the whole point, you're buying tf2, ep2, and portal... hl2 and ep1 are thrown in for free.. no charge for those games... f r e e.

[Thortok2000]

Edited by [user="152360"] @ [time="1190957588"]

But, you see, I've already given valve 50 dollars when I bought HL2 and EP1. So why don't I get TF2, EP2, and Portal thrown in for free for what I've already purchased?



Simple math. Past: HL2 + EP1 = 50 dollars. Current Value of HL2 + EP1 = zero dollars. 50 - zero = 50. Therefore, Valve owes me 50 dollars, or TF2/EP2/Portal, which is worth 50 dollars.



INSTEAD, Valve wants 50 *MORE* dollars of my money, bundling two games I don't want and two games I already paid for with the only game in the entire pack I even want.



It's not that I already own HL2 and EP1 that's the problem, it's the idea that I already paid for them.



How would you like it if you bought something for 50 dollars, and then a couple weeks later, they start giving it away free? Gypped, right? That's the sentiment here. I already gave Valve my money, and now they want more, just so they can force-feed me what I already gave them money for, again, for 'free'.



And just because it's 'free' doesn't mean it's free. Let's see, I have this product that should sell at around 35 dollars, but I know if I raise the price to 50, people will still buy it. I also have this product that isn't selling so well anymore. So I'll sell the 35-dollar product at the price of 50 dollars and throw in the second product 'free'. It's just another way for the simple to get scammed.



Simple math again: Product A = Worth 35 dollars, but you could sell it for 40. Product B = worth 10 dollars, but you could sell it for 15. A+B = worth 45 dollars, or you could sell them for 55 individually. Except product B doesn't sell that well, so you bundle them and sell for 50. Tell the customer he's 'saving 5 dollars' by getting the bundle, and he is, but you're still making a profit since 50 is still more than the 45 they're actually worth. And considering all those 'sales' of product B that you would not have gotten otherwise, you're making a lot more money by bundling and lowering total profits than you would by selling individually, even if you lowered product B's profits (and obviously, if they were selling individually, lowering A's profits wouldn't make B sell more either.) All in all, the seller comes out way ahead, while advertising it's the customers who save.



However, smart customers won't product B, even if they're 'saving 5 dollars' by getting the bundle, and will want the option to buy Product A at its normal price of 45. You're still getting a profit on that sale, and the customer saves money. Valve, however, isn't offering this option, and that's where they go in their own favor instead of in the customer's favor.



It's the same philosophy as 'buy two get one free' when you walked in the store intending to just buy one, then come out of the store spending more money than you planned (buying two instead of one) and thinking that you saved money. If you had planned to buy 2, then you did, but since you had planned to buy 1, you didn't. They tricked more money out of you. A smart customer, that didn't want a second item, much less a third, would just buy the one item they wanted, and skip the 'deal'.



If the second product was something you don't mind getting, then it's not /too/ bad a scam, just like how they bundled EP2, Portal, and TF2, instead of offering them separately. But additional copies of games I already own is something I do mind getting, and since I know they aren't really 'free' and they're instead adding a hidden cost to the total, in effect I am paying for those games again.



The 'bundling' form of marketing is actually a good way to sell products that don't sell well, by latching them onto products that do (and if you like every product in the bundle, it's actually a really good deal). However, typically there is the option for the savvy customer to NOT get the bundle, and pay a little bit less. The fact that there is no option here is what ticks me off, and they're forcing the customer down the path that gives them (valve) more money, at the expense of the customer.



Imagine if you bought HL2 and Episode 1 the DAY before this deal was announced, and those games get bundled 'free' with the orange box, plus 3 other games, too, for the same price you just spend on HL2 and EP1? You just spent 50 dollars getting 2 games, and now other people are spending their same 50 dollars to get 5 games instead, including the sequel to the games you just bought, AND if you want that sequel too, you have to hand over ANOTHER 50 dollars, not to mention getting useless double-copies of the two games you just wasted money on! You'd feel REALLY pissed. So what's the difference between that, and having bought HL2 and EP1 a lot earlier? None.



This entire process screws people who just want the halflife series, (unless they're just now buying it and didn't already own HL2 and EP1) and what's worse, people don't seem to care, especially since people who don't want TF2 or portal seem to be in the minority. *sigh*

[Zips]

You complained when Ubisoft gave out their games for free a month ago too, didn't you.

[Thortok2000]

I wasn't aware that they did. =P There's only a handful of Ubisoft games I like anyway.



I wouldn't even mind if Valve were giving out HL2 and EP1 free, it's just that they AREN'T. They raised the price of EP2/TF2/Portal to make up for it and then tagged 'free' on it in the sales pitch I explained above. Otherwise, if HL2 and EP1 really were free, you wouldn't have to buy the bundle to get them.



So, since it's proven that they aren't free, that means that you ARE paying for them if you buy that bundle, which in my case means that I'm paying for these games again. And that sticks in my craw.

[Kiljaeden]

Hi everyone. I have a question: I'll be able to give my friend the the copy of HL2 and Ep1 from the Orange Box so that he can download and play CS:S right?

[Zips]

Thortok2000 wrote..

I wasn't aware that they did. =P There's only a handful of Ubisoft games I like anyway.



I wouldn't even mind if Valve were giving out HL2 and EP1 free, it's just that they AREN'T. They raised the price of EP2/TF2/Portal to make up for it and then tagged 'free' on it in the sales pitch I explained above. Otherwise, if HL2 and EP1 really were free, you wouldn't have to buy the bundle to get them.



So, since it's proven that they aren't free, that means that you ARE paying for them if you buy that bundle, which in my case means that I'm paying for these games again. And that sticks in my craw.

The price would be the same with or without HL2 and Ep1. Why again are you complaining about free games?

[ukHazard]

Kiljaeden wrote..

Hi everyone. I have a question: I'll be able to give my friend the the copy of HL2 and Ep1 from the Orange Box so that he can download and play CS:S right?

No; CS:S isn't included. He'll only have access to HL2 and Ep1.

[Thortok2000]

Zips wrote..

The price would be the same with or without HL2 and Ep1. Why again are you complaining about free games?

Because they aren't free.



Show me where I can buy TF2, EP2, and Portal without HL2 and EP1, and I'll shut up. Until then, your saying that the price is the same is a fairytale. A fictional story made to make everyone feel better, but still fiction.



Better yet, show me where I can buy EP2 without any of the other games. Would THAT still cost 50 dollars? If it does cost 50, it's way overpriced and not worth buying, and if it doesn't, then the rest of the pack isn't 'free'. And if it's not even offered, then that's proof that customers can't buy what they want without getting screwed by Valve.

[Zips]

Thortok2000 wrote..

Because they aren't free.



Show me where I can buy TF2, EP2, and Portal without HL2 and EP1, and I'll shut up. Until then, your saying that the price is the same is a fairytale. A fictional story made to make everyone feel better, but still fiction.



Better yet, show me where I can buy EP2 without any of the other games. Would THAT still cost 50 dollars? If it does cost 50, it's way overpriced and not worth buying, and if it doesn't, then the rest of the pack isn't 'free'. And if it's not even offered, then that's proof that customers can't buy what they want without getting screwed by Valve.

They have individual prices if you bought them separate, indicating that at some point they will be sold separate. http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?are...ge&SubId=469&



Ep1 and HL2 are free in this package.