Purchase on Matrixgames -> Steam Key?

[StormingKiwi]

ORIGINAL: U235
I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone would not want to order here. You get the Steam Key, you get the installer, you can burn your own backup to disk (if you still have a CD drive). If one has an account, all their Matrix/Slitherine keys and the installers are available here, plus there is they yearly anniversary coupons.

Could it be because it is more expensive for the same product and Steam avoids the bank charging a foreign currency fee?

[Slish]

Yeah, I would be fine with buying it on Slitherine site if it was the same price, but on Steam its 4,50 euros cheaper (37,79 euro vs 42,29 euros). So yeah, I'll buy it on steam.

[Clux]

For me its the regional pricing, purchasing on Steam its around $20 USD while on Matrix its $45 USD, but the big take here its than $45 USD its half of my monthly income

[rxnnxs]

Why is it, that this preorder is on steam cheaper than on matrixgames?
Here it is 10% off 42.29€
on steam it is 10% off and costs 37,79€
What is the difference? How can Steam be cheaper?

[Spidey]

ORIGINAL: rxnnxs

Why is it, that this preorder is on steam cheaper than on matrixgames?
Here it is 10% off 42.29€
on steam it is 10% off and costs 37,79€
What is the difference? How can Steam be cheaper?

There's a 10% preorder discount everywhere and on Steam there appears to be an additional 10% "look here, best 4X game ever!!" attention grabber bonus discount. Not enough to be totally unfair but enough for the game to appear as being on sale and maybe getting noticed by a bunch of people who aren't aware of the game yet.

[zgrssd]

ORIGINAL: rxnnxs

Why is it, that this preorder is on steam cheaper than on matrixgames?
Here it is 10% off 42.29€
on steam it is 10% off and costs 37,79€
What is the difference? How can Steam be cheaper?

Answered here:
fb.asp?m=5144602

[rxnnxs]

Thank you for your answers, but in the morning it came to my mind, there is another reason for the price: it works without steam!
And THATS the point where I say: On GOG or from matrixgames, but only if forced to on steam.
Soo, I guess I will buy it from GOG.
Thank you so much guys for your hard work!
Finally.. it is there to reach!

[actrade]

Erik,

First let me say I'm really looking forward to the game. Second, I ordered from Matrix under the impression there was a physical manual until I saw your post and with shipping, paid over $75. Without the manual, I don't need the physical order. Is there a way to cancel/replace my order? Thanks.

[U235]

ORIGINAL: StormingKiwi

ORIGINAL: U235
I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone would not want to order here. You get the Steam Key, you get the installer, you can burn your own backup to disk (if you still have a CD drive). If one has an account, all their Matrix/Slitherine keys and the installers are available here, plus there is they yearly anniversary coupons.

Could it be because it is more expensive for the same product and Steam avoids the bank charging a foreign currency fee?

It could be. I can only speak from my experience here in the USA. I don't know what algorithms Steam or Matrix use to calculate cost in other parts of the world, but I'll give an example of what I'm talking about. This year, earlier this month, one commenter on Steam was complaining that DW:U was 55 euros. It was just $6 (even cheaper now) for the better part of two months during the Matrix/SLitherine holiday sale.

I've hear that Steam takes 30% of the cost (maybe someone can confirm) for the sale. That's in addition to Matrix/Slitherine's cut, so the dev's get even less. Ever wonder why some titles lose support? I would tend to believe because doing so is no longer profitable for the developers. Cheap is good for the short term, maybe not so much for the long term. Anniversary coupons are a good way to save, even if the game was released the same day, of course one would have to have patience to buy until they got their coupon. Not something everyone has, but if costs are a concern, there are solutions.

As I said, here in the US, Matrix and Steam price are the same, with both having a 10% discount (for a cost of $44.99). If you live elsewhere and it's cheaper, great news for you. Matrix/Slitherine IMO should look at locations selling for less that they are in the same location, as they are hurting their own business, but that's on them to consider.

Also, not sure if this is available to other countries, but I have two credit cards and neither charge a fee for foreign transactions, one which I link to my PayPal account for transactions such as this. I'd definitely check to see if something like that is available to me if I lived elsewhere.

BTW GOG (who I do like) has DW2 on pre-order here in the USA for $49.99 with no mention of a discount.

[StormingKiwi]

ORIGINAL: U235

ORIGINAL: StormingKiwi

ORIGINAL: U235
I cannot for the life of me imagine why anyone would not want to order here. You get the Steam Key, you get the installer, you can burn your own backup to disk (if you still have a CD drive). If one has an account, all their Matrix/Slitherine keys and the installers are available here, plus there is they yearly anniversary coupons.

Could it be because it is more expensive for the same product and Steam avoids the bank charging a foreign currency fee?

It could be. I can only speak from my experience here in the USA. I don't know what algorithms Steam or Matrix use to calculate cost in other parts of the world, but I'll give an example of what I'm talking about. This year, earlier this month, one commenter on Steam was complaining that DW:U was 55 euros. It was just $6 (even cheaper now) for the better part of two months during the Matrix/SLitherine holiday sale.

I've hear that Steam takes 30% of the cost (maybe someone can confirm) for the sale. That's in addition to Matrix/Slitherine's cut, so the dev's get even less. Ever wonder why some titles lose support? I would tend to believe because doing so is no longer profitable for the developers. Cheap is good for the short term, maybe not so much for the long term. Anniversary coupons are a good way to save, even if the game was released the same day, of course one would have to have patience to buy until they got their coupon. Not something everyone has, but if costs are a concern, there are solutions.

As I said, here in the US, Matrix and Steam price are the same, with both having a 10% discount (for a cost of $44.99). If you live elsewhere and it's cheaper, great news for you. Matrix/Slitherine IMO should look at locations selling for less that they are in the same location, as they are hurting their own business, but that's on them to consider.

Also, not sure if this is available to other countries, but I have two credit cards and neither charge a fee for foreign transactions, one which I link to my PayPal account for transactions such as this. I'd definitely check to see if something like that is available to me if I lived elsewhere.

BTW GOG (who I do like) has DW2 on pre-order here in the USA for $49.99 with no mention of a discount.

A poster on the Steam forums made an extremely good point. To paraphrase, when you buy on Steam, it counts towards the Steam global sales charts, meaning that more people are exposed to the game through Steam's algorithms, especially if it becomes a top-selling product.

If offered the choice between the revenue of 1x$50 or 10x$35, I'd pick the $350, but that's just me.

Of course, Matrix/Steam prices are the same, Matrix has a USA office and benchmarks the international prices to the US price.

It could be that foreign currency fee is something the Australasian banks dreamed up to reduce transaction fees for all customers to only those buying in foreign currencies.

[U235]

[/quote]
A poster on the Steam forums made an extremely good point. To paraphrase, when you buy on Steam, it counts towards the Steam global sales charts, meaning that more people are exposed to the game through Steam's algorithms, especially if it becomes a top-selling product.

If offered the choice between the revenue of 1x$50 or 10x$35, I'd pick the $350, but that's just me.

Of course, Matrix/Steam prices are the same, Matrix has a USA office and benchmarks the international prices to the US price.

It could be that foreign currency fee is something the Australasian banks dreamed up to reduce transaction fees for all customers to only those buying in foreign currencies.
[/quote]

While I'm sure Steam gets many more views than Matrix, you'd have to assume a 1:10 sales ratio in the example is accurate, and I'm not suggesting that is not possible. Of course Steam's 30% cut must be factored in as well. I do believe there are many people out there like me that have been Matrix customers long before they had Steam accounts, as this was and is the place for war and strategy games. This genre is probably the smallest of all available game types, not including shooters.

Some, not all by any means, of the Steam community are fickle, and if the game doesn't have the latest bells and whistle graphics, they aren't interested, and their comments/criticisms can kill decent games. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people on Steam complain about the price of DW:U over the years because it wasn't permanently discounted as it aged. I'm sure Matrix/Slitherine know what's best for their marketing, as well as the pitfalls.

I'm pretty sure everyone on this forum wants the game to do well, and have the developers properly and fairly rewarded for their long, hard work so they will continue to support the game for a long time to come. Cheers.

[Cauldyth]

*shrug* - the devs expressed their preference we buy it from Matrix, so I bought it from Matrix. I'll let them decide their sales strategy, rather than second guess it. [:D]

[StormingKiwi]

ORIGINAL: U235

While I'm sure Steam gets many more views than Matrix, you'd have to assume a 1:10 sales ratio in the example is accurate, and I'm not suggesting that is not possible. Of course Steam's 30% cut must be factored in as well. I do believe there are many people out there like me that have been Matrix customers long before they had Steam accounts, as this was and is the place for war and strategy games. This genre is probably the smallest of all available game types, not including shooters.

Some, not all by any means, of the Steam community are fickle, and if the game doesn't have the latest bells and whistle graphics, they aren't interested, and their comments/criticisms can kill decent games. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people on Steam complain about the price of DW:U over the years because it wasn't permanently discounted as it aged. I'm sure Matrix/Slitherine know what's best for their marketing, as well as the pitfalls.

I'm pretty sure everyone on this forum wants the game to do well, and have the developers properly and fairly rewarded for their long, hard work so they will continue to support the game for a long time to come. Cheers.

$50 x 0.7 = $35. As long as there are 43% more sales on Steam than on Matrix/Slitherine...