Steam users have highlighted an issue with the pricing system on the platform, prompting calls for a change to be made.
Anyone who uses Steam knows that the platform is rather well known for its big holiday sales that it does at certain times of the year.
Generally, you get several big sales during the summer, autumn, and winter. You also get smaller sales peppered throughout the rest of the year.
With games varying in price so often thanks to these sales, users have called upon Valve to add a feature showing the price history of any given game on its store page.
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“Should Steam add Price History in the game's store page?” asked one user on the Steam Reddit page, showing a demonstration of what such a feature could look like.
The mockup shows a large graph showing fluctuations in price of Stardew Valley, which ordinarily costs £10.99 but is currently 40% off and now priced at £6.59.
Being able to view the price history would allow users to see when it usually goes on sale as well as know if it is truly a 'good' deal compared to other discount periods.
While the feature was welcomed by some users, others were quick to point out the problems with such a system.
“It would be great for the customers, but maybe bad for Valve,” wrote one user.
“I bet it would actually reduce game sales long term, as people would be more informed on how frequently things go on sale and be more willing to wait because they can make decisions based on trend history.
“I think that would cause lengthening the duration between sales. I guess it could hurt developers more if they are using the sales as promotion,” another comment reads.
“I think the most pro consumer move is always good but I personally think that’s a little much,” another comment reads.
“If you’re really trying to be on top of deal hunting like this you’re probably already doing things like following Wario64, CAG, etc (or whatever Reddit might have for the equivalent I’m sure) who regularly will note when a sale is especially good.”
Valve has consistently added pro-consumer features to Steam in the past, as proven by its improved customer service and refund system added over the years. However, being able to view price history might be one thing the publisher is not interested in having on the platform.
