Are There Just Some Games That Never Go On Sale? (and Games That Have Stopped Having Sales)

[ExHaseo]

2 minutes ago, ZitMeatloaf said:

@The7thINFANTRY did a bit of digging and while I'm not sure this is the exact thread, it does mention sales are by invite only and the store controversy sounds familiar from the time:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/oayptn/sonys_psn_store_charges_devs_at_least_25000_for/

 

As one user puts it, "Sale discounts are invite only and some indie devs have to wait YEARS to get approval. There is nothing an indie dev can do to get an invite. This is different on other platforms where the publisher/developer gets to decide how they price their game." That exact language isn't used in the linked article, but as I mentioned before I remember Mystic talking about this as well, so it seems likely that multiple devs backed this up.

 

Anyway, all of this doesn't mean it's the only reason some games never go on sale, I just wanted to mention that it might be a contributing factor.

X to doubt

There are games like Lady in a Leotard with Gun that go on sale every single time. It makes absolutely no sense for them to only let certain devs put their games on sale. And it makes less sense for them to invite a dev with shovelware that's less than $1 at normal price. This honestly sounds like a pissed off dev that's lying to make Sony look bad because they don't want to pay the money for the marketing, or something. And to try and boost their sales by creating a controversy. It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone lied on the internet for attention.

As for the topic, been waiting for the Hat in Time DLC to go on sale for years now, since I already bought it on Steam when it released. But it still hasn't. Also still waiting on a Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster sale, because $75 for a collection of 6 NES/SNES games is absurd.

 

You never know when there will be a sale though. As soon as you buy something, a week later it could be half the price. That's just a risk that you have to take these days. Except for anything on PS3 or Vita. Those games are never going on sale again.

[Viper]

55 minutes ago, Xylobe said:

Firewatch didn't go on sale once between May 2018 and August 2022-- almost the full period between God of War 2018 and Ragnarok.

Yeah I waited those whole 4 years for Firewatch to go on sale, and finally in January 2022 I decided it never will again and bought it full price, played it and finished it. Then August comes around and the sale happens. I was a little peeved lol. 

[Stevieboy]

16 minutes ago, ExHaseo said:

X to doubt

There are games like Lady in a Leotard with Gun that go on sale every single time. It makes absolutely no sense for them to only let certain devs put their games on sale. And it makes less sense for them to invite a dev with shovelware that's less than $1 at normal price. This honestly sounds like a pissed off dev that's lying to make Sony look bad because they don't want to pay the money for the marketing, or something. And to try and boost their sales by creating a controversy. It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone lied on the internet for attention.

 

A good example of it possibly being true is the game Linelight. I've been waiting on that game going on sale on PlayStation (it's only available in the US store) for years. The last sale it got on PS was in 2019. Meanwhile, it gets put in sales all the time on Nintendo Switch (it's even on sale there right now). So why would it be on sale constantly on one platform, while not having a sale so far this decade on another? Makes no sense.

[The7thINFANTRY]

2 hours ago, dieselmanchild said:

Yep some games just never go on sale for some reason. There’s a few that have been in my wishlist for years such as Dust: An Elysian Tale that I began noticing were never included in any sales and don’t have any history on plat prices. 

 

I just checked and it's been on sale a few times with the last time being 2016.

 

1 hour ago, Xylobe said:

The last sale was in August of 2015, less than a year after its release. Feels safe to say that you'll be waiting a while.

52 minutes ago, Pray_4_the_End said:

^^This^^ is the game I was gonna mention. Firewatch is awesome and a buddy of mine around that time kept suggesting it to me. I was always like I'll catch it when it goes on sale and it literally never did for years! Finally ended up picking it up last year for way cheaper, but it's still baffling that it took so long for it to drop in price in the first place. 

 

This makes me wonder if the devs behind said games (and others mentioned in this thread) just don't want their games on sale anymore if the invitation system is how these discounts work?

 

54 minutes ago, l33sar54 said:

I have one game I want to get but it has never gone on sale: CLANNAD. It's a visual novel with, ugh, let's say unique art style. I want to try it but paying full price for it is a bit too rich for my blood. Ah well, maybe someday.

 

I noticed that too and just ended up getting a physical copy imported which was cheaper than the still current full price of the digital version.

[Prometheous101]

3 hours ago, Kittens Are Awesome said:

Beat Saber and any related DLC never goes on sale. I guess when you're one of the most popular VR titles, there's really no incentive to discount your game. 

Yea ,I was just about to mention Beat Saber. Probably the only VR game that was a financial success.

 

Like 30% of PSVR games never go on sale for some reason.

Large amount of them have just been forgotten at this point cause they don't go on sale.

[stpatty]

Gone Home was a PS+ game in something like 2016 or 17 and I missed it. It's never been on sale since.

[The7thINFANTRY]

43 minutes ago, ZitMeatloaf said:

@The7thINFANTRY did a bit of digging and while I'm not sure this is the exact thread, it does mention sales are by invite only and the store controversy sounds familiar from the time:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/oayptn/sonys_psn_store_charges_devs_at_least_25000_for/

 

As one user puts it, "Sale discounts are invite only and some indie devs have to wait YEARS to get approval. There is nothing an indie dev can do to get an invite. This is different on other platforms where the publisher/developer gets to decide how they price their game." That exact language isn't used in the linked article, but as I mentioned before I remember Mystic talking about this as well, so it seems likely that multiple devs backed this up.

 

Anyway, all of this doesn't mean it's the only reason some games never go on sale, I just wanted to mention that it might be a contributing factor.

 

Thanks for the link! I can see this being the case however, as @ExHaseo points out in their post, even most shovelware from small/no-name indie devs get put on sale just about every time. After reading through that thread I was thinking more "polished" and relevant games may have priority to get invites for sales than others yet almost all shovelware is on sale constantly.

 

I am also aware that some titles, big and small, have introductory sales upon release so there's also that counterpoint. Wish some devs could hop in this thread and shed some light on this situation once and for all but I'm sure that breaks some sort of guidelines or policy maybe.

[TurtlePM]

I use psprices.com to track my long wishlist, most of these I ended up never carrying about because either it's always the same price when it goes on sale OR simply never got on sale again - one of the oldest cases is Bears can't Drift.

But yeah, like someone mentioned it before: sales overall are a joke. I bought a 100 euros card around this time last year, still have 70 something to spend 😆 

[dieselmanchild]

1 hour ago, The7thINFANTRY said:

 

I just checked and it's been on sale a few times with the last time being 2016.

Ah I guess it was on sale once upon a time then. But sadly I wasn’t around back then though, I started trophy hunting back in 2018 so I guess I missed the big event. I think it’s been on my wishlist for 3-4 years and it’s one of the games I always look for when there’s a big sale. I’m just gonna buy it at full price one of these days since it’s really cheap compared to most games anyways.

[Elvick_]

6 hours ago, SmileSlice said:

Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that any digital versions of PS3 and Vita games never go on sale anymore…?

Sony discontinued it years ago. Even if the developers or publishers wanted to put their stuff on sale on legacy platforms they can’t.
 

not sure if that also means they can’t price drop. Seeing games at $55 something CAD on the Vita store is hilarious. I can’t imagine anyone is buying an over full priced Vita game in 2023. But I bet people would be tempted if it was just $20. Even without a sale

[det_gittes]

I am somewhat interested in Fights in Tight Spaces, but the game has never been on sale since its release in May '23. Too bad as it only has 88 owners on here and a sale price could give this number a bit of a boost.

[Dinniestar]

On 10/26/2023 at 12:46 AM, Elvick_ said:

Sony discontinued it years ago. Even if the developers or publishers wanted to put their stuff on sale on legacy platforms they can’t.
 

not sure if that also means they can’t price drop. Seeing games at $55 something CAD on the Vita store is hilarious. I can’t imagine anyone is buying an over full priced Vita game in 2023. But I bet people would be tempted if it was just $20. Even without a sale

this is the problem with digital media (lots of problems) but the main to me anyway is no sales to legacy consoles still having to buy call of duty DLCs at full price is a joke 

and when game becomes expensive physical and no sales digital makes life difficulty 

 

Sony should suggest developers mark down all PS3/vita games as RRP to at least half what they are now 

who is paying full price for games like far cry 4 on ps3 for £50 when can get it for £5 physical just laziness with systems 

[NostalgicMinion]

I sometimes feel developers/publishers forget they put games on PSN in the first place. Look at Shadow Complex Remastered, I have never seen this once on sale (from its $14.99 price) since adding to my wishlist years ago. According to psdeals.net, it's last sale was 2018.

 

I just think Epic Games forgot this game is even on PSN.