Why is there never a sale for this on Impulse?

from Stardock Forums

Dear Stardock,

Considering the mountains of negativity surrounding this game, paying a full $40 for it doesn't seem like a wise decision.  My question is why, when you are offering daily deals along with weekend deals, does it seem like I've never once seen a deal for this game?  I know there's business decisions and what-not to have to stomach but I just saw a 40 or 50% off deal for Civ V on Steam like two weeks ago and from everything I've read about it, it didn't suffer from near as many problems as Elemental did (still on Civ IV so I can wait). 

I'm not trying to talk bad about this game, I'm just a gamer that would like to try it, but am very iffy considering the bad press from reviewers and gamers alike.  Take that as a complement to Stardock's track record of previous games that I still want to play this.  I'm still willing to try the game out for myself and am willing to pay for it.  I read about a demo coming out months ago and have never seen it reach the light of day, so I really can't make an informed buying decision.  Paying $40 seems like a gamble.  Gamers either hate or love this.  I've taken the plunge on several games in the past that were trounced and came out happy about my buying decision, but the game was always bought on sale.  It took the sale to final compel me to purchase. 

I like Age of Wonders, I like Civ IV, I like Gal Civ I&II.  This game looks fun regardless of what people have said.  I'm sure there are many, many more gamers like myself that are on the fence about trying Elemental out, especially because of the premium price you're still charging.  I guess I could've just said, why no sale and had that been it, because to be honest, I would buy this tomorrow if it was one of your daily deals for fifty percent off for $20.  I'm not a guy that likes buying used because I believe the developers deserve my money if I'm going to play their product, but you guys are making it difficult for me to not buy it used off someone in amazon or ebay.

Hopefully I see this game on sale sooner rather than later.  Thanks for the ear.

elemental
5,753 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I think a part of that is because if you buy this, you'll get a discount on the Fallen Enchantress, a follow-up/sequel to this. So let's say that you save $15 bucks on the sequel, and they lower this game by $15, that's $30 in total. (these are imagined numbers)

I think another part of this is that the game still isn't something that they're completely satisfied with as a product. I would personally be very surprised if there wasn't at least a small sale after patch 1.3 (months away).

I have also heard it said around january that the sales of the game had plummeted to near-zero after the (badly received) release, but had since then continously picked up and sold more and more. If that trend is continuing, they are probably not doing a sale because the game is still selling a lot and they have many customers buying it at full price. Sales usually happen at the end of a product's "lifecycle", not in the middle of them.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Brad's philosophy in sales is to not have big sales until a title is pretty much dead.

 

Also, the fact purchasing Elemental gives a discount on FE means putting EWOM on sale now would hurt Stardock financially.

I'd suggest waiting for FE.

 

There are a couple of games I am waiting for an Impulse sale on right now though.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm pretty sure there was a sale at one point, but the game is selling on its own right now so there's no need for one. Also, FE is going to be the version to own anyway once it comes out.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Or, if you're near a Walmart, I know a couple people have picked it up for $20 there...

 

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

These all sound like logical reasons for not having a sale.  Didn't realize they were going to discount the expansion for anybody that owns Elemental.  I thought it was only for people that bought it last year.  Guess it would sort of shoot the developers in the foot if they discounted this and gave a discount to the expansion on top of that.  As a deal seeking gamer though, I'd sure love it :grin:

I think I will hit up Walmart though.  I can't seem to find the game online, but I know a lot of these big market retailers don't show all their in-store stock online.  Best Buy doesn't show that they carry Elemental, but last time I was there, they had a ton of copies.  $20 is just about the price I'm willing to spend for it without playing it too.

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

Sweet.  All I had to do was complain on a board and found where to get the game at a price I was willing to pay.  Just picked it up for $20 at Walmart.

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

I got my copy on a sale from Impulse (the limited edition version with about 50% discount in total). So there may not be a sale often but at least I got mine cheaper than I originally budgetted for.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Yeah well I got it at release and get 2 free expansions. So in the long run I still got my money's worth.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Heck, I'm still waiting for Matrix games to drop the price on the Carriers at War.  The game was made in 2007 and they still want $49-59 for it.  I can't see paying that for a 4 year old game that uses a Geforce 2 and is not that great of a game, but I love sea battles.  It should be $9.99.  Grrrrrrrr:annoyed: :annoyed: :annoyed: