this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2023
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So I was browsing SteamDB.info looking at the various games on sale when I noticed there were a bunch of games (usually from the publisher Hede, but there's quite a few others) listed as having a discount in the high nineties, yet still costing in the neighborhood of 30-50 dollars. Even odder when I go to the game's Steam, it's not listed as being on sale and costs the... "normal" price of $99.99.

I'm just wondering A) What the scam is here, B) How a SteamDB.info is getting $99.99 dollar game as costing 30-ish dollars when it's 97% off but at the same time it's apparently not actually on sale?

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[–] airplanesarecool@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Just guessing but it’s probably the same age old scam of the permanent sale people like to think they are getting a deal also I think you can list games by discount percentage same as all the Amazon prime day “deals” where they jack up the prices then put them on sale for the normal price

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Who would ever look by discount percentage? Why should I care what the price used to be?

[–] vd1n@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Bro balance out your privilege. I only buy games under 3 dollars if they also have 90% discount.

[–] thatsTheCatch@lemmy.nz 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's a psychological trick where people tend to view discounts by how much they're saving than what they're actually spending

[–] Sludgehammer@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

That kinda breaks down at some point though. At the very least I don't look at a mixed review hidden object game and think "Sweet! It's only $2 rather than the hundred dollars it normally sells for. What savings!"

And that's ignoring all the weirdness with the third party sale tracker somehow thinking a 98% discount on a $99.99 game is $46.20, when the game is still full price.