This is it people, the one we’ve been waiting for. The Steam summer sale is almost here! And it’s the biggest PC game sale of the year.
Yes, Steam has other big sales and they are all pretty awesome. The winter sale usually has some great deals, but it tends to come at a time when I’m spending most of my extra cash on my loved ones. That’s not to say I haven’t picked up a game now and then around the holidays, but I just feel so guilty about it. It’s not nearly as much fun as the summer sale which, according to Paypal, will kick off on June 23rd.
My new favorite holiday
The Steam summer sale is like a holiday in and of itself. I don’t have any other major holidays to worry about or huge expenses coming up, so the guilt of buying a few games is much less that it would be otherwise. It’s also mitigated by the fact that I’m getting a huge deal on the games I do buy. Some of the games can be up to 95% off! Being a bargain hunter extraordinaire, I have a hard time passing up any deal, but to not buy a game I like for 95% off, that’s just… silly!
Soon I will get to pick up all those titles I’ve been waiting to buy all year. Some games I just can’t wait for. I have to buy them on the day they come out. I wait in line patiently like a Star Wars fan on premier night, knowing that I’m getting something amazing at the moment of its release. That’s pretty awesome to me, but there are some titles I don’t need right away, some that I can wait for.
Many games are just not on my A-list, kind of like a romantic comedy movie. I don’t need to see that movie on the IMAX screen, in 3D, with all the bells and whistles. I’ll wait until it comes out on Blu-ray, then snuggle up on the couch with my honey to watch it. Some games are just like that. They look good, but who knows if I will love them? So, those are on my Steam summer sale list. I’m pretty sure I can pick them up for a great price and if I don’t like them, oh well. My wallet hasn’t taken as much of a hit as it would have otherwise.
That’s not to say you can’t get great deals on premium games. You definitely can — but usually the price cuts aren’t quite so deep, especially if it is a newer game. Don’t expect a huge discount on Doom or Total War: Warhammer, but you might grab a great deal on Crashlands or Goliath. This is a great time to pickup indie titles too, especially if you’ve been on the fence about them.
My Strategy
Steam sales are a lot of fun. They usually have a contest that rolls through the entire event. Participants can expect even better deals if they win. There are also the flash sales to keep an eye on. Those are usually timed and drop the price even further for a short while then they go back to the regular sale price. Daily deals are good too and you usually get 2 days to get on these as they will have the daily deals and yesterday’s daily deals posted.
I have a strategy for the whole thing. I participate in the contest to try to get the great deals, but I keep an eye on my favorite titles as well. If I see them come up on a daily or flash deal I grab them. If not, I wait until the last day of the sale to pick them up. Nothing is worse then grabbing a game, only to see it for sale the next day at half what you paid.
All the fun starts on June 23rd, so warm up your credit cards and Paypal accounts. Check out the Steam store page for more details. Good luck and have fun!
