It's summer, and that means a Steam sale is just around the corner. But does Steam really deserve its reputation for amazing deals? Well, yes—but there are a lot of other stores that don't get credit for being just as good. Here's a look and see how often the competition matches up to Steam's prices.


Before we get into the nitty gritty of the data, here's a brief summary of what we found:

Steam only has 41% of the initial sales after a game's release. While Steam drops the price on a new game more frequently than other stores, as a whole, you're missing out on more than half of the initial sales on games after release if you're only paying attention to Steam.

While Steam drops the price on a new game more frequently than other stores, as a whole, you're missing out on more than half of the initial sales on games after release if you're only paying attention to Steam. Other stores drop prices on games an average of 17 days sooner. Not only do games go on sale for the first time at stores other than Steam more often, they also do so sooner. Over two weeks sooner. Which means if we're expecting a Steam sale soon, you may want to be checking other stores right now.

Not only do games go on sale for the first time at stores other than Steam more often, they also do so sooner. Over two weeks sooner. Which means if we're expecting a Steam sale soon, you may want to be checking other stores right now. Only 35% of games went below $10 for the first time on Steam. Going below $10 is a huge boost for game sales, and it's what makes the seasonal Steam sales so famous. However, Steam is only the first to bring a game's price that low 35% of the time. The rest is made up of other stores. If you're looking for sub-$10 games, you'll find a ton outside of Steam as well.

Going below $10 is a huge boost for game sales, and it's what makes the seasonal Steam sales so famous. However, Steam is only the first to bring a game's price that low 35% of the time. The rest is made up of other stores. If you're looking for sub-$10 games, you'll find a ton outside of Steam as well. On average, it takes 263 days for a game's price to drop permanently. There's a reason sales are where it's at. When a new game comes out, it can take around eight and a half months for a permanent price break across all stores to land. In other words, if you're going to wait for the next Arkham game to get cheaper, you're better off monitoring for sales than you are waiting for it to get cheaper normally.


Methodology

To collect this information, we examined around 100 games released in 2012 and 2013 and the changes in their pricing history in the time since. We separated Steam out into its own category, and then examined all other retailers separately, so we could compare the incumbent to the market at large. The games sampled were sourced from PC Gamer's lists of anticipated games for 2012 and 2013 so we could track the progression from release date to discounts. We eliminated any games on this list without a PC version, or a Metacritic score under 60 (to narrow the field to the games with the widest appeal). These included major publishers and indie games. Once we had our list we examined the following criteria (and their definitions):

Time until the first sale on Steam: Any significant price reduction on Steam would count as the first sale on Steam. A price reduction must consist of more than a few dollars, and minor initial release discounts were not included (i.e. getting $5 off when it's brand new would not count as a sale, but $10 off a month later, or $30 off at release would.)

Any significant price reduction on Steam would count as the first sale on Steam. A price reduction must consist of more than a few dollars, and minor initial release discounts were not included (i.e. getting $5 off when it's brand new would not count as a sale, but $10 off a month later, or $30 off at release would.) Time until the first non-Steam sale: To gauge how good Steam is at offering timely discounts, we collected the first time a game received a significant price drop on a major retailer besides Steam separately. Again, this doesn't include very minor price drops or small initial release discounts.

To gauge how good Steam is at offering timely discounts, we collected the first time a game received a significant price drop on a major retailer besides Steam separately. Again, this doesn't include very minor price drops or small initial release discounts. Time until the first permanent price drop: A permanent price drop is defined as the moment when all (or many) retailers drop the default price after initial release. To qualify as a permanent price drop, more than half of retailers must participate, and the price must stay at or below the new threshold.

A permanent price drop is defined as the moment when all (or many) retailers drop the default price after initial release. To qualify as a permanent price drop, more than half of retailers must participate, and the price must stay at or below the new threshold. Time until first sub-$10 price on Steam: Steam is famous for having sales wherein games are practically given away for less than $10. This criteria sampled the first occasion that a game became available for less than $10, whether via sale or permanent price drop.

Steam is famous for having sales wherein games are practically given away for less than $10. This criteria sampled the first occasion that a game became available for less than $10, whether via sale or permanent price drop. Time until first sub-$10 price on non-Steam retailers: Once again, we examined non-Steam retailers separately, to compare availability. Same criteria as above applies, excluding Steam sales.

To track this information, we gathered data from IsThereAnyDeal.com, which monitors pricing history on over 25 online PC gaming retailers. Also, for conversation's sake, "Steam sale" is defined here as any time a game is on sale via Steam, including but not limited to the seasonal Steam Sales of the same name.

What We Found


Steam games go on sale first most often, but other stores collectively have it beat. Steam has a lot of sales. A lot. However, if you're monitoring a particular game, your second best friend is probably going to be Amazon. 23% of the games surveyed were on sale at Amazon before they went on sale via Steam. Collectively, the entire market was just as good at delivering prompt sales, with sites like GOG, GamersGate, and GreenMan Gaming pulling together to form a majority of initial sales. To put that another way, if you're waiting for a new game to go on sale, and you're only paying attention to Steam, you're missing over half of the awesome sales online. Not only that, but those other sites are faster, as evidenced by our next graph...


On average, other stores were over two weeks faster to drop prices on a game. Steam waited an average of 98 days between initial release and the first time it significantly reduced the price of a game. All the other stores checked together had an average 81 day wait until the price of the games decreased. For those who aren't overly fond of simple math, that's 17 days sooner, on average. Oh, and in case you were worried, the sales are just as good, as shown below.


Sales tend to be nearly equal across the board. Steam's first sale price on a game is 44%% off on average. Other stores averaged 45% off. So, getting to the deals from other sites does not necessarily mean you won't save as much money. Obviously it varies based on which game you're interested in, but as a whole, the market doesn't seem to favor Steam. If anything, it gives a very slight edge to competitors.


Steam is first to the sub-$10 range 35% of the time. Other stores make up another 48%. It's not just initial sales you're missing out on with just Steam. A 35% of games that drop below $10 for the first time do so on Steam. Of course, 17% of the games that we surveyed either started out below $10 or haven't gotten that low yet. But that leaves another 48% from other stores. 17% from Amazon alone. Pay attention to other stores and you can more than double your chances of a game you want finally hitting that golden sub-$10 range.


On average, games drop below $10 for the first time 11 days sooner outside Steam. Once again, if you're eager to get in on a particular game, you raise your chances of getting it sooner by watching outside of Steam. On average, Steam took 11 days longer to drop a game into the sub-$10 category than other stores.

Permanent price drops across all stores took an average of 263 days. Big games tend to hold their price for a while, but then they get cheaper and stay that way. The time until a game drops its regular, non-sale price is around eight and a half months on average. In other words, sales are where it's at.


The Bottom Line: Keep an Eye on All the Stores

Steam is a great place to buy games. Steam Sales are even better, because you can get a bunch of cheap games all at once. However, if you're looking to get a particular game, there are a lot more places to get great deals beyond Steam. As we've mentioned before IsThereAnyDeal.com allows you to track a game's price across multiple stores, so you can get alerted to the best deal all year round.


Many of the stores that IsThereAnyDeal.com tracks even allow you to activate a game on Steam (though you should always check before buying), so even if you like Steam, you shouldn't let that dissuade you from purchasing a title from somewhere else. You can even set your watch lists to only let you know of a deal if it's from a site that can activate on Steam.


Ultimately, it's a pretty good time to be a PC gamer. Cheap games are everywhere and it's never been easier to get amazing deals on even relatively recent titles (if you don't mind being a year or two behind). However, as great as Steam is, if you're not shopping around, you're missing out.