Valve Targets Our Impulse Control With Steam Summer Sales

Starting in the summer of 2010, Valve decided that they weren’t receiving enough of our hard-earned income; they needed more. They figured that the best way to get to us was to question our impulse control. If they put up new games at 60 percent off, could we hold out on the purchase? They knew the answer before the sale even started, and so did we; abandon all hope, ye who enter the 2012 Steam Summer Sale.

I have terrible impulse control, I can admit that. It wasn’t really ever a problem for me before though, because I would have to go to the store and pick something up. I learned to decide what I actually needed before heading to the checkout, so I was able to manage it pretty well. Of course, that all changes when the checkstand is only one more click away and there isn’t someone staring at you purchasing all this random stuff that you don’t need.

I’m pretty hopeless when it comes to online shopping. I find myself purchasing silly (but awesome) things like this because it only takes a few clicks and can be here in two days thanks to Amazon Prime. That thought of “Do I really want this?” doesn’t even cross my mind when something is 60 percent off and immediately downloadable.

That’s where the trouble with the Steam sale really strikes; the deals are so great, I don’t even stop to think. This sale goes on for ten days, so I’m sure there will be more great deals too. With the dozens of individual games and collection packs on sale, there’s something available at a significantly discounted price for every type of gamer. I personally am really interested in the Star Wars, Sega, 2K Games, Ubisoft, and Telltale Games Collections. That’s a whole lot of games. These are generally bundle packs of games that are grouped together and sell for ~$50. If you’re unclear about how great of a deal that is, the Sega collection has 71 games in it; that’s less than ONE dollar per game. The 2K Games pack even includes Spec Ops: The Line, which sells for $44.99 by itself, so you’re really getting five great games and Duke Nukem Forever included for only $5 more.

If you aren’t big on the idea of spending $50, there’s plenty of other games available like Portal 2 for $5(!!), Terraria for $2.50, Deus Ex: Human Revolution for $7.50, and Rayman Origins for $15. Those are great deals for any one of those titles, but the fact that you could get all four for $30? The mind boggles.

I’m not sure how long I’ll make it into the week before I buckle and start purchasing things left and right, but when I do, rest assured that I will continue to be proud of my Steam collection (the lion's share of which has barely been played). With the amazing deals each day, I end up buying things that I will probably never get around to playing, simply because they are a great deal. I probably haven’t bought anywhere near the number of games that most do during Steam sales, but it sure is a great opportunity to pick up some great games on the cheap.

I am doubtful that I am alone in my love for Steam sales (and great deals in general), so what are some of the deals on Steam that you’ve picked up on recently? Does anything in this sale interest you yet or will you wait until later in the sale for something better to come along? Let us know in the comments below.

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