14 DAY TRIAL // Valve, the company behind the Steam digital distribution service, has introduced a new coupon feature to its platform, allowing video game developers and publishers to offer targeted discounts to groups of gamers.
The coupons are linked to the Steam Inventory feature, which was originally introduced in order to allow players to manage their in-game items in conjunction with the Steam Trading service, which will allow users to exchange their own coupons for those of another player.
Each coupon will only be usable one time and on one game, which means that they are a more targeted way for companies to attract gamers to those titles that they seem best suited for.
Now companies can choose between a full-on sale, which offers a game for all players at a discount, and a coupon drive that only targets those who might actually be interested in a game or might trade their price reduction for that of another gamer.
It’s not clear whether Steam will be able to distribute its own coupons or whether only publishers will be in charge of the new price cut tool.
The new initiative from Valve means that there are even more ways of getting a game for a lower price on Steam, which will probably drive up both the number of PC gamers who use the service and the overall revenue generated.
Steam is now dominating the digital distribution market on the PC, even though everyone from GameStop to GamersGate and Electronic Arts through Origin is trying to also get a piece of the pie.
There are also rumors that Origin and Steam are being considered by Nintendo as potential partners for the digital distribution side of the upcoming Nintendo Wii U home console.
Developers and publishers like Steam for ease of use and the protection against piracy that it offers while gamers tend to love it for its deep discounts and big game catalog.