Fans rejoiced when the Steam Summer Sale began this morning, expecting huge discounts on their favorite games across the digital service. One game in particular stood out among the pack, Grand Theft Auto V. GTA V and its predecessors were on sale, with discounts ranging from 25% to 75%, but something was a little fishy.
Once the initial furor died down and potential owners could assess the situation they saw that while GTA V was discounted, it was also forcibly bundled with in-game currency, or a copy of GTA: San Andreas. The result was that the price remained at the same $59.99 that it had always been, with new owners simply getting some Rockstar money to spend on GTA Online items, or an older game they might not want.
This has caused some serious backlash among the community, who see this as a very shady tactic meant to take advantage of consumers who were hoping for an actual discounted price. Many feel that Rockstar is being disingenuous with this deal, making sure that they still earn the same amount of money, while being able to take part in the fun of the Steam Summer Sale.
Some have questioned the legality of such a maneuver, with the game seemingly jumping in price just before being “discounted” back down to the normal price. There are in fact laws against a practice like this. However, Rockstar gets around these thanks to the bundle. They didn’t raise the price of GTA V, they added additional content to it, and are discounting it in a legitimate way.
While the overall price remains $59.99, there is no denying that those who buy during this sale are better off than those that didn’t, as long as they play GTA: San Andreas, or GTA Online and use the extra cash that is. How do you feel about it though? Is what Rockstar has done here shady, or is it just an easy way to get players an extra bonus? Let us know in the comments.
Published: Jun 11, 2015 02:39 pm