It seems that Steam is coming up with new and bizarre ways of getting their consumers to buy products from their service, be it a game or a game maker, Steam always manages to attract their target audience. The latest method of getting consumers to buy a product or two is Steam Trading Cards. Some of you as a kid has collected tradings cards of some kind. You know, the ones that you get at your local store (i.e. baseball cards or even Magic: The Gathering cards), and when you open them up at home, you either get a VERY valuable (some people overlook the value of some cards, but more on that later) or a worthless card. And the next day at school, you trade cards amongst friends. You get the picture. Some of you as a kid has collected tradings cards of some kind. You know, the ones that you get at your local store (i.e. baseball cards or even Magic: The Gathering cards), and when you open them up at home, you either get a VERY valuable (some people overlook the value of some cards, but more on that later) or a worthless card. And the next day at school, you trade cards amongst friends. You get the picture. Today this blog is going to cover Steam Trading Cards. Are they a clever marketing tactic, or another attempt of making a quick buck? The answer is actually both. From a marketing perspective, offering a game that includes cards is one way of getting a consumer to buy their product (i.e. Left 4 Dead 2). Once the player starts playing the game, they'll start getting cards to add to their inventory. The cards themselves are random, and you'll run into duplicates, which in turn, can be sold at the market for a small price. Every once in an infrequent while, you'll get a booster pack, which adds three more cards into the inventory. Not too long ago, Steam included the ability to convert cards into gems, which can be used to buy booster packs. Unlike the "sell to market for several cents" method, which is temporary, this process is permanent, and some cards are worth even less. And the booster packs themselves aren't cheap, either. When you put everything together, this is a do-able tactic. Once you've collected the set, you can then convert the cards into a badge. You'll also get a background, chat icon and a coupon for a game off Steam. Once again, another good marketing tactic. The "cash cow" viewpoint is there are some games out there that aren't very good, and the developers only offer this to make a quick dollar. I have actually fallen prey to this tactic before, and I have regretted buying that particular game. So what I did was play the game, get the cards, and either sell them or turn them into gems, delete the game, and never play again. One thing I should add is that there are some games out there that actually would benefit from including cards. The first portal game is a good example of this as the game is both fun and popular. Why it was left behind in the "steam cards" category will never be revealed.
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AuthorI am a videographer, producer and director. I have a YouTube and Twitch channel. I also have a graduate with a degree in Graphic Design from UWEC. Archives
November 2023
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