Steam Wallet Beta Now Live

[Hectic Glenn]

In a similar style to Microsoft points the Steam wallet allows users to add varying amounts of money to their Steam account to buy games from Steam at a later time.[br]The sums are predefined as $5, $10, $25, $50 or $100 / £4, £8, £18, £35 or £70 depending on which side of the Atlantic you are. You can see the Steam Wallet page here.

 

[ríomhaire]

For the rest of Europe it's €5, €10, €25, €50 or €100, just so you know.

 

[Acepilotf14]

The only reason I can see this being used is for 'Steam' gift cards.

 

[kgwhipp]

The only reason I can see this being used is for 'Steam' gift cards.

Which is totally OK with me

 

[StarBob]

Seems unnecessary... you should just be able to get gift cards. Why do you need to have money just sitting on Steam when you basically can instantly buy things?

 

[DEATHMASTER]

I want to say they made this because of that steam + paypal thread.

 

[blackout]

steam is becoming more and more like 'itunes for games' as I put it (not a bad thing!).

 

[JUL3]

More like how the PSN works, even by use of the word of 'wallet'. But yeah, cool I guess.

 

[DarkDamo]

In a similar style to Microsoft points the Steam wallet allows users to add varying amounts of money to their Steam account to buy games from Steam at a later time.

More like how the PSN works, even by use of the word of 'wallet'. But yeah, cool I guess.

Pretty much what JUL3 said. The concept is sorta similar to Microsoft points and basically exactly the same as the PSN wallet, right down to the "wallet" part.

 

[Eejit]

Yeah, 'wallet' is a blatent ripoff of a word used by PSN, who invented the word. Why couldn't they be original and call it a "Steam purse"?

 

[Naph]

Steam gift cards?
You mean like, I can drop buy our overly priced as hell retailers and purchase 10x more games than I would with any given sum of money?

 

[Danimal]

^OhGodIHopeSo

 

[Rebel Racer]

Seems unnecessary... you should just be able to get gift cards. Why do you need to have money just sitting on Steam when you basically can instantly buy things?

QFT :cheers:

 

[SpiderPig]

Can't see the advantage of using this. Why not just keep the money in your bank account till its needed.

 

[Eejit]

I imagine it'd be slightly useful if you're a DLC fanatic. Just put 20 quid on your account ahead of time and spam click to insta-unlock the minute it comes out

 

[JUL3]

Why couldn't they be original and call it a "Steam purse"?

That, would be hilarious.

 

[Lobster]

It's just a feature that is becoming common in a lot of online marketplaces, there is a subset of people that like to set aside a personal allowance for game/dlc buying, like they would set aside a luxury budget or whatever, I guess this appeals to them.

 

[Escaep]

Can't see the advantage of using this. Why not just keep the money in your bank account till its needed.

Might be useful for people who don't have credit/debit cards and can ask for gift cards from family/friends.

 

[ríomhaire]

More like how the PSN works, even by use of the word of 'wallet'. But yeah, cool I guess.

WiiWare does it too. It's a pretty obvious system.

 

[bencanfield]

It's just a feature that is becoming common in a lot of online marketplaces, there is a subset of people that like to set aside a personal allowance for game/dlc buying, like they would set aside a luxury budget or whatever, I guess this appeals to them.

Exactly what I was thinking -- people might have an understandable tendency to splurge during steam sales. This would cap them to their self-defined reasonable budget.

 

[Unfocused]

For the rest of Europe it's €5, €10, €25, €50 or €100, just so you know.

I cannot understand why Valve still treats their European customers worse like that. 1$ is not 1€.

 

[Kirkburn]

I cannot understand why Valve still treats their European customers worse like that. 1$ is not 1€.

You need to rethink your comment.

These are arbitrary amounts of currency. No-one wants to buy blocks of 7.36 (or whatever) of a currency.

 

[Shakermaker]

I cannot understand why Valve still treats their European customers worse like that. 1$ is not 1€.

Valve as a gaming company does it, but not Steam per se. It is up to the publisher which rate is used. Torchlight for example had an almost normal exchange rate, 20 dollar vs 16 euro or something like that.

EDIT Also what Kirkburn and Rimfire said.

And I don't get these kinds of online purses. I mean, I can understand Valve because it is great to get revenue even before people buy games. But for customers what is the point (besides maybe younger gamers getting a monthly allowance).

 

[ríomhaire]

I cannot understand why Valve still treats their European customers worse like that. 1$ is not 1€.

But it's not like you're buying Valve Moneys and $1 = &1 = €1. You're actually buying €5 worth of store credit. Your logic makes no sense. Would you prefer if they offered €3.84, €7.68, €19.20, €38.40 and €76.81? Would that be more convenient?

 

[Vegeta897]

lol unfocused dumhed

Smart move for Valve, 1/3 of all giftcard money goes unused (and that's essentially what this is). That's some serious profit.

 

[Krynn72]

Not really, its not like they're giving out physical products that have a high per-product cost. Unused giftcard dollars are still a bit more profitable than for-purchase money, but mostly because of unused bandwidth, which isn't that significant.

 

[Shakermaker]

It will also be beneficial for games that use micro-payments. There aren't that many now, so Valve can still practice a bit with it before the business model becomes prevalent. It would be another reason for a gaming company to use Steamworks.

Man, if Valve were a public company I would buy their stock so hard. They excel at doing business.

 

[jancuksd]

I see this feature as a great way to save money for up coming sales, now i can put my money in some place where it will only be spent on a good sale.

p.s.

Every1 is giving so much opinions on this new feature the pros and cons and much more + other bs, why do you even speak of it like your are forced to use it, just leave it and buy games any way you like

 

[ríomhaire]

Man, if Valve were a public company I would buy their stock so hard. They excel at doing business.

If Valve had stockholders to answer to it would have a much different way of doing business. I'm so glad they aren't publicly traded.

 

[Shakermaker]

If Valve had stockholders to answer to it would have a much different way of doing business. I'm so glad they aren't publicly traded.

But Google!

About five years ago though, just after they went public.

Yeah I guess you're right ....

 

[Druckles]

Can't see the advantage of using this. Why not just keep the money in your bank account till its needed.

It solved the problem discussed in the Steam + Paypal thread. At least, I think it would.

You could buy wallet money without risk of closure if it doesn't go through, and then you don't have to rely on an external company when you want to buy a Sale?

Also, useful as a way of allowance? I might be tempted to pay in regular amounts each month to stop me spending too much.