Leroux: That's a question, not evidence. ;) Which game is cheaper on ShinyLoot than on GOG?
ShinyLoot's non-discounted prices start from under a dollar.
Leroux: Well, all of this might be minor nitpicking to most, but to me it still shows that GOG and Steam are not really comparable regarding their service. I use Steam myself, I buy cheap games to try them out, due to the lack of demos nowadays or when there are no alternatives, they got me that far. So I'm not saying Steam is bad or anything, but to me the Steam way isn't the same as the GOG way, and therefor I wouldn't expect the latter to be equally cheap. Most of the times though there isn't much difference between the two, often Steam is even more expensive due to regional pricing.
Sure, sure. Most of us probably prefer GOG over any other store, but the thing is that Steam has a lot more customers who are also willing to pay extra to get a game specifically from Steam. GOG is just one small store among many other which all have their own loyal clientele.
Leroux: Of course they shouldn't be ignored, they enter into the equation, but directly comparing bundle prices with store prices is like comparing apples with oranges.
Yes. It's like asking if you'd eat more oranges if apples were five times more expensive. ;-)
Leroux: And one could also ask the other question: Are bundled games too cheap? Or: Are indie devs out of their mind to sell out their games shortly after releasing them on GOG? I'm not sure if the constant devaluation of games is a good development, in the long run not even for the customer.
These are all good questions, but asking them won't change the situation. I'm myself not likely to pay a full price on an indie game because of bundles, but then again, I'm spending more money on indie games because of bundles. From reports it sounds like devs are making higher net profits with lower prices and I'm assuming the bundles make a lot of money since I'm seeing the same devs getting more of their games into bundles. Like Jeff Vogel, who was for a long time against the thought of lowering the prices of his games, once got his game into a bundle. Since then, how many times we have seen Spiderweb games in bundles? I guess it's done good for Spiderweb.
It's hard to say what are all the effects of these really cheap prices to the industry in the long run, but it is indeed a funny situation when there's a large gap between the value and the price.