How To Cash In On the 2014 Holiday Steam Sale

Use the Wishlist

If it’s time for a holiday Steam Sale, then it’s time for that wishlist to get a little emptier. There’s not much sweeter than seeing games on your wishlist – games previously unattainable – get hit with 50% or higher sales. Keep tabs on those games you saved for later, ’cause now’s the time to buy.

Alternatively, scout the sales and add games to your wishlist for safekeeping and: 

Bide your Time

The holiday Steam Sale feature tons of flash deals, daily grabs, and other random price cuts throughout the many weeks of this seasonal bargain. What better way to track your favorites than with the wishlist? If a sale isn’t good enough for you, tag the game. Save it. Keep it in the back of your mind. Because that game might get the daily or flash treatment and when it does, swoop in and grab it.

(So no, not all swooping is bad, Alistair.) 

Monitor the Daily Deals

Even if a game isn’t on your wishlist, the holiday Steam Sale might fulfill your dreams regardless. Check in on the daily deals, well, daily, and don’t forget to keep an eye on the flash sales. Flash sales in particular are a flighty bunch. They come and go in a matter of hours, and usually can be influenced by user votes.

So get out there and vote!…on your favorite games to go on sale! 

Check Reviews

A 75% price cut is not a good enough reason to buy a game. You’re also going to want to play the game, maybe even finish it. We’ve all been there. That stack of games in the Steam library, undownloaded, and waiting for you. They probably even collect virtual dust. All because the game wasn’t as awesome as you thought it would be. Curse you, holiday Steam Sale! (I didn’t mean it, I’m so sorry.)

So take some time and check some reviews. See the overall census. Sometimes that’s not the best indicator of whether you’ll enjoy a game or not. Sometimes it is. Trust your gut more than anything, but if more than a few reviews claim the game is broken or unplayable, there might be some credence to it. 

There’s Always the Next Sale

Don’t fret if you miss a flash sale. The holiday Steam Sale may come but once a year, but Steam has sales pretty often. A lot often, actually. Sometimes for no reason at all. Fear not if your wallet can’t handle all the goods this time around. Odds are that game you had to pass up on will be rip-roarin’ and ready for another sale in an few months. 

Be Rich

Or, alternatively, you could be filthy stinking rich. So buy all the games you want and have a merry Xmas, ya filthy animal.

And a happy new year!