How soon is too soon for a game to go on sale?

If you bought a game at full price and then it went on sale within a month and a half, would you be annoyed? That’s how some of the buyers of Shadow of the Tomb Raider feel, as the game is already priced 34 percent lower than it was when it debuted on September 14 as part of a flash Steam sale.

Unsurprisingly for pissed off Steam users, they’ve started review bombing the game.

Kotaku highlights a few instances of angered gamers, some suggesting they feel cheated, or that their money was wasted. In many cases though, those people have already gotten tens of hours of gameplay out of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, so while they didn’t get to save money in the sale, they wouldn’t have been able to play the game like they have if they’d have waited. So who’s problem is this really?

In many cases too, reviewers suggest they feel cheated because they pre-ordered the game. Out of all groups, pre-order buyers have no recourse to complain. If you pay for something before you’ve read reviews, or seen what they eventual launch price will be, you have already accepted what price and content you’ll be receiving so complaining after the fact is ridiculous.

Those who purchased a few days ago might have more of an understandable reaction to the news though. Few would have expected the game to go on sale quickly, so paying full price a month after release and then seeing it go on sale a few days later might be frustrating. But that is the difficulty with game sales. When it happens is largely arbitrary.

The larger question is what this means for Shadow of The Tomb Raider. It could be that it’s on sale because it’s not selling well. Which would be a shame, as by and large it’s been a well received Tomb Raider game, with a greater focus on puzzles than previous entries in the series.