AFAIK sale-based pricing is about squeezing consumer surplus, as described by Joel Spolsky [0].
[0] https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2004/12/15/camels-and-rubber-...
[0] https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2004/12/15/camels-and-rubber-...
Relatedly, I have a crapton of games purchased of Steam that I will probably never get around to playing.