Crazy pricing in digital retailers

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

For the last two or three years I have been purchasing my computer games solely through digital retailers like Steam, GoG and Origin. Not only has it been the most convenient way of getting the games, no waiting for delivery etc., it has also been modestly cheaper than buying the games from online retailers or brick and mortar stores. Then the price creep after Modern Warfare 3 began. Triple A games stopped going for 49.99 Euro and started going for 54.99 or even 59.99.

So now I am looking at maybe getting Dragon Age: Inquisition, which Origins wants 59.99 for. A bit step I think and check my usual online store for bluray movies... Who want 44.99 with shipping included. And just today Far Cry 4 was removed from Steam, so I think that maybe the price is slightly lower on Uplay, with the middleman cut and all. Nope, 54.99. The same digital store as before? 44.99. Checking a physical store gives me the offer of Far Cry 4 at 39.99.

This is completely backwards. A digital retailer should not be hiking prices by 10 euros or more compared to getting a physical copy from an actual store, since their profit margin is higher compared to the store that has to purchase, store and transport physical copies. Is it a sign of a sick pricing system? What's the best way for us, as customers, to deal with it?

 

[Keoul]

We vote with our wallets and go buy a physical copy instead of a digital one.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

I guess the best way is to not buy it, and complain as loud as you can as Jim suggested on a recent Jimquisition. Games dont have to be this expensive, but publishers know that people will buy their games at that price regardless. If publishers want to truly make more money they should be encouraging digital sales, and giving us an incentive to give them more money rather than Gamestop/EB Games

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

That does seem completely backwards..
How can infinitely copyable digital files created on a computer and hosted on a globally available network cost more than having them burnt to disks, put in boxes and shipped around the world cost more?
It should be less. Unless I'm missing some variable or factor here.

Anyway, I don't buy from them since they are also holding a veritable gun to our heads while also jacking up the price..
Really...

 

[Sassafrass]

That's why I shop around and find other sites to buy from. My current go to PC key site has DA:I and the day one DLC for £26, CoD:AW for £28, Borderlands The Presequel for £25.90 and Battlefield Hardline for £27.50.

You've just got to shop around nowadays. I personally use Greenmangaming.co.uk as they normally have voucher offers as well to take a little money off, or cdkeys.com, where the prices I've listed above come from. Used both a few times, both totally trustworthy for your PC gaming fix.

 

[TrevHead]

Yeah some digital prices are overpriced. I call it the "more money than sense" price bracket since all ppl are paying for is convenience.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

That's why I shop around and find other sites to buy from. My current go to PC key site has DA:I and the day one DLC for £26, CoD:AW for £28, Borderlands The Presequel for £25.90 and Battlefield Hardline for £27.50.

You've just got to shop around nowadays. I personally use Greenmangaming.co.uk as they normally have voucher offers as well to take a little money off, or cdkeys.com, where the prices I've listed above come from. Used both a few times, both totally trustworthy for your PC gaming fix.

It is not that I don't know about places like green man gaming, it is the fact that going to the maker of the game (in the case of Origin and uPlay) gives me a price hike compared to going to a third party retailer. It feels like going to a fashion brand outlet and seeing higher prices than you'd see from the fashion store located in the middle of the mall in a large city. It simply doesn't make any sense from any viewpoint apart from "We can gouge people with our prices, so let's do it".

Nevermind that I have way too many DVD-cases to begin with, it seems I am back to buying boxed copies solely for CD keys for now. Something I had hoped was a part of days past.

 

[Username Redacted]

Yeah some digital prices are overpriced. I call it the "more money than sense" price bracket since all ppl are paying for is convenience.

I would actually lean toward 'most' over 'some' when it comes to assessing the digital pricing. Hell, Steam, uPlay and Origin look relatively fair in comparison to PSN or XBLA where things never come down in price ever (well effectively ever).

 

[sanquin]

Supply and demand in it's most basic form. Millions of people buy a game without thinking of it's price, so if they jack it up by 10 dollars/euro's for the next sequel the gains will actually be higher than the losses from people that decided against buying because of the price. As long as the demand keeps up with the supply, they will keep trying to raise prices most likely.

TL;DR: Vote with your wallets.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Rarely buy digital I find it almost always overpriced in comparison to retail versions and unless the game is very small I can often go out buy the game and either complete it or get pretty damn far into it before the digital download would be complete anyway. If you wait you can get very good prices in retail that beta the sales of digital copies most of the time trouble is finding these deals.

 

[Something Amyss]

We vote with our wallets and go buy a physical copy instead of a digital one.

Hasn't worked so far.

It should be less. Unless I'm missing some variable or factor here.

The variable is what people are willing to pay.

And people will pay for the "convenience" of digital.

 

[Mezahmay]

So a publisher sells one of their products on their market place, where they get sole say in the price point, and they charge more than outlets with more competition? Funny how that works. Didn't see that coming.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

It should be less. Unless I'm missing some variable or factor here.

The variable is what people are willing to pay.

And people will pay for the "convenience" of digital.

Ah, of course. Should have factored that in.
Then we might see another increase before many more people start complaining I'm thinking.

Well, they haven't gotten my money in a long while anyway. ,)

 

[gunny1993]

Go buy 4 indie games that will have better support, better ethics, no on disk dlc etc etc

Then in say 5 months the price will be more reasonable and they will have fixed whatever stuff is going ot be broken on launch.

Or if you really cant wait buy it off an online CD key retailer, I can see DA:I + some dlc for 26 GBP (Roughly 30 Euro)

 

[Keoul]

We vote with our wallets and go buy a physical copy instead of a digital one.

Hasn't worked so far.

It should be less. Unless I'm missing some variable or factor here.

The variable is what people are willing to pay.

And people will pay for the "convenience" of digital.

You've basically answered why it hasn't worked so far in your own comment.

 

[TheLastFeeder]

Personally I buy my games on Steam and Humble Bundle and don't feel a real problem with getting a game for full price(I normally wait for a few months though).
But that is mostly to do with Steam and Humble locating me in America(so $40-60) while Origin and Uplay locate me in Europe (?40-60) and the local retailer charges me ?70-100 for a copy.
I mostly just follow pricing.

 

[Something Amyss]

Ah, of course. Should have factored that in.
Then we might see another increase before many more people start complaining I'm thinking.

Well, they haven't gotten my money in a long while anyway. ,)

I actually sort of wonder how much they could get away with. I buy digital almost exclusively on sale, so I don't even pay MSRP, but people seem to be willing to pay extra to not have to wait for an envelope or go to the store. Which is funny, because it undercuts one of the advantages of digital.

You've basically answered why it hasn't worked so far in your own comment.

Which would be meaningful if I was asking a question. Where did I ask a question?

 

[Keoul]

Which would be meaningful if I was asking a question. Where did I ask a question?

I hope you're not going to give me a run around and argue technicalities again.

We vote with our wallets and go buy a physical copy instead of a digital one.

Hasn't worked so far.

The question is why it hasn't worked so far. You haven't asked it but the question is implied since you kinda just stated "Hasn't worked so far" without anything else, so finding out why it hasn't worked so far is the next logical step really.

And you answered that by saying because people are still buying digital copies of games for convenience.

 

[Little Gray]

So a publisher sells one of their products on their market place, where they get sole say in the price point, and they charge more than outlets with more competition? Funny how that works. Didn't see that coming.

Except that that always happens. The developer sells a game at msrp at the competition will often sell it for less to try and get more sales.

 

[Zontar]

The price rise for PC games all started with Modern Warfare 2, that was the game which turned PC games which had been 50$ into 60$ ones.

Ever since I got Steam I've only bought 5 games at normal price. The other 519 where at least 40% off, usually 50 or 75% off, and I'm pretty sure most of them where part of one Humble Bundle or another.

On the bright side, I own a lot ore games then my console using brother, yet own many, many more games (and yes, we did compare numbers).

On a bright side, a lot of Canada's steam prices escaped arbitrary price hikes due to a lot of companies just selling it at 1:1 for us, and others didn't put an official price which is still about 1 or 2 bucks lower then the official 5$ price hike we got after companies remembered exchange rates exist (and of course it was forgotten during the 2 years we where doing better then the USD)