Digital Games sold at the same price as Retail (physical) Games

[aozgolo]

How's that for a title? Yeah there's nothing new here at all, I mean every single digital distribution platform out there does this, it's the industry standard, and has been since the inception of digital distribution. It also seems to be one of the least talked about issues, and taken for granted, so I'm curious to have a discussion on it.

It's pretty obvious why game distributors do this, even though digital games require far less overhead to distribute than physical media, if the price is the same, that's all profit (minus the cut the distribution platform gets which isn't insignificant I grant you). I'm curious what, if anything, could really prompt this to change? Physical media can actually appreciate in value over time, often depending on genre and availability, whereas digital games universally depreciate, even if their base price never changes, they often go on sale, or appear in bundles.

I am just curious other people's take on this? Will we ever see a day when digital releases are cheaper than physical ones? What would it take? Would it hurt the game industry overall?

 

[Saelune]

I almost never buy digital games that aren't on sale. If I'm buying a new game, its almost always a physical copy for console.

Digital copies should be cheaper than physical, since the cost of production is less.

 

[False Messiah]

I am just curious other people's take on this? Will we ever see a day when digital releases are cheaper than physical ones? What would it take? Would it hurt the game industry overall?

As long as people are willing to pay the same price, companies will charge the same. It's that simple.

 

[Evonisia]

I imagine if more people start exclusively buying games on sale there will be a change, but otherwise no, because people are clearly willing to buy it overpriced.

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

I am just curious other people's take on this? Will we ever see a day when digital releases are cheaper than physical ones? What would it take? Would it hurt the game industry overall?

As long as people are willing to pay the same price, companies will charge the same. It's that simple.

Pretty much this.

Besides, I have steam sales and patience to wait for one.

 

[Lightspeaker]

I only buy digitally in a handful of cases.

Firstly if the digital version is significantly cheaper.

Secondly if there's a digital version that comes with a bunch of extra stuff (I preordered the most expensive digital version of Hearts of Iron 4, the only boxed version I could find is the 'intermediate' version).

Thirdly if there's no physical version (obviously).

Fourthly if I'm just too impatient for a particular thing (not too common, but it happens occasionally).

I don't see the point of paying the same price for the exact same digital version of a game when I could get a proper boxed copy. Its only if there's an actual reason the digital one is better in some way (or if I'm just way too impatient once in a while). I've got a bit of a thing for having actual physical copies.

 

[Fimbulvetr3822]

I buy digital all the time, I move a lot and space is at a premium where I live. That being said, I only buy at full price if it?s something I would have bought at launch for ?40 (Warhammer Total War ect.). Steam has successfully conditioned me to expect that a game that I don?t believe is worth full price will eventually come down ain price and I?ll buy it then. The console manufacturers don?t seem to have figured this out yet though. If I wasn?t willing to pay ?40 for link between worlds 2 years ago when it was new, what makes you think I?m willing to pay that 2 years after release?

 

[MCerberus]

It's because publishers generally sign agreements with retailers that digital won't undercut the MSRP in order to get shelf space

 

[CaitSeith]

It's pretty much an anti-consumer plan to make sure retails like Gamestop don't suffer the same fate as Blockbuster had after Netflix and Redbox appeared.

 

[aozgolo]

PC gets the short end of the stick here. It has far less physical media availability and far less resale potential next to console, not to mention is often left out when it comes to various Collector's Editions. The last PC digital game I bought day-one was MKX, and it's a good thing I wasn't around to play it til a week later with all the issues it had. Now I buy almost nothing day-one, except for perhaps a rare decent CE.

Eventually physical media will become a thing of the past, which from a consumer point of view is unfortunate. It feels like less of a product, and definitely a lesser value, but over the last few decades prices have staved off inflation which helps. At the very least HDD sizes really need to catch up if we're going to rely on all-digital. It's convenient not having to swap discs and saving shelf space, but that's really about the only good thing I can say about it so far.

 

[Bad Jim]

It is because retailers won't give shelf space to games that are available online for half the price. And publishers still depend on retailers for sales.

 

[ultrabiome]

On PC, I buy mostly digital, unless it has a box I want to display, and even then it ends up being digital since I have to download 75% of the game anyway.

Console/Portable, I almost always buy physical when possible, outside an awesome sale (Dante's Inferno on PS3, Darksiders 2 for that Nintendo Humble Bundle) or or much more expensive otherwise (Metroid Prime Trilogy and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night). Much harder for a bit to get flipped or lost when the media is physical. Also don't need to download, although the disks/carts have to be swapped. I'll take that over digital in most cases (although I wish we had bought Wii Fit U digitally... I would use that more without swapping disks).

If the NX is cart based I will laugh my ass off. Funny how solid state has now eclipsed optical after all of this time.

 

[MysticSlayer]

I'm pretty sure any dealings with GameStop are really just a temporary excuse. GameStop is essentially a scapegoat, and it is a convenient one at that given the industry's hatred of used game sales. But even without those dealings, publishers would still charge the same just to take advantage of the lower production costs and receive higher profit margins. The only thing that would change is their excuse for doing so.

As for how we get lower prices: Stop buying games at full price. But don't just not buy the game. Find a way to make sure that the publisher knows that you won't accept $50-60. $60 is really just a premium price to take advantage of higher profit margins on early buyers who are willing to pay more. It's a pretty common business tactic from what I've heard. So if we can manage to get everyone to band together and demand lower prices, the publishers will give us lower prices.

But let's be honest here: That's not going to happen.

 

[kris40k]

Generally speaking in my mind, PlayStation or xbox cannot be unclaimed, because those are the classic and we all like this incredibly excellent game! With regards to me I always buy my xbox games here 6 month xbox live for quite democratic price and then I get a great pleasure from my superb virtual life after my hard working days. So guys, in conclusion I would like to wish to everybody of you large successes in all your beginnings and unbeliavable inspirarion not only for your fabulous virtuality but also for your cool reality! And dude, specially for you, I wish a great good luck and early finding of the customer for your PlayStation game!

Did I just have a stroke?


Anyhoo....


I agree that it is silly to pay the same price as a physical copy for a digital copy. Obviously, there is a higher cost of production in the physical copies, which should be reflected in paying more for it. However, I tend to pay peanuts for digital copies of games these days with bundles, sales, etc. So, I'm not complaining if others are willing to shell our a premium price to some developers.

 

[Bobular]

The way I've always seen it, when you sell your game you've also got to pay the place you're selling from, whether it be Game or Steam. Online retailers may have cheaper running cost then physical buildings, but they also have bigger and more frequent sales to counter that.

And at the end of the day they are businesses and owning my own business I can tell you that if I could get away with keeping the same price but ditching the rent I have to pay I would.

 

[MetalDooley]

This is one of my pet hates about the games industry and it's why I always go for a physical copy unless I can get the digital version heavily discounted

Digital copies should be at the very least ?20 less than physical not the same price or worse more expensive and the games industry seems to be the only section of the entertainment industry getting away with this

What's worse is not only are people paying these rip off prices but there's people out there defending this shit. I've seen people saying stuff like "it's worth paying the extra $5 or $10 for the convenience of not having to go to the store".So they're already getting ripped off but are then defending that they're getting ripped off even more...

 

[gigastar]

The hell? The main reason why digital and retail are equal price is because the likes of Gamestop make publishers sign agreements to not undercut thier RRP's in different storefronts.

I dont doubt a higher profit margin is part of the reason, but ive seen enough cheaper digital launches to infer that its not the sole deciding factor.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

The hell? The main reason why digital and retail are equal price is because the likes of Gamestop make publishers sign agreements to not undercut thier RRP's in different storefronts.

I dont doubt a higher profit margin is part of the reason, but ive seen enough cheaper digital launches to infer that its not the sole deciding factor.

Are these contracts typically for a set period of time or apply only at launch? Because things like Steam sales contradict this.

 

[Kerg3927]

I am just curious other people's take on this? Will we ever see a day when digital releases are cheaper than physical ones? What would it take? Would it hurt the game industry overall?

As long as people are willing to pay the same price, companies will charge the same. It's that simple.

This. Demand determines price. Not costs. They will charge what they can get. It's not immoral. It's just economics. If they don't set the price to meet demand and undercharge, shareholders will not be happy and people will get fired.

I doubt most people give much consideration to resale value when they buy a game. It's just zomg new game. And the appeal of the shiny box and disk in hand is obviously offset by the convenience of being able to download the game now without having to leave the house.

 

[Lufia Erim]

This is one of my pet hates about the games industry and it's why I always go for a physical copy unless I can get the digital version heavily discounted

Digital copies should be at the very least ?20 less than physical not the same price or worse more expensive and the games industry seems to be the only section of the entertainment industry getting away with this

What's worse is not only are people paying these rip off prices but there's people out there defending this shit. I've seen people saying stuff like "it's worth paying the extra $5 or $10 for the convenience of not having to go to the store".So they're already getting ripped off but are then defending that they're getting ripped off even more...

What do you think about convenience stores who buy items from the grocery store on sale and the sell it for twice the price at their own store?
I mean we are essentially paying for convenience, it's in the title.

OT: PSN has become pretty good with their sales tbh. But no, personally i dislike digital items and prefer a physical copy. However price is not the issue, at least for me.