Console Digital Distribution is Terrible

I remember a lot of people saying the deals were going to be so much better on these new consoles. The sales have gotten slightly more common, but it's still pretty pathetic how little they incentivize digital purchases.
 
Not saying the situation is great, but using Activision as an example isn't ideal. They keep the price of their games high for a long time.
 
BruiserBear said:
I remember a lot of people saying the deals were going to be so much better on these new consoles. The sales have gotten slightly more common, but it's still pretty pathetic how little they incentivize digital purchases.
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They are so much better.

You can cherry pick Call of Duty for never dropping in price, but that's not Microsoft, that's Activision. A lot of the pricing is far more reasonable and the sales far better.

This summer XBL sale sucked though.
 
At this point, I would say go with whatever's cheapest. We have to install the games to the hard drive anyway, functionally there's no difference between digital and physical any more.
 
RedSwirl said:
I don't know. Even the distribution policies are pretty far behind Steam and other digital PC stores. Sony and Microsoft are getting there, and there have been a lot of steps forward since the PS4 and Xbox One launched.

--Consoles only recently started doing automatic background patching.
--PC stores still offer much better pre-order and sales incentives: 10% off the price, digital extras, free classic games, etc.
--Digital items you can buy and sell with credit towards games.
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I'm pretty sure PS3 did background patching since PS+ started so it wasn't that recently
The other 2 aren't features of distribution. The latter especially is a metagame. The former is largely because PC sales is a smaller cut from the distributor. Also why there are deeper sales on PC

edit: Wii U/3DS do have Wishlists. Interestingly, the Wii had gifting (one of the only good things about the Wii shop), but for some reason, this hasn't returned to other platforms yet
 
I've bought games on XBLA that no longer work because they've been discontinued, which implies scarcity. It's a digital freakin' product for god's sake! Customer service says there's nothing they can do about it. Super frustrating.

I've been on Steam since 2004 and nothing remotely comparable has ever happened.
 
astrogamer said:
I'm pretty sure PS3 did background patching since PS+ started so it wasn't that recently
The other 2 aren't features of distribution. The latter especially is a metagame. The former is largely because PC sales is a smaller cut from the distributor. Also why there are deeper sales on PC

edit: Wii U/3DS do have Wishlists. Interestingly, the Wii had gifting (one of the only good things about the Wii shop), but for some reason, this hasn't returned to other platforms yet
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The Xbox 360 used to have gifting of digital titles and then they removed it because reasons.
 
Gouty said:
I guess I don't understand the argument that the prices suck because Y console is a closed echo system with no competition.

What do you mean there's no competition? If the prices are up to Sony for example aren't they then competing against the prices found on Live, The E shop, etc?

If the prices are entirely up to the publishers then aren't they competing against other pieces of software?

It just seems to me that if a customer could consistently get their games for less on one of the consoles that console would do well for itself.
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If you want the digital version of a Playstation game, there is only one place to buy it: PSN.

If you want the digital version of a 3DS game, there is only one place to buy it: eShop.

If you want the digital version of a PC game, there can be multiple places to buy the same game: Steam, GreenManGaming, Amazon, The Humble Store, Gamers Gate, Good Old Games, Gamefly Gamestop, etc. These storefronts all want to be the one that is selling you that game, so they compete with each other to give you the lowest price.
 
Htown said:
If you want the digital version of a Playstation game, there is only one place to buy it: PSN.

If you want the digital version of a 3DS game, there is only one place to buy it: eShop.

If you want the digital version of a PC game, there can be multiple places to buy the same game: Steam, GreenManGaming, Amazon, The Humble Store, Gamers Gate, Good Old Games, Gamefly Gamestop, etc. These storefronts all want to be the one that is selling you that game, so they compete with each other to give you the lowest price.
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Best Buy and GameStop offer Eshop titles as well. I don't know if anyone has ever put them on sale though. :(
 
outunderthestars said:
Best Buy and GameStop offer Eshop titles as well. I don't know if anyone has ever put them on sale though. :(
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You can also get digital games for PS4 from Amazon and Gamestop. But yeah like you said, few sales ever, and none even remotely comparable to Steam.

Team Top Hat said:
They don't and they can't. Nintendo doesn't allow them.
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Wasn't flexible pricing by retailers part of Nintendo's initial plan for 3DS DD? It's a shame things didn't go that way.
 
gaugebozo said:
Flash sales really aren't the point. Games are more expensive in general to download, and it takes longer to get than from a store. It's stupid that Sony and Microsoft sell games for waaay more than their market value when they could be making more money, and moving customers into their online stores. Apple was successful with the iTunes store because nobody wanted to pay $20 for a CD anymore.
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But think of all the time you save by not swapping out discs. :)
 
Jedi2016 said:
At this point, I would say go with whatever's cheapest. We have to install the games to the hard drive anyway, functionally there's no difference between digital and physical any more.
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Well there's a functional difference because you have to disc swap with physical games. Digital you can jump to a game from any other game or app or OS area at any time.

Obviously the value of that is different to different people.
 
I bought Ni No Kuni back when it was on sale for about $7. That was really cool.

But yea most console digital sales suck. They'll get better as their online stores age and mature though.
 
I would say console digital distribution is pretty bad in my experience with Xbox 360, PS3 and even PS4.
 
Jedi2016 said:
At this point, I would say go with whatever's cheapest. We have to install the games to the hard drive anyway, functionally there's no difference between digital and physical any more.
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I disagree. I've never installed any physical media in a HDD. So far this gen there hasn't been a game that's required that on a console. When that day comes is when I'll find a new hobby.
 
AmyS said:
I would say console digital distribution is pretty bad in my experience with Xbox 360, PS3 and even PS4.
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PlayStation at least makes strides in the digital market with preorders and reloading. Shame the digital prices for most games are so poor considering you are paying for a service. Hell, at least PS+ gives away free current-ish games.
 
it's like the console digital stores operate with their eyes squeezed shut and fingers jammed firmly in their ears , sticking their tongues out at consumers.
 
Htown said:
If you want the digital version of a Playstation game, there is only one place to buy it: PSN.

If you want the digital version of a 3DS game, there is only one place to buy it: eShop.

If you want the digital version of a PC game, there can be multiple places to buy the same game: Steam, GreenManGaming, Amazon, The Humble Store, Gamers Gate, Good Old Games, Gamefly Gamestop, etc. These storefronts all want to be the one that is selling you that game, so they compete with each other to give you the lowest price.
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Sure, but you're missing the point -- these consoles compete against one another in a larger sense. If Sony was to, for example, consistently offer cheaper digital games than Microsoft, that would emerge as a relative reason to purchase their console. Microsoft would be forced to follow -- digital game pricing would be kept in check by the fact that there are multiple, closed ecosystems.

And indeed, this in fact has happened, with Microsoft copying Sony's Instant Games Collection etc.

EDIT:

The sales have been, and are getting better. Or can someone show me an example of a blockbuster title like Titanfall being offered 4 months after its debut for 30% less than retail?
 
EU console digital is worse. They actually charge more then retail does on day 1.

At least in the US things are normally $59.99 outside of deals on day 1. On EU PSN games are 69:99 standard but 49.99-59.99 in shops.
 
bigdracula said:
I've bought games on XBLA that no longer work because they've been discontinued, which implies scarcity. It's a digital freakin' product for god's sake! Customer service says there's nothing they can do about it. Super frustrating.

I've been on Steam since 2004 and nothing remotely comparable has ever happened.
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I've always heard you can redownload anything you've purchased, even if the item is no longer sold.
 
PSN has been pretty good to me, competes with steam in many cases from what I've seen. Getting Ni no Kuni for like $7 bucks, and cross-platform Spelunky for $3.50, FFXIII-2 for $9 CAD is a steal. Games are often much cheaper than I've ever seen from retail during sales... but I've noticed on Xbox their 50% off usually means from the original price. Playstation it's usually 50% off the new reduced prices. I haven't used my Xbox for a while though.
 
dynamic pricing adjustment on both console stores is terrible. BF4 is still $60 on XBL. While I have to give Sony credit for flash sales, and Microsoft seems to be trying, they still can't measure up to Steam in the slightest. Retail will always have the pricing edge in the console space unfortunately.
 
My biggest gripe with digital distribution, PSN particularly, is how your library is structured. Pretty much every single platform on PC, from Steam over Origin to GOG and even fucking uPlay, gives you a nice library to look at, pick your game and install it. Good luck finding a game you bought on PSN. You're better off keeping a spreadsheet and using the search function.


I won't even start with Nintendo's system though, that's a special kind of terrible. I still buy games on both but it's really a generation or more behind.
 
Until the console manufacturers are willing to tell stores like Gamestop to go screw themselves, there's a set limit on how much they're able to do digitally. Sales, distribution model, all that stuff is fundamentally limited by their unwillingness to upset the brick and mortar stores that sell their hardware. That, more than anything else, is the limiting factor.

Also, 3rd party digital stores need to be a thing, even if it's just buying a code from my PC that I can apply on my console. That'd force the price down in a hurry.
 
console game retail prices are better because there's competition, same with the PC digital market place. but the console digital market is a monopoly and that will never change
 
There's also the problem of digital console games being tied to proprietary hardware. That's a major deterrent for me when compared to the open PC market that supports a variety of different hardware setups now and in the foreseeable future. Crappy sales just seal the deal.
 
Majine said:
Wasn't Amazon supposed to get their own digital store with games on the Ps4, or am I high?
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They do have a store front, but it's not Amazon who controls the prices, it's Sony. Amazon just acts an an alternative method of buying digital PSN purchases.
 
BruiserBear said:
I've always heard you can redownload anything you've purchased, even if the item is no longer sold.
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I was able to get most of my XBLA games working on my new Xbox no problem. There are two that didn't: Double Dragon and Golden Axe. I could download a trial version, but not unlock or even buy them again.

Customer service told me that you can't unlock games that are no longer sold, which is really crazy.

It sucks because that version of Double Dragon is arguably the best redition of the original game (excluding the GBA remake). It's less big deal about Golden Axe because they now have a far superior version available.

On Steam there are many games that are no longer supported by the developers, like Sin Episodes: Emergence, and I can always go back and play that game from a variety of machines whenever I feel like it.
 
BPoole said:
I could use the closet to store other things and why would I buy the physical copy, throw the box away, and hten have to store the discs in some binder somewhere. What advantage do I get from owning the disc opposed to just having a button to press on a screen and launching it immediately.
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That when they ban your account you can still install and play your games.
 
Digital distribution is perfect on PC because of very low prices and retro-compatibility. You can run 20 years old games without major issues.

On consoles? Usually too expensive and you can forget about running on your PS4 an indie game you bought on PS3. It's ridiculous and won't change.
 
The euro PSN sales have been pretty alright for a few years now. Not as good as Steam though, but much better than the other manufacturers.
 
The prices are the biggest problem for me. Can't justify paying more than I would for a physical disc. Until that changes I won't be going digital on console.
 
This is one of the very reasons why I prefer digital only gaming on PC, & not on home gaming consoles.

I always buy everything physically on home gaming consoles unless there are games that I like that are digital only. That's it.
 
These platform holders/pub/devs would rather get more profit per digitally bought game rather than actually present a reduced cost which is an actual benefit of a none physical retail product.

Origin is hilariously bad at this at release with no benefit to the customer from what should be clear savings vs physical retail. Also, until recently, it decided that deep discounts on older titles were no longer something they would never do, previously saying it "devalues the games".
 
I have a PS4 and a Vita, both of which are digital-only. I also have a PC with Steam. To be honest, I love all three in their own ways. For example, Steam is great because I've such a massive cheap library of stuff to dip into whenever I get a particular craving. Vita is great because of my PS+ library. PS4 being digital only? The jury's still out on that one. I've picked up a few games in the sales etc, not to mention indie stuff and PS+ etc, but until we get some big hitters on PS+ or some big discounts on retail release digital titles, I've not got a huge amount of stuff to play.
 
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