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[Heimbeck]

$60/£50 digital games

If every digital game was actually £50 then that would be a start.
And if they would not just stay at that price forever and actually get discounted that would be nice.

 

[Tevious]

To all those quoting me, I guess there is something I'm not aware of specifically in the UK. Do you even have a MSRP? Or do publishers basically just charge whatever the fuck they want? I looked at a few upcoming releases and they were all £43-46 on amazon.uk and seeing how that's just a bit over US $60, I'm guessing that price range is basically your MSRP. So yeah, if digital is charging £55, then that's nonsense.

At least in the US and I think Canada too, no matter if you go to GameStop, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Amazon, whoever, or the digital store for PSN, eShop, or Live, they are all going to charge MSRP (usually US $59.99) for a new release game. It's all the same price. Digital is not "more money".

So my point is just that, at least for us Yanks, anyone claiming digital is more expensive is wrong. It's possible to get the same said deals on digital as physical by being a little savvy and finding deals on store cards and taking advantage of online store deals. PSN even had some 20% off coupons lately (though they don't work on preorders).

 

[Gamerman1]

Digital prices stay higher on consoles versus physical copies. Hard to buy digital when you can get 20 percent off physical with GCU and Amazon. Not to mention trading the game back in for 10-35 bucks. Makes gaming cheap.

 

[Stallion Dan]

So there's the problem. You're complaining about digital prices being too expensive when the vast majority of the time they're at RRP and you're just used to scouring uber competitive sites for bargains. EDIT: To clarify I'm not saying this is bad, just saying you can't expect official channels to compete with stores that run on absolute minimal profit margins and don't concern themselves too much with employees and customer service.

I don't think £49.99 for a new game is too expensive, considering we've been paying that much (or £40 before the PS360 gen) for games for decades now. I do think digital games should drop in price as time goes on though, much faster than they do at the moment (many don't ever drop).

Nobody sells games for RRP in UK except GAME, and they only started doing it this gen. Not since SNES days has anyone else done it, N64, PS1, PS2, GC, PS3, 360 etc all sold games below RRP, exception a couple of games at N64 release (lol Turok £70), but they extremely quickly dropped. It's a bad argument to use for digital pricing since it is a complete disconnect from the reality of what games have cost for 2 decades.

You don't have to buy digital. But claiming digital is expensive when it's normal price, just because you're used to shopping from online sites that shave profits down to pennies, is a little silly. Digital prices are usually the recommended prices, and sometimes (when publishers try gouging for a big new release) over-priced. Usually, they're fairly priced.

Again, it is NOT the normal price. PSN prices and recently GAME are outliers.

1) Last gen games were usually £49.99 at launch. It was the gen that started the price increase in the UK (since it's the gen that VAT was raised to 20%). PS2 gen was usually £40.

£50 at launch? No they weren't. They were £40 tops, aside from when COD tried upping the cost for a couple of years, and we still had some digital games (mostly EA/Activision stuff) releasing at £55 back then. MS had to come out and defend £50 digital games because everyone knew it was a rip-off. Nothing has changed.

2) I never said Amazon was an unknown site. I said it's a site that thrives on bare minimum profits. As a result, they don't invest anywhere near as much into employee care and customer service as stores like GAME and supermarkets do (where physical games typically match digital prices, at least at launch).

Amazon has great customer service though, and GAME's sucks balls, in-store and online. Whatever point your attempting here is failed with those examples.

Also even supermarkets sell closer to £40 than £50 for most games, let alone £55-60 (Destiny was £60 on PSN on release, and not the only game to go that high). £42-44 seems the common price in supermarkets.


This post ended up longer than intended.

 

[minkymuskyslyoldstoaty]

lol at shopping at GAME. There is your problem. Biggest rip off on the highstreet.

Most online retailers sell PS4 games £40 at release, if you really shop about or find a deal you can sometimes get them knocked down as low as £35 or a bit less. Beats the £50-60 on PSN.

It's always worth a look in Game - sometimes they have great prices on a few games. Back in October I was amazed to get Forza 6 for 30 quid, Mad Max for 25 quid (on PS4) and a couple of others.

At the same time, Forza 5 was 50 quid.

Usually you'd have to be mad to shop there but I always have a look for any exceptions. Plus it's fun to browse the cheap second-hand PS3 games.

 

[WillyFive]

If it wasn't for Nintendo's account system, I would be digital 100% of the time.

 

[jrDev]

Who buys from physical? Lol. Seriously, digital all the way, its conviniant and easy. Preloading games a week before release has been a godsend, I can play 12am on the dot without queing up or waiting for Amazon. Digital only from here on out.

Well the non privileged do...

Ain't paying full price for nothing...only suckers do that...

 

[redcrayon]

To all those quoting me, I guess there is something I'm not aware of specifically in the UK.

Yeah, I think it's that combined with you calling another poster 'ignorant' in your post, it seemed a little hypocritical when you were unaware of the situation elsewhere and not taking into account that not everyone is from the U.S, where the great deals you get at retail aren't always replicated elsewhere ;-)

Do you even have a MSRP? Or do publishers basically just charge whatever the fuck they want? I looked at a few upcoming releases and they were all £43-46 on amazon.uk and seeing how that's just a bit over US $60, I'm guessing that price range is basically your MSRP.

I don't know what an MSRP is, but we have an RRP- 'recommended retail price'. Amazon (and the supermarkets) absolutely undercuts that by up to £20, the RRP is the £50-£60 charged on PSN and in high street shops, which is why so many UK gamers laugh at the prices compared to the reasonable parity in U.S. shops.

So yeah, if digital is charging £55, then that's nonsense.

Yep, They do it so as not to undercut the high street that still sells a good chunk of their consoles and games at RRP, but most clued-up players now buy physical copies from Amazon or the supermarkets that slash prices well under the RRP and blatantly ignore it. Our RRP is way, way higher than your MSRP, even after your local taxes.

At least in the US and I think Canada too, no matter if you go to GameStop, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Amazon, whoever, or the digital store for PSN, eShop, or Live, they are all going to charge MSRP (usually US $59.99) for a new release game. It's all the same price. Digital is not "more money".

So my point is just that, at least for us Yanks, anyone claiming digital is more expensive is wrong. It's possible to get the same said deals on digital as physical by being a little savvy and finding deals on store cards and taking advantage of online store deals. PSN even had some 20% off coupons lately (though they don't work on preorders).

I get your point. it's totally different here, where digital (and the high street) can be £20 higher than a retail copy from Amazon, but I'm envious of the retail store deals that US gamers get- shopping at Game here is a total rip-off in comparison.

Having our RRP as the same price in pounds that you pay in dollars feels wrong to me. $60 is about £42, which is closer to what Amazon charge here than the £60 ($86!) on the UK PSN store.

 

[KORNdoggy]

Who buys from physical? Lol. Seriously, digital all the way, its conviniant and easy. Preloading games a week before release has been a godsend, I can play 12am on the dot without queing up or waiting for Amazon. Digital only from here on out.

while you're waiting for 12am on the dot. i'll order my games from places i know deliver games 2 days early and for less money too

 

[Norwegian_Imposter]

The games being the same price as physical here in Norway and limited places to trade in even if I did that make going digital even easier for me.

 

[Tevious]

Yeah, I think it's that combined with you calling another poster 'ignorant' in your post, it seemed a little hypocritical when you were unaware of the situation elsewhere and not taking into account that not everyone is from the U.S. ;-)

To be fair, I said the post was ignorant. I didn't mean that the poster was in general. I just happened to pick the wrong person to quote, since I was unaware of that situation in the UK and didn't even know he was from the UK. Believe me, there are still lots of people (including some in this thread) from the US/Canada who have the same complaint about digital being more expensive. Their argument essentially sums up to their GCU membership, not being able to sell/trade their games to earn some of their money back, and that anyone who buys digital is throwing their money away, which isn't true in my case. Deals can be found for both physical and digital, at least on one side of the pond.

I don't know what an MSRP is, but we have an RRP- 'recommended retail price'. Amazon absolutely undercuts it, the RRP is the £50-£60 charged on PSN and in high street shops.

Same thing then; "Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price". US is $59.99, but Canada has gone up because of their weak dollar (not sure what it is now).

 

[redcrayon]

To be fair, I said the post was ignorant. I didn't mean that the poster was in general. I just happened to pick the wrong person to quote, since I was unaware of that situation in the UK and didn't even know he was from the UK. Believe me, there are still lots of people (including some in this thread) from the US/Canada who have the same complaint about digital being more expensive. Their argument essentially sums up to their GCU membership, not being able to sell/trade their games to earn some of their money back, and that anyone who buys digital is throwing their money away, which isn't true in my case. Deals can be found for both physical and digital, at least on one side of the pond.



Same thing then; "Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price". US is $59.99, but Canada has gone up because of their weak dollar (not sure what it is now).

Fair enough, interesting stuff, thanks.

 

[kinoki]

Digital all the way. When we left the PS360-era I moved with it. Haven't bought a physical game since GTAV or Skyrim whichever came last. Skyrim was also just because it registered on Steam.

 

[jrDev]

What is the argument publishers are using to keep their games so high in price for digital stores?

 

[outunderthestars]

What is the argument publishers are using to keep their games so high in price for digital stores?

The same as it is now: to match MSRP with brick and mortar retailers as to not alienate their key partners.

 

[Samus4145]

All digital for me at this point. It's just way too convenient.

This. Sold all my retail games and bought digital versions, usually for cheaper. Well over 100 games on my PS4 right now.

 

[lawnchair]

i like to actually own shit. if i can't sell it i don't own it.

 

[Gamezone]

Digital future is fine, but I will probably move away from console when it happens. I feel PC is a much safer option for digital content.