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The Sun: PlayStation has increased the price of the original Horizon: Zero Dawn from $14.99/$19.99 to $34.99/$39.99

Barakov

Member
BY2FwqO.jpeg
angry the venture bros GIF
 

Kacho

Gold Member
I have the complete edition showing from PS+ but I think I bought frozen wilds.

This isn't Sony related and is the case with digital prices in general (even physical, though physical and second hand is much slower to react to business plans spiking price)

For example look at Fallout 4 GOTY Editions best price across all these stores (Steam, EGS and Windows Store.):

Screenshot-20240926-003151-Chrome.jpg


Notice during the hype of the TV series in April it went up from its all time low of $8 to $33 then again in May when the free update released. This is normal gouging of digital prices based on trends.
everything-is-fine-all-ok.gif
 

Eimran

Member
I like how physical dinosaurs are spinning this on it being digital but not looking at the real problem which is sony and their greed.

You were missing their point then.
This is exactly WHY physical dinosaurs saw a problem in digital only.

That in a digital only you are only able to buy a game at the price the greedy developer wants. And no longer at a cheap price in a retail store or from a friend. Or that you can lose acces to your library and they won't give a shit about it.
 

K' Dash

Member
You were missing their point then.
This is exactly WHY physical dinosaurs saw a problem in digital only.

That in a digital only you are only able to buy a game at the price the greedy developer wants. And no longer at a cheap price in a retail store or from a friend. Or that you can lose acces to your library and they won't give a shit about it.

simple things like that are difficult for a 12yo to understand, don't waste your time arguing with these people.
 

Three

Gold Member
I don't remember them doing something similar, but if they did, they should equally be called out.
They pulled this exact same thing but worse when Fallout 4 got an update and when it got TV show hype. Went from $8 to $33 during the TV show. Then again from $10 to $34 with the shitty broken free update.

I don't get it. I showed you evidence of digital price gouging with upgrades and this is your reply?
 
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They pulled this exact same thing but worse when Fallout 4 got an update and when it got TV show hype. Went from $8 to $33 during the TV show. Then again from $10 to $34 with the shitty broken free update.
Not my jam, but yea, still a scum bag move.
 
I might actually give up gaming.

This issue seems minor, but it could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Homie, you can enjoy the disc version for less than a meal at McDonald's.

But I get your point. This is about as shitty and greedy as a gaming company can get. Sony was perfectly content to sell the original game for $20, and content to sell the upgrade for $10. Instead of taking a hard look at their pricing for a remaster, they jack up the price of old games simply to make the remaster look like a good value.

Allowing platform holders monopoly power over digital pricing is a mistake that needs to be corrected before it is too late.
 

Agent X

Member
This is certainly a lousy move.

At the same time, it's also worth noting that Sony gave away the digital PS4 version a few years ago through their Play at Home program. With that in mind, a lot of PS4/PS5 owners probably have this in their collections already, and therefore are eligible to purchase the $9.99 upgrade that way.

if you didn't have the game already...well, you've had seven years to purchase it. Sony is within their right to raise the price of the game, if they perceive that there would be a high increase in demand. Again, I think the optics are poor on this maneuver, but anyone who wanted to get it cheaply in the past had plenty of opportunities to do so.
 
Anyone who has played both who can recommend playing Zero Dawn if you've only played Forbidden West? Or are the game mechanics much more unpolished?
If you were able to slog through Forbidden West, Zero Dawn will feel like a masterpiece. It's vastly superior in every aspect. I think it's just a bit short of actually being a masterpiece, but it was close.
 

Bojji

Member
You were missing their point then.
This is exactly WHY physical dinosaurs saw a problem in digital only.

That in a digital only you are only able to buy a game at the price the greedy developer wants. And no longer at a cheap price in a retail store or from a friend. Or that you can lose acces to your library and they won't give a shit about it.

tenor.gif
 

Trilobit

Member
If you were able to slog through Forbidden West, Zero Dawn will feel like a masterpiece. It's vastly superior in every aspect. I think it's just a bit short of actually being a masterpiece, but it was close.

I've been enjoying it even if it is quite good and not great. I have over 100 hours in it so I might have to give Zero Dawn a chance too some day.
 

Bojji

Member
Showing examples of shit practices doesn't prove digital is bad. It proves the companies engaged in the gouging are shit. Hope that helps.

Digital is bad when all control is in the hands of one player. Sony don't give a fuck, they don't compete with anyone in their own ecosystem, they will set the prices to whatever values they want. Consumers have no choice.

That's why physical market was a saving grace on consoles. But this is going away...

On PC there are at least many different sources for games.
 

bender

What time is it?
The smarter move, that some publishers do (Rockstar comes to mind), would be to never price drop your product below a certain threshold (let's call it $40) and then be less aggressive with discounts during sales periods. And speaking of Rockstar, I think they finally drew a line in the sand with the race towards the bottom on sales pricing we saw roughly ten years ago. It's why we see the same discounted prices on their back catalog during sales and those are typically more expensive than their historic lows. It's not on the level of Nintendo, but I'm really surprised more publishers don't use this strategy. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Ubisoft and buying anything from them at full price seems like a fools errand as their price drops are hefty and come quickly.
 
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Kacho

Gold Member
Digital is bad when all control is in the hands of one player. Sony don't give a fuck, they don't compete with anyone in their own ecosystem, they will set the prices to whatever values they want. Consumers have no choice.

That's why physical market was a saving grace on consoles. But this is going away...

On PC there are at least many different sources for games.
True. I should clarify I’m in the PC ecosystem where I can almost always find a deal.
 

StereoVsn

Gold Member
What you dont get is that it is going digital. The point is to have multiple competing stores and a company that doesnt nickel and dime constantly running it.
The only one that fits the bill is Valve and Steam on PC. Digital only consoles suck because you only have one place to buy the games.

Well, at least Xbox allows digital game purchases on 3rd party stores I guess, but it’s still not in the same ballpark as Steam.
 

BennyBlanco

aka IMurRIVAL69
The smarter move, that some publishers do (Rockstar comes to mind), would be to never price drop your product below a certain threshold (let's call it $40) and then be less aggressive with discounts during sales periods. And speaking of Rockstar, I think they finally drew a line in the sand with the race towards the bottom on sales pricing we saw roughly ten years ago. It's why we see the same discounted prices on their back catalog during sales and those are typically more expensive than their historic lows. It's not on the level of Nintendo, but I'm really surprised more publishers don't use this strategy. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Ubisoft and buying anything from them at full price seems like a fools errand as their price drops are hefty and come quickly.

They gave GTAV away for free on EGS lol
 

bender

What time is it?
They gave GTAV away for free on EGS lol

Epic gave it away for free and surely compensated Rockstar for the giveaway who will also benefited further from anyone that got hooked on GTA:Online. They also have their own store front and GTA+, but as far as discounts on Steam, PSN, etc., they games always end up the same price during sales.
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Promote the game one day, and double the price the next day.

You wont see that marketing strategy in any textbook. Then again, no textbook example considers a Concord bomb in the scenario.

High PS5 Pro price, sell drive and stand separate, increase price of gamepads, double the price of an old game. Need to make up profit margin somehow.
 
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Portugeezer

Member
Just to increase the perceived value of the remaster, otherwise people would just buy the old version and get the $10 upgrade for cheaper.

Presumably they'll be selling it for $50/$60? But still a shit move, and I got it free during COVID so the upgrade is inoffensive.
 

Three

Gold Member
Showing examples of shit practices doesn't prove digital is bad. It proves the companies engaged in the gouging are shit. Hope that helps.
Digital helps them in this gouging because they (the publisher) can set the price in all digital stores with a press of a button. You said this isn't the norm but I showed you another example that it very often is in the digital realm. People have given you other examples in the thread too with NMS, The Witcher, Cyberpunk, Borderlands, Fallout, TLOU. I guess your own gif is fitting for yourself in pretending everything is fine.
 
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Kacho

Gold Member
Digital helps them in this gouging because they (the publisher) can set the price in all digital stores with a press of a button. You said this isn't the norm but I showed you another example that it very often is in the digital realm. People have given you other examples in the thread too with NMS, The Witcher, Borderlands, Fallout, TLOU. I guess your own gif is fitting for yourself in pretending everything is fine.
Your argument was that isn't Sony related. Sony gouging their customers with this specific game is very much Sony related and posting other examples doesn't make them look less bad. My gif was in response to you defending them.
 

Three

Gold Member
Your argument was that isn't Sony related. Sony gouging their customers with this specific game is very much Sony related and posting other examples doesn't make them look less bad. My gif was in response to you defending them.
I meant it isn't specific to Sony in that the price gouging happens on digital stores when something improves a game's exposure. I didn't say it's less bad. I was saying this tactic is the norm on digital stores by giving you other clear examples of it because you specifically said it isn't the norm. Nobody defended or said it isn't bad though.
 
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Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
Just to increase the perceived value of the remaster, otherwise people would just buy the old version and get the $10 upgrade for cheaper.

Presumably they'll be selling it for $50/$60? But still a shit move, and I got it free during COVID so the upgrade is inoffensive.

So, yeah... about this sort of logic:

If the price of the remaster has to be based on the current cost of obtaining a copy of the original, wouldn't that mean they should jack the prices of remasters to the moon if the old version is rare or out of print? So, like $100 for a remaster of P.T ?

Sorry, but if a game was worth full price 7 years ago, its very probably worth the same today. Because let's face it, games have not gotten longer or better in the intervening time.

This whole notion that just because a game isn't brand new, its value is decimated basically is really peculiar because it simply doesn't apply to any other sort of media. Its a pretty toxic way of looking at things imho because it ignores intrinsic value.

Here's a little thought experiment for anyone looking to disagree with me: If you've ever replayed a favourite game, did you think the hours of fun you had on the revisit were worth less than the last game you played "new" ?

Isn't entertainment, always entertainment?
 

Bitstream

Member
So, yeah... about this sort of logic:

If the price of the remaster has to be based on the current cost of obtaining a copy of the original, wouldn't that mean they should jack the prices of remasters to the moon if the old version is rare or out of print? So, like $100 for a remaster of P.T ?

Sorry, but if a game was worth full price 7 years ago, its very probably worth the same today. Because let's face it, games have not gotten longer or better in the intervening time.

This whole notion that just because a game isn't brand new, its value is decimated basically is really peculiar because it simply doesn't apply to any other sort of media. Its a pretty toxic way of looking at things imho because it ignores intrinsic value.

Here's a little thought experiment for anyone looking to disagree with me: If you've ever replayed a favourite game, did you think the hours of fun you had on the revisit were worth less than the last game you played "new" ?

Isn't entertainment, always entertainment?
What the hell are you talking about? Nearly everything drops in price as time goes on, games start off at $60-70, within a year they're down to $50, and this trend continues until it gets down to single digits. New released movies are $30 off the shelf, eventually their prices get cut more and more until you find it for $2 at a discount bargain bin. With the exception of ultra rare items, nothing really retains it's value. From TVs, to cars, speakers, to clothes.
 
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