This is actually quite simple to understand. MS and Sony have to keep their retailers happy. To do so, not only should they have consoles to sell but games to sell, too. This draws people into the store where they might make other purchases not related to gaming.
So, by keeping the digital price slightly lower, equal, or slightly higher than the physical retail disc, this ensures people will still buy the physical medium in the traditional way.
If the price was significantly lower, say 40%, physical purchases would drop drastically. And so would the retailer relationships set up by Sony and MS for over a decade or more. Why would retailers push to sell a console that can't generate extra income for the company over the course of 5-10 years?
You can point to the iPad and say this is a moot point, but that's really a computing device with multiple purposes. Also, a console sells to a household whereas a tablet could sell to each member of a family.
Author of science fiction and other genres, I write under the pen name Desmond Shepherd. The second season of my series The Permanent Man premieres on November 11, 2014. Pre-order the season premiere The Walls Have Ears on Amazon today!
