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Forums - Gaming - Can somebody breakdown the $60 price tag for a game and explain why in most cases physical copies are the same price as digital ones?

teigaga on 04 June 2013

Well right now its just publishers taken advantage of niche trend in console gaming (at least for new titles).


EA sell their games for £60 on PSN. Thats more than the recommended retail prices which is £49.99



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MonstaMack on 04 June 2013
Max King of the Wild said:

I wouldnt say its being withheld. Developers can develop a game with having an idea what extra content they will want to offer. Now, once you play a game and you get a mission to go into a building to progress through the story and at the loading screen going into that building it requires you to put a credit card number in to play that ssection then you can claim it being witheld

Capcom $20 for all characters in SFXTekken. I'm sure other companys have withheld in game content to later release it as DLC.



It's just that simple.

V-r0cK on 04 June 2013



I found this if it helps.

Here's the source of it: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/02/anatomy-of-a-60-dollar-video-game.html



Screamapillar on 04 June 2013
aikohualda said:
Screamapillar said:
aikohualda said:
Screamapillar said:
aikohualda said:
there will be a law soon about this....

remember the price tag for digital vs paperback books? they used to be the same.....
so it is a matter of months hopefully not years....


A law against a publisher selling a game for a price that they want to sell it at? 

Last I checked, gaming was a hobby, not a necessity.

Give me a break...

so reading dan brown is a necessity?

it could be an antitrust issue....


There is absolutely no merit to making a law to have the government control and regulate prices of videogames.  You can't run to the feds every time you have a minor complaint about something as ridiculous as "why does digital cost the same as retail?".

It costs the same, because if it was cheaper, it would completely undercut and destroy the physical games market.   Neither the game console manufactutuers, the publishers, or the retail partners are willing to do anything to undermine the physical games market.

Games are cheaper than ever, nowadays.  Many N64 games cost $59.99 back in 1999 and 2000.  $59.99 today would have been worth $81.68 back in 1999.  Game costs remain flat, while inflation continually goes up, and the purchasing power of the currency precipitously drops.  Not to mention that development costs have increased exponentially in the last ten years, and marketing costs have increased alongside that.

Games are cheaper than they've ever been, and for people to complain about it is the epitome of whining

true... but soon enough people will complain and it would be more noticeable probably next gen... like in 3ds....

i really believe it applies the same with the ebook business... initially they are priced the same esp by apple.... then now they have the anti trust case about pricing it the same with the physical copy... it is not whining...

Books are nothing like videogames, though.  Books don't take up 25 GB of data, and they don't take 3 or 4 hours to downloade even with relatively high-speed broadband.  Books also don't cost upwards of $100- 150 million dollars to produce.  It's apples and oranges.

And people are already complaining about it, it's just that in my opinion, many people are whiners with a really short-term memory.  As I said, games in the '90's cost $1 million or less to make, and were sold at far higher prices compared to the value of that same amount of money today.  I wasn't 25 in the '90's, but I sure don't remember this whacky state of mind where people were up in arms about spending $60 for a video game. 



The Screamapillar is easily identified by its constant screaming—it even screams in its sleep. The Screamapillar is the favorite food of everything, is sexually attracted to fire, and needs constant reassurance or it will die.

aikohualda on 04 June 2013
Screamapillar said:
aikohualda said:
Screamapillar said:
aikohualda said:
Screamapillar said:
aikohualda said:
there will be a law soon about this....

remember the price tag for digital vs paperback books? they used to be the same.....
so it is a matter of months hopefully not years....


A law against a publisher selling a game for a price that they want to sell it at? 

Last I checked, gaming was a hobby, not a necessity.

Give me a break...

so reading dan brown is a necessity?

it could be an antitrust issue....


There is absolutely no merit to making a law to have the government control and regulate prices of videogames.  You can't run to the feds every time you have a minor complaint about something as ridiculous as "why does digital cost the same as retail?".

It costs the same, because if it was cheaper, it would completely undercut and destroy the physical games market.   Neither the game console manufactutuers, the publishers, or the retail partners are willing to do anything to undermine the physical games market.

Games are cheaper than ever, nowadays.  Many N64 games cost $59.99 back in 1999 and 2000.  $59.99 today would have been worth $81.68 back in 1999.  Game costs remain flat, while inflation continually goes up, and the purchasing power of the currency precipitously drops.  Not to mention that development costs have increased exponentially in the last ten years, and marketing costs have increased alongside that.

Games are cheaper than they've ever been, and for people to complain about it is the epitome of whining

true... but soon enough people will complain and it would be more noticeable probably next gen... like in 3ds....

i really believe it applies the same with the ebook business... initially they are priced the same esp by apple.... then now they have the anti trust case about pricing it the same with the physical copy... it is not whining...

Books are nothing like videogames, though.  Books don't take up 25 GB of data, and they don't take 3 or 4 hours to downloade even with relatively high-speed broadband.  Books also don't cost upwards of $100- 150 million dollars to produce.  It's apples and oranges.

And people are already complaining about it, it's just that in my opinion, many people are whiners with a really short-term memory.  As I said, games in the '90's cost $1 million or less to make, and were sold at far higher prices compared to the value of that same amount of money today.  I wasn't 25 in the '90's, but I sure don't remember this whacky state of mind where people were up in arms about spending $60 for a video game. 

sounds like a whiner to the whiner....

the point is... it is cheaper to produce the digital copy vs the physical copy... plus money is directed to the producer without the 3rd person... it is the same concept why it is cheaper to buy in a factory...

ebooks and digital games is not apple and orange.... comparing the price of cd and cartridge is...





 

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Cobretti2 on 04 June 2013
Goatseye said:
Cobretti2 said:
think of t this way,what has happened to book stores when digital copies become significantly cheaper?

i bet retailers demanded parity prices or wont stock.


I have problem with that if it really happens. If that is not price fixing Maddoff is innocent.

 

I look at it differently. I would call it retailers protecting their businesses.  

Also think about it if MIcrosoft, Sony and Nintendo lower the price and suddenly retailers stop stocking their games then sales decrease. They are all waiting for everyone to have decent internet before they go fully digital and no need to rely on retailers.



 

 

Goatseye on 04 June 2013
Cobretti2 said:
Goatseye said:
Cobretti2 said:
think of t this way,what has happened to book stores when digital copies become significantly cheaper?

i bet retailers demanded parity prices or wont stock.


I have problem with that if it really happens. If that is not price fixing Maddoff is innocent.

 

I look at it differently. I would call it retailers protecting their businesses.  

Also think about it if MIcrosoft, Sony and Nintendo lower the price and suddenly retailers stop stocking their games then sales decrease. They are all waiting for everyone to have decent internet before they go fully digital and no need to rely on retailers.

That doesn't change anything though. What about protecting customers and give them the best deals?



Conina on 04 June 2013
Goatseye said:

And why does the price of games tend to stay higher in digital form for longer than physical form?


Fewer competition. If you want the digital version of an xbox-, playstation- or nintendo-game, your ONLY option is XBL, PSN or eShop.

Digital shops for PC-versions have a steep competition (Steam, Origin, Desura, GOG, GamersGate, GreenManGaming, McGame, Humble Bundle, Amazon Downloads...), hence much more and better bargains.

Retailers have a steep competition AND high storage costs.



Goatseye on 04 June 2013
Conina said:
Goatseye said:

And why does the price of games tend to stay higher in digital form for longer than physical form?


Fewer competition. If you want the digital version of an xbox-, playstation- or nintendo-game, your ONLY option is XBL, PSN or eShop.

Digital shops for PC-versions have a steep competition (Steam, Origin, Desura, GOG, GamersGate, GreenManGaming, McGame, Humble Bundle, Amazon Downloads...), hence much more and better bargains.

Retailers have a steep competition AND high storage costs.

I recon that. That's why I hope Ouya gets a big share of the market although it's limited compared to the 3 giants but it would be great to off balance the installed corporate greed in our favorite pass time.



Conina on 05 June 2013

Ouya is not one bit better! They try to shut out Google Play, Amazon AppStore and other Android-Stores because Ouya-Users should buy in the Ouya-Store.

Neither are the software prices in the Ouya Store! Games like Final Fantasy III, Wizorb, The Ball, Canabalt and Puddle are in the same price range (or even cheaper) at PSN, XBL and/or Steam...