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Forums - Microsoft - Xbox One Digital Game Prices Raised

dreamcast210 on 11 December 2013
The Fury said:
nanarchy said:

It isn't about supporting the retailers because they "want" too or because they have no digital competition, it is because they HAVE to. Both Sony and MS are reliant on retail to ship and sell consoles, in order for retailers to do that they have to see profit in it for them. both Sony and MS set a RRP, this price has to be at a level that allows retailers to make a good profit if they choose otherwise they aren't going to recommend or stock the system and corresponding games (and fair enough really they are businesses not charities). It also allows retailers to compete on price with other retailers with loss leaders or discount prices to get people into their stores.

 If the online businesses sell at below RRP then they are immediately undermining the retail chain even if only by a small amount and this new price will become the defacto RRP. I hate the pricing of games at the moment and despise the digital pricing even more but both companies are in a hard position when it comes to digital pricing and I am not sure there is a "good" way for them to price them that won't have nasty consequences for them.

Perhaps they can sell cheaper but allow the retail chains to also sell digital codes for the games at the cheaper prices too. At the moment the retail chains are essential to their business and until they can completely kill disks off and remove the realiance on retail chain it is always going to be a fine line for them to walk.

I understand the first point but I feel Sony and MS should disregard this dependency when it comes to their online digital store. Game retailers cannot just sit back and wait for the end of discs then go out of business, they need to be encouraged to adapt, if this means high street stores are just used for hardware exchange and the purchase of online codes then fair enough but that's a way off yet. They should be allowed to create digital outlets which compete directly with XB Store and PS Store.

Online businesses already do sell far below RRP, you mean digital retailers. Selling digital games at a higher price is stupid as there are less costs involved, no disc, no packaging, direct profits. They could undermine them and still keep customers happy by offering only £1 or 2 less that high street stores, the exchange of you buying digital is that it's attached to DRM meaning you can't trade in or exchange that product/licence. Many, like me would probably buy retail still but it gives people the option if they want to download it but if the right offers/deal/price comes along, I might be more willing to buy digital.

I do wonder if this need the retailers had was thought about when it came to Steam, yet in this case there are a number of PC retailers selling hardware, not dedicated to just PC games and PCs.

It's not that the retailers are dependent on Sony or MS to make money. That's only a portion of how they make sales as the foot traffic leads to sales of other items.

Right now, Sony and MS are dependent on the retailers to sell their product, specifically the hardware. And if Sony says here's the PS4 and we have physical discs where people will come in regularly and buy your game. MS says here's the Xbox One and we are strictly digital so you won't have in store games. Who do you think BestBuy, Walmart, etc. are going to give prominence to? The company that could potentially lead to customers who come in regularly to shop or those who come in once and never return?

Believe me, Sony and MS would love to sell their games digital only. But they can't right now.



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!