Intrinsic on 09 February 2017
| Normchacho said: I do think the move to digital is both obvious and inevitable, though I don't think it will cause prices to drop. For one, I don't see someone who plays CoD switching over to Battlefield just because it might be $10 cheaper. Basically, games are bought largely on the merits of the game itself, rather than how much it costs. Secondly, I don't think it's any mystery that gaming publishers and developers work on fairly thin margins. Especially in this day and age where games are so cheap. So rather than the shift to digital dropping prices, I think it will simply further delay price increases, because it will allow publishers to hold onto more of the money from each game sale. |
This is also true, but its also sll an unnecesarry problem thats left standing due to the console industries unwillingness to treat physical media as the second rate over expensive medium it is now in this modern age. Its perfect if its the only option, but not only is it not the option that is hamperring the industry. And it does this in two ways.
- lets look at physical at $60 (and I will use approximations here)
- $30 to the publisher
- $10 to the platform holder as royalties (sony/MS)
- $10 to the retailer
- $10 for manufacturing, distribution and marketing overhead. (also going to the publisher)
Now all that could just as easily be and keeping with the $60 price point but this time for digital
- $40 goes to the publisher
- $10 for royalties
- $5 for online bandwidth costs (so basically platform holder gets $15 total)
- $5 for marketing costs (publisher ends up with $45 total.)
In the digital situation the publisher and the platform holder all round makes more money. But most importantly, after certain targets have been met there is no reason why the price can't see a steady reduction over time and everyone still comes off making money. The curretnt system caters to sustaining the viability of physicl media, because if all the advantages digital media inherently has are leveraged, physical media will quickly die off. As I said, prices are even left high to allow stores clear their physical stock. Imagine that. - The we have how caterring to physical media affects hardware design. Simple fact of the matter is that in the modern console space, a game disc serves as nothing more than a container for content. It has absolutely no technical benefit and if anything hinders game design. Right now, all games are installed and run off a faster internal HDD.
That means that the game disc is only relevant in getting the content to you. So why is it built into the system? Thats a redundant $25-$30 drive cost that could have been better spent on making all round better consoles than cateriing to the "sleekness" of a system.
Ideally, the second it was decided all games install on an internal HDD and that all games would be available day one digitally (we even have pre-loading which means digital buyers will always officially get the game before the physical buyers) that was the second that the disc drive should have become a secondary device. And as such an add on peripheral. Basically, the PS4/XB1 should have not come with a disc drive at all. But had an external disc drive available from day one priced at around $50/$60.
Let those that want to buy physical for whatever their reasons buy the external disc drive. And focus on making all round better more competent hardware.
