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Forums - Gaming - Sony Download Pricing

JaggedSac on 04 September 2009
mike_intellivision said:
The game price structure could spell doom for a product that is already thought by some to be over-priced.

By not having to produce or ship the item, there is a tangible savings to Sony. After all, the marginal cost of each new download is virtually zero while the marginal cost of each new physical copy includes the medium, the packaging, the instructions, and the transportation to get it to market.

Most consumers will look and think "hard copy vs. non copy" for same price -- I will go with the hard copy.

All Sony would have to do is discount the new games minimally so that the consumer has a perception of paying for what they receive.

Finally, as to the Microsoft claim of constant access, remember that most Wal-Marts and mail order sites are open 24/7. Not quite as convenient, but certainly not worth a premium.

Basically, both Sony and Microsoft should look at how Steam operates.

Mike from Morgantown

There is no repercussions on Valve for pissing off retail.  There is for MS and Sony.  It really has nothing to do with costs to produce.  It has everything to do with the retail channel being essential to their business models.



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Vetteman94 on 04 September 2009

How is downloadable music cheaper? isnt it $0.99 a song? most CDs by me are about $10-12 a piece, so wouldn't a CD with 15 songs cost more?



nitekrawler1285 on 04 September 2009

While DD games do cut out the cost of creating and shipping physical packaging it also shrinks the segment of the market that one can sell to(people with internet and good connection). As well as creating costs for server maintenance and bandwidth.

I wish people would stop complaining about game prices. Do you remember paying 70+ dollars for N64 in the 90s? Current gen games are 10 dollars less than that not even accounting for inflation. We have it pretty good.



mike_intellivision on 06 September 2009
JaggedSac said:
mike_intellivision said:
The game price structure could spell doom for a product that is already thought by some to be over-priced.

By not having to produce or ship the item, there is a tangible savings to Sony. After all, the marginal cost of each new download is virtually zero while the marginal cost of each new physical copy includes the medium, the packaging, the instructions, and the transportation to get it to market.

Most consumers will look and think "hard copy vs. non copy" for same price -- I will go with the hard copy.

All Sony would have to do is discount the new games minimally so that the consumer has a perception of paying for what they receive.

Finally, as to the Microsoft claim of constant access, remember that most Wal-Marts and mail order sites are open 24/7. Not quite as convenient, but certainly not worth a premium.

Basically, both Sony and Microsoft should look at how Steam operates.

Mike from Morgantown

There is no repercussions on Valve for pissing off retail.  There is for MS and Sony.  It really has nothing to do with costs to produce.  It has everything to do with the retail channel being essential to their business models.

True.  But having DL games in-and-of themselves already upsets retail.  The PSP-Go by definition upsets retail.

And if publishers are truly upset with the used market, convincing people to buy non-physical copies eliminates that situation.

 

Mike from Morgantown

 

 

 



      


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AdventWolf on 06 September 2009

Thats lame, but then again if you don't want a DD only handheld then stop complaining and don't buy the darn thing.



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Zizzla_Rachet on 06 September 2009
inverted3reality said:
I think sony will look at the blunder that was games on demand and lower the prices. but as of right now they do not. Of course, they have not launched the fully digital platform yet, once they do that they will probably do so to make it more attractive.

Geez...do you have to hate on the XBox 360 so much?....Games on Demand was a blunder?..According to who?