Why does downloaded games on PS Store cost more than the actually disk copy?

[Parasondox]

Once again Escapist I am here for another thought and question.
Okay maybe this is different in the UK or on PS store but why does it seem that a game cost more o download than it does to actually order a full disk copy?

Eg. Sleeping Dogs (PS3). I wanted to buy the disk copy of the game and saw it was around £15.99. Good deal I thought so I went onto the Playstation store to see if there was a price difference and saw that the game was £45.99. All of this was a few months ago by the way so prices could have changed. Same recently with the Mass Effect Trilogy. £54.99 to download on PS Store but £11.99 to download Mass Effect 1, then disk copy from Amazon, £11.99 for Mass Effect 2 (including 3 free DLC) and £12.95 for Mass Effect 3. Adds up to £36.93. I pretty much saved a lot of money. I've had similar experiences with other games I have brought.

Remember all of that was my experience. So I was just wondering has there been similar situations like that before when it comes you disk vs download prices AND does Xbox Live have the same situation? And does PC gamers get the same deal from Steam or gog.com etc.?

P.S. Downloading from the Playstation store takes ALL DAMN DAY!!

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

Most of the time, yeah, I found that games are cheaper from a retailer. It's only really during Steam sales (or exceptionally good special offer) that they're cheaper to get digitally. A least Steam and GOG have sales regularly.

 

[Foolery]

Because reasons. Sony doesn't want to undercut retailers, as that's still the primary method of getting games out. And PC gamers get a different deal on Steam and GOG, because there is actual competition for digital distribution. The PSN store is a monopoly, they can charge whatever they like. Buying a physical copy is always going to be a better deal.

 

[Hazy992]

Yeah I really don't get it either. I can sort of understand then being the same price to keep retailers happy, but when I see MOH Warfighter of all things for £60 I can't help but scratch my head.

Unless you honestly think not having to go the store or wait 2-3 days for delivery is worth the £10-£20 premium, there is literally no reason to buy full price games digitally (on console anyway).

 

[Saelune]

Because they dont want Digital Distribution to work I guess? If I am paying $60 it better be for the physical game. Thats why I didnt get Pikmin 3 right away. Its probably why I dont buy many new games on Steam either. The reduced price in game production due to lack of material cost should reduce consumer costs as well.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Yeah digital distribution on consoles is usually a bit of a joke occasionally the game is cheaper I remember the Sly Raccoon Trilogy and TTT2 was cheaper digitally but each was over 20 GB so I would go over my download limit for the month and lock up my internet for maybe 24 hours plus oh and I dont have that much hard drive space because they only put a pathetic amount in them (especially the early models). I just ordered the Sly Trilogy disc from america for 2 pounds more in the end.

Even on PC it pays to look around GOG and Steam do good sales but just because its on sale dosent mean it wont be cheaper to get a retail copy as their sales arent the be all and end all some of the deals are pretty crap to be honest, although with GOG odds are it will be cheapest there as they sell a lot of old games that may be hard to actually find a retail copy of.

 

[TelHybrid]

Yeah I really don't get it either. I can sort of understand then being the same price to keep retailers happy, but when I see MOH Warfighter of all things for £60 I can't help but scratch my head.

Unless you honestly think not having to go the store or wait 2-3 days for delivery is worth the £10-£20 premium, there is literally no reason to buy full price games digitally (on console anyway).

On playstation network you'll end up waiting 2-3 days for the game to download anyway. Then another day for the updates.

Seriously their upload times are a joke!!

 

[Black Dream]

I noticed this when Resident Evil Revelations came out on PS3.
It was around $40 - $45 on shelves but on the PSN store it was $70+ (I live in Australia btw).
I don't get it.

 

[4RM3D]

Same can be said of Steam.

When a new game gets released on Steam it costs as much as or even more than the physical copy. This was especially ironic with the release of Portal 2. I've bought the physical copy on release day for 33 Euro, while the game was 45 Euro on Steam. (Considering both Steam and Portal 2 are from Valve.)

 

[Stevepinto3]

Because despite every major entity in the industry insisting digital is the future, publishers and console manufacturer's don't want to bother competing. This is out of fear of either making slightly less money or pissing off retailers that they still have to rely on. Greed and cowardice, the driving force of the AAA game industry.

 

[wulfy42]

Yeah, your better off still waiting for used copies of games, or for physical new copies of games to go on sale (which they do all the time), then buying digital off the PSN.

Now steam, Humble Bundles, GoG, GMG etc...all can offer games at drastic discounts. I'll generally grab a humble bundle deal for $1 even if I don't want to play any of the games (I pay more if I actually want to play them, but it's still usually like 10% of the cost of the games normally).

Take the current humble bundle. I'm just using the steam keys, so I just got crysis 2 + dead space + Medal of Honor + burnout paradise...and maybe 1 other game I can't remember. I got em all for $1 though....which is an insanely good deal...even if I would never have bought any of those games normally.

You don't see deals like that for consoles sadly.

PC is becoming my primary platform for gaming. I have a xbox controller, and a very nice monitor....so it plays games just like a consol does...but I pay WAY less for them (Even when they are released at the same time...usually the pc version is cheaper...and if it comes out on steam...by the time I get around to most games they are at least 25% off already on steam).

I got Dragon's Crown recently for my PS3...and wrath of the white witch not that long ago (on sale but still not as cheap as most pc games)...but for the most part, the VAST magarity of my games are now on my pc...or more specifically...on steam.

In fact, when I got dragons crown, I got it almost free because I traded in my Borderlands 2 and 3 other games that I had recently all got on steam (for very little)...which is actually a better platform for all of them.

Forget a new console...they don't need better graphics or better performance, they need to make platform games start to compete with pc games as far as price and fuctionality (add mouse support for FPS type games on consoles for instance...etc). I've had plenty of practice playing FPS games on consoles..and i'm not bad at aiming etc...but the extreme pinpoint accuracy of my mouse can't be beat for them.

 

[Danceofmasks]

One word.
Monopoly.

You can find digital games on PC for cheap, because there are dozens of places to shop from.

The PS store has no competition. So it can charge whatever it wants.
Hey, if you don't like it, you can always buy a disc, right?