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This topic has moved here: Subject: Why are Digital Games so Expensive?
  • Subject: Why are Digital Games so Expensive?
Subject: Why are Digital Games so Expensive?

"Sophisticated ignorance, write my curses in cursive"

I don't get why digital games are the same price as the retail version.

There's no shipping costs
There's no packaging to pay for
There's no retailer that takes part of the profit
The money is going straight to the company

And there's probably even more things I haven't even listed. If they are really planning to have digital download games compete with retail versions they should be $20 cheaper from day 1.

  • 12.20.2012 11:35 AM PDT

Profits.

  • 12.20.2012 11:36 AM PDT

"There's a very fine line between not listening, and not caring. I'd like to think that I walk that line every day."

???
Profit!

  • 12.20.2012 11:36 AM PDT
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It costs money to have the game in a digital downloadable format rather than playable by inserting a disc?

  • 12.20.2012 11:36 AM PDT
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Why So Serious?

"I'm gonna go America all over everybody's asses!"
-Charlie, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Greed, as far as I can tell.

Although while there's no retailer, some profits do go to the distribution service, i.e. Valve.

  • 12.20.2012 11:36 AM PDT

You forgot about the convenience fee.

  • 12.20.2012 11:37 AM PDT

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"Ignorance is a plague."

Close, but the plague killed those infected with it, and the ignorant are still alive.
I wish ignorance was a plague.

The download service (ie Steam) still takes some of the profit. The developer has to cover the cost of creating the game and make a profit.

  • 12.20.2012 11:39 AM PDT

Recon Number 54 -
If they are still looking, then while holding the snarl, I let drool start to drip from my mouth, I stand, curl my fingers into claws and with a hunched over crouch, I then make slow and deliberate steps towards them. When I get close enough, I let them hear my agonized and gasping growls and then, if they continue to stare, when I get within arm's reach? I kiss them on the nose, and run away giggling.

Which is why we should buy in Hardcopy.

  • 12.20.2012 11:41 AM PDT
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Writer's Corner
6/15/2011 11:39 PM: bobcast [2597260] issued a 3 day ban expiring on 6/18/2011 11:39 PM.
Reason: A Bungie.net Forum Moderator has banned you for violating the code of conduct and/or rules of the forum in the thread below
http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=61704535
Inappropriate. Went a little to far with the butt hole tearing.


Posted by: Not The Joker
Greed, as far as I can tell.

Although while there's no retailer, some profits do go to the distribution service, i.e. Valve.

  • 12.20.2012 11:41 AM PDT
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Digital games will frequently go on sale too though. So as long as you wait for the sales you can pick up games anywhere from 25-75% off their normal price most of the time.

  • 12.20.2012 11:43 AM PDT
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Foman is my favorite moderator. <3

Bandwith costs and money to the distributor (i.e., Valve).

Though I suspect these costs are lower than physical distribution, they keep the prices the same for simplicity's sake.

  • 12.20.2012 11:43 AM PDT
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They are?
And its for profit. They make more money when the games are the same price as retail. And they use to be cheaper, until a while ago.

Also you forgot about that the distributor (Steam GOG and others) take some of the profits, and bandwidth costs.

Also steam sales exist.

  • 12.20.2012 11:45 AM PDT

Per Audacia Ad Astra

Want profit
???
Profit

  • 12.20.2012 11:46 AM PDT
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Destinypedia - The Wiki for Bungie's Destiny
Posted by: DEATHPIMP72
Anyone but Foman. He smells like cheese.

Manufacturing costs for a physical copy of a game work out to under $0.10 for major titles. The argument that digital games should be significantly cheaper than physical games holds no merit.

You are paying for the development of the game, all of the hundreds of people it took years to make that game happen, and all of the money and time it took to create that game.

It's just like the way a brand new medical drug that's just been FDA-approved is expensive. It's not like it takes $50 to produce one pill -- but the maker needs to recoup the millions (and sometimes billions) of dollars it took in R&D to develop the drug.


EDIT: And it's not about profit. If it was, major publishers would be pushing the digital games thing a lot harder. And frankly, if the gaming industry was all that profitable, the big publicly owned game publishers would be worth a lot more money.

[Edited on 12.20.2012 11:50 AM PST]

  • 12.20.2012 11:48 AM PDT


Posted by: A Good Troll
Bandwith costs and money to the distributor (i.e., Valve).

Though I suspect these costs are lower than physical distribution, they keep the prices the same for simplicity's sake.

There's also the fact that retailers of physical copies will most likely complain about it being unfair.

  • 12.20.2012 11:49 AM PDT
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Posted by: A Good Troll
Bandwith costs and money to the distributor (i.e., Valve).

Though I suspect these costs are lower than physical distribution, they keep the prices the same for simplicity's sake.

Gamers are always looking for a bargain. Thus the rise of the used game industry.

Gamestop shares a parasitic relationship with developers and publishers because Gamestop makes a significant part of it's revenue from used game sales. Thus developers and publishers have been coming up with more and more ways to entice new games sales: Preorder bonuses, online passes, etc.

One way that they haven't done anything is to drop publishing costs and the portion of the game sale that goes to the retailer from games downloaded through XBL/SEN/Steam/Origin/etc.

Hell, games on XBL/SEN/Steam/Origin/etc don't even follow the retailer prices well either. I remember a couple of games costing $40 online when they were $25 in a brick and mortar store.

Posted by: x Foman123 x
Manufacturing costs for a physical copy of a game work out to under $0.10 for major titles. The argument that digital games should be significantly cheaper than physical games holds no merit.

It's not just the manufacturing costs. Retailers take a chunk of the games sales.

[Edited on 12.20.2012 11:52 AM PST]

  • 12.20.2012 11:50 AM PDT