The dream of an all-digital future looked dead in the water over the weekend, when the launch of the PlayStation 4’s store in the UK revealed that you could be paying up to £62.99 ($102.63) for a single title. EA decreased the cost of its games by £3.00 ($4.89) yesterday, making its releases slightly more affordable but still more expensive than their Xbox One counterparts. Fortunately, platform holder Sony has said that a lot of the pricing will be adjusted prior to the next generation console’s European launch this week.
"Although [the] PS4 launches in Europe on the 29th November, we have switched on the European PlayStation Network early in order to test and make sure that the features and functionality are fully operational for launch," a spokesperson told Eurogamer.net. "However, as the PS4 has not yet officially launched in this region, nothing on the PSN is final, including the pricing on the store. You will continue to see some prices adjusted over the next few days in preparation for launch.”
If you’ve already stumped up for some software on the PlayStation Store, the manufacturer has revealed that it will refund the difference. Clearly, this is a response to the online backlash, but at least the company is taking action. How much would you be willing to pay for a digital title? Do you think that downloads should be cheaper than their retail counterparts? Whip out your virtual wallet in the comments section below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 14
"Do you think that downloads should be cheaper than their retail counterparts?"
Yes, every single time...
Someone on EG put it nicely...
"It's insulting that you would charge MORE for digital purchases that cost LESS to deliver, and that are arguably LESS VALUABLE to the consumer as they hold ZERO resale value."
Of course they should be cheaper:
1. Retailers share goes for Sony themselves
2. No more shipping and Handling expenses.
3. Disc Productions
The only expense Sony might have with digital copies are for servers that already have.
Just this sort of thing tells you a digital only future any time soon is a myth.
Now down to £54.99
What all of you said.
Still going fully digital with PS4. Got used to it on Steam and I like my office/living/gaming room nice and tidy without any additional gaming clutter (yes I know, emotional value and collector's stuff, still... all digital for me).
@banacheck Good.
Indeed what all of you already said.
Higher digital prices are outright stupid, especially if publishers want to push the digital future. Hopefully, with prices like this the whole thing will take longer to take of. I like my game cases and disks and my collectors stuff, but I also bought digital when there was a good offer. Bagged Borderlands 2 2 month after launch for 20,- € and found it quite convenient to buy and play a game in the middle of the night. And I surely will buy some digital titles on PS4 as well...there's often excellent deals on PSN, especially with Plus...but with those prices? No.
Still a joke. They should also offer digital rental perhaps. Some games you know you won't pick up again when Its completed.
Digital should be significantly cheaper. It's a slap in the face by these company's charging the same (if not more on older games) as physical copies. One of the reasons these company's want to go all digital is its cost efficient for them, being able to cut the cost of discs cases and retailer profit. It's absolute nonsense that they see us as stupid consumers and continue to charge retail on digital content. Gamers should ban digital until the prices lower greatly!
"Do you think that downloads should be cheaper than their retail counterparts?" - of course.
From their side : No manufacturing costs, not shipping costs, not import duty etc etc.
From my side : My disc space, my internet quota, my backup costs, my download time etc.
And yet, they cost more! I believe the main reason they cost so much is fear of retailer backlash if they undercut retail prices. At the moment there is zero incentive to buy games digitally. The only digital content I ever buy is stuff that is only available digitally, so no choice.
@Ginkgo very insightful point on the topic of retailers, never crossed my mind. I'm also with you on you're thoughts about digital incentive and don't download unless there is a good sale or the game is only available via download... I did download GTA5 though hoping to download a few days earlier, but that was a debacle.
Yeah, digital prices, meh....
I still want to know why the hell lower digital pricing is STANDARD on Vita but nonexistent on PS4. What happened, Sony?
As it stands, if I can get a physical copy for the same price or less, I'll do it in almost every instance (only game on any platform I've broken that rule for is Crosswords Plus on 3DS...seems like the right game to have on the SD card and they had that Donkey Kong Original promo at the time). That said, my digital library is still growing thanks to PS Plus, because I'm not stupid enough to turn down the benefits of the program just because I don't get a disc or card that way.
But digital game sales? Those are dangerous man! Click, click, click and you've got yourself a serious backlog and an abysmal thin personal wallet...
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