14 DAY TRIAL // The Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 are launching in the fall of this year and both Microsoft and Sony are saying that they plan to offer more digital releases for their biggest titles, delivering at least some of them at the same time as they arrive in brick and mortar stores.
The biggest problem is that neither of the two companies seems to have any plans to actually make versions of games that arrive via digital distribution cheaper than via retail ones.
Both Sony and Microsoft have mentioned that 60 dollars or Euro will remain the price point for their releases, although it seems that publishers might have some freedom to set their own.
It’s clearly cheaper to sell a digital version of the game, which has a small marginal cost for the publisher and the platform holder.
This should translate in a small reduction in price for the player, allowing him to get over the fact that he is not getting a physical copy or the ability to trade it in at a later date.
I believe that taking digital prices for the likes of Forza, Knack, Ryse or Killzone to 50 dollars or Euro would allow Microsoft and Sony to get more initial sales for the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
At the same time, such a move would serve to create a big digital audience that could mimic the one already present on the PC and help the two companies make a future shift towards an all-digital distribution system.
I love Steam and make most of my purchases from it or from GOG when targeting PC games.
I would like to see a similar system on next-gen devices, but without a big audience, it’s unlikely it will ever be implemented.
And in order to get a big customer base, prices need to come down, if only a little.