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Sony Computer Entertainment released more details on its “Day 1 Digital” initiative. Aside from having triple-A games available digitally on the same day boxed copies hit store shelves, Sony is giving PlayStation Plus members a 10-percent discount on select digital versions. So a $59.99 game will run PlayStation Plus members $53.99 if they pre-order or buy the game during the first week of its availability. My question for you today is this: Is that enough of a discount to make you buy digitally?
In the small but lovely RPad.TV universe, I’m in the minority — I’m all about digital media. Most of you seem to prefer physical copies of games for various reasons. Would saving a little bit of money change your purchasing habits? Or would you forego the discount in favor of the flexibility physical discs offer? Please leave a comment and let me know if Sony’s Day 1 Digital initiative will change the way you buy PlayStation games!
So what Sony is saying is that 10% of the $60 price tag includes manufacturing, printing, shipping, distribution, and markup for resale to the final retailer? Very funny Sony, but It’s way more likely that it would actually be closer to 40-50% of the actual cost of the game.
If AAA titles are available in digital format on day 1, then I would expect to see a 40-50% cut in the cost versus the physical copies to even get my attention. If that’s the case, I would consider the extra $25-$30 for the physical copy to be for actually OWNING the game instead of just “renting the licence” to play the game at a discounted price.
You know, Mr. Padilla, say what you want about DD, but you know it is setting a really bad precedent by turning our living rooms in to modern arcades.
I’ve pumped enough quarters into those damned machines to buy several iPads, and I really hate the thought of going back to that model but with dollars instead of quarters. Yeah, it’s convenient because they “bring the arcade to you”, but are we so lazy as a society where the thought of going to the mailbox and taking out a disk to insert it into a tray is so repulsive that we actually think of more expensively creative ways for us to keep our asses planted on our couches for literally 10 more seconds?
-M
For me, it’s not a laziness issue. I like purchasing a game and being able to download it. I like not having to talk to a GameStop employee that’s giving me the hard sell on insurance or membership. In general, I dislike the brick-and-mortar retail experience.
That said, the console models aren’t as good as they should be. People bitch about the iTunes walled garden, but it’s a great shopping experience and it’s easy to use your digital purchases on multiple devices. Google Play is very good too. I’d love for PSN and XBL to become more like those services.
I personally don’t like digital only, but I do utilize it. The main reason is the issues I have had with my PS3. My original Fat PS3 I put a 320Gb hard drive in it and it was nearly half full when I got the YLoD. When I got my slim PS3 I had to re download everything. I then upgraded that hard drive and had to download all of my digital games yet again. Now that hard drive has 20Gb left on it.
Now that the Slimmer PS3 is coming out I might as well just leave the first one and start a new one with a HUGE hard drive. But my ISP limits me to 100Gb download per month and I have 126 digital games on my PS3 and many of them are over 5Gb. So I guess I will have to stagger the downloads.
The only time I get a digital game is if it is digital only like Gotham City Imposters, the rest of my digital games have been “free” with my PS+.
I supposed having digital downloads on the VIta would be better though. I got so tired of keeping up with a case for my PSP, a case for extra cables and chargers, and a case to hold all my extra games.
I am so keen on having a disc in my hand for many things that even if I buy software online I opt to get the disc sent to me at extra cost. I have even paid to get Windows XP service pack discs from Microsoft.
Plus sub is $50 per year. So that is $4.17 per month. So $53.99 + $4.17 = $58.16 per game.
So no I think it is a bad deal. The deal can be less appealing if you are on metered Internet.
The guys at Runic have already said that the revenues they receive for Torchlight 2 priced at $20 will be the same if it were boxed at $60. So I’d rather make sure all the middlemen receive a cut instead of hyper inflated profits to Sony or whoever.
The only good thing about the $50/yr is that you get far more than that in free games. Currently there is nearly $300 in free games for PS+ members (provided you don’t already own all the games)
Definitely a program that ppl like I was only pointing out that the discount requires you to recognize the cost of Plus.
I’m honestly wary of digital games on consoles. On a PC or iPhone the game easily goes to your new hardware. We haven’t yet seen what will happen with the new consoles in regards to past purchases.
I don’t the see discount as being a true indication of what the company is saving in providing a digital vs. physical copy. Like Iceman said I think that number is closer to 40-50% of the cost, not 10%.
I would actually love to own more things digitally, especially since I prefer the majority of my books through Kindle and I prefer watching my movies and tv shows in digital format instead of having the disc (this doesn’t work well for taking a movie to someone else’s house, so physical usually wins here). What I hate is the cost of digital vs. physical. I wanted to read Rum Punch the other day, so I looked it up on amazon. The kindle version was $7.99, but I could buy a used copy of the book and still pay $3.99 for shipping and handling for less than the kindle version. The situation is even worse when the kindle version costs several dollars more than the softcover or hardcover copy of the book. How is that good for the consumer?
Similarly, I would love to have purchased some of the DC animated movies legally and digitally, but the price is outrageous. On Google Play the price is usually about $14.99 for purchase and $3.99 for rent. I would easily buy several of the movies for $3.99 each, but I haven’t purchased one of the digitally for $14.99. It is cheaper for me to find a new or used copy of the movie and rip it to digital myself and just let the physical copy sit on my shelf somewhere.
There is nothing wrong with digital distribution, but if it wants to be taken seriously then they price point has to drop seriously as well.
I learned what my issue was when I dl’ed Splinter Cell Conviction off of XBL.
It was cheap, I had the points, so I said “to hell with it” and grabbed it. My son came in and saw me playing it. He too wanted to play it, and I was okay with that. I copied it onto a flash drive, and put it on his Xbox… only to find out that it was linked to my profile. This was no bueno.
Meanwhile, I could have gotten my lazy ass down to Gamestop and bought a physical copy used for less money and we’d all be happy.
You should have asked me for it and I would have lent it to you. But if you like the game enough to play co-op, I’ll play it with you when you want.
-M
Yeah for digital copy only im going to need more of a discount. Im losing the ability to play this at my friends house or after the console lifecycle. Now throw in the ps+ membership and it doesnt really give me an incentive more to have a ps+ memebership.
Happy birthday Ray!! ( two days late)
Thanks very much!
Now this sounds like a great idea to me! I want one already (well, I already wanted one, but now even more so) http://www.bgr.com/2012/09/27/google-nexus-tablet-price-99/
The only problem is that the original source is Digitimes. The vast majority of “supply-chain rumors” from Digitimes are bogus.
ahh that’s too bad. I’d easily find $99 for a Nexus 7 tablet. I didn’t look at the original source, just that it was BGR.
Saving a little money is not good enough, I prefer saving a decent amount. Say, anything over 15%. A measly $6 off a new game is not enough to pull me in. Besides, I can buy a used physical copy for a fraction of the price. Until they find a way to sell people used downloads to lower the price more, I think the answer is no.