Microsoft: competitive pricing for digital downloads "on the agenda"

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Crimson Dragon will be 20-25% off, just like Powerstar Golf was on special last week. I'm actually surprised they are dropping prices on games this early. Bad sales perhaps?

 

Probably. Both were overpriced and had mediocre reviews. Good to see them react quickly though.

[trooper11]

I feel bad for the crimson dragon guys. The people I know that played it have been enjoying it because it feels like an old school twin stick shooter or the spiritual successor to Panzer Dragon Orta. Even the difficulty remind them of that.

They just released a patch that adds multiplayer and another difficulty level, so I plan on picking it up myself.

There just aren't enough fans of an old school game like that. Maybe a price drop will spur interest.

[McKay]

Can retail stores really afford to boycott games? What else will they have? Console hardware? At the very least I want prices to be equal to physical copies. Right now on the Xbox One AND PS4 I'm paying ?55 for games if I want digital copies.

[123456789A]

They should add 3D printing options for those of us who buy digital collectors edition and want the extras that come with it. I want to print that Titanfall mech.

[trooper11]

They should add 3D printing options for those of us who buy digital collectors edition and want the extras that come with it. I want to print that Titanfall mech.

I seriously think that is the future for digital games. Once 3d printers are cheap enough for the mass market.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

I feel bad for the crimson dragon guys. The people I know that played it have been enjoying it because it feels like an old school twin stick shooter or the spiritual successor to Panzer Dragon Orta. Even the difficulty remind them of that.

They just released a patch that adds multiplayer and another difficulty level, so I plan on picking it up myself.

There just aren't enough fans of an old school game like that. Maybe a price drop will spur interest.

 

I'm definitely a fan of the genre and series, but I refuse to pay the inflated costs for something that was once upon a time an XBLA game with an XBLA price tag.

 

The reviews didn't help so I'll wait for the 50/75% off sale.

[trooper11]

I'm definitely a fan of the genre and series, but I refuse to pay the inflated costs for something that was once upon a time an XBLA game with an XBLA price tag.

 

The reviews didn't help so I'll wait for the 50/75% off sale.

Well the cost is relative. I happen to be with you in this case since I haven't bought it yet, but to some that have no idea about its past or are just hungry for the content, it was ok.

I don't buy $20 arcade games as a rule. I have yet to see a game that could tempt me to do so. I think $10-$15 isn't unfair considering what you get. So I'm waiting for that.

[Unrealistic]

They can and have with their first party exclusives.

 

They have given away Resogun, upgraded a few PS3 games to the PS4 for free and right now they have a sale on their own games. I can purchase something for as little as $35.

 

Meanwhile in Microsoft land, they have zero price drops. If I want digital, it's 59.99. They are idiots - and their most loyal fanbase may slowly change their platform of choice due to this. I honestly find the lack of xbox live arcade, lack of demos and high digital prices insulting.

 

 

What do you mean? Sony hasn't been able to do this either. They are both in the same boat. Just look at digital game pricing on the ps4. It was horrendous at launch, especially in the EU. Both companies have yet to really try and break away from the retail relationships in order to force pricing down.

[The Evil Overlord]

Well, I've only scanned through this thread quickly, and admit I might have gotten the wrong end of the stick, but here goes

 

A digital copy should be considerably cheaper than it's physical version, regardless of which console it's for. ?52.99 for a disk, and the same for it's digital version is stupidity, I may as well get the disk.

And what's with these ?109 dlc's? <-- though this may not apply to the xbox

[trooper11]

They can and have with their first party exclusives.

 

They have given away Resogun, upgraded a few PS3 games to the PS4 for free and right now they have a sale on their own games. I can purchase something for as little as $35.

 

Meanwhile in Microsoft land, they have zero price drops. If I want digital, it's 59.99. They are idiots - and their most loyal fanbase may slowly change their platform of choice due to this. I honestly find the lack of xbox live arcade, lack of demos and high digital prices insulting.

Yes, Resogun was free via PS+. I know because I got it :laugh:

I mentioned before that I was talking about ps+, which we all know is a great value but its not what we were talking about.

I didn't realize some of the ps3-ps4 upgrades were free though. I knew about the ones that cost $10, but then that was what MS was doing for 360-X1 titles.

I also hadn't noticed that ps4 retail titles had dropped in the psn store. Looking through it I see that first party titles seem to have dropped nicely. Knack and Killzone are both $42 now, which is nice. It seems like 3rd party titles are still full price at the moment though.

Your right that MS need to be much better at pricing digital versions of their titles. I kind of doubt it will result in people leaving the platform though considering most are still buying retail versions and getting whatever deals they normally get. They will simply not buy digital and MS will have to change if they want that to improve.

MS hasn't dropped the price on any retail first party titles yet, but they have already started on their arcade titles. So hopefully they see the light and improve across the board. The demo thing is an issue on both consoles. Both are better now though, but its not universal on the X1 like it was for the 360 last gen. MS removed the requirement, but maybe they should reinstate that. Maybe they did it to avoid delays on launch titles, who knows.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Yes, Resogun was free via PS+. I know because I got it :laugh:

I mentioned before that I was talking about ps+, which we all know is a great value but its not what we were talking about.

I didn't realize some of the ps3-ps4 upgrades were free though. I knew about the ones that cost $10, but then that was what MS was doing for 360-X1 titles.

I also hadn't noticed that ps4 retail titles had dropped in the psn store. Looking through it I see that first party titles seem to have dropped nicely. Knack and Killzone are both $42 now, which is nice. It seems like 3rd party titles are still full price at the moment though.

Your right that MS need to be much better at pricing digital versions of their titles. I kind of doubt it will result in people leaving the platform though considering most are still buying retail versions and getting whatever deals they normally get. They will simply not buy digital and MS will have to change if they want that to improve.

MS hasn't dropped the price on any retail first party titles yet, but they have already started on their arcade titles. So hopefully they see the light and improve across the board. The demo thing is an issue on both consoles. Both are better now though, but its not universal on the X1 like it was for the 360 last gen. MS removed the requirement, but maybe they should reinstate that. Maybe they did it to avoid delays on launch titles, who knows.

 

I wouldn't be so sure about people not leaving a platform. Gamers are out for number one, unless they have some blind allegiance and don't mind burning money to spite their nose. Every Steam sale I see more and more people talk about switching to PC because of how cheap games are and the benefits they have compared to consoles. The same title, often with mods, at full fidelity for a quarter of the price? It's a no brainer (and no, it doesn't cost ?1000+ to achieve it like some would scare you with).

[trooper11]

I wouldn't be so sure about people not leaving a platform. Gamers are out for number one, unless they have some blind allegiance and don't mind burning money to spite their nose. Every Steam sale I see more and more people talk about switching to PC because of how cheap games are and the benefits they have compared to consoles. The same title, often with mods, at full fidelity for a quarter of the price? It's a no brainer (and no, it doesn't cost ?1000+ to achieve it like some would scare you with).

Well in my defense, I wasn't including pcs in the discussion. I was talking about from the perspective of moving from the X1 to a ps4.

If you include the PC, its a no brainer. The pc provides simply the best gaming value anywhere. Its simply unmatched. Its not isolated to Steam sales either, there are all sorts of services to get games for cheap. If either console could somehow tap into that, it would be huge, but I get the feeling that Sony and MS are just stuck at the moment.

[The Evil Overlord]

I wouldn't be so sure about people not leaving a platform. Gamers are out for number one, unless they have some blind allegiance and don't mind burning money to spite their nose. Every Steam sale I see more and more people talk about switching to PC because of how cheap games are and the benefits they have compared to consoles. The same title, often with mods, at full fidelity for a quarter of the price? It's a no brainer (and no, it doesn't cost ?1000+ to achieve it like some would scare you with).

Seconded

My computer is 11 years old, it's only dual core, and when I built it came in at just a tad over ?700, and that's with my last upgrade to it, a gt430nvidia card, and it handles heart of the swarm with high settings in it's stride, ok it can't handle ultra, but then it wouldn't considering it's age.

but as I don't have anything newer than that, I'd have to assume they'll run happily on mid settings (I'll have to get back to anyone who'd want to know more once I find a newer title I'm interested in)

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Well in my defense, I wasn't including pcs in the discussion. I was talking about from the perspective of moving from the X1 to a ps4.

If you include the PC, its a no brainer. The pc provides simply the best gaming value anywhere. Its simply unmatched. Its not isolated to Steam sales either, there are all sorts of services to get games for cheap. If either console could somehow tap into that, it would be huge, but I get the feeling that Sony and MS are just stuck at the moment.

 

Yeah taking PC into account it's the clear winner. It was just an example of people will go where the deals are though. If you're strictly a console gamer then you may also be swayed by Sony's sales. It also depends which platform the retailers "side" with. By that, I mean they sometimes drop prices on games more frequently for one than the other, at least here in the UK they do. The 360 ruled the nest last gen in the UK for years for that very reason IMO. Very often you could get an extra ?5 off compared to PS3. I think the gap closed as the PS3 became more profitable, but gaining an early lead was important for MS.

 

MS are good at sales when they put the effort in. The last year/18 months they've had some great prices on GonD, much better than what they have on PSN in UK at least (if you don't include Gold/PS+ extra discounts, otherwise it's pretty even IMO). As I've said earlier in the topic, my biggest issue with them is what they put on sale :/. I actually did some reading after posting to refresh my memory and CoD was on sale nearly every 3 weeks in one form or another :no:

[trooper11]

I actually did some reading after posting to refresh my memory and CoD was on sale nearly every 3 weeks in one form or another :no:

I agree that is a lot, but it goes back to that being so popular. I would assume they keep putting it on sale because it drives a bunch of sales.

They just need to spread that around more.

[BajiRav]

Seconded

My computer is 11 years old, it's only dual core, and when I built it came in at just a tad over ?700, and that's with my last upgrade to it, a gt430nvidia card, and it handles heart of the swarm with high settings in it's stride, ok it can't handle ultra, but then it wouldn't considering it's age.

but as I don't have anything newer than that, I'd have to assume they'll run happily on mid settings (I'll have to get back to anyone who'd want to know more once I find a newer title I'm interested in)

You are using a pre XP-SP2 computer still? :|

[psionicinversion]

Before people slam MS and Sony for there online pricing go take a look at Origin EA's platform then check out the pricing on amazon... Origin BF4 ?45  amazon/play/zavvi around ?30 and that was preorder. Is it really that much cheaper to print discs, covert art and manuals and get cases then box it up and ship it to retailers than paying for bandwidth to let people download it?  if it is fair enough, if it isnt there just charging a premium for being a lazy couche potato rather than to go down the shop and pick it up or getting up off your ass and walk to the letter box to pick up the game thats bin delivered to ya

[The Evil Overlord]

You are using a pre XP-SP2 computer still? :|

well, yes, it's running windows 7 now, and for gaming, I upped the ram from 2gb to 8, added better card, (ok a dinosaur now but correct for the system spec) for a dual core it runs pretty smooth, plays wow and starcraft in the higher settings, added an ssd, forgot to mention that, (so my previous post about it being slightly over ?700 is actually incorrect now, lets call it ?800 as I bought it used)

it runs well enough, boots in under a minute, and us usable in about 80-90 seconds, the only time I've seen it struggle is then doing something processor intensive, even then it seems to manage fine

('d love to build a new monster rig, but like everyone else, I have too many other commitments to worry about before I can justify that kind of expense) here's me wei.....

(Now these new gen consoles can, and probably would tear my pc a new one, but for what it is, it's still a good rig)

[The Evil Overlord]

Before people slam MS and Sony for there online pricing go take a look at Origin EA's platform then check out the pricing on amazon... Origin BF4 ?45  amazon/play/zavvi around ?30 and that was preorder. Is it really that much cheaper to print discs, covert art and manuals and get cases then box it up and ship it to retailers than paying for bandwidth to let people download it?  if it is fair enough, if it isnt there just charging a premium for being a lazy couche potato rather than to go down the shop and pick it up or getting up off your ass and walk to the letter box to pick up the game thats bin delivered to ya

At first guess I'd say yes, because disk based consoles have been around for 20 (give or take) years now, it's a well established infrastructure, and like any business, the companies that handle the printing of disks would have contracted deals in place to keep their costs to a minimum, so if there's no physical copy, the cost to the consumer shouldn't be negligible but this is just an opinion.

And if no one complains, or at the very least, keep them in check, they can charge whatever the hell they want, and that would be bad for the consumer.

[psionicinversion]

At first guess I'd say yes, because disk based consoles have been around for 20 (give or take) years now, it's a well established infrastructure, and like any business, the companies that handle the printing of disks would have contracted deals in place to keep their costs to a minimum, so if there's no physical copy, the cost to the consumer shouldn't be negligible but this is just an opinion.

And if no one complains, or at the very least, keep them in check, they can charge whatever the hell they want, and that would be bad for the consumer.

 

well yeah i guess think MS may have jumped the gun but by the time the next consoles arrive IF they arrive it will be download only i recjkon, infrasturctuire should be inplace not only MS+sonty but ISP stuff should vbe majoritively sorted. MS looks to the fuitture think tyhey may have looked i little to far at the moe but ewith there azure backend in place there in a very storng position to provide future service really cheap and highly effiecnient

[The Evil Overlord]

well yeah i guess think MS may have jumped the gun but by the time the next consoles arrive IF they arrive it will be download only i recjkon, infrasturctuire should be inplace not only MS+sonty but ISP stuff should vbe majoritively sorted. MS looks to the fuitture think tyhey may have looked i little to far at the moe but ewith there azure backend in place there in a very storng position to provide future service really cheap and highly effiecnient

lol call me when you're sober :p

 

(but yes, I got the idea :) )

[George P Global Moderator]

I'm not going to get into any type of PC vs Console debate here, I'm happy playing with both when I feel like it, but while I'm on a old Core i7 920 (5 years old) that and the mobo (x58), are the only original things in it anymore.  I hear this argument that people come up with that say "I'm still playing games fine on my old PC" yeah but how many upgrades have you actually done to it?  Is it even how it was when you got it, for many I doubt hat's still the case.  My PC started with a HD 4770 for example, then I upgrades to a 5770, and now there's a 7870 in it, that's around $600 or so in just new video cards on top of the original cost of it when I got it.  Plus a new SSD, more RAM and so on.  So while I get what the PC side is saying, my PC while the CPU is old, it's not really a "old" PC.  Compared to my 360 that I paid once for and has stayed the same since day one, which is really the advantage in a console for the most part.  You know that you'll be playing games without issue and with good quality 6-8 years down the line without needing to touch the hardware.   I honestly can't say the same is the case when it comes to PC gaming, and if you haven't bought a new video card or added more ram then odds are you're not playing the newest games at their best possible quality on something that's 6-8 years old.  If you're cutting down the quality of the game to play it on your old PC then any advantage the PC has just went out the door, you might as well just play it on a console at this point.

 

I honestly doubt my old i7 920 and HD 7870 will be able to play games at their top settings 5 years from now, let alone more.  I'll have to do another upgrade at some point, and at this time the i7 920 and old x58 mobo are the bottlenecks, so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and build yet again a new PC.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

GTA on sale again, what a surprise :P :rolleyes: :sleep:

 

In other news:

 

Xbox One Games with Gold news coming soon, says Spencer

[George P Global Moderator]

Would be interesting if they started it up now and upped the number of free games but I think two  month is a good number already, just need newer ones.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

It definitely has to match PS+ on numbers at least. How they split it is obviously going to be different since they don't have a portable to cater to. Anything less and it's still not going to look good in price comparison never mind feature parity that comes with standard PSN access or PS+.

 

3 retail games and 2 arcade is easy, the back catalogue is huge. Make it 2 360, 2 arcade and 1 X1 game or 2 X1 games and I'll be happy.

 

Suddenly Sony's indie push is already making more sense though! With slow starts to both consoles retail games, PS+ is going to rely on them to fill the void. No way are you going to see PvZ GW launching on GwG, unless MS spend a huge chunk of change to boost the service. Doubt EA will want to though, not for the price tag they've slapped on it.