M$ at it again

[Zeus]

And you guys are trying to convince me that downloading full retail games is a good idea. If you support shit like this and actually buy these games as downloadable vs retail copies, you never have the right to complain about game prices ever again

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/101/1012828p1.html

[SineSwiper]

Granted, Microsoft is greedy, and I don't agree with the difference between Steam's free add-ons and XBL's non-free content for the same thing. However, the thing just launched, and Microsoft will have to learn which things need to be devalued based on the low sales values. Give it time.

The only reason why so many people go to Steam is because they like to pass out $5 games and 50-75% discounts. MS will just have to start to follow the same model.

[Shrinweck]

Yeah this doesn't seem to be a bad deal at all. The good deals are good deals. The bad are bad. For the bad I'll take my business elsewhere. For the good I won't.

They'll adjust if they have to. Or they won't and we'll take our business elsewhere.

[Zeus]

Granted, Microsoft is greedy, and I don't agree with the difference between Steam's free add-ons and XBL's non-free content for the same thing. However, the thing just launched, and Microsoft will have to learn which things need to be devalued based on the low sales values. Give it time.

The only reason why so many people go to Steam is because they like to pass out $5 games and 50-75% discounts. MS will just have to start to follow the same model.

That's just it, they're not followin' anyone with Live, they're trying to re-write the rules. They're trying to change the game and reset to what they want the business model to be and people are buying it hook, line, and sinker. No one ever charged before to play online, it was considered a service, a competitive advantage.

And now they're trying to reset the traditional lowering of game prices after a certain period with their launch of digital distribution on Live as well. There's a ton of people - not just me - who wait for the price of a game to drop before they buy it as $60 is only reserved for those couple of special games a year. If M$ (the others are guilty on their arcade or VC downloads as well) gets it in your head that the price ain't gonna drop for years to come unless you're lucky enough to get it on a part of the weekly deal, then they're more likely to coax the $60 out of you. On top of that, since you now can't sell it used, if you dislike that game, you're completely fucked. For a game like Mirror's Edge, which certainly ain't worth $60 but is a good $20 buy, that ain't cool.

Steam is run differently, don't be fooled into thinking that any of the console makers would follow that regular discounting at that level. They will throw you a bone here and there but with the oligopoly they have, there's no reason to have traditional economics and actual competition enter the market anymore.

They're closing their fists and oiling up their hands in preparation for digital distribution, it's up to you how far you allow them to penetrate.

[bovine]

The prices are very high, some higher than retail.

There are a couple of games taht I would like to purchase on the service (viva pinata TiP and Ridge Racer), but they are put at a price point that I wold rather hunt for them on ebay instead. They just need to find a nice price point that makes people like me not do that and then they'll be fine. They finally have the behemoth Burnout Paradise up there and that is a steal at any price.

The convenience factor of not having to change discs is something that I would like, and since they are pricing these games too high, it's a convenience I will have to live without for a while.

Maybe they'll change the price point, maybe they won't. I don't think you are exactly their target market anyway, Zeus. Would you even buy games this way since they are not the physical discs?

[Zeus]

The convenience factor of not having to change discs is something that I would like, and since they are pricing these games too high, it's a convenience I will have to live without for a while.

Maybe they'll change the price point, maybe they won't. I don't think you are exactly their target market anyway, Zeus. Would you even buy games this way since they are not the physical discs?

It's convenient, yes. But essentially what you're doing is paying M$ for saving them money (they don't have to pay for the manufacturing of cases, discs, and manuals). It's no different than paying a bank a fee to use internet banking over tellers (since they can cut down hours and close down branches). That's a wonderful business model for the company but it's doing nothing but ass-fucking the consumer. You're paying more for a game that has far less value to it? Yeah, sign me up (sarcasm alert). Make no mistake about it, they are trying to use marketing bullshit to change the business model to better position their future income streams.

On a side note: the companies along the chicken supply chain did exactly this when the avian flu hit a few years ago. Back then, in Canada at least, you could regularly get boneless, skinless breasts for $2.99 a pound. "Regular" price was at most $4.99. Avian flu comes, they cry about supply constraints, and they raise it overnight to $7.99. Once the scare went, did you see the drop in prices? I don't think so. They used an overhyped, nothing scare to reset the market....all of them. Collusion at its best.

And I've said it many times, I WILL buy games without physical discs....for the right price. The value proposition is far different with a digital download than a physical media and the prices should reflect that. I had NO issues paying $10 for BC:Re-Armed and Mega Man 9. To me, those are $20 or $25 games on physical media. I would have probably paid $10 for Mirror's Edge as well (if it weren't so cheap in physical media). That's a pretty good price for a second-tier game even with the decreased value of a digital download. And the two GTA4 expansions for $40 on a disc vs the same price in download...AND you can sell your GTA4 since you don't need it anymore? Is there even a decision to be made there?

But you look at it now and they want you to pay $20 (US, it'll be $25 Cdn) for Burnout Paradise when I can get the physical disc for the same price or less used? Fuck that shit. And they want you to pay more for Bioshock or Oblivion than the double collection in stores? Yeah, that ain't fleecin' or tryin' to change the business model or anything. It's not even the fact that they're the same price or more of the new retail price, they're even ignoring the used market. That's borderline arrogance

[Kupek]

I wonder if the prices are not set lower than brick-and-mortar stores to avoid pissing off the retailers.

[SineSwiper]

I wonder if the prices are not set lower than brick-and-mortar stores to avoid pissing off the retailers.

The retailers can suck it. Microsoft owes them nothing. It's not like they are going to suddenly not carry 360 games.

[Julius Seeker]

Personally, I am against the idea of price dropping on games. It is absolutely terrible for the industry and consumer confidence in purchasing a product. Consumers will often be like "I want that game, but I will wait until the price drops" and then when the price does drop in 6-18 months after the marketing campaign has cooled, "Oh that game, well too bad, I am no longer interested." Case and point =P

If anything, they should do what the film industry has done, launch the games at a lower price, and then raise it to a regular and stable price 2 weeks to a month later. That would stimulate sales for impulse buyers and allow for a greater word-of-mouth boost in the hype process for long-term sales.

[Zeus]

I wonder if the prices are not set lower than brick-and-mortar stores to avoid pissing off the retailers.

That's something that Shane Kim actually mentioned was something that was a factor when moving to a digital distribution model. So it's very likely

And Seek, the industry needs to wake up and realize that not all games are worth $60 US / $70 Cdn and price (and budget) accordingly. You see a decent amount of it now, but it's not nearly enough. Katamari proved that tiered pricing is what people want.