160°

Price Wars: PSN vs Amazon

The GC Spotlight turns its ever invading beam to the direction of Sony’s PSN store. Can the PSN store beat the largest online retailer, Amazon, when it comes to game prices?

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gamingcapacity.com
Godchild10204172d ago (Edited 4172d ago )

PSN as more of an obligation to the publishers than Amazon, Bestbuy, Target does. All those other stores also sell other products than Video Games, so they can cut prices on certain games and merchandise.

It's the same with Marketplace and Wiiware. We don't see it as much because they don't see as many retail games on their store as we do on the PSN.

This is opinion, not fact. As least I think so.

Double_O_Revan4171d ago

Even still, it blows my mind that developers set digital prices at full retail price with little relief. A digital copy should sell, in my opinion, for No Less then $10 Below the physical copy price. With no packaging, shipping, or retailer cuts, the cost of delivering a game digitally is much cheaper.

Maybe I don't understand the economics of it. But I would think that digital have a higher profit margin and would therefore be a more desirable way of distribution.

I would like to buy many PS3 games digitally, if they were priced closer to Steam game prices.

plmkoh4171d ago

"Maybe I don't understand the economics of it."

Most don't, but this is why:

Try to understand the concept of utility and value-adding activity. Delivery and packaging add no value to a product because they aren't the product itself, therefore because they aren't worth anything, removing them should't change the the price. A physical game vs a digital game should have exactly the same utility because they both play exactly the same and you end up with the same enjoyment. This is exactly why Publishers have been putting in online-passes, to remove utility out of used games.

Thinking about it like that is why often digital games aren't priced any different to physical stock. If you value packaging for collection purposes, that's extrinsic value you yourself have priced as an emotional response.

brish4171d ago

"A physical game vs a digital game should have exactly the same utility because they both play exactly the same and you end up with the same enjoyment."
- plmkoh

Yeah that's nice but it has nothing to do with consumers.

Most consumers think digital games should be cheaper but they are not so they don't buy digital. End of story. Any theory of economics doesn't mean anything if it doesn't match consumers purchasing habits.

Double_O_Revan4171d ago

"A physical game vs a digital game should have exactly the same utility because they both play exactly the same and you end up with the same enjoyment."
- plmkoh

Value of a game doesnt mean anything to Publishers either, when compared to Profitability. If they can make a higher margin on digital, then they will. And probably are with charging full price for the digital version. But until pricing for those games becomes more reasonable, I don't see digital taking over.

Lovable4172d ago (Edited 4172d ago )

Craigslist. Brand new games cost a lot cheaper

AIndoria4172d ago (Edited 4172d ago )

WTF is this I don't even...

ScubaSteve14171d ago

amazon. they dont charge tax unless you live in a state that does

Godchild10204171d ago

PSN doesn't charge tax unless you live in a state that does. At least for me in New York.

icewater854171d ago (Edited 4171d ago )

If you use psn cards to buy stuff , you can put in an address from a state that doesn't charge tax, so you can avoid the sales tax if you are not using a credit card.

Canary4171d ago

Amazon routinely has sales.
They also have release-date shipping.
Kind of a no-contest thing. Like comparing Origin to Steam. Sure, you can try to compare the two, but why bother?

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90°

10 Weirdest Video Games of All Time

Plenty of unforgettable games have completely messed up their players throughout the years, all the way back from the PS1 days to the dark recesses of the modern internet.

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culturedvultures.com
JonTheGod22h ago

Why are the Katamari games not on the list??

130°

70 percent of devs unsure of live-service games sustainability

With so many games fighting for players' attention and interest losing out over time, time sink games are at risk of eventually losing steam.

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gamedeveloper.com
thorstein1d 19h ago

It was worrisome to begin with.

It's a niche genre with only a handful of hits that can stand the test of time.

Cacabunga22h ago

I like the sound of that!! I will for sure never support these gaas games.
Sony must be shocked at gamer's reaction, making them cancel a few of these and hopefully go back to the good heavy hitters they had us used to..
now bring on that PSPro reveal and show us some SP 1st party awesomeness.

CrimsonWing691d 18h ago

What’s to be unsure of!? Look at the ratio of success to failure!

DarXyde1d 1h ago

It's pretty ridiculous.

Imagine having a breadth of data at your disposal to see the statistically low success rate of these games, only to be laser focused on the exceptional case studies.

shinoff21831d 17h ago

Yes. Stop all the live service bs.

jznrpg1d 17h ago

Only a few will catch on. You need a perfect storm to be successful in GaaS and a bit of luck on top of that. But a potential cash cow will keep them trying and some will go out of business because of it.

MIDGETonSTILTS171d 16h ago

Helldivers 2 manages just fine…

Keep production costs low… don’t just make custscenes until the mechanics and enemies are perfected first.

Make so much content that you can drip extra content for years, and the game already feels complete without them.

Most importantly: make weapons, enemies, levels, and mechanics that will stand the test of 1000 hours. This might require more devs embracing procedurally generated leveled, which I think separates Helldivers 2 from Destiny’s repetitiveness.

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60°

The Battle Pass Is The Worst Thing To Happen To Modern Gaming

Nameer from eXputer: "Some exceptions aside, I don't think the battle pass is a net positive for gaming with how they're implemented in most live service titles."

got_dam1d 21h ago

Battle passes AND meta gaming both.

DivineHand1251d 19h ago (Edited 1d 19h ago )

I like the way Helldivers 2 does battle passes. It allows you to make purchases on each level of the battle pass and gives you the option of choosing which item to unlock first. The more purchases you make using medals the further you progress. There is no timer and you can earn medals towards purchasing stuff via personal orders and Major orders.

I haven't played much live service games that have battle passes but I remember some games that have battle passes where you progress through it linearly using an exp system. What makes it really bad is that the battle pass will have like 50 or more levels with the cooler stuff being closer to the end. They also have an in-game shop that sells exp boosters so you can reach the end of the pass before it refreshes. Everyone ilse will have to grind their way through.

lucian2291d 18h ago

battle pass in fortnite is perfect; buy one and it buys the rest for every other season as it gives you more money than the first cost. so 8.50 and season ends with you getting 13.00, it pays for the next and you have some pocket change to save up for cash shop. All of which is optional