Xbox One Digital Game Prices Raised In EU

NowGamer: "There's been a lot of talk regarding high digital prices of games on the PS4 and the Xbox One, with Sony in particular coming in for criticism for high prices that have since been adjusted.

However, rather than lower their prices, Microsoft has now gone in the opposite direction, with the price of Xbox One exclusives Forza 5, Ryse: Son of Rome and Dead Rising 3 all being raised on the Xbox store."

[PrivateRyan]

This would be my main concern with an all-digital future - Microsoft controlling the prices and setting them far higher than you'd expect from physical copies

[ElementX]

Sony and Nintendo do the same thing, it's nothing new. Even their "sales" aren't much of a sale. Plus discounts are still ridiculous, saving maybe a few dollars.

[CRASHBASHUK]

no sony said the price of the games on the store is up to the publisher.
Sony don't set the prices as for Nintendo and Microsoft I am not sure if its the same

[jackanderson1985]

@crashbashuk sony set the prices of their published games but leave 3rd parties up to 3rd parties it's the same for MS... not sure on nintendo though

[HiddenMission]

@ElementX

That's total bs most of the deals are free games or $5 to $15 off. I've been a plus member since day one of the service and the deals are great. Hell Tomb Raider was on sale for 50% off.

You need to get your facts straight...that's why you have all of the disagrees.

[GutZ31]

Now that Sony has a deal with Amazon.com, there is competition in the PSN market place.
Prices will go down on everything, even if its by a few cents, but its good for consumers in the long run, with sales going on during holidays and the likes.

[dcj0524]

I got final fantasy XIV for $10 (usually $40) and Ni No Kuni for $9.70 ( usually $30). That is a sale.

[aCasualGamer]

At least Sony is providing us discounts via Playstation Plus while Microsoft raises their prices even after everyone has Xbox Live. If you ask me, that's a clear difference.

[jacksons98]

@ElementX
Two things:
Playstation Plus and Borderlands 2

[Naga]

Apparently Sony is still selling their digital games for more than retail?

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

Looks to be even more expensive than this supposed price hike in the UK.

[nypifisel]

They don't want to compete with the retailers in price on their online stores. It's really not to take customers from retailers cause that would piss them off.

[President]

You must be trolling or never used PS+, the sales are crazy, the discounts are more than just a few bucks, wtf are you talking about. Discounts range from a few bucks for games that cost less than 10 bucks or go upwards of 40 bucks discount for a new game.

[asmith2306]

It's up to the publishers unfortunately but I agree, digital game prices are extortionate.

[DragonKnight]

There's a lot of misinformation about these pricing issues.

First of all, the fact is that the Big 3 actually set pricing tiers for all 3rd party publishers. The publishers decide what their game is worth based on those tiers and set the price for the game accordingly.

Retail partners are also a factor for console digital games. If digital games on consoles are cheaper than their retail counterparts, then there would be no reason to purchase retail copies unless you like collector's editions or owning your game, which is something that flies out the window if there is a discount involved.

If the retail partners are shunned this way, they will threaten to stop supporting the publishers involved and cut off huge sources of revenue for said publishers. Until every publisher comes up with their own solution by having their own stores and own distribution networks for games and/or consoles, this facet won't be going away any time soon.

And finally, things like government laws and varying taxes have to also be taken into consideration. Many places don't consider digital items to be taxable because they aren't physical products, but there are likely places that don't hold that same idea about them.

So in the end, it isn't as cut and dry as "they want to charge more than retail and are greedy."

[mark134uk]

am i the only person that thought digital games would be cheaper than disc, as they save money on the disc and case?

[JasonKCK]

3rd party sets the price for their own games on all consoles. This isn't a MS vs Sony thing when the high prices are the same. So stop trying to 1up and defend the expensive digital prices on Live and PSN. Arguing about $80 vs $80 makes absolutely no since.

Steam is looking so good right now.

[MazzingerZ]

X1 was meant to force everyone all-digital, I assume that was considered in their revenues forecast for the console...I wonder how much was it adjusted after all 180s and what impact will have in future decisions?

[Kryptix]

@ElementX

lol You're delusional, and here's why.

Back in July, if you were a Plus member, you could get Max Payne 3: Ultimate Edition for only 12 bucks or 15 bucks without being a Plus member. And the Ultimate Edition comes with all the DLC.

http://www.junkiemonkeys.co...

http://us.playstation.com/g...

12 bucks for Max Payne 3 and all the DLC? That's a great deal right there.

Forward to now, aside from Borderlands 2 being free, there's a Christmas promotion going on.

You can get the Tomb Raider Bundle (Tomb Raider plus extra goodies and a free game, Quantum Conundrum that goes along with it) for 15 bucks even if you aren't a member.

Deal list for Week 2 oF December:

http://www.computerandvideo...

And there's the proof, only a blind person will deny it. :) I kinda doubt you read the responses, you hate to be proven wrong. lol

[user5575708]

first party games should be the cheapest. theres no developer to pay and theres no retailer to hike up the price.

take a lesson from steam...they LOWER prices

[JokesOnYou]

According to micro those "select" games launched at "promotional" prices and are now changed, still it's amazing how everyone overlooks they are still cheaper than sonys 1st party games but it's OK I'll say it:

"Even after the price revision, Xbox One's exclusive digital titles are still less expensive than Sony's PS4 equivalents. PlayStation exclusives Knack and Killzone Shadow Fall, for example, retail in the UK for £53." -CVG
http://www.computerandvideo...

That said digital should be cheaper but I think it has more to to do with Euro laws and retailer competition.

[kayoss]

They say going digital will be better, they say going digital will save you money, they say going digital will translate to cheaper games because the cost of blu ray discs and cases will be obsolete. All BS!

[BabyTownFrolics]

who said that? seriously I don't remember anyone saying that digital copies of new games would be cheaper.

[KiRBY3000]

@baby

common sense said that.

[dcj0524]

It's true. Look at steam. The big three are just playing catch up. Sony just had a fantastic holiday sale but we need sales like that monthly.

[nukeitall]

Ironically, digital games would have been cheaper under MS old digital only model. Why?

Retail games would have been digital, but with a disc (you don't need) and a case. This means, whatever retailers do now with sales, or off loads to their games, they would have done to the digital copies back then.

Because people screamed so hard we don't want that, we are back to the old de-facto standard. Almost any game on console found digital on *ANY* platform is cheaper in physical form than digital.

Even Sony admits, they cannot undermine retail:

"First of all, we want to support a healthy retail channel, so it's not in our interest to go and seriously undermine retail."

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

MS was increasing competition, forcing themselves to lower prices, and allow a third party digital market where each individual user could re-sell their digital games. Thanks to a lot of mis-informed whiners, we went back to the defacto standard of getting screwed.

Remember, actual cost of manufacturing and production, as well as getting it to you is for the most part independent of the sale cost. Ask Coach handbags, why their product cost so much?

[JeffGUNZ]

@ Nuketail

You are completely spot on with that and the fact you have 7 disagrees shows how one-sided this site is. MS original strategy would have saved consumers money, but people here want to bash MS for anything that they cried and cried and cried until MS had to change their policy. MS was moving forward and people, especially on this site, can't adapt to that. Allowing users to be part of their friends and family group and share content was brilliant. I find the most ironic part here is everyone on this site apparently has a gaming PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and X1, and have a good internet connection, yet were still against it. Gaming is a privilege, not a right, and the whining from people who just wanted to bash MS lead to gamers going back to the standard old way of gaming.

Luckily, MS will be pushing digital download and when internet connection per househould increase more over the next several years, you'll see them start adding the great stuff they were going to do.

[Kayant]

@nukeitall

Really we are back to that again even after this....

"Retail games would have been digital, but with a disc (you don't need) and a case. This means, whatever retailers do now with sales, or off loads to their games, they would have done to the digital copies back then.

Because people screamed so hard we don't want that, we are back to the old de-facto standard. Almost any game on console found digital on *ANY* platform is cheaper in physical form than digital"

That means their distribution system was basically the same as it is today considering you were still going to be buying games in disc form before installing them to your HDD & the disc being useless there after. So where was manufacturing, production, licensing and distribution cost going to be save to offer these lower prices?

"MS was increasing competition, forcing themselves to lower prices, and allow a third party digital market where each individual user could re-sell their digital games. Thanks to a lot of mis-informed whiners, we went back to the defacto standard of getting screwed"

Where did they announce plans for these things? And before you say people were crying so they couldn't. These are the things they should have talked about from the beginning if they were going to be changing their policies to such a degree but they didn't meaning that was probably not in their plans.

"allow a third party digital market where each individual user could re-sell their digital games". Hmmm.... There was NO support for the reselling, renting of games at launch and the only thing we could do was after 30-days of someone being on your friend's list you could gift them a game forever. And you talk about misinformation when it was MS who started it with all their execs saying different things.

[nypifisel]

@dcj0524

You wont ever see that I'm afraid. There really are no comparison to steam here; Steam is on an open platform which has competition. The console platform holders can't compete with retailers (which have a high price) cause they wield too much power in terms of sales. This haven't been the case on PC for a very long time. I believe Sony, MS and all the publishers would love to go more digital cause it saves them a lot of money, but due to reasons stated above it wont happen too soon.

[Mr Pumblechook]

It's a real shame that Microsoft reversed their policy of keeping digital prices in line with physical copies. However Xbone customers can choose to buy disc games so they still have a choice. God help us when they go all digital...

[supes_24]

The day gaming goes all digital is the day I may consider to stop gaming.

[buynit]

I just don't understand why DD games have to cost the same as retail it's just pure greed IMO. I will say though I do have 3 DD games and I love how I can go from game to game and that some what makes up for it..

However... I will never pay more then 60$ for a game online, ever.. I don't care how much extra content it will have I will never go over 60 for DD games.

[Naga]

Is this just in the UK or something? I ask, because I just hopped on my Xbox to confirm this story, and the prices are exactly as they have always been - identical to retail across the board.

I understand wanting digital games to be cheaper (they should be, after all) but at this moment, I don't know what the story is on about.

[PrivateRyan]

'Forza 5, Ryse and Dead Rising 3 were all previously priced at £44.99, but are now on sale for £49.99.'

It seems like it's UK only atm, yeah

[Naga]

Yeah, I see what the article is saying with that, but I think I would at least appreciate

1) a modification of the title so as not to mislead, and;
2) some independent verification that this is true.

[Volkama]

Yup I could have sworn I'd seen Forza 5 at 44.99 before buying it for 49.99.

I think that's the RRP, but I don't follow such things closely. I prefer my games to cost a few quid (thanks Steam!).

[GirlOnFire]

Is Microsoft stupid? I know Sony gives a little plus discount while Nintendo keeps it at the steady price. Nintendo at least adds up and discounts eventually.

[Rustynail]

Are you stupid? There are discounts on Xbox Live too and constantly free games for gold members, does Nintendo even do that? Do they even let you transfer your digital content from Wii 1 to Wii U? The reason for the digital prices being high is mainly due to the retailers.

[KonsoruMasuta]

@Rustynail, games with gold gives you nothing but terrible arcade games or games you could go out and buy for 2 bucks at your local GameStop. The deals on XBL aren't that great either.

Although I agree with you, Nintendo doesn't do any of that stuff.

[JackISbacK]

they still the same on both and i hope that the digital games prices get lower as soon as it can ,i personally dont use to buy digital versions and use to buy physical versions because of just 2mb/p connection ,wherre game like ryse of about 48gb can take very long and therre are also issues wityh data availability at such spped i use to get upto 30gb of downloading with the speed of 2mb/s and then automatically converts to ultra slow 512kb/s unlimited for every month,but i hope one day i will buy digital versions and i hope these versions to be chaper at that time.

[bicfitness]

With a lower overall install base than their main competitor and more difficulty in shaving down the price (remember even without Kinect their COM is around $400), you can expect MS to seek any and every way to monetize their fanbase further.

[JessiePinkmanYo]

PrivateRyan-BINGO! A lot of supporters of all digital purchases pointed to Steam saying XBL will be run like that. Evidence points to the opposite, and MS never gave us reason to believe it would be like Steam. For all we know, they may have had an Apple store approach to gaming-buy or get an incomplete game on the cheap, laden with micro transactions to advance (Candy Crush). Also, any game you purchase as digital is always the same as retailers in XB live.
I'm not just picking on MS, Apple or any company in particular here. Sony, Nintendo could very well do the same

[stavrami-mk2]

nothing to worry about there then .an all digital future is a million miles away

[Gamer1982]

And PC digital titles are half the price of physical media with new games coming out around £20 mark compared to console digital titles at triple price £60..

[Soc5]

Also they've never really explained why digital costs the same as physical.
Early on when digital was just starting one of the selling points of companies going digital was prices could be cheaper. Did I miss that? What happened?

How does a digital copy with no material or distribution costs cost the same? Come on pass the customer some damn crumbs!

[TheSaint]

Not to blow my own trumpet but I saw this coming, this was the main reason I was against DRM because MS would hold a monopoly and abuse it.

The dicks.

[cleft5]

It's funny because everyone kept saying how Microsoft was going to do the whole Steam deal thing. Instead they are doing the exact opposite and raising the prices on digital content.

[HastaLaVista]

Sony does the same, infact sonys exclusives are 53quid which are even higher that ms. Its all bullshit tbh. Digital games shud be cheaper fact! This isnt a xbox thing its across the board. And its very annoying regarding what console u have. So stop bitching bout microsoft being the only ones that does it

[Perjoss]

An all digital future where companies think they can charge what they like for games, even games that have been out for a long time is going to bring back rampant piracy, trust me.

[NatureOfLogic]

Why some gamers are still supporting MS Xbox One is beyond me. MS only want an all digital future to screw the consumer and receive maximum profit. I can't support that. This is why we'll always need a physical copy option. I see services like steam trying to do it right, then greedy corporations like MS come along.

[IanVanCheese]

Can you actually lose all your bubbles?

[KingDadXVI]

Unfortunately it does not seem that it is possible. Ah well we can always dream.

[Pope_Kaz_Hirai_II]

IanVanCheese + 3h ago
Can you actually lose all your bubbles?

idiot.

[thrust]

Support them because i think the xbox one is one great bit of kit :)

money comes and goes i wanted the tech.

[FunAndGun]

You wanted to yell commands at your box?

I don't get it.

[Naga]

Speaking voice works perfectly, FunAndGun. And yes, some of us like to be able to say two words and have everything in our living room spring to life. It's f*cking cool.

[thrust]

Sounds like you have not used or set ups yours correct!

allways comes down to user error!

its ok just some people can not do things right, ask your dad or a friend to help you.

[MikeGdaGod]

like i told my cousin when he bought his xbone home and called me raving about the voice controls....."sounds like you paid $500 for a remote" :-/

[ragincrinz]

just want to jump in here and say im works great to love it. watch a film at loud volume and I can just say xbox pause and it picks me out and pauses. I don't need my pad to watch a film and I don't need to shout for it to pick me up over a loud tv. it works amazingly

[Darrius Cole]

No you don't....support the Xbox because you think it is a great piece of kit, I mean. Both of the last two Xboxes (Bone and 360) have been demonstrably worse pieces of kit than their competition. In the case of the Xbone it's worse kit at a higher price. So, unless you are one of those guys who think that all new kit is good kit, supporting the Xbox because you think it's good kit is not going to be the case.

You may support them because you support all game consoles.
You may support them because because you are now invested in Xbox Live.
You may support them simply because you have an emotionally soft spot for Microsoft and/or the Xbox.

But you don't support the Xbox because you think they make good kit. Or at least you didn't think they had good kit UNTIL AFTER you became an Xbox supporter.

[FunAndGun]

Hey, if you want to spend extra money to speak commands and be cool that is obviously your right.

You can say two words and have your living room spring to life. I will stick with keeping $100 and hitting one button on my remote.

I'm sitting here thinking, what makes it a "great bit of kit" or "i wanted the tech."

I could understand if you support them because:

-You like the games on Xbox One
-You have a large gamerscore that you don't want to give up
-You prefer the controller
-You like the color green

But saying its because of the tech just blows my mind. The things design is sloppy at best. Look at the insides of the machine, how its built, the extra space inside, the large powerbrick outside.

What tech did you want? the ability to speak commands? the ability to snap? the ability to scan the re-up card on your Live account?

[malokevi]

"I could understand if you support them because:

-You like the games on Xbox One
-You have a large gamerscore that you don't want to give up
-You prefer the controller
-You like the color green

But saying its because of the tech just blows my mind. The things design is sloppy at best. Look at the insides of the machine, how its built, the extra space inside, the large powerbrick outside.

What tech did you want? the ability to speak commands? the ability to snap? the ability to scan the re-up card on your Live account? "

^^

Yes, all of that, and a PS4. Why is it that Playstation fans always want us to explain our decision to them? As if we need to justify why we got an Xbox to you! Who cares? It's a functional machine with some cool tech that plays great games and does other nifty media function for 500 bucks. Could have ripped that off an Xbox add. All the explanation that is needed.

Doesn't matter what we say, your just going to criticize and nitpick, followed by a Sony plug. Little realizing that none of us have anything against Sony, and many of us have Playstations!

Life, it's a funny little thing, aint it?

[GirlOnFire]

If you wanted tech should of gone with PS4. I'll see you on the battlefield when you do! Unless you want that Kinect...it scans your bones. Is that why everyone calls it Xbone? I'm serious is it because of that? I never call it that. ^~^

[Gekko36]

@Darrius Cole - WOW

How dare you tell someone their own mind.

If you don't like Xbox, don't buy it, don't talk about it and don't dare tell someone that their decision was based on some jaded misinformation, idiocy or emotional weakness.

I could say the same thing about your decision to adopt the PS4 citing reasons as Brand Loyalty, Blind devotion, Blind love of the Japanese etc... but I won't.

On Topic: I agree all DD should be cheaper than physical versions, due to lack of VAT and manufacturing costs. All companies are guilty of this.

However I do recognise that MS tried to push us down this road. Which I was happy about. Cutting out the retail arms is a brilliant idea and you can only hope that more of the revenue goes back to the developers. Happy developers = better games for gamers.

@GirlOnFire - PS4 owners call it xbone because it suggests the xbox one is for penis's. But thats only coming from Sony fans. Kinect does identify your skeletal structure but not by scanning your bones only creates a skeleton structure on your form. Though it can work out if your happy, sad or angry or frustrated. Quite useful if you want to make the game harder or scarier for the player.

I was quite surprised that MS fans don't call the PS4 the Praystation

[Gamer666]

I just went to the PS4 online store in the UK and Knack is 52.99...

So who is the real gouger for digital sales?

[ragincrinz]

bf4 on xbox one is 55 its a joke

[malokevi]

I still support them just to piss you off, Nature. It's funny to me.

yay Microsoft! :D

[Volkama]

Missed opportunity. You could have championed your precious overlords, as Sony's approach to digital is actually hugely important for the digital consumer.

Amazon digital store. Competition. That is genuinely good "4 the gamers".

[JeffGUNZ]

Uh, what? Digital Download is great. If the standard cost of a game is $60 for the disk, $60 for DD is absolutely fair. DD also brings convenience. Would you rather put on your coat in the cold month of December, go to gamestop at midnight, wait in line, get the game, then go home and play it, or just sit on your coach and download it? DD also removes any worries of the disc causing issues. The system won't eat discs, or your disc wont scratch and be unplayable because it's digital download.

it's just like music, once you buy the game, you own it, whether you delete it when your done and want to redownload it in the future. Of course, like everything their are pros and cons, but DD is great to most tech. savy people. MS will not increase the cost of a game if it's DD, if you really think that, then your either too far gone and just wish everything bad for MS, or your just not very intelligent.

Also, stop with this "MS is greedy" crap. I'm sorry, MS wants to make money, but Sony is doing it for pure joy and bliss? Explain why Sony is now charging for PSN?! They want to make money, they want to make PSN up to LIVE standards, which it is now, and that will also bring them more money. Every single corporation is greedy, that's how they got to where they are. I personally can't wait for all digital download from MS.

[JessiePinkmanYo]

DD is fine, but so is the option of owning a physical copy. I want the freedom to do both (and yes) for the reason of being able to trade in a game when I'm done OR if it's a steaming pile. I'm also sorry, but a DD SHOULD be cheaper than a physical copy, OR include some type of extras or incentives. A physical copy sold through retail (also gets a cut) plus manufacturing and delivering a product costs more than a DD. Also-brick and mortar stores compete, sometimes selling the games at a loss just to get us in the store.
I own all 3 consoles, but had MS not 180 that decision, it would've been two. I like the X1s exclusives, and I prefer my FPS' on Xbox, but they're on thin ice with me.

[indysurfn]

Yeah I'm with you on that. If Microsoft is charging the same, or even more for digital when they have physical as competition, what will they do when you don't have a cheaper choice!? In fact think what they will do when you have NO choice.

The retail store gets a nice profit when they sell at the suggest retail price. Microsoft should at LEAST cut that amount out. Now they are making their regular profit PLUS the retailers physical product profit. Plus you lose $20 dollars because you cant resale it. In fact their expenses is for downloading not a manual, case, blu-ray disc, manufacturing ,shipping, and returns. They could cut these also, and get even more sales but greed stops them.

It only cost about $40 dollars to store 15 LARGE games to a server. A 500 gig hard drive could have 15 LARGE games, and you only have to do it ONCE! There expenses are sub penny. Because each of those 15 games will be sold and downloaded thousands of times.