Will we EVER get decent pricing for digital games from Microsoft (UK)?

It's probably been discussed before, but the pricing for digital games in the UK is .. to put it bluntly CRAP!

Most games are at least £10 - £15 more expensive to buy the digital version from the Xbox store, than it is to buy from pretty much everywhere else. (online delivered, or from in stores in the UK). So my question is... WHY?

Why after all these years are the prices still not competitive? Microsoft want to charge me more for a digital version, where there are no overheads, no middle man, no disc, no box, no instructions. Yet when marketing your Xbox One to me, you were pushing
the idea of going 'digital'. I mean, c'mon.....

I can only speak for myself here, but I'm not stupid... it doesn't seem like a great idea to give Microsoft some extra cash for a game that I can never trade in if I choose to. I can never sell it with my console IF I CHOOSE TO. (Me as a consumer, should
have these options after spending MY money). There is absolutely NO benefit whatsoever in me buying digital games, all the benefits go straight to you with the extra cash you're getting. The worst thing is, people actually pay these prices. WHY? WHYYYYYY do
you want to pay more for a game? Is it worth £10 - £15 just so you don't have to change discs?

I've been on Xbox since it started, and it's always been this way. But the thing that's made me post today is that I just noticed there is a 'deal with gold' where you are offering 50% off Titanfall (probably for a limited time). But guess what? IT IS STILL
MORE EXPENSIVE than if I were to buy it from anywhere else. That's a bit like a 'Buy one get one free' deal, but you pay twice as much for the 'one'. Ridiculous!

So my question is, WHYYYY do people pay these crazy prices? and will we ever see competitive pricing? I mean, in my world a digital game should not be £10 - £15 more than a disc version. It makes no sense. Oh, and while i'm having a rant: games should reduce
in price over time, not stay overpriced in the Microsoft store forever and a day, even when it's years old.

:)

 

£59.99 for watchdogs is a joke

yeah its only £44 in asda, so why are the digital copies not so priced?

in america they payed $59 for a digital copy add 20% import taxes for the uk ($12) and that leaves a digital game price of $72.

instead in the uk we are paying $101(£60).

where does microsoft get off charging us $28 (£13) extra for no good reason other that we live in a different country.

it's DISCRIMINATION from microsoft.

 

Xbox one

Digital Games will get cheaper:

Microsoft conducting Xbox One digital pricing experiment with Ryse sale

More competitive pricing for Xbox One downloads is "on the agenda"

 

Just wait until the gaming industry slowly weeds out physical copies and all games will need to be DD. For me, when I factor fuel cost to get to the local store, DD is a better deal. I know there is trade value but I have a slew of 360 games I never play
that are gathering dust. Only current games have trade value;why would I trade a game that just got released a month earlier? Usually I play these games for a couple months at least......

 

Go blow up all disc retailers (Amazon, Wal-Mart, Gamestop, etc.) then it might happen. They can't undercut physical media retailers...Why? Because they also sell the consoles. It is all about market leverage.

 

Until you can start up your console and buy a digital game from Amazon as easily as you can from the Xbox Store you'll never have cheaper digital prices.

 

I do not go digital often. Not a lot of benefit for me. If I want a game and do not want to spend on travel to get it (it is a 45 minute drive to the closest city that has anyplace that sells games) I can order online. And get 2 day shipping from most
places. And if it is a pre-order it will almost always be here day 1.

As for undercutting retail that is not happening at all. It is really not competitive in many ways. If retail is $30 how would matching that price be undercutting. And at least go $35 if you think it is. At least you would be close. But when digital
is the norm there will be many less sales. PC is not equivalent to consoles. The console makers will be able to hold prices up since there is not shelve space being taken up.

A good thing for devs, publishers, and console makers with digital is they are in complete control. They will be able to keep prices up, can control things you can do with them (think sell, trade, loaning), and generally have total control. With physical
I may not "own" it but I can at least loan the disc, trade it in, or even sell it.

 

^^^Problem with trying to match an individual retailer on their physical price is that the effort is not worth it. The lower price might be temporary, x retailer is selling at 29.99, y retailer at 29.50, which do you use? The physical market is constantly
moving and can roller coaster around a lot. Trying to keep up (especially globally) would not be worth it.

 

[quote user="Vaynel"]

Until you can start up your console and buy a digital game from Amazon as easily as you can from the Xbox Store you'll never have cheaper digital prices.

[/quote]

You can. Click a button and it's ordered, and delivered the next day from some places nowadays. You can't get easier than that.

 

Really?

So Amazon have a digital games storefront on the One do they?

I know I can buy physical discs like that but we are not discussing physical products but digital.

You should know this, you created the thread.

 

When all thre took 12 calbuer shotgun. Kill disc like old yellow.

 

@Veynal

You implied, or your thread implied that buying digital was easier than buying physical and hence that would be a reason to choose digital over physical. I highlighted that it's just as easy to buy physical. If that's not what you meant, then what did you
mean? It's easier to buy digital from Xbox than anywhere else? That's obvious, as nowhere else sells digital do they?

 

I fail to see how my post did that. Please explain how as I would genuinely like to know as I obviously wasn't clear.

My post said that one of the reasons that digital prices are so high is that there is no competition on the Xbox One digital storefront. I can not turn on a Xbox One and buy a digital game from Amazon and have it download to my console there and then.

 

@Vaynal

Ok, I get your point now, thanks for clearing that up. It's a fair point, however I still maintain that even though there is no competition for digital games, it would still be cheaper for them to sell us a digital game because of there being no disc, case,
manual etc etc. So we as consumers 'should' be buying them at a cheaper price.

I also don't get why you feel the need to be touchy/patronising (whatever you want to call it) in your messages? I'm not your enemy, we can discuss like adults if you'd care to try.

 

I pay the Crazy prices as i have Zero need for a Disc.