Buying Digital vs. Physical on Consoles.

Towards the end of the previous generation of consoles I, like many others, found myself being drawn more and more to PC gaming. The ability to connect through HDMI to my big screen TV, controller support for most games, and improved versions of games were huge selling points. One thing that really increased its value however, was the competitive pricing of digital games. I have a library of close to 200 games on Steam and all told paid about 40-50% of the value I would have paid had I bought it as physical media on day 1. When the new consoles came out I was pleased with the increased push towards digital distribution that all 3 companies were endorsing. It felt like more and more we were moving into a PC based mindset. Being able to access and massive library of games instantly, while freeing up my cabinet space was a great prospect so I enthusiastically went out and bought a PS4, XBO, and Wii U. To this day I have not bought a game from any of these platforms physically. I decided to go full digital, almost unquestioningly. However, I am noticing a problematic issue. While the instant access and lack of physical copies still exist the benefits of competitive pricing seem to be a major turnoff. I am noticing that these companies do not drop the price on these games months, and months after they have been released. However, just like the last generation their physical counterparts drop their price fairly quickly and dramatically. Here are a couple examples:

Now I don't want to seem like a cheap, stingy person. I have a disposable income and can afford to buy games at a full price. I also would like to make sure that the money I spend on these games goes directly to the developer and I don't have to deal with an intermediary. Regardless of income, however, I want to get the best value for my games. To be asked to buy a game at the full price point when I can save 30-40% on the price by buying the physical copy the case for digital purchasing is becoming harder for me to make on games unless it is going to be a Day 1 purchase. What do you guys think? I would like to hear your opinions and position on this

Sometimes the physical one is cheaper. Sometimes the digital one is cheaper (well, mostly on PC).

Buy the cheaper one.

You don't have to choose between all-digital or all-physical.

(Also, while you do cut out a bit of the middleman by going digital, it's not like digital storefronts cost nothing and aren't worked into the publisher-console holder deals. Less money spent on lighting, more money spent on server racks. Less money spent on custodians, more money spent on customer service.)

Physical is often cheaper early on (aka first year) due to it being sold by retailers/resellers. The retailer can mark it down if they want to move units/make money on a stock they're sitting on, as the retailer doesn't make their money if the unit doesn't sell (they paid the publisher/store already for the stock of copies they get). Digital copies don't really have that problem, so they can leave it as is, knowing that all they're doing is not getting money, or that people will run to it immediately.

I usually go physical if I feel there may be some collecting value/sentimental value (or has cool extras like Witcher 2 did). Otherwise, go where ya can get it cheaper. Heck, I wait on some games just because I know a price drop will come.

In all honesty, these days games fall in value relatively quick (you can often find them 30-50% off in some format within the first year). Usually, most publishers poop out mass quantities of copies so a game isn't hard to find, and therefore not going to rise in value. The challenge comes if it's a popular game in a limited print run/no digital (like MGS Legacy collection, Xenoblade Chronicles, or Metroid Prime Trilogy - yes I know these got reprinted....). Personally, I'd like to see more deals on digital games. PSN and XBOX Live have made huge leaps on this one in the last year, but there's a ways to go. Heck, even the free games for (insert service here) subscribers helps offset some of that cost too in some cases. Either way, it sucks when I can go out and buy a game for $20, and see it for $50 digitally when I get home, but I also had to put on pants, so I guess everyone loses?

I actually went into this generation fully expecting to continue to buy mostly physical, because last gen there was little added benefit for me to buy digital over physical. But I have yet to actually buy a physical copy of a game for my PS4, because it's so quick and easy to buy digital. Not to mention it seems like you have to install the full game either way.

However one of the bigger reasons I've been sticking to digital is actually the pricing. Not having to pay for shipping usually ends up saving me money in the end, and I don't have to wait for it to ship either. I could see it being more of a problem once these consoles are a little older and there's more options for discounts, but I have yet to buy a game where that was an issue at the time of purchase. If I can save money buying physical then I will though.

I'll always prefer physical over digital. Even if the physical version costs significantly more, I'd still buy it.

I agree and I don't plan on swinging completely one way or the other However, I am curious as to why this discrepancy exists.

I never buy digital on consoles.

The DRM requirements are too stringent (this applies to AAA PC as well), leaving me feeling like I'm just paying for a rental. Not only that, but for larger games like Killzone: Shadow Fall, the bandwidth requirements are enormous.

There are many factors to consider that games journalists won't talk about because it's usually... covered for them.

@brodehouse said:

This is my philosophy as well.

@madman356647: That's true but it still seems strange to me. Steam has massive sales all the time and from what I understand it is because they allow the developers to determine the price point of their games. These developers and publishers can analyze the sales of their games and lower the price to boost sales. If a developer keeps the digital price of a game at the same price point for months on end while the physical price continues to drop then their profit margin seems to diminish for me. I'll go back to Wolfenstein as an example. That game is $40 on Amazon. Now how much of that goes to the publisher and developer? From what I have seen on several websites that number can range from 40-50% when taking into consideration the cost of pressing discs, shipping costs, distribution costs, etc. So the developer would get anywhere from $16-20. If they lowered that game online to $40 and their cut was anywhere from 60-70% then they would now make $24-30 off of that same game. This is obviously a terrible analysis of the issue and there are a number of factors that I'm sure I am not even considering. However, I have found that a competitive pricing model allows games that normally would not sell well at the traditional $60 price point find new life and greater success at a lower price range. The PC industry understands this and it seems like it may just take a while for consoles to catch up.

Although you argument for no pants is pretty convincing.

I buy whatever version is cheapest. Sometimes thats a new copy on Amazon, and sometimes that's a digital version on the marketplace. Whatever is the best deal.

It's kinda weird to straddle between the physical and digital worlds with my purchases, but it's what you usually have to do to get the best deals. Like I'll buy ebooks for my Kindle when Amazon has their monthly sale, and then I'll buy used paper books when I can get a good deal on them. It's the same with games. Half of my collection is digital, half of it's physical, but I'm saving money.

What DRM requirements are you referring to on the consoles? I'm with you if you're talking last generation, some of the PS3 stuff was broken and I did get into a few tricky spots until the 360 let you transfer the license over to newer consoles. But at this point on the newer consoles to be honest it actually feels like you're paying for a rental when you have to toss in the disc. Nothing screams DRM like not being able to play your installed version of the physical game you own simply because it's still on the shelf, while the digital games fire up no questions asked. My wife can play them. They work offline. I haven't had any DRM issues in years at this point. It's probably worth pointing out that every physical disc is loaded with DRM, and according to the EULAs it's always on loan. You're always buying a license to play it, you're never actually owning anything. I'll take the actual benefits of having all my games ready to launch when I want them over the mental benefits of feeling like I own a plastic disc I really don't any day.

The bandwidth is another issue entirely. If the horrid Comcast ever gets around to enforcing those bandwidth limits that they keep threatening it would put me in a lot less forgiving mood.