Otakumegane
Member
More like they try to establish that they are trying to aim for a higher moral ground or something and blaming it on society's fault that their profits are dropping.
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GameStop Worried Digital Games Are Too Cheap
- Thread starter Avallon
- Start date
It's utterly outrageous. Even more so when you read these companies moaning that these games are "cheap". Who sets the digital price of console games is it the pub?
Because I wanted to have the convenience of GTAV digitally I had to pay £54.99 for the 'pleasure'. And that's with no resale value.
UK Gamestop sell GTAV for XB1 and PS4 for £41.97. Most brick and mortar stores sell it for less than £44 pounds.
And digital games are "cheap" fuck them.
It's crazy because I've seen that somewhere between 10%-25% of console games are sold digital depending on the title. That explains why most publishers and platform holders aren't really pushing digital like they should other than EA. Obviously that number will go up as the generation goes on and we'll see some real change.
That is very bad news for Gamestop, they just missed their earnings by less than 1% this quarter and the stock took a big hit. This is the first of many for the company, they're moving lots of low margin hardware, but the 20-30% they lose in higher margin software sales probably isn't coming back ever. With less overall next gen physical releases, less software sales, and less used inventory it will be hard for them to stay profitable. They're done it's just a matter of how long their inevitable decline takes.
It'd be nice if prices did actually come down on digital games too but I doubt it will happen. Either way good riddance to that fuckin place and all their pre-order and pushing a used copy I don't want for $5 less bullshit.
VaultBoy101
Member
With the way pricing of digital games on consoles has been handled so far, Gamestop doesn't have much to worry about on that front. I still buy a physical copy of almost every game even though I'd rather have digital, because the price difference between the two is too great to ignore in almost every case.
Brerlappin
Member
For fuckin real? Have they seen the price of games on PSN? Everything is still ludicrously priced. You might save 5 bucks vs store price on big name games, but thats it.
Steam is where the real deals are, and GS barely bother stocking PC games anymore, so no loss for them.
Steam is where the real deals are, and GS barely bother stocking PC games anymore, so no loss for them.
ThoughtsOfSpeaking
Banned
Exactly. This is why they are invoking Nintendo who are also self-serving with their "industy health" comments.
IxmagicmanIx
Member
Sometimes the first post gets it just right.
Hamster Plugin
Member
Posts like this make me wonder if you're actually comparing Steam on sale versus PSN not on sale. Because Steam is terrible when there's no sale.
Steam prices are at least relatively comparable to retail, though, even when there is no sale (and they are incredibly cheap when there is one)
To use the latest COD as an example, I can get it on Steam for £40, on PC at GAME for £40, on Xbox One/PS4 at GAME for £48, or I can shell out £55 for the Digital Version on Xbox Live. Digital pricing on console is laughable at best when even Games price is better
Hamster Plugin
Member
The latest COD currently is 60!! on Steam, which is absolutely fucking ludicrous, compared to retailers that are charging 45-50. You Brits have it easy.
PuppetSlave
Member
COD and other games from that unnamed publisher are an outlier on steam, not the norm though.
Especially the way they price older titles.
^Unbelievable.
I will say at least to be fair on console, Microsofts recent digital pricing has been pretty good in the UK, about £45 for titles which is relatively comparable to retailers, it really seems to be up to the publisher. Ubisoft seem to charge £60 for new titles. But I still really shouldn't have bought MCC off Xbox Live...
I will say at least to be fair on console, Microsofts recent digital pricing has been pretty good in the UK, about £45 for titles which is relatively comparable to retailers, it really seems to be up to the publisher. Ubisoft seem to charge £60 for new titles. But I still really shouldn't have bought MCC off Xbox Live...
Xenoflare
Member
Why of course, it's eating their used game sales.
When I visted one in back in Oct I was really confused by a guy who spent $55 for a used copy for GTA V for 360.....
It's a shame since the knowledgable and friendly staff at my local branch pretty much all left, can't blame them for leaving.
But I digress, their prices were never competitive, hell in Canada brand new games "enjoy" a constant $5 boost compared to other retailers, they do it mostly on niche games. When I was shopping with my friend there she wanted to grab FFX HD and I told her to check the best buy cross the street, and guess what? She found a sealed copy $5 cheaper at BB.
In Canada there is also no tax on the PSN store for some reason, apparently it has something to do with Sony not having a Canadian branch, it's a small insentive from the otherwise slow price drops. People can save more than 10% depending on location.
When I visted one in back in Oct I was really confused by a guy who spent $55 for a used copy for GTA V for 360.....
It's a shame since the knowledgable and friendly staff at my local branch pretty much all left, can't blame them for leaving.
But I digress, their prices were never competitive, hell in Canada brand new games "enjoy" a constant $5 boost compared to other retailers, they do it mostly on niche games. When I was shopping with my friend there she wanted to grab FFX HD and I told her to check the best buy cross the street, and guess what? She found a sealed copy $5 cheaper at BB.
In Canada there is also no tax on the PSN store for some reason, apparently it has something to do with Sony not having a Canadian branch, it's a small insentive from the otherwise slow price drops. People can save more than 10% depending on location.
Hamster Plugin
Member
It's not just COD. Some games are a bit cheaper at €50, but then the retail copies for these particular games are down to €40. Steam is consistently higher priced than retail across all publishers.
It seems that UK is getting strange "Brit discounts" on Steam, but if you are paying in Euros, Steam is the worst place to buy PC games in (outside sales).
It seems that UK is getting strange "Brit discounts" on Steam, but if you are paying in Euros, Steam is the worst place to buy PC games in (outside sales).
Starwolf_UK
Member
Just a PSA. A gamasutra take on the same studies had a thread posted on GAF a few days ago. I thought I had subscribed to that but can't find it.
Here is my thought on the issue. Do AAA games even have a future is their average selling price is $23. Remember these games now have teams of around 1000 strong and you have ones like GTA which are basically designed to last the best part of a gen (some expansions will be made to extend their life) and ones like AC and CoD which are yesterday's news in less than a year. When you look at it like that AC and CoD are their own worst enemies and are essentially devaluing themselves and eventually the industry needs to wake up to a better model.
It is easy to paint Gamestop as "oh noes if it is $22 then they won't be able to sell it for $55 after paying $6.26 credit" and in part that exaggerated example is true (Gamestop only pay you how much your game is worth to them conservatively rounded down of course, if they have lots of a game and are unlikely to sell why should pay out the $40 credit they would have done on day 1) and it is a lot easier to blame your product than it is to blame yourself. For example, do we really need a small town to have 3 stores, there is this strange fantasy that all the customers from 2 of those stores will just vanish if you do that (I imagine some will due to shopping at a more convenient location) but as a specialist Gamestop should be relying on range of stock sold and advice (ha the only advice you get is buy pre-owned and buy the card and pre-order too) rather than price to compete.
But as for games being given out for free of PS Plus etc there is a different dynamic there of trying to get people to subscribe and keeping people subscribed.
Here is my thought on the issue. Do AAA games even have a future is their average selling price is $23. Remember these games now have teams of around 1000 strong and you have ones like GTA which are basically designed to last the best part of a gen (some expansions will be made to extend their life) and ones like AC and CoD which are yesterday's news in less than a year. When you look at it like that AC and CoD are their own worst enemies and are essentially devaluing themselves and eventually the industry needs to wake up to a better model.
It is easy to paint Gamestop as "oh noes if it is $22 then they won't be able to sell it for $55 after paying $6.26 credit" and in part that exaggerated example is true (Gamestop only pay you how much your game is worth to them conservatively rounded down of course, if they have lots of a game and are unlikely to sell why should pay out the $40 credit they would have done on day 1) and it is a lot easier to blame your product than it is to blame yourself. For example, do we really need a small town to have 3 stores, there is this strange fantasy that all the customers from 2 of those stores will just vanish if you do that (I imagine some will due to shopping at a more convenient location) but as a specialist Gamestop should be relying on range of stock sold and advice (ha the only advice you get is buy pre-owned and buy the card and pre-order too) rather than price to compete.
But as for games being given out for free of PS Plus etc there is a different dynamic there of trying to get people to subscribe and keeping people subscribed.
Yup, pretty much my opinion either.
Perfect. We need to see more flexible prices at retail and digital.
Phat Michael
Banned
Cost of developing the game. Salaries, research, marketing and everything else.
witchedwiz
Member
this..
you're an outlet for christ sake..
i'd love to see an outlet complaining about their merchandise price via direct channel..
If they're not interested, they can let go of their business, i'm quite sure that other "outlet" (argos? best buy? take your pick..) will rejoyce for the market share they'll leave up for grab...
else they can start being more competitive, but you know, used sale price that retails for like 5-10 less than new is such a good business deal for them (obviously not for end-users) that........
Brerlappin
Member
CoD AW for PS4/Bone is nowhere near 45-50 euro, its 74.99 in GS. Same for GTAV. Same for pretty much any nre next gen release. 60 on steam is still cheaper. for most things, Steam is always cheaper, even out of sale times.
Chû Totoro
Member
Yeah that's why GTA V on PSN is 69.99 when I've paid it 45 physical with free shipping on a website...
For PC sure the value mustn't be diluted but does physical still even exist on PC? I mean it does exist but sales are marginal (or am I living in another world).
imo the main concern is people not being able to see the value of a 60 game vs a .99 one on Mobile (I'm exaggerating here but you get the point).
Also going the "entertainment" way makes people believe games are even more something to be consumed rapidly and that they can put to trash or forget just after playing them.
It's entertaining of course but this media has to keep its particularity.
Like some movie soundtracks can be award winning quality I think games can both be as a whole an award winning product but also some parts of it (music, story, etc.).
So devs, make good products and people won't bitch about the price (or very less) and Gamestop please have decent/smart pricing policies (pushing day 1 purchase is counter productive imo since games can be 30-50% discounted just a few weeks after launch).
For PC sure the value mustn't be diluted but does physical still even exist on PC? I mean it does exist but sales are marginal (or am I living in another world).
imo the main concern is people not being able to see the value of a 60 game vs a .99 one on Mobile (I'm exaggerating here but you get the point).
Also going the "entertainment" way makes people believe games are even more something to be consumed rapidly and that they can put to trash or forget just after playing them.
It's entertaining of course but this media has to keep its particularity.
Like some movie soundtracks can be award winning quality I think games can both be as a whole an award winning product but also some parts of it (music, story, etc.).
So devs, make good products and people won't bitch about the price (or very less) and Gamestop please have decent/smart pricing policies (pushing day 1 purchase is counter productive imo since games can be 30-50% discounted just a few weeks after launch).
Well at least Gamestop is doing their part in Europe in trying to increase game prices. Digital games are 70-75 in PSN/Xbox marketplace, but Gamestop is actually asking 75-80 euros for physical copies. Of course in North America they still stick to that $59.99 which is dirt cheap compared to EU.
Chû Totoro;140168932 said:
Physical still exists for PC for rare games, and moreso in Europe. That said, devs tend to get lower returns on boxed copies than they do Steam.
I know in the past, retailers were able to muscle publishers to not put their games on sale for a certain amount of time, or lose shelf space. If those days are ending and Gamestop no longer has their hammer, then they're problems are reckoning pretty soon.
That said, I don't think it's as huge a problem for devs as folks think. I suspect for every person who waits for a 75% off, there are 2 more people who buy the game at 75% off who wouldn't have bought it at all beforehand. It helps the folks who make good games that people know are good. I know in Paradox and Stardock's case, their old products helped fund new products just from sales. I suspect this is true for other devs with a reputation for quality.
AAA games will still exist, but only around 10-20 games a year can truly be AAA, and they have to deal with the limitations of being AAA.
Eventually gamers get everything on their backlog they want, then they're willing to pay more for good new experiences- if they think a game will be great, they'll pay more but are pickier.
That said, Gamestop's demise isn't something we should root for- as it will also kill independent game shops. and potentially give the console makers/Steam too much power. I suspect Gamestop had a role in Microsoft reversing it's XB1 policies.
Souldestroyer Reborn
Banned
Quoted for truth.
KungFucius
King Snowflake
And you cannot resell the game when you are done with it or give it to a friend. Digital should include that loss of value in it's price.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
What? More like Gamestop is worried they won't be seeing a cut of digital sales. The publishers should be just fine.
alice_kiss_lara
Banned
gamestop, EA, Ubisoft
i really cant tell which one i hate the most
i can only tell which one i hate more
i really cant tell which one i hate the most
i can only tell which one i hate more
GameStop is the reason everything annoying happens with releases.
Last generation they threatened to stop stocking any publisher who released the game digitally on the day of release.
This generation they lost that battle. Now they have fallen back and threaten to not stock a publisher's game if they release earlier or slightly cheaper on digital.
Their entire business relies on blackmail. They are a fucking awful company.
Add on to that their ridiculous used game prices, and it becomes clear that their entire corporate policy is based around fucking over the customer as much as possible.
I wish every publisher would collectively decide to not take it any more. Release all games a week earlier on digital and at 49.99.
GameStop would lose all leverage as they can't stop selling every publishers game.
Everyone would win- publishers would get a bigger cut of profits, consumers would get a cheaper game earlier.
And it would be glorious to watch GameStop's reaction.
Last generation they threatened to stop stocking any publisher who released the game digitally on the day of release.
This generation they lost that battle. Now they have fallen back and threaten to not stock a publisher's game if they release earlier or slightly cheaper on digital.
Their entire business relies on blackmail. They are a fucking awful company.
Add on to that their ridiculous used game prices, and it becomes clear that their entire corporate policy is based around fucking over the customer as much as possible.
I wish every publisher would collectively decide to not take it any more. Release all games a week earlier on digital and at 49.99.
GameStop would lose all leverage as they can't stop selling every publishers game.
Everyone would win- publishers would get a bigger cut of profits, consumers would get a cheaper game earlier.
And it would be glorious to watch GameStop's reaction.
spookyfish
Member
I don't want people to lose their jobs, by any stretch, but Bartel needs to realize GameStop could be gone tomorrow, and it wouldn't affect the industry that much.
I can count on one hand the number of items -- not just games -- that I've bought at GS in the last year. The chain is literally a non-issue for most of us who buy online.
Edit: So, yes, I'm agreeing all this blowhard BS is about preserving GameStop, not the industry.
I can count on one hand the number of items -- not just games -- that I've bought at GS in the last year. The chain is literally a non-issue for most of us who buy online.
Edit: So, yes, I'm agreeing all this blowhard BS is about preserving GameStop, not the industry.
He will have to show me where these 22$ AAA games are, I've not seen them.
I think Digital content is still way too expensive. I have to buy them in a different currency for them to be even remotely interesting.
Atleast with physical copies I can trade them in. With a digital game, I won't have any chance of getting any of that money back when I don't play a game anymore.
I think Digital content is still way too expensive. I have to buy them in a different currency for them to be even remotely interesting.
Atleast with physical copies I can trade them in. With a digital game, I won't have any chance of getting any of that money back when I don't play a game anymore.
BumblebeeCody
Member
Yeah if this was GameStop in the UK. I doubt they'd be saying this. Not with the prices we have.
StrongBlackVine
Banned
Why not? They aren't necessary.
OmegaDL50
Member
The "Physical" versions also account for the extra charge factoring manufacturing, warehousing, shipping, and retail.
These extra expenses should not factor in a digital release and Tom Bartel conveniently ignores this for his agenda.
Yes but these things shouldn't effect selling digital games at the price of "physical"
You don't need to print manuals or construct boxes for a digital version, there is no need to press a disc, send it to a warehouse / distribution center, or ship it.
In this case replace warehouse for file server, which digital distribution is by far a fraction of the price in terms of expenses that physical goods would require.
So why should digital goods have comparable price to physical goods when most of the expenditure going into the construction and transport of the physical media isn't a factor.
Vincent Grayson
Member
Seems to me this is just demonstrative of something we've known for a while: retailers don't like where digital is going, and see the writing on the wall. They try to muscle publishers into keeping them relevant by making the prices of games the same across all platforms/delivery methods, and not releasing to digital before retail (even though it'd be trivial to do so now).
They're scared, and rightfully so.
I doubt GS is going anywhere anytime soon, and consoles won't be all digital for a long time, but I'd be amazed if the split between digital and retail wasn't moving in favor of digital more and more, and close to if not past 50% by the time this generation ends.
They're scared, and rightfully so.
I doubt GS is going anywhere anytime soon, and consoles won't be all digital for a long time, but I'd be amazed if the split between digital and retail wasn't moving in favor of digital more and more, and close to if not past 50% by the time this generation ends.
Elitro
Member
biggersmaller
Banned
Fuck Game Stop. 8-bit/16/bit nostalgia is fueling an independent retailer businesses that reminds me a lot of Funcoland. Sure the prices are higher than ebay, but I'm always happy to support an enthusiast who hosts Magic tournaments over a cynical pawn shop pushing membership fees, magazine subscriptions, and extended warranties.
I agree, however that will change. Even in an all-digital future, Sony/MS would soon enough realize that GTAVI and Madden 19 will sell very well at $60 for a long time, but Akiba's Trip 3 and NBA Live 19 will ultimately make more money at $30 two weeks after release. Make no mistake, the intent is not to benefit the consumer, but to maximize profit.
I agree, however that will change. Even in an all-digital future, Sony/MS would soon enough realize that GTAVI and Madden 19 will sell very well at $60 for a long time, but Akiba's Trip 3 and NBA Live 19 will ultimately make more money at $30 two weeks after release. Make no mistake, the intent is not to benefit the consumer, but to maximize profit.