No inventory costs with digital. People forget this so often for physical. Working Capital is tied up in inventory so it behooves the retailers to discount and recoup costs as fast as possible.
Especially in a heavily crowded holiday release period.
You also make the assumption that companies are willing to give up a lot of those higher margins. They are banking on some people goig for convenience over price with digital purchases. Sure there are sales but don't expect those prices to come down but every so often.
Also and I will reiterate again, Publishers have made their money off the physical releases before you even buy the game off a shelf. This is why they push preorders so much. The more you preorder, the higher the retailer orders are and the more money they get. Sure they want sales beyond that to push re-orders and catalog orders but honestly they know they get the bulk of revenue from those upfront sell ins. This also allows for early discounting or rebates to goose re-orders.
