Xbox Live Games on Demand Partially Priced: BioShock $30, Mass Effect $20
The store, intended to sell digital versions of older Xbox 360 games, launches on August 11 with a cadre of 21 launch titles. Manuals for the digital games will be available by way of the Xbox Live Marketplace site.
Those already stickered with prices follow:
- Assassin's Creed - $29.99
- BioShock - $29.99
- Call of Duty 2 - $29.99
- LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga - $29.99
- Mass Effect - $19.99
- Need for Speed Carbon - $19.99
- Sonic the Hedgehog - $19.99
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - $29.99
- Viva Pinata - $19.99
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Defacil
replyuhh.. some of these games are cheaper in physical form. Are we paying for convenience and shouldn't it be the other way around?
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I was getting ready to say, you can find most of these at second hand places for cheaper. Guess it's mean for impulse buyers and not people wanting the best deal.
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Yes....used games are cheaper than new.
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It's almost as if they don't want people using the service yet.
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It's online convenience at a price that won't make gamestop mad.
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Yes, but the only savings that count are the ones to the consumer since they're the ones being asked to fork over at rates higher than buying the game locally (even with the price of gas).
It also 'saved' the UPS guy some of the money he was going to get paid to deliver the game to a shop if you'd like to be pedantic about it. -
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You pay the bandwidth cost with your gold subscription! Mwa hahaha
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True. And they now have infinite copies to sell without having to make more. Only using bandwidth.
Though, the prices should be cheaper because people still prefer physical copies and more hard drive space too.
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No, it's actually 19.99. You may buy it _used_ for less, but these prices pretty much match MSRP for new games, or are a little less in a few cases.
Bear in mind (not you Headbone), the cost of goods on a game is a tiny fraction of the cost of a game. Maybe a buck or two in most cases. Mostly what you're paying for is licensing (Sony and MS both get large cuts), cost of development/profit margin, and distribution. Distribution, whether paying for bandwidth and server capacity, or the trucks and planes to get the discs there.
Ultimately, it is a convenience thing. If you want the game and you'd like it tied to your Xbox LIve account, buy it here. More of your money will actually go to support developers you like. Otherwise, just buy your physical copy. It's not like it's mandatory to buy it this way, so most of the conversations in this thread are kind of pointless. Mine included.
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Not saying I agree with the pricing, but I don't think digital distribution was ever a way to make it cheaper for the consumer. I don't mean to alarm you, but I don't think there is much force in capitalism trying to make what you need as inexpensive as possible. It is all about profit.
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Supply AND demand. The demand isn't great enough to buy them at those prices, especially when they can be bought elsewhere cheaper.
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