Games on Demand hasn't even officially launched yet, but Microsoft's penchant for greed has already reared its ugly, drooling head, causing concern for gamers. Titles have popped up on the service already, and NeoGAF has been keeping tabs, noting that there is no worldwide unified price point, and some prices in certain territories are insane.
Take Australia, for example. It's long since been the whipping boy of the game industry, but MS has really sunk the knife in with a price point of 6000 Microsoft Points. That's equivalent to $99.95 for Australian consumers!
It's insulting enough that Microsoft wants to charge the RRP for downloadable games, but the fact it's charging over RRP is a punch in the balls. There's a slim hope that these prices are not yet official and will change with Games on Demand offically launches, but even if they are reduced, I can't help but worry that the entire service will be one big scam on the part of Microsoft.
It's going to take more than perceived "convenience" to make me ditch retail discs.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
11:00 AM on 08.07.2009
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Publishers/Corporations want to trick us that buying digital is the way to go (see PSP-Go), and then they'll implement DRM once the majority of the market has signed on. PC publishers are already doing it! OnLive is skynet!
Judgment day is coming! :: drinks cyanide::
They get boned a lot over there, just ask Yahtzee. I think he paid upwards of 120 USD for Psychonauts.
I don't even wanna know how much it would cost to pre-order Scribblenauts down under.
I already got stung by MS after the whole Gold auto-renewal debacle, so I just buy top cards from Game and shop for oldies on eBay. I really don't see the point of the on demand games if you can already get a decent pre-owned copy on the net for a few quid less.
Also, shouldn't you all have learned by now that MS IS a scam.
Yeah.. most people just don't understand how terrible MS is outside the US. Forget Netflix. I don't want my anus full of Bill Gates' penis.
oh how capitalism has failed most industries but not the video games industry.
Did anyone else notice the acronym is GOD? We c wut u did thar, MS.
No thank you. I buy games to own them and play them whenever I want. I'm not buying a game that costs double the original price, and 8 times the current price.
Digital distribution is a load of arse anyway. Most of the time you can get a game cheaper by buying from Amazon.
That being said, anyone who buys ANY of the games available so far (or soon to be available) is either in a VERY bad situation for available retailers, or they're a fucking idiot. The majority of games available (or soon to be) can be purchased for around $5-20 at your local Pawn Shop etc.
Those hard copies can also be resold to recoup your cost making them even cheaper.
I'm all for Digital Distribution, just not at these prices. These games should be 800 - 1200 pts. No more.
Then it's $100????
Take iTunes Store for example. I've bought very little from them, but the one's I have I've lost from my computer a few times and every time I have to message Apple to get them to unlock the songs for me again..
This isn't gonna work, not for me atleast.
they like getting shoved up their ars out of unconditionally love to their xbox so u should support it as just. They were screaming for it, now they got it :)
$99.95 - $ 110 is RRP on most new titles, at places like EB, GAME, Target, K-Mart etc..
Doesnt surprise me that MS is charging RRP for these titles, probably dont want to piss of the retailers by undercutting them...
So yeah, if this is going to be indicitive of MS Pricing, I'll be staying well away...anyway. Internet is shit down here so it'd a couple days to download and would take up a 1/4 of my Monthly download limit -.- thats right we have Download Limits down here as well.
This is the problem a single company having complete control over a distribution method. Just look at how many times XBLA games and DLC goes down in price, you could probably count them on one hand. At retail consumer demand and competition drives down the price but when a single company controls it all there is no such pressure. This is why I laugh when people say digital distribution is the future.
Haha, I'm an extremist. I'll go past the initial "I like the new box smell" argument, and say it's a full fledged conspiracy to make video games rentals in the future, similar to Pay Per View.
Haha, Oh I do agree. If people make the current prices for downloads successful, we're all screwed. Charging more for the digital version than the hardcopy has already been happening, on both Live and PSN. Besides that, I just like mah game cases, they're purty :(
Ultimately, if more money flows directly to developers and publishers, the middle man gets fucked.
Good news my ass, the middleman is what keeps competitive pricing alive. Without that, they'll have a monopoly , the rape shall kick in full-bore and I'll have to take up a cheaper hobby, like Sudoku. And I hate Sudoku. A lot.
Do you think that Sony is not screwing you over too? Do you think YOUR getting out of the screwing, because your on the Nintendo Wii. WE ARE GAMERS -- We ALWAYS get screwed. Not to be "krass" but, your ass should be used to the sensation by now.
Besides, anybody dumb enough to buy Mass Effect for 6000 MS deserves to have his wallet raped, you can fin the game for,like, 15$ on eBay!
You will no longer be able to rent a game.
You will no longer be able to trade games with a friend.
You will no longer be able to buy a used game for little to nothing.
You will no longer be able to sell your game to have money to purchase a new game.
You will no longer be able to get a refund for a game you've downloaded that doesn't work.
All those things will be done away with. Digital distribution is just another way greedy corporations are planning to fuck the consumer.
Ok it's just an display error and in reality it's 30€(Retail=same price=still 10€ to much), but that still too much for a version where you don't get the Extra disc of the Classic Edition.
I hate this shit
There will be!
There....will be!
/Yoda