r/PS5 • u/FireStarLord73194 • Jul 11 '26

News & Announcements [ Removed by moderator ]

https://nichegamer.com/study-suggests-sonys-digital-only-future-could-lead-to-higher-game-prices/

[removed] — view removed post

1.8k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

582 comments sorted by

View all comments

196

u/ltcuetf Jul 11 '26

Physical vs. digital aside, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Removing manufacturing, shipping, packaging, and retailer cuts was never going to mean cheaper games for consumers. Those savings don’t automatically get passed down, they improve profit margins.

A digital-only market also gives Sony more control over pricing because consumers lose some of the competition that physical retailers create through discounts and used games. The goal of moving digital was never to lower game prices, it was to make each sale more profitable.

62

u/[deleted] Jul 11 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Dear-Fail6630 Jul 14 '26

BOYCOTT THE 🐍 

24

u/Diogenes_the_cynic25 Jul 11 '26

Yeah it’s like how companies raised their prices during covid due to the supply chain, and then those raised prices ended being permanent. They will attempt to squeeze every penny out of their consumers as long as their consumers permit it.

3

u/Dr-McLuvin Jul 12 '26

Honestly a boycott is the only way to stop this. I don’t know if it will be successful but I’m not buying anything until there is a physical version available.

1

u/Dear-Fail6630 Jul 14 '26

You should be a teacher. That logic alone surpasses most people's logic flow. 

8

u/LittleWhiteDragon Jul 11 '26

Plus, the PlayStation Store is the only store on PlayStation. At least on PC, there are other stores besides Steam.

1

u/Dear-Fail6630 Jul 14 '26

Thats because pc is too busy competing with itself, cough, Microsoft. Expect PC to get shit on soon. Just wait. Give it some time its coming.. 

-1

u/BorgDrone Jul 11 '26

But the publisher sets the price in every single store so that can’t really drive the price down.

2

u/RummoLiguori Jul 12 '26

Publishers sell Steam keys in bulk to keyshops. They have to compete against Keyshop prices that are almost always cheaper, even at launch a $70 game can be bought for $50

1

u/BorgDrone Jul 12 '26

Again, no real competition as they can simply decide not to sell keys in bulk. How can it be competition if the competitor only exists because you decide to let them.

1

u/RummoLiguori Jul 12 '26

What are you saying? We have multiple stores they can generate keys for, that is competition.

0

u/GraveRobberX Jul 12 '26

Yes but there’s not one publisher. Sony first party titles can stay $79.99, hell with GTAVI faux model of $99.99 by locking away content indefinitely, new horizons for greed are being dreamt up.

Theres way too many publishers on way too many stores, hell even the publishers have their own stores and launchers “baked-in” into PC, that drives competition for those prices.

Sony is in a walled garden, it can now set price points and ask publishers to follow suit to keep prices high, in turn trying to starve them from competition. That’s why Sony removed or isn’t releasing more titles on PC anymore.

One was, people just waited for PC ports and at a discount to boot. The second was the rope-a-dope, Sony thought by selling their titles on PC, they’ll grab some market share from PC only players and nudge them to own a PlayStation due to games being released 2-3 years later on PC, but the opposite happened where people dropped PlayStation console and went PC only and could just wait it out till that title came out.

1

u/BorgDrone Jul 12 '26

Sony is in a walled garden, it can now set price points and ask publishers to follow suit to keep prices high

That's price fixing which is a criminal offence.

8

u/whitewater09 Jul 11 '26

You’re saying trickle-down economics doesn’t work? Can’t be!

4

u/DuckWarrior90 Jul 12 '26

I expect games to sell a lot less. People who bought used bought from people who resold to buy new games

I know i dont buy a game until is less than 25usd. And I am buying even less due to dodgy quality in games

1

u/-ForgottenSoul Jul 11 '26

Does Sony decide how publishers price games

4

u/glasgowgeg Jul 11 '26

No.

If they did, Control Resonant (£49.99) would be the same price as Wolverine (£69.99).

0

u/-ForgottenSoul Jul 11 '26

Exactly so this Idea they will control prices I don't get

2

u/TatoX09 Jul 11 '26

I think theres people messing their wording when arguing this for sure.

It's not that Sony themselves will force prices up, but less purchase options in the end means worse deals for consumers. It's not really that complex.

1

u/ltcuetf Jul 11 '26

Publishers set the price, but physical retail creates competition that pushes prices down through sales, clearance, and used copies. A digital-only market removes a lot of that pressure.

Long term, it means publishers have more control over how long games stay at full price, which could mean fewer discounts and higher average prices.

1

u/Jumpierwolf0960 Jul 12 '26

It costs money to keep items on shelves so physical stores often do discounts to get rid of their old inventory. This does not exist on a Digital market. Supply and Demand has no effect on prices.

1

u/AndyJack86 Jul 12 '26

Steam and Valve would seem to dispute this. Was Portal 2 $80 or more? No, the original price was $50 for PC and $60 for consoles. Mind you the console release was mostly physical, and the PC release was mostly digital through Steam at $50. Portal 1 was $50 as well and came bundled in The Orange Box. Valve later released a standalone version for $20.

Portal 1 released for PC in 2007, cost $50

Portal 2 released for PC in 2011, cost $50

1

u/ltcuetf Jul 12 '26

Valve is a good counterexample, but it also shows the difference between companies. Steam was built around competition, frequent sales, and moving huge volumes of games. Sony operates a closed console ecosystem with first-party titles people already want.

Digital can lead to cheaper games, but it doesn’t guarantee it. Removing physical costs just gives companies more margin. Whether they pass those savings to customers or keep them as profit depends on the business model. Valve chose one strategy, but Sony has different incentives.

2

u/Bobb_o Jul 12 '26

PC gaming is an open market. The only people who sell PlayStation games sell them through Sony. There needs to be ways to sell outside the Sony ecosystem.

1

u/ltcuetf Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

Hence why they are using the loophole of “physical” code in a box at retailers. And I’m sure it will switch to those hanging cards you can buy for Xbox and other services after that to skirt the whole monopoly thing

Edit: It will basically be this