Why Digital Copies Should Cost Less Than Physical Copies

The Red Dead Redemption port for Switch and PS4 got announced recently, with both its physical and digital versions costing $50. Whenever a new game gets announced, fans are left asking one question: Will there be a physical release? Although it’s a legitimate and very important question, the answer is not always positive. Fans often get a negative answer to this question too.

In such cases, fans have to go ahead with the digital copy instead. But one question keeps revolving in the heads of people having to buy digital copies of their favorite games: Is the price worth it?

The main reason why digital copies of games should cost less

When Rockstar Games announced the Red Dead Redemption port for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch recently, they only talked about a digital release. To the joy of fans worried about it only being a digital launch, a new piece of news broke. This game will also get a physical copy in October. This was good news for many who prefer keeping their games safe in physical copies. And of course, this ignited a discussion amongst gamers: is $50 a good price for a digital copy of the game?

Digital games take less effort to be released. After all, all sellers have to do is make a digital copy available for download. People who buy those digital copies often complain after purchasing that the store policy even prevents them from returning the game if something goes wrong. This is not to say that Red Dead Redemption could be a bad port, but it’s always good to understand that it is not worth $50.

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For one, it is a digital release for a game that has been out for over ten years now. For another, it’s a straight port. There are no bells and whistles to make this game any better than its previous release.

Physical copies, on the other hand, have some serious plus points. The biggest of them is its ownership; a gamer actually owns the game they buy physically. It would never disappear from the library of the buyer if the game was removed from the PlayStation Store or Nintendo eShop.

These kinds of risks and setbacks mean that digital editions of games should not be counted as equal to physical copies. Players who invest in a digital copy of a game are taking a risk. Hence, these digital copies should not be priced as high as the physical copies.

Here’s to hoping those publishers listen to this and give their digital games a lower price than the physical ones.

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