Alright, I am going to start a bit of a flamewar here and I know, in actuality, this stuff goes back and forth, I just wanted to point out, PC games are not always cheaper, not by a longshot:

On Amazon right now

Borderlands 2
Xbox: $34.99
PS3: $34.99
PC Download: $59.99

Mass Effect 3
Xbox: $21.70
PS3: $22.73
PC Download: $29.99


Need for Speed: Most Wanted
PS3: $29.99
Xbox: $29.99
PC Download: $49.99

Assassin's Creed III (this one isn't quite as "fair" since its PC release was yesterday, while the console release was over a month prior)
Xbox: $34.99
PS3: $34.99
PC Download: $49.99

Yep, there's some titles that go the other way (Darksiders II, The Walking Dead, due to their digital download sales right now), and there's many that are pretty much the same price (e.g. Dishonored, Sleeping Dogs).

If you toss in the ability to trade in, resell, or swap your games after you're done, you eek a bit more value out of the console versions.

Anyway, flamesuit on, happy Thanksgiving!:)

All thanks to download stores not being quite as dependant on shelf space and thus don't have the same need to shift units to be able to store new boxes.

Aren't most of those console games on Black Friday deals anyway? And the boxed PC games seem to match or beat the prices you list.

I wish Blizzard would have more reasonable pricing on their games, at least on the older ones. They're probably my favorite company, but I don't have a single one of their games legally :((

Most of the cheaper PC ones are Black Friday Deals as well. Just pointing out prices, whether sale or regular retail, frequently go the opposite way of the common assumption.

Don't think the common assumption has ever been that digital downloads are cheaper than boxed releases. The assumption is that they should be, but not that they actually are.

I agree with you, actually, 10 years ago you'd have gotten your wish. It was after the success of WOW that they inflated their back catalog prices. I picked up the Starcraft Battlechest for 10 bucks (with coupon) and the Warcraft Battlechest for free (with coupon).

I have no idea why they think the prices they're charging are reasonable, I guess because so many people keep paying said price. I hear all the time that Steam makes PC gaming cheaper, and that's primarily DD (few people buy Steam games boxed in comparison).

FWIW, I agree with the sentiment you expressed, DD gaming should be cheaper.

Nintendo seems to be trying an ass-backwards approach to digital sales: *more* expensive than retail.

Eg, in AU$ Mario Kart 7 is $59. Downloading it from N is $69.

*Scratches his head*

I think that those people are talking mostly about Steam sales, because regular prices on Steam are horrible :S

And what's worse is that for some reason, they charge me in british pounds, instead of euros, which makes it even worse . If I wanted to buy Diablo II + LoD, that costs like a 5th of minimum wage here... And I have no wage at all :/

Them and everyone else. 'Twas always so.

You're comparing digital with physical though.

As we all know it costs a lot less to master a disc, print a manual and the case sleeve, package those in the case, ship that to a distributor and accommodate both theirs and the retailers' cut in the asking price than it does to store a few GB on a hard drive and maintain an internet connection.

I can't recall if I ever bought any PC title for more than $15 (I don't buy used games too)

Also fun to bait flamers with, computers have a higher initial cost than consoles as well.

If you already have at least 720p TV than yes.

I don't. Your argument is invalid :P