Sony has announced that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, a 60 car, 5 track super demo for the full Gran Turismo 5 game, will be coming to both retail shelves and PSN on April 17th for $39.99.This announcement changes the presedent set by Warhawk when it was released in stores for $59.99, albeit with a bluetooth headset, and on PSN for $39.99 on the same day.*
It is not a secret that retailers, especially niche ones like Gamestop, were unhappy with that decision as it undercut them on a brand new title. I can’t help but feel that retailer pressure may have led to an announcement being made that both version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, with one not having a case, disc, instruction manual and any of the costs associated with producing and transporting those items, will cost the same.
The future is digital download. It may not be the immediate reality but the not too distant future sure looks as if it will feature downloadable games, not to mention movies, television and music. Sony would be better served to lower prices, espcially on glorified demos, and serve up full blown digital downloads of hot titles such as Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is sure to be.
Do you think that Sony is just trying to maximize profit on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue or have retailers managed to pressure Sony into their pricing decision on the game?
* - A retail version of Warhawk at $39.99 was later released to retailers but many believe that was due to backlash of the cheaper version only being available on PSN.
I can see that Gamestop would have trouble if they were skipped out on top tier games. Then maybe pre-ordering wouldn’t matter anymore - just have an auto download the game upon release. The only way digital downloading could ever replace the retailer completely is if Terabites were as common as AOL disks were in the 90s.
Yeah. Great article Paul.
However, after having to exchange my PS3 for a new one yesterday, I’m starting to think I’ll skip the downloading of games.
I’ve already downloaded Warhawk 4 times due to numerous reasons. One more time and I have to purchase the game again.
Just like the Blu Ray disc, I’ll continue to buy the disc over the digital format as long as there’s a hard copy available.
Digital distribution may be easy, but with disc replacement guarantees, I’m ASSURED of keeping a working physical copy for at least the next year.
I love this new pricing personally. If you don’t want the medium you save 20 dollars, most companies would want to still charge full price, look at online movie rentals as an example. No the movie isn’t in your hands, no it won’t work on all your movie players but they charge the same price as blockbuster. Greay job sony for not doing it this way
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