Why do games cost more to direct download on a console than to buy a disc? Surely direct download saves the manufacturer costs on transport, shipping, actual materials for disks and packaging, setting up deals with retailers etc…
In: Technology
The console manufacturer, or even the game producer, does not want to screw their own distributors by undercutting them. Obviously, nobody can price-compete with the manufacturer.
If Blizzard was selling Diablo for $40 on their website while everybody else was selling it for $45, obviously nobody would buy it anywhere else. Great, you think, Blizzard gets all the profits! In reality, they lose a lot of money because nobody will even try to sell that item in their own shops. Blizzard loses all the sales in physical and online shops.
If you go to a manufacturer of any product and try to buy it as an end user, they will most likely send you away with a contact number to one of their vendors.
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