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
Phage is spot on with pricing not being related to costs
Another factor is that a manufacturer will often promise not to sell directly for less than a certain price as this would undercut the sales of their retail partners. This is common for hardware that is rebranded and sold under a different name, there’s no reason to buy the rebranded model for $80 if the identical original model model is only $70. What the manufacturer loses in margin they make up for in volume and reduced distribution costs on their side (its cheaper and easier to send 10k units on a skid to a store than to 10k different addresses)
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