Digital Vita games will be cheaper than boxed copies

By Fred Dutton Published 31 January, 2012

10% discount if you download, says Best Buy.

Digitally-delivered versions of PlayStation Vita games will be cheaper than their boxed counterparts, Sony US has confirmed.

A NeoGAF poster spotted Best Buy listings for Vita download codes with prices 10 per cent lower than the games' standard boxed RRPs.

For example, Little Deviants was listed at $26.99 rather than $29.99, Uncharted: Golden Abyss at $44.99 rather than $49.99 and Hotshots Golf at $35.99 rather than $39.99.

A Sony representative has subsequently confirmed that downloads will be slightly cheaper, as is also the case in Japan, though refused to confirm precise details.

"I can confirm that there will be a discount on the downloadable PS Vita titles from PSN. Exact details have not yet been revealed, but be on the lookout for an announcement in the very near future," they told Shack News.

We're chasing Sony UK to clarify the situation on this side of the Atlantic and will update when we learn more.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 4 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Cowbomb #1 4 months ago

    My god! An actual sensible decision about digital distribution! :o

  • tajd #2 4 months ago

    ok this digital thing is good for some people but its not for me i hope boxed games on disc never go away

  • Lunatic4ever #3 4 months ago

    One question:

    If I buy the boxed version of a game is it also registered in the psn store and available for download? Just like steam for example?

  • supermaniacs #4 4 months ago

    Still pricey but a step in the right direction nevertheless.... Now to find some cheap memory cards to store those downloads in!!!

  • samezac #5 4 months ago

    that's good but am not going to buy games like uncharted from psn store they are to big its better to buy them from store for the big games :-)
    uncharted psvita is 4GB
    Edited by samezac at 31/01/12 @ 23:55

  • Letsalljusthavefun #6 4 months ago

    Hm... I wonder if the digital price reductions will be anything close to the boxed price reductions that will (inevitably) appear on online stores...

  • BigDannyH #7 4 months ago

    Pigeon steps but at least it's something.

    The thing is, those prices will probably remain the same for 9 months and end up being 150%+ of the boxed product price.

    A 20% discount is more likely to make consumers pay attention.

  • ShiroBen #8 4 months ago

    Not good enough. Should be 25% at the least, 50% discount or deeper to really make a difference.

  • captain_Carl #9 4 months ago

    @Lunatic4ever No. That would be so unbelievably abusable. Buy game => get free download => trade game back for 90% of what you paid for it.

  • DrStrangelove #10 4 months ago

    I think Amazon will disagree

  • TazerFan #11 4 months ago

    It is, at least, a concession that a digital download is lesser than a physical copy. Hopefully something for consumers to build upon.

  • Lunatic4ever #12 4 months ago

    @captain_Carl

    that makes no sense. if u register ur game like on steam u won't be able to sell it anyways because its been linked to your account. and my question was whether a system like is also used in the psn store. I am asking because I don't have a ps3.

  • asho #13 4 months ago

    What a load of wank, fucking publishers trying to trick peeps out of there trade in values. I buy a game, play it and trade it. Makes it affordable, who the fuck wants to keep worthless download.

  • JumpinJackFlash #14 4 months ago

    Another sign that Sony can't do digital properly...

  • Fluffin #15 4 months ago

    I can't speak the American shops but in England there seems a difference between the RRP( Recommended Retail Price) and the price you will really pay for any game.

    MW3 has a RRP of £55 here but most shops sell it for £45 and the internet for a bit less.

    If they go with 10% less than than RRP for downloads I think we will still be looking at cheaper boxed products.

  • TrevHead #16 4 months ago

    The problem with most Digi Download games inc on steam is that the prices tend to stay at RRP. (ofc steam sales are great but it isnt enough especially for AAA steam games that rarly go on sale)

    Until publishers drop their prices at a similar rate to retail games then they will always be a bit of a rip off imo

  • arcam #17 4 months ago

    I thought Games On Demand etc. were already slightly cheaper than RRP (RRP is £49.99 or £54.99)?

  • Nithron #18 4 months ago

    I honestly don't understand why digital downloads usually cost more than boxed copies. Anyone care to explain it?

  • chtan #19 4 months ago

    In theory, yes. But the problem is i can always get the boxed copies cheaper then the d.download, here, even now.

  • captain_Carl #20 4 months ago

    @gotyourmoney Can be backed up to your PC

  • SaintDaveUK #21 4 months ago

    @Nithron The videogame retail giants would go out of business if it was always quicker and cheaper to download, so they threaten publishers with boycotting their goods if they favour digital distribution.

  • Nithron #22 4 months ago

    @SaintDaveUK Ah yeah, that does sound like it makes sense. Cheers.

  • Ahskay #23 4 months ago

    @Cowbomb

    Not sensible enough. It's still a ripoff, it needs to be atleast 25% off to be sensible.

  • Ryze #24 4 months ago

    It should be even cheaper, but EVERY retailer should be able to stock download codes on cards/reciepts, or for immediate delivery in the case of online retailers.
    Edited by Ryze at 01/02/12 @ 18:26

  • NotSoSlim #25 4 months ago

    <quote>ShiroBen wrote:
    Not good enough. Should be 25% at the least, 50% discount or deeper to really make a difference.</quote>

    Yes and lets see which retailers would stock the games and consoles

  • Optimaximal #26 4 months ago

    @captain_Carl Simple solution - Don't accept trade-in for Vita games.

  • Mono_X #27 4 months ago

    @Nithron

    Also the high prices makes for HUGE profits for Sony and the publisher; as essentially they take the margins that are normally meant for the distributor & retailer.

    Why would they give up that profit? After all, if people are willing to pay £40 for game, then ultimately they'll pay £40 regardless of the format. Making DD cheaper would only 'devalue' their product for the future.

    In the end, in long term digital distribution will end up costing the consumer more than physical copies.

  • Munkeh111 #28 4 months ago

    @Mono_X I would say that it is more the complete lack of digital competition. The PSN is getting better with the quite frequent sales, but still always more expensive than the internet

    But the fact that there is only the PSN store is key. In terms of pricing, you will often see amazon, play and game all react to each other's online pricing, so that it is fairly easy to get a game on the cheap soon after launch

    But for PSN sales there is nobody else to drop the price, and there is no such problem as overstocking so they have no real need to shift copies. I think most publishers see it as more of an experiment rather than anything else, so are just happy to see both themselves and Sony take huge cuts from the stupid prices

    Personally, I have never bought a PS3 game on the PSN store, and few PSN games and will be getting all the Vita games that I can in physical copies

  • castertroy #29 4 months ago

    <quote>captain_Carl wrote:
    @Lunatic4ever No. That would be so unbelievably abusable. Buy game => get free download => trade game back for 90% of what you paid for it.</quote>

    But with games being on a card maybe they might be away to put a code on it. Or just use a psn voucher code with every copy. Can not see them doing it though. Would be nice

  • NotSoSlim #30 4 months ago

    Sony cannot afford to shaft retail....yet. Guarantee if all 3 companies decided to do it then that would change.

    They need the shops to sell the products. Also there are some games which you would keep playing i.e Everybodys Golf but you would be a idiot to buy s Fifa digitally due to annual releases

  • wizlon #31 4 months ago

    So, this is 10% off the RRP?
    Online retailers usually sell new games for 20% off their RRP so it's still a rip off.

  • BigDannyH #32 4 months ago

    @Optimaximal
    I don't think developers can influence retailers views on trade-ins, otherwise we wouldn't be in such a mess (DRM, online passes).

  • jarek98 #33 4 months ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:41 01-02-2012

  • Mono_X #34 4 months ago

    @Eurocensor

    That's not exactly what I meant and in my opinion that's not how Sony or MS or whoever see it. They see that the consumer attaches a value of £40 to their product because they're willing to pay £40 for it, the fact that you might want to lend or sell that game is of no interest to them. By selling a game at for example £20, it means that the consumer attaches a value of £20 to it and will not want to pay more.

    The reason this is so important to the platform holders is that eventually they will want to eliminate physical copies altogether and only have DD. Then you'll be faced with a choice; pay the price they dictate, which will be the maximum they think they can get away with (and by keeping the price at £40, they're hope to 'condition' you to 'tolerate' that price). Acquire the game via illegal methods or stop playing games.

    That's what I meant when I said that ultimately DD will cost us more than physical copies. This isn't about how much they charge us now, it's about how much they want to charge us in the future.

    @Munkeh111
    Completely agree that the lack of competition in the online stores makes it a problem. But the platform holders will never allow that to change if they can help it. It's their playground and their rules.
    Edited by Mono_X at 01/02/12 @ 09:56

  • Goffee #35 4 months ago

    Should point out that any savings will be wiped out by having to buy new memory cards every couple of months to keep all these games on. Sony is politely forcing most gamers (except the rich or really dumb) to stick with boxed copies, which I don't mind as Amazon has served me well with 50%+ off most Xbox games I get.

  • arcam #36 4 months ago

    @Mono_X

    When DD finally becomes a realistic option, the prices will balance themselves out. Publishers won't want to sell a game at £40 if they can make lots more profit by selling it at £30.

    You are right that they are trying to condition people to be accepting of a higher price, and right now they are willing to take a hit in revenue to advance that goal, but at the end of the day, they will set the price at whatever reaps the most profit, and if £40 proves too expensive for their audience, they will drop the price.

  • jetsetwillie #37 4 months ago

    will still be a)too expensive and b)cheaper on amazon

  • simsini #38 4 months ago

    Little Deviants - RRP £24.99, download £22.49, Amazon £17.99.
    Uncharted - RRP £44.99, download £40.49, Zavvi £34.95.
    Everybody's Golf - RRP £34.99, download £31.49, Choices £26.99.

    Digital copies are really going to take off!

  • MaxFN #39 4 months ago

    Difference should be 10$ at least, we talking about cost of flash disk, box, no need to ship games, no taxes, god damn, you can't even resell your digital copy of a game. Publishers, don't be greedy!

  • levitate #40 4 months ago

    So instead of charging you 10% above RRP they'll let you fork out 5% above it. I still want a nice box, instruction booklet and goodies when I buy a game. For me each purchase is an event, an experience, something to collect. With digital downloads all that is reduced to ... well.. bigger memory cards and waiting time.

  • Nithron #41 4 months ago

    Unfortunately I think Mono_X may be bang on the money here. Although, I don't think the publisher's logic actually makes any sense - regardless of how long they keep the price at £40, people are still going to compare that price to other goods, not just videogames. £40 is a good night out, some clothes, 8 or so books, quite a lot of films, etc etc.

    That wont stop them trying though. I've heard MS spout off this "perceived value" nonsense before. It probably works to an extent, but I think if they really do try and lock all games at £40, they'll be in for a bit of a shock when their sales plummet.

    I bet they'll blame it on piracy though, introduce more DRM, then put the price up to make up for losses. And then probably go out of business.