Dead Space, DiRT on GoD today

By Oli Welsh Published 27 October, 2009

Space horror and rally reboot go digital.

Microsoft has confirmed that Dead Space and Colin McRae: DiRT will both be made available on Xbox 360's Games on Demand service today.

Visceral Games' well-respected sci-fi horror and the first entry in Codemasters' reboot of its long-running rally series will cost £19.99 each to download.

Read our DiRT review and Dead Space review to find out if they're worth it.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (18) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ZuluHero #1 2 years ago

    But i picked dead space up for £9...

    Is anyone actually buying GoD?

  • bad09 #2 2 years ago

    I must admit, like Zuluhero, I'm keen to see if anyone is actually coughing up for these overpriced games.

  • Drpwnage #3 2 years ago

    Agreed, I picked Dead Space up for a tenner earlier in the summer.

    GoD pricing fails.

  • TeaFiend #4 2 years ago

    But if they used GoD to undercut retailers then the retailers would not stock games or consoles. That would likely be termed as a bad result.

  • kipper #5 2 years ago

    I agree that GoD is overpriced, but as fas as MS are concerned, since the elecronic infrastructure was already set up (more or less), even relatively few games sales (compared to other retailers) is still going to be straightforward profit that they otherwise would not have made. Ditto Premium themes, Avatar clothes etc.

  • kipper #6 2 years ago

    @ Teafiend

    Come on, dont be silly. Show me one retailer that has decided to voluntarily put themselves out of business just because another shop somewhere is undercutting their prices.

  • kangarootoo #7 2 years ago

    GoD makes sense for two reasons.

    1. The costs are lower as kipper points out. They don't need to shift as many copies as HMV or GAME to make money.

    2. It is part of a longer term plan, building a system that can deliver full price content across the board without the need for discs. Yes you can currently buy a disc cheaper second hand, but one day there simply won't be any discs...

  • youhavenomail #8 2 years ago

    And it's not like these games are even in 'demand'. That demand dried up last year. Certainly at these prices. Digital distribution has a long way to go. Apple gets it with its new games for 59p and latest singles for 79p. Sony and Microsoft are living in a dreamworld.

  • bad09 #9 2 years ago

    Well I don't think anyone is expecting full console games for 59p youhavenomail, but £5-10 lower on GOD and it's all good I reckon and at least the releases are getting more recent than the launch ones!

  • kangarootoo #10 2 years ago

    @youhavenomail

    What we are seeing here is older games being listed at a discount price. The only problem is the wider market (and second hand market) has already discounted these games.

    If these games were newer, or there was no second hand market (or both), the setup would work just fine.

  • lennon #11 2 years ago

    Dead Space was easily my winter game of the year last year. Absolutely loved it. Took me a while to get into it but was hooked from about the third hour. Might have to fire it up again this winter for a run through on the hardest level.

  • NorUraeus #12 2 years ago

    @Kipper: Well some chains are not stocking the PSP Go because they don't want to help make themselves redundant. If Microsoft actually made the downloadable games price competitive then at the minimum all retailers would instruct their staff to favouritize the PS3 and Wii. And I think trying to minimize discord with retailers with is a big part of why the PSP Go costs what it does. If Sony had priced the PSP Go cheaply then game retailers would likely toss out the PSP all together from their stores.
    Edited by 1 at 27/10/09 @ 10:52

  • jambo74 #13 2 years ago

    Would have picked up DiRT but OFDR has put me off the developer now.
    Edited by 1 at 27/10/09 @ 10:57

  • kipper #14 2 years ago

    @ NorUraeus
    The PSPGo is a closed monopoly for Sony exclusively supplying software.
    The Xbox360 has an open, competitive software market with variation in pricing.

    There is no way that MS will stop selling games on DVD for the Xbox 360.

    I can see where you are coming from, but I don't think you can directly compare PSPGo with Xbox GoD.

    I am very curious to see sales figures next month comparing the PSP3000 to the PSPGo though.
    Edited by 1 at 27/10/09 @ 11:24

  • TeaFiend #15 2 years ago

    @Kipper:
    PSP Go. If there was a system of having a game on GoD and in a box, the retailer might not stock the boxed version or do a low stock of that whole system. Plus favourable deals and advertising for competition.

    I would love for digital distribution to take off more and bigger. It would stop retailers doing as many pre-owned games which is purely profit for the retailer but cuts the publisher and developer out of money. If people couldn't trade in their copy more original first hand copies would be sold, but that is not going to happen any time soon. For this reason many games now have "exclusive" DLC codes in the box for additional content, not likely to get that in a pre-owned copy.

  • kipper #16 2 years ago

    @ TeaFiend
    I'm not sure what you mean. All the GoD games have already been/are available in a retail boxed version.

    As for your love for digital distribution, it may be nice for niche games that may otherwise struggle for a profitable audience, but for mainstream games, I feel (exclusive) digital distribution will inevitably lead to higher prices, less competion, and reduced purchasing power for most consumers.
    After all, if they banned second-hand cars, do you think everyone would then buy a brand new car?

  • TeaFiend #17 2 years ago

    I was meaning towards the hypothetical use of GoD for new titles, not something that is at least a year old. There is nothing on the service that is "new".

  • tinners #18 2 years ago

    Well if anyone gets Fable 2 off GOD they are barking mad, its like paying the original R.R.P for a game that's a tenner.