Xbox Live GOD prices revealed

By Robert Purchese Published 6 August, 2009

Titles to cost between 1600 - 2400 MSP.

Microsoft has revealed that titles downloaded from Xbox Live's new games-on-demand channel will cost between 1600 and 2400 Microsoft Points.

In real money that equates to between £13.60 / €19.20 and £20.40 / €28.80.

Those prices were confirmed to Joystiq, a US website, but the MSP values should remain the same across all Xbox Live regions.

Individual prices for each of the 21 confirmed games-on-demand launch titles have not been announced.

The service arrives as part of the Xbox Live summer dashboard update, which rolls out on Tuesday 11th August.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (59) Latest comment 3 years ago

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  • Zomoniac #1 3 years ago

    Well that could've been worse. Still, some are worth far less than that (about half those games are available new for under a tenner very easily). But 1,600MSP might make me impulse buy a couple, especially if someone is doing really cheap points.

  • siwrath #2 3 years ago

    ho dear, I thought these prices were meant to be comparable to retailers.

    PASS...

  • paul_haine #3 3 years ago

    I thought these were to be bought using credit cards, not points?
    Edited by paul_haine at 06/08/09 @ 20:39

  • bad09 #4 3 years ago

    1600 is good enough for a impulse buy. I'd normally go for a lot of the crap, mildy interested in or old gems for £10-£20.

    £20.40 (silly price) for the "maybe when it's cheap" stuff sounds good but what time scale on releases in the future? If a game is 2nd hand or even at retail for £20 I'm not gonna wait another 6 months to a year (or more!) for GOD (when the game will be even cheaper on the high street) am I?

    Anyway pretty promising now the prices are out. Now MS address storage and we're good I reckon....
    Edited by bad09 at 06/08/09 @ 08:38

  • DUFFMAN5 #5 3 years ago

    Why so greedy, just like HMV Game ect. I can pick up 99% of these games for well under the price point.

  • cyacomini #6 3 years ago

    500GB drives now please.....

    for less than £500 though.

    Edited by cyacomini at 06/08/09 @ 09:08

  • insincere_dave #7 3 years ago

    These prices need to be constantly monitored and lowered to match the true market value, otherwise I don't see this being anything more than an exercise in testing the water.

  • weaselrat #8 3 years ago

    You can get nearly all of these on ebay for at least half the price. Plus you can sell them on when your done with them. You need to go alot cheaper to push the mass market into downloads. At the end of the day, none of these games are new. The companies have already made their money with shop sales so these should just be cheap offerings.
    Edited by weaselrat at 06/08/09 @ 08:47

  • CreepinJesus #9 3 years ago

    @Paul_haine: and where do you get the points from...?

  • mkreku #10 3 years ago

    That's just.. too expensive to be worth it, in my opinion.

  • Tryum #11 3 years ago

    Damn too high price ... I bought Sega Rally something like 5£ one year ago .... :/

  • andywilkie35 #12 3 years ago

    I was expecting worse but still absolutely no chance of even contemplating buying them at this price, considering that after a few months shopto start selling boxed versions for less than that

  • Sulphur_Man #13 3 years ago

    Oooff! That makes the Wii Shop look good value, and I never thought I'd say that.

  • serpantdarius #14 3 years ago

    this is called comparible to retail? who they comparing with, those damn expense ebay sellers?

  • bad09 #15 3 years ago

    I think people need to remember these are launch titles. Are you really saying that £13-20 for a full game is too much? Sure a lot depends on timescales and titles but say they whacked something like Wolverine up after six months for £20, I'd wouldn't pay full price but I'd blow 15-20 on it.

    Sure you can't sell it on, but at that price resale isn't the issue it is at full price. I know I've stopped trading in nowadays because I rarely buy above £20-25, started that back in May and won't be going back.

  • Vice.Destroyer #16 3 years ago

    There is also a rumour that shop.to lose peoples bank details through being hacked. But that's by the by. The point you make remains. These games can be had cheaper elsewhere. I suppose what we should be grateful for is that the CHOICE is there. And convenience costs.
    If you are living in places where the postman is a thieving bastard and there are game shops with a poor selection of choices, this might appeal. Otherwise, just like virtually everyone on here, I shall take my business elsewhere.

    Edit: @weaselrat (I think. I started typing this out and forgot who I was replying to. Fail)
    Edited by Vice.Destroyer at 06/08/09 @ 09:16

  • AccidentProne #17 3 years ago

    That seems a bit much to me, considering how much cheaper they can be picked up elsewhere. The problem is, I know full well I'm going to end up getting some as drunken/hungover/lazy bastard type impulse buys anyway. I really will try not to, but I know that after a few beers I won't consider the price and will just go ahead an make a stupid purchase regardless.

  • Whizzo #18 3 years ago

    Unfortunately, like a lot of Steam's pricing unless there's a sale on, it makes absolutely no sense in buying the digitally distributed version as you can get it far,far cheaper elsewhere.

  • Anthony_UK #19 3 years ago

    EPIC FAIL!

    I hate the argument that your paying almost a premium for the convenience of having it downloaded to your hardrive. Personally I see more value in actually having a boxed copy with manual, especially when I can get them for half the price Microsoft is asking for!

  • matrim83 #20 3 years ago

    I'll pass on most of them. 1600 is as much as I want to pay for most of them. Any more and they can be bought cheaper at the shops or second hand from friends.

  • Avaloner #21 3 years ago

    I reckon the prices are still a tad too high even though it could be much worse. I still prefer the boxed version though since I can resell it and recoup some of the money I spent back (or swap it with friends more probably). If Microsoft wants to push the digital market they have to try harder than this though. There are some distinct advantages of course to getting the digital version - its usually quicker to buy, unless you live right next to a game shop, and you can just play quicker the game without much faffing around with DVDs. Not sure if they are optimized in any way to load quicker.

    Sadly the biggest fail is Microsoft's inability (or lack of foresight or just plain stubbornness) to provide larger storage solutions for a cheaper price. We all know that, even 120gb is less than ideal for the kind of services the 360 is offering, let alone the measly 20gb most of us have. Moreover the prices are incredibly steep compared to what you could get for a PC (or laptop). Its in their best interest - and ours - to find a good storage solution. I am sure they would recoup the profits by other means in the long run.

  • bioreit #22 3 years ago

    Mildly disappointed by the ceiling price of 2400 MSP, but 1600 seems pretty valid as a price point for me.

    Also, people seem to only remember the negative differences between DD and physical titles (generally more expensive , especially compared to retail; cannot lend them; cannot resell, etc):

    > You cannot run a disc-based game purely from the HDD, even with the install option.

    > If the game is from a limited run or didn't enjoy commercial success (i.e. Psychonauts on Xbox), this is a great way to get hold of older gaming gems

    > If you want to do a LAN style session, all you need to do is take your HDD with you - no games, no console, no leads - assuming where you are going has 360s, of course!

    > The game cannot be scratched or lost or stolen!

    You cannot compare the price of GOD titles to whatever price you happened to find in your local second-hand emporium - it doesn't work like that. Well done, you can get Mass Effect for £3 from Gamestation - how much is it NEW? Stop comparing Apples to flesh-eating octopi.
    Edited by bioreit at 06/08/09 @ 09:38

  • systems #23 3 years ago

    On the plus side, at least they've given us the option of having these games available. Can't fault them for giving you choice.

    On the minus side, you're paying the same (or more) than you can get the disc version, and you can't sell it on when you're done.

  • alimokrane #24 3 years ago

    GOD will FAIL then if you're pricing old games like that. Good Job Microsoft.
    Edited by alimokrane at 06/08/09 @ 10:23

  • Fab4 #25 3 years ago

    GOD is in the detail...unfortunately they forgot the detail that you can buy the actual disk cheaper. Maybe you are paying extra for the 'demanding' part ;) :)

  • videogangs #26 3 years ago

    Amusingly it's Microsoft's own point pricing structure that puts me off some of the larger purchases- I don't want to fork out for 2000 point, because that's outside of my impulse buy zone, but I don't like the feeling of sending two transactions for 2 smaller amounts, it just doesn't sit right somehow. Very rare for me to buy anything over 1500 points, only 3 I have botherd with are SSF2T HD Remix, Geometry Wars 2 and Marvel vs Capcom HD remix...

  • interceptor #27 3 years ago

    You can get 2100 points cards off the net for £15 - so that makes a 1600 point game just £11 - which is pretty decent really and probably compares with the price of used games from gamestation etc, but without all the hassle of scratched discs

  • Collymilad #28 3 years ago

    What are you people smoking? Most of the games on the list so far would set you back somewhere between £13-20 for a used copy, or has it suddenly got cheaper in the last week?

    With the used game prices as they are in shops, the only games that you find for less than £10 are ones that failed to sell well in the first place.
    Edited by Collymilad at 06/08/09 @ 10:41

  • MORZTAN #29 3 years ago

    @systems:
    "...and you can't sell it on when you're done."

    Well, um... In the end, that's the point :)

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #30 3 years ago

    If your gonna go to the effort to buy a 2100 point card off the internet for £15 to get the cost down to £11 a game, you may as well just buy the game off ebay second hand for a five to ten pounds, then when your done with it sell it back on ebay for five to ten pounds.

    The prices for these games certainly need to be cheaper. The price range in general MS has got is not bad, IF the games were a bit more recent.

  • cyacomini #31 3 years ago

    @Collymilad

    Check AVForums - that's where I buy just about ALL my games.

    Assassins Creed - £7
    Mass Effect - £5
    Rainbow 6 - £8

    Just a few examples

    [link url=http://www.avforums.com/forums/xbox-360-game-classified-adverts/
    ]http://www.avforums.com/forums/xbox-360-...[/link]



    Edited by cyacomini at 06/08/09 @ 10:54

  • BOFH_UK #32 3 years ago

    "You cannot compare the price of GOD titles to whatever price you happened to find in your local second-hand emporium - it doesn't work like that. Well done, you can get Mass Effect for £3 from Gamestation - how much is it NEW? Stop comparing Apples to flesh-eating octopi."

    The problem with that argument is that digital media doesn't degrade over time. Provided the disc isn't scratched to hell the copy you buy second hand is EXACTLY the same as the shrinkwrapped one you get over the counter. This is one of the markets Micorosft is trying to address here and downloadable games need to offer good value in comparison. No, that doesn't mean they need to be cheaper but they need to be priced at least in the ballpark. Mass Effect, For instance, is £10 brand new from Game right now. Whatever price they charge on Live should take into account the massive reduction in production /shipping costs, the lack of a printed instruction book and, oh yes, the lack of any resale value whatsoever.

    On the plus side, at least they're not relyingon this as the only delivery mechanism to the platfornm unlike Sony and the PSP Go...

  • bioreit #33 3 years ago

    @BOFH_UK

    "No, that doesn't mean they need to be cheaper but they need to be priced at least in the ballpark. Mass Effect, For instance, is £10 brand new from Game right now."

    Fail.*

    Mass Effect on 360 - New

    If Mass Effect does sell for 1600 MSP (which a fair bit of evidence is suggesting), then it's actually cheaper, meaning Microsoft has already fulfilled your propostion that

    "...whatever price they charge on Live should take into account the massive reduction in production /shipping costs, the lack of a printed instruction book and, oh yes, the lack of any resale value whatsoever."

    *Maybe you meant your local branch of Game - but there will always be regional pricing and stock availability which mean that local stores cannot be used as an option when comparing prices. For example, Canterbury Game hasn't had Mass Effect on 360 in stock for a few months now, so I could argue that GOD charges 1600 MSP for ME, whereas Game offers me not having the game at all for no money. Easy decision, that one, if I'm on the lookout for the game.
    Edited by bioreit at 06/08/09 @ 11:20

  • optimusprym8 #34 3 years ago

    DD prices will never come down until publishers are able to escape the vice-like grip and power of the major retailers

  • Skooch #35 3 years ago

    I guess you are paying for convenience.

  • BOFH_UK #36 3 years ago

    @bioreit - god some people are dicks. I did a search on Mass Effect and got this: [link url=http://www.game.co.uk/Xbox360/RolePlaying/~r328584/Mass-Effect/?s=mass%20effect
    ]http://www.game.co.uk/Xbox360/RolePlayin...[/link]

    Didn't click through as I was pushed for time and game don't list stock availability on the search page. But if you insist... Amazon do it for £11.95 albeit with a couple of weeks wait as it sold out a couple of days ago. However it's recently (as in the last two months) been as low as £5 in Asda and £8 with HMV on-line for a brand new copy.

    The point stands however, even at the lowest point of £13.60 old titles are vastly overpriced. No physical copy and no resale value means they need to be cheaper, I'd say at least £10 less than RRP (which for Mass Effect would be £19.99 I suppose). Now the price range given for newer titles sounds very fair but from the list of launch titles there's NOTHING that, to me, justifies that cost as they're all available for less than that second hand and, if you can find 'em, many will be very close, if not cheaper, brand new.

    In fact, here, Assasin's Creed - £10.99 delivered (plus quidco if you have an account) at HMV: [link url=http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1;-1&sku=862066
    ]http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDeta...[/link]

    £2.60 LESS than the lowest price it'll be on Live, in stock and from a reputable business. Happy now?

  • bioreit #37 3 years ago

    @BOFH_UK

    Apologies if you thought I was coming on too strong. Not my intention at all.

    With your reply, the problem I have with that is that you're still comparing buying new games to second-hand ones:

    "from the list of launch titles there's NOTHING that, to me, justifies that cost as they're all available for less than that second hand and, if you can find 'em, many will be very close, if not cheaper, brand new."

    Second-hand games are frequently scratched to buggery, or have been returned/sold on due to a manufacturing fault without the shop being aware - after all, they don't test every game they buy. And, as you kind of imply, the games are really difficult to track down new (Psychonauts on Xbox again is a good example), second-hand coudl be your only option - except now you can choose to buy over GOD, instead.

    And yes, using HMV is a much better option and the pricing is most definitely better - but there will always be a price discrepancy somewhere, simply due to the fact that GOD is a single store from a single retailer (Microsoft), whereas consumers have the whole plethora of online stores, such as HMV, Amazon, Game, etc, to choose from. Competition alone dictates that prices will be different between everyone.

    And competition would also come into it if Microsoft took the approach of "let's look at all major online and bricks-and-mortar retailers, average the price and undercut by 10%", say. They would be seen to be abusing a closed-retail route direct to their consumers, closing out competitors through a monopoly that they have no access to. Even if they sold it at "what it actually costs us, plus some margin", they'd stil get hit, because they coudl pretty much guarantee undercutting everyone.

    Look at BT - they *could* sell line rental and broadband cheaper than anyone else - hell, half the ISPs undercutting buy wholesale from BT, then sell it to the consumer, so BT can sure as hell do it cheaper. But they're not physically allowed to, because they could price everyone out of the market until they're the only people around.

    Therefore, I think Microsoft have done what they had to - made the games around the same price as you can get from retail - maybe lower, probably higher - so it's at a point where people will buy, but not so low they get slammed for it.

  • Johnhost #38 3 years ago

    Does this mean Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 will cost £20.00 when it comes to the service? Or only very old games will come to the service?

  • sadakos_fury #39 3 years ago

    NO SALE.
    Back to Fallout 3 it is, then.

  • Rubarack #40 3 years ago

    Honestly I can see why they aren't selling Mass Effect for a fiver, I doubt MS want to exacerbate the situation caused by the second hand market, and selling a bit under RRP is better than I'd have expected. The lack of even remotely new or hard to find titles is where the problem really lies, alongside the ridiculous prices for hard disks. If I could easily connect a 500 gig drive to the 360 I'd be tempted to get some games at these prices.

  • SlackMaster #41 3 years ago

    Honesty I can't see this being very popular at the moment. As far as I know XBox Originals didn't so all that well and IMHO were over priced. They had the odd game now and then at 1/2 price but generally you paid 1200 for an old game.

    A boxed game lasts and can be kept. An example of this are my NES, SNES and Megadrive games, but with DD you don't have that and to make matters worse you're storing it on media (HDD) that isn't built to last. I can't see me still owning my XBLA games for as long as my NES games, and there is uncertainty of how I'd get them in the future after the 360.

    Personally I see DD as long term renting as you don't really own what you've paid mony for so there is no really value for money in it especially at the prices MS have set currently.
    Edited by SlackMaster at 06/08/09 @ 14:50

  • Peew971 #42 3 years ago

    I'm going to shock but I think they're fairly priced...
    Look at the XBLA prices, what else could they do for full 360 games? Sure it seems expensive because the launch titles are old but if they start to sell recently released games within the same price point it will be great.
    And we're hardcore gamers (otherwise we wouldn't be commenting on a game website) so we look for bargains here and there but most casual games only go to GAME or HMV and are happy to pay more than that for the same games. And in some countries they very rarely have price drops on games even the older ones.
    If next week Fight Night 4 appears on GOD, it will be a bargain! The issue isn't the price but the titles although I don't expect day one releases before Natal is launched (360 rebirth supposedly)

  • sneetch #43 3 years ago

    When they said they'd be "comparable to retail" they did not mean "as cheap as your local shop that just happens to be trying to clear a game they overstocked" they meant "comparable to the recommended retail price". GOD don't need to sell products so cheaply to make way for new stock as digital downloads don't clutter up the place.

    Either way it's moot: that's the price being offered and logic dictates that you simply buy a product wherever it's cheapest. For example, if you want to buy Game X and went to GAME and saw it for €10 and then to HMV and saw it for €40 would you:

    a) Say "bargain" and buy it in GAME? It's cheaper, why not?
    b) Stand in HMV saying "EPIC FAIL!!" and expect them to change the price? Why would you care what they try to sell it for when you can get it cheaper around the corner?

    I was hoping Dead Rising would be in there at launch.

  • ronuds #44 3 years ago

    Why are we comparing the prices to what you can buy off Ebay or 2nd hand? You can find just about anything cheaper through those methods - but how many people buy games that way? These are new games - and I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I can't find a new copy of Assassin's Creed or Mass Effect in the US for under $25 or $30...through normal means, which is how 99.9% of people buy their products.

    So, these prices are actually very good.

  • Whizzo #45 3 years ago

    They might be good for US consumers but they're bloody appalling for any UK ones, Play have Assassin's Creed for £8.99 and as already pointed out GAME are doing Mass Effect for a tenner, both brand new games with free delivery. At current exchange rates, even including VAT, that's less than $32 for them both.

  • Peew971 #46 3 years ago

    @ronuds - I spent 2 weeks in New-york and couldn't believe the price of gaming, everthing is around RRP and that also includes online retailers. In France it's the same, so it's just us UK gamers who are lucky to find bargains all the time. In that respect GOD are correctly priced in my opinion.

  • Tiel #47 3 years ago

    Amazed people defend this pricing.

    They have fewer distro costs, no middleman retailer. They gaurantee you won't be able to sell it on, this creating a new sale for them from someone else. No packaging and printing. Greater price control over the long term, and its massively more expensive.
    Mass effect is 11.99 new at hmv.

    As to people not shopping around online and only going to game--surely those are not the people likely to use a download service.

    With HD space currently a pound a gig from MS then you have to add another fiver or so in lost HD space. Anyone on capped service from an ISP will be using a big chunk of allowance.

    Prices should be

  • ronuds #48 3 years ago

    @Whizzo - well, these are supposed to be US prices, so who knows - maybe they'll cut the UK some slack. I doubt it, but crazier things have happened. As it is, though, for US customers these prices are fine and dandy.

    @ PeeWee - it's true, in the US prices don't come down much unless the game goes Platinum or a sequel is released.

  • sneetch #49 3 years ago

    @Tiel
    Amazed people defend this pricing.

    ...

    Prices should be

    Tiel? Tiel??!? TIIEELLLLLLL!? My God! Those Microsoft bastards got Tiel mid-sentence! ;)

    It's not a matter of "defending" the pricing, it's just not attacking them for giving you another option for buying games (key word being "option";). The prices are cheaper than the RRP the Classics range has a RRP of €29.99 here, their prices will be between €19.20 and €28.80.

    Complaining that you can get it in HMV cheaper is daft. HMV is renowned for its stock clearances (4 recent dvds for €20, that kind of thing)

    If I were to sell you Mass Effect for £1 does that mean that this service is hugely overpriced or does it mean that I'm selling the game too cheaply?

  • ronuds #50 3 years ago

    @sneetch

    Since it's MS, people will compare their pricing with ANY cheaper option. If it were one quid, someone would say they could find it for half that.

    "I found that game lying in the street for free. MS is ripping everyone off!!!!" :p
    Edited by ronuds at 06/08/09 @ 18:04

  • geoffw22 #51 3 years ago

    The following games are available now on the preview program

    Assassin's Creed / CoD 2 / LEGO Star Wars / Mass Effect / NFS Carbon / Oblivion and Viva Pinata,

    and they all cost £19.99 or 2400 points
    Edited by geoffw22 at 06/08/09 @ 18:34

  • Whizzo #52 3 years ago

    Bargains!!

    No wait, the other one, not bargains.

  • TheJuriel #53 3 years ago

    Overpricing them games, yay, just the way to launch the feature.

    Perhaps someone on their end wants to prove this digital purchase thing won't be profitable? The fewer users due to high pricing you have, the better for his stance!
    Edited by TheJuriel at 06/08/09 @ 20:48

  • siro #54 3 years ago

    Like I wrote on a comment yesterday already:

    The games go for 29,99 in Germany. No matter what titles. Games online already include Mass Effect, Viva Pinata and Call of Duty 2. Even shitty COD2 for 29,99 Euro (around 26 pounds). That's simply ridiculous.

    I bought more than 50 games for my 360 so far, and I was really looking forward to GOD, but at these prices, I can say with certainty I won't bite.

  • mrmonkey1980 #55 3 years ago

    just as I thought. No one will bother because I can get most of those games for half the cheapest price their at y local second hand retailer. Downloads should be even less than these because you don't get a disc, a box or the artwork. Stupid microsoft

  • metallicorphan #56 3 years ago

    yeah i noticed the games appear today...i didn't see the option for 2400 points though,it just said £19.99(didn't go looking into it though)

    as much as i love call of duty 2(and already have it)..£19.99 for a 4 year old game(4 years this November) that unfortunately no one plays online anymore is taking the piss

    Viva Pinata(again priced £19.99)i got a few weeks ago bundled with Forza 2 for 15 quid,LOL

  • pinochet_cz #57 3 years ago

    nodeal

  • RegorTtenneb #58 3 years ago

    http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.p...

  • itsfuzzy #59 3 years ago

    i just pissed myself laughing at those price points. Will go down the same path as xbox originals.