of course, you could then ask why digital distribution ain't cheaper than physical media.. outside of nutty sales (provided the physical media ain't just a disc for steamworks/uplay/origin, etc)
This brings up a good point. Just what is the value of a game? The answer of course is "whatever the market will bear".
Clearly value for games is very flexible. Why else would a developer be willing to sell a fairly new game for half off...
I think a more interesting question would be - what is the minimum price a game developer would be willing to sell their game for. That of course depends on their cost structure and the ROI they wish to achieve. (The lenders or financing partners may have specific ROI requirements..but I digress)
Traditional cost structure includes three main components: Labor, material and overhead. With digital distribution, material is no longer part of the equation, and at least one aspect of overhead (inventory holding cost) no longer applies. So the cost of "producing" one more copy of a game is close to zero.
But with the constant churning out of games, followed by aggressive discounting, and then on to the next game, I wonder if the developers (as a whole) place much value on the games.
And what constitutes a complete game anyway? A common practice is to release a game, and then slowly feed off it with additional content (DLC's). The advantage is that the low price point encourages people to spend more for the game, and by the end of the products life cycle, you've effectively paid double or more for the game. But how do you decide what content should have been included with the base game, and what is truly above and beyond?
Well I'm starting to ramble. Just one squeaky wheel here. The majority will continue their predictable buying patterns.
