Overnight, Microsoft added Halo: Reach – the latest installment of the hit series – to the Games On Demand service.
Ordinarily, this would be a good thing. Having the ability to download games and have them stored on your hard drive for immediate access is often a blessing, and Reach is – as we said – a great game.
The kicker? Microsoft want £49.99 for it. That’s double what some online retailers are selling it at, albeit through third parties, and more than the boxed copy in most high street retailers.
I don’t know who thought that a penny under £50 was a fair price, but unless it drops considerably we’ll be sticking to playing Reach off a DVD.
You can buy it here.
toutski
Its crazy prices, but Microsoft are not the only ones guilty of overpricing digital downloads.
Hopefully we will see some parity soon.
Oh and Halo:Reach is a penny under 18 quid on HMV’s site at the moment…
toutski
Also reminds me of what my old gran used to say: “It’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it”
planejoker
@jayjay119
Maybe Sony and Microsoft don’t want it to work!. P.S there spending loads on it though….and ripping us off at the same time, good old Shopto.com.
jayjay119
Considering it’s the most lucrative of methods for them to use, and it solves a lot of problemes for them introduced by the physical market I think they’d want it to work.
Juelz345
Yeah but the majority of people won’t be willing to switch to digital distribution due to lack of Internet of bandwidth restriction of hd space or a number of other reasons. So Sony and MS need to be sure not to piss off retailers and potentially ruin those relationships. So the games are put on the digital stores at a premium so those that really want it can have it.
Bodachi
I think this just makes the look out of touch with the growing digital disruption.
Voganlight
Stop moaning. These are obviously prices set in the US.
halbpro
Still $10 more than you can get it from Amazon.com.
Juelz345
Almost all games available on the Games for Demand is overpriced, why are people acting surprised by this? Reach has already sold a 4.8 bajillion copies, so I don’t think it’s going to hurt MS if it doesn’t sell on the market place.
When Sony throw games up on PSN they are almost always priced way above what you can get them for from a store.
Kreisash
It’s a strange move as I always thought that MS were all for digital distribution yet they do something like this.
Obviously some mental case without a grasp of the actual market set the price and based it on full retail.
Personally I am happy that I picked up the Limited Edition brand new from shopto recently for £29.
planejoker
@Voganlight
Odd Games on demand 49.99 pounds seems very UK pounds to me but then your going to get follower’s who agree that ripping of the general pubic is the normal way these days.
@Juelz345
If microsoft has sold billions of game then why have they put it on demand surely there’s not billions of xbox users maybe a few million. Bill gates billionare hasn’t got there by not selling stuff regards wether it has sold millions, billions or trillions, he is there for one thing the thing you,I and loads others want MONEY.
Charmed_Fanatic
£50! Thats more expensive then day one purchase. Ridiculous.
gazzagb
This is even worse than the ME2 price of £47.99, this game is a few months old! Crazy!
fattyuk
What’s wrong with £50!! Think it’s a fine price,oh yeah and then the £40 a year online service.
Tis a bargain!!
dnlgee
Add an extra £60 on top of that subscription fee and game price and you could purchase a brand new PS3! Ludicrous.