Remasters are a big part PlayStation Nowadays lineups, a brand strategy that has faced some controversy in recent years. It’s always nice to see great games from the past make a comeback, especially when original copies are hard to come by, a struggle that’s become common for virtually anything that can be defined as a cult classic. On the other hand, remasters of recent games can feel a little too unnecessarily indulgent, and they don’t add as much excitement to the release slate as entirely new titles might.
The biggest problem with PlayStation’s new remaster, however, isn’t how recent it is. As announced in the September 2024 PlayStation State of Play broadcast, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered May not be quite as serious The Last of Us Part 2 RemasteredSeven years have passed Horizon Zero DawnLaunched on PS4. Considering how well the original game has held up, there still might not be enough reason to pick up the new one, but a decision by PlayStation is insulting to anyone who might opt for an older release.
The price of Horizon Zero Dawn has gone up on the PS Store
A doubled MSRP is nothing to sneeze at
As mentioned by MP 1st, its price Horizon Zero Dawn: Full Version The digital storefront on the PlayStation Store has doubled since its release Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. While the game was sitting at an MSRP of $19.99, it jumped to $39.99 in the wake of the announcement, its highest price since early 2018, according to PSPprices. The change was clearly made in light of the pricing model Horizon Zero Dawn Remasteredwhich costs $49.99 as a standalone purchase but only requires a $9.99 upgrade for owners of the original game or the full version.
The price change was first spotted by GamePittReviews, who tweeted screenshots of UK before and after prices on PSPprices.
For anyone who invested in a PS5 disc drive, it’s still possible to get the game for much cheaper. Sealed physical copy thereof Horizon Zero Dawn: Full Version Easily available in the $20 rangeAnd used copies are even cheaper. Anyone with a digital-only console is straight out of luck, however, which points to a larger disappointment coming courtesy of PlayStation’s current approach.
Digital storefronts remove pricing options for games
Vertical sales are only part of the picture
Digital storefronts come with a lot of potential problems, but one of the biggest is how they can be used to directly control a game’s quality. When physical copies of a title are distributed, there is no way to artificially maintain a fixed MSRP as the only way to buy a game. Physical stores will eventually identify a product that is not selling at its desired priceAnd the circulation of used games both reduces demand for new copies and offers a cheaper alternative for anyone who doesn’t mind pre-cut discs.
Before digital storefronts became commonplace on consoles, Steam stood as an early large-scale example of the concept, and the steep sales the platform became known for did much to popularize the concept. Many games still cost a lot on digital sales, and the platforms come with other benefits, such as wider access to indie games that physical releases can’t afford.
Over time, however, There has been a shift towards games maintaining their launch MSRP over the years (or even permanently) on digital platforms.The sale serves as a temporary discount before games return to $60 or $70 days later. The strategy clearly benefits publishers, but it goes against the traditional trend of new copies of games going for around $20 over time. The increased costs involved in modern AAA production help justify the change and make the discounts that occur somewhat palatable.
Physical games leaving PlayStation are worrying
It’s easy to imagine where the future might lead
in case Horizon Zero Dawn: Full VersionThe decision to back up the price of a game to make more money on a remaster exemplifies the direction digital storefronts are taking. Right now it’s hard to say whether the choice will benefit PlayStation, as a lot of PS5 users have disc drives. Making digital copies more expensive will drive more potential buyers to the secondhand marketLosing sales that would otherwise have gone directly to Sony.
related to
How to return a game on PS5
PlayStation 5 players can return digital purchases from the PlayStation Store. However, there are some limitations on refund availability.
In the future, however, it’s not hard to see where this strategy is headed, at least based on the way the PS5 is moving away from supporting physical games. The original launch introduced Sony’s first digital-only home console, and made the slim disc drive a separate piece of attachable hardware that required an Internet activation after initial setup. No version of the recently announced PS5 Pro comes with a disc drive at all, commanding an extra $79.99 on top of the console’s $699.99 price tag.
Although the voice of the consumer will always have something to say on the matter, An all-digital future will eliminate options in such situations Horizon Zero DawnIncrease in price. This opens the door even wider to removing the original versions of games from sale entirely, which has already happened with games Dark Souls Where digital storefronts. Without a physical option, publishers will ultimately have the final say on what games people can buy and how much they have to pay for them.
Increased prices are far from the only potential problem in the future without physical games, and the larger implications regarding availability make any concerns about paying more for a game seem trivial. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Indicate exactly how interested PlayStation The economics of a digital market can be regulated, and that makes a great argument for why physical games aren’t going away anytime soon.
Source: MP 1stPSPprices, GamePittReviews
Playstation 5
Sony Computer Entertainment’s fifth flagship video game console, the PlayStation 5, is part of the ninth generation of consoles. The console has full backwards compatibility with PlayStation 4 games and features a digital storefront that gives access to older generations. The console can output images in 4K resolution with optional options including 1440p at 120 frames per second for gameplay. The console is also known for implementing 3D audio, which allows headphones to be connected to the console for simulated spatially accurate audio.
- brand
- sony
- Date of original publication
- November 19, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $399.99 (digital only), $499.99 (disc drive)