Digital video games have been growing in popularity over the last few years as more people choose to download games from the comfort of their own homes instead buying physical copies from retailers. Last year, Sony revealed that its digital game sales surpassed physical for the first time. But while digital games are a convenient alternative to buying games from stores, it doesn't make sense for them to cost the same as a physical copy.

While development costs are the same regardless of whether a game is physical or digital, there is a cost difference where distribution is concerned. Publishers don't have to pay for packaging and shipping costs when uploading a game on a digital platform, so if anything, physical games should cost more than digital titles to cover these extra expenses.

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Digital games tend to hold their value for a longer period of time, but that doesn't explain why a digital download sometimes costs more than a physical copy. Ubisoft's CEO has stated that digital prices remain the same because, as time goes on, physical copies become more difficult to find. However, many uncommon physical games are still relatively cheap despite being somewhat scarce. Buying a loose copy of a rare game like Mermaids of Atlantis still costs less than buying certain modern games on digital platforms.

Poking addition holes in Ubisoft's logic is the fact that many older games are available for low prices on digital storefronts while being hard to find or access physically. For example, a loose copy of Earthbound for the SNES costs around $275 and a complete copy is over $1000, but a digital copy typically cost about $10.

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There are a few good reasons why digital games are sometimes priced higher than physical editions. Retailer will sometimes sell games at a discount to make room for newer games and accessories. This makes it harder to find older games, especially ones from previous generations or that weren't mega-hits, as they are quickly replaced with whatever is new and popular. Digital platforms don't have this issue, as there is endless shelf space in these online stores.

But while digital platforms cut out the middleman that gets the product onto store shelves, the platforms themselves play this role. To sell their games on a digital store, publishers have to give the platform a cut of the game's sales. Xbox receives around 33 percent of profits from games sold on the Xbox Marketplace, which impacts how much the publisher and developer actually make for every digital copy sold.

Just as physical and digital games themselves are a hot topic among gamers, concerns over how they are priced are also contentious. While there are good arguments on both sides of the debate, perhaps the most compelling reason for digital games to be cheaper is the nature of these copies themselves. Buying a digital game means paying for something you don't physically own and losing access to it should it be removed from the platform in question. While digital downloads are convenient for gamers and good for indie developers, their prices should reflect the lower distribution costs and the risk involved in purchasing them.

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