http://www.gamesradar.com/games-retail- ... -so-wrong/

Tesco guy makes a lot of sense, the rest of the article is nostalgic nonsense. Expensive cartridges? You mean versus cheap discs and when the hobby wasn't exactly mainstream?

And erm, I remember plenty of PS1 games that STARTED at £30, bigger titles were £50 in the shops for years after the console released.

And what did both formats have in common? Pre-owned games!

Home-taping. It's killing music.

I have never bought anything else when just buying a game or DVD from the likes of Tesco, ASDA etc. One of the main reasons is that you specifically have to buy it there and then, and then walk around the rest of the supermarket if you want to buy anything else. Because it's often segregated, I just walk into the gaming section (maybe buy what I'm after) and walk straight back out.

IMO if they were clever, they could pop snacks eg fizzy drinks, popcorn etc in the same section as the gaming area so people would buy these.

I have but only what I went in for any way e.g. I went in. did the shopping I was going to do and then got the DVD/game on top. I've never been in specifically to buy a game or DVD and ended up buying a load of stuff as well.

Jon

A game would need to be the same price as online stores before I'd even consider queueing

So, the author is suggesting that games being locked to a single user account would bring down prices? I remain to be convinced.
In my view the game studios will see a lock in as a way to screw more money out of consumers. Why would you reduce prices on a title until you have a sequel ready to go when the majority of users have little option but to pay whatever price the publisher sets?

You should see the price of the PS1 games on the network alone

Given current evidence, nobody is going to go for a console that's download only. While the PS1 downloads on PSN are on the expensive side, the 'current gen' downloads are ludicrously priced in the main. You've got games that are 20 quid on Amazon being put on the store at 50 quid (note: They weren't put on the store when they were full price at Amazon, they were put on the PSN store at full price when they had already fallen to 20 quid at Amazon). New games that go up 'day of release' are almost universally 20 to 30% more expensive than they can be bought for in shops.

The PSP Go - a download only console - died on it's arse. Sony obviously intended the PS Vita to be download only but relented - I suspect their market research told them this would be a monumentally bad idea.

Until they can get download service to be price-equivalent to the high street (and, maybe less of a headline grabber but equally importantly, relax some of the more idiotic DRM restrictions they place upon downloaded games) a download only console is going to be utterly unappealing to early adopters. And if early adopters don't buy your console, it can't get to the point say a year down the line where your costs have reduced and you can offer it at a price point where the mainstream consumer would get interested in buying it.

The assumption that because people are willing to buy 69p Angry Birds on their phone as a download means they're willing to pay £50 for Mass Effect 3 as a download is an idiotic one, yet it's one the games industry seems willing to convince itself of at least for the moment.

Jon

If anything it will keep prices artificially high - just look at the prices on Steam, EA Store (Origin) etc compared to in-store prices, it's ludicrous. At least Steam balance it out with the occasional sale, but Origin et al are just horribly, horribly expensive.

GOG prices + Steam sales = happy l3v1ck.