Gamers say games shouldn't cost $80 if they're digital

The $80 games have already been controversial, but without the plastic box and polycarbonate discs – as Sony has announced plans to end production of physical copies in 2028 – the outrage is bubbling to a boiling point.

Nintendo sells its digital games for the eShop at a discount because there are no manufacturing, shipping or supply chain costs and no cuts to retailers through its own proprietary platform. PlayStation's own FY2025 results even show that Sony is making much more from digital sales than from physical sales. So what added value do you get for $80 with a digital copy?

Unlike a disc, you can't lend a digital game to your friends or resell it to get some of your money back because you don't actually own it. The only advantage of digital broadcasting is convenience, but only if you have a good internet connection. The download button in a busy household with a poor connection is exhausting – especially with growing file sizes. Digital games might be more popular, but they lack the advantages of physical ones, so without all the production costs, why are they so expensive? Gamers are finally coming around to this reality.

“Why the hell are games going to be $80 if there's no brick-and-mortar distribution or physical discs?” reads a viral X post by SithLordTrell and asks exactly what so many people are thinking. “All the deceptions.

The costs of digital monopolies

As many point out in the comments, the reduction in physical costs should be passed on to consumers, rather than being held firmly to the new $70-80 standard. As the PS6 threatens to become a $1,000+ console as AI data centers trigger a global memory shortage that causes SSD and RAM prices to skyrocket, expensive games are piling on to an already increasingly unaffordable hobby. Digital distribution could pass these savings on to consumers. Instead, with the so-called “physical edition” of GTA 6 serving as a code in a box for $80-$100, the publishers have made it clear that this will not happen.

“A few years ago when I was finishing my degree each year they gave us a tuition breakdown to justify the rising cost per semester,” replied @bxyega. “Most of it was personal equipment. COVID hit…and tuition kept going up even though there was no access to equipment. It feels very similar to me.”

In fact, things are likely to get worse. Digital-only consoles locked into a unique platform holder ecosystem with no second-hand market to turn to means PlayStation has complete control over pricing and sales. $70-$80 is bad enough, but the fact that first-party game prices barely budge years later—when all you're really buying is a revocable license—is an even worse reality. And one that we risk bumping into on the PS6; at least Project Helix will have competitive storefronts.