Sony Feels Retailer Pressure with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Pricing
Jan 29th, 2008 by admin
Submitted by Video Game Jocks
Posted by Paul on January 29th, 2008
Sony has announced that Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, a 60 car, 5 track super demo for the full Gran Turismo 5 game, will be coming to both retail shelves and PSN on April 17th for $39.99.This announcement changes the presedent set by Warhawk when it was released in stores for $59.99, albeit with a bluetooth headset, and on PSN for $39.99 on the same day.*
It is not a secret that retailers, especially niche ones like Gamestop, were unhappy with that decision as it undercut them on a brand new title. I can’t help but feel that retailer pressure may have led to an announcement being made that both version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, with one not having a case, disc, instruction manual and any of the costs associated with producing and transporting those items, will cost the same.
The future is digital download. It may not be the immediate reality but the not too distant future sure looks as if it will feature downloadable games, not to mention movies, television and music. Sony would be better served to lower prices, espcially on glorified demos, and serve up full blown digital downloads of hot titles such as Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is sure to be.
Do you think that Sony is just trying to maximize profit on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue or have retailers managed to pressure Sony into their pricing decision on the game?
* - A retail version of Warhawk at $39.99 was later released to retailers but many believe that was due to backlash of the cheaper version only being available on PSN.
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