Remasters are a big part of these PlayStation Lineup these days, a brand strategy that’s courted some controversy in recent years. It’s always nice to see great games from the past come back to the forefront, especially when obtaining original copies is difficult, a struggle that has become common for almost anything that can be defined as a cult classic. On the other hand, remasters of recent games can feel a bit more needlessly indulgent, and they don’t add as much excitement to the slate of releases as entirely new titles might.
The biggest problem with PlayStation’s newest remaster, however, isn’t how fresh it is. Announced at the September 2024 PlayStation State of Play broadcast, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Can’t be quite as rude as The last of us part 2 remasteredSeven years have passed since then Horizon Zero Dawns launch on the PS4. Considering how well the original game has held up, it still may not be enough reason to opt for the new one, but one decision of Playstation is insulting to anyone who could opt for the older release.
The price of Horizon Zero Dawn in the PS store has increased
A doubled MSRP is nothing to sneeze at
As mentioned by MP1 st, The price of Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition On the PlayStation Store digital storefront doubled after the discovery of 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, the highest price it’s sported since early 2018 according to PSPrices. The change is clearly made in light of the pricing model for 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 complete edition.
For anyone invested in a PS5 disc drive, it’s still possible to get the game much cheaper. Signed physical copies of Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition Can easily be found for around the $20 rangeAnd used copies go even cheaper. Anyone with a digital console is out of luck, however, which points to a major frustration that comes courtesy of PlayStation’s current approach.
Digital storefronts take away pricing options for games
Steep sales are only part of the picture
Digital storefronts come with a lot of potential issues, but one of the biggest is how directly they can be used to control the value of a game. When physical copies of a title are distributed, there is no way to artificially maintain a certain MSRP as the only way to buy a game. Physical stores will eventually mark down a product that is not selling at its intended priceAnd the circulation of used games lowers both the demand for new copies and offers a cheaper alternative for anyone who doesn’t care about a disc that has been spun before.
Before digital storefronts became prevalent on consoles, Steam stood as the primary large-scale example of the concept, and the steep sales the platform became known for did a lot of work in popularizing the concept. Many games still get huge price slashes in digital sales, and these platforms come with other benefits like wider access to indie games that can’t afford physical releases.
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But over time, There has been a shift towards games maintaining their launch MSRPs for years (or even permanently) on digital platformsWith sales serving as temporary discounts before the games bounce back to $60 or $70 days later. This strategy certainly benefits publishers, but it runs counter to the traditional tendency for new copies of games to drop to around $20 over time. Increased costs involved in modern AAA production help justify the change, and the fact that discounts happen makes it somewhat palatable.
PlayStation leaving physical games behind is about
It’s easy to imagine where the future could go
In the case of Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete EditionThe decision to raise the price of a game in order to make more money on a remaster exemplifies the direction that digital storefronts can take. It’s hard to say whether this choice will actually benefit PlayStation at this point, as many PS5 users have disc drives. Making the digital copy more expensive will turn more potential buyers to the second-hand marketLosing out on sales that might otherwise have gone directly to Sony.
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In the future, however, it’s not hard to see where the tactic is going, at least based on the way the PS5 has moved away from support for physical games. The original launch introduced Sony’s first digital-only home console, and the Slim turned the disc drive into a separate piece of attachable hardware that required Internet activation on its first setup. There is no version of the recently announced PS5 Pro that comes with a disc drive at all, and requires an extra $79.99 on top of the console’s $699.99 price.
While the voice of the consumer will always have some say in the matter, An all-digital future would remove alternatives in a situation like Horizon Zero Dawns price increase. It also opens the door again for the original versions of games to be removed from sale altogether, something that has already happened with games like Dark souls On digital storefronts. Without physical alternatives, publishers ultimately get the final say on what games people can buy and how much they have to pay for them.
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Increased prices are far from the only potential problem in a future without physical games, and the larger ramifications regarding availability make any concerns about paying more for a game seem trivial. Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Indicates exactly how eager PlayStation Could be to check the economy of ​​a digital market, however, and it makes a great argument for why physical games do not need to go away anytime soon.
Sources: MP1 st, PSPrices, GamePittReviews