I shot this photo a week before the official release of Assassin's Creed 3: you could preorder it the digital gold edition for just 130 euro ($170). What a bargain!! On Amazon you could preorder the boxed version for just $60 (now now $30
), and you can lend it to friends, sell it, keep it on the shelf to gather dust, etc...
You might say "hey, that special $170 digital download gave the PS Vita version for free"
But on Amazon the PS Vita version was $40
, if you bought both the boxed edition you would still saved a lot of money, even if you splurged on the exclusive Assassin's Creed III Encyclopedia Edition
, that includes a 384 pages hardcover book and a 208 pages graphic novel.
I believe that a digital download MUST be MUCH CHEAPER than the retail edition!
Let's go back to the Amazon Bluray edition that now you can get for $30. Remove the markup that Amazon is doing on it, marketing, distribution, printing, prepress, etc... how much money is Ubisoft getting? I would be surprised if they get more than $8.
Why, why, why, the digital download, must be sold at the same price level, if it doesn't have any upfront to the seller?