The $80 Standard and the Vanishing Disc: What GTA 6 Pre Orders Signal for the Future of Gaming

As soon as Rockstar Games had officially announced pre orders for Grand Theft Auto VI, the internet had its fill of breaking down all the character details, sifting through the rumours of gameplay, and discussing how much space the maps would occupy. But there was a much more significant industry change that was hidden under the celebration. Gaming has officially hit the $80 standard with standard editions being $79.99 and deluxe editions well over $100. Meanwhile physical discs are fast being replaced by plastic cases containing one use digital activation codes.

It's the last thing to end the era of consumer game ownership. Console gamers had always had a standard price, a physical disc and they could sell, swap or rent them as they wished and their games were protected by the console not the disc. But this is all about to change today, as production budgets get higher and digital distribution becomes more aggressive, both from the top and bottom.

The Budget Crunch Behind $80 Pricing

The $70 to $80 isn't taking place in isolation. The cost of creating a modern AAA game is too high. A great blockbuster today takes 5-7 years to develop, with hundreds of developers toiling away and budget of well over $200 million before marketing costs are added.

Publishers say $80 "just covers inflation and the huge size of today's games. But the price increase comes at a delicate moment for consumers, as their finances are already tight. Even worse, $80 is not necessarily the maximum. The price to play a full game has never been more expensive thanks to pre order bonuses, early access windows and expansions that have been pushed through $100+ Ultimate Editions.

The Squeeze on Physical Discs

An $80 price tag at the time of purchase is a problem, but the move to a digital only world is a bigger problem in the long run: the lack of digital ownership.

Big publishers are slowly phasing out print, across the board. In some parts of the world, purchasing a boxed copy doesn't necessarily mean you got a physical copy of the game. But the buyers open the case to discover a paper slip containing a digital download code. The reasons for publishers are simple:

First, the cost of pressing discs, plastic packaging, shipping, and retailer profit margins are all eliminated by digital means. A digital sale makes a lot more cash instantly into the publisher's pocket.

Second, removing physical discs effectively puts out the second market. If games are not available for sale at the retail price or for trade, every player will have to purchase a new copy from the digital storefront of the game's publisher at the full amount of the retail price.

Last but not least, today's games are large, with some being more than 150 gigabytes in size.. and the games files can't fit on to the standard 50 gigabytes of Bluray disc. Most of the physical CDs bought these days are just an installation key, and require a lot of day one downloads to even get to the point of playing them.

What This Means for the Average Gamer

This structural change alters the deal for players altogether.

A $80 digital only game is not a physical product, but a software license. There is no way to lend the game to a friend, no way to trade any game in for your next game when you're finishing the campaign, and no way to know if servers of the game are going to be around in the future.

Digital storefronts may indeed be very convenient and easy to access instantly, but without the physical media, the consumer is deprived of his bargaining power. Digital prices remain higher for longer without the pressure of having to compete with physical items on shelf, which means that sales are shallow and less frequent.

The New Reality

The gaming industry is experiencing its largest makeover in structure since the move to HD consoles. With the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, the rest of the industry will surely follow suite and embody the $80 theme.

The era of $60 game discs and playing through the campaign and trading them with a friend may be over for better or worse. Convenience is the winner, but players are paying with control of what they buy.