Why are Blu Ray's more expensive than DVD's but PS3 and 360 game are same price

[Canada]

The two things that I can think of is that most Blu Rays have advanced audio codecs where PS3 and 360 games have the same audio. Also can some one tell me the difference between mastering a game (if it needs to be done at all) and mastering a movie. The last thing is does it have any thing to do with games being inherently more expensive.

[Jon Bon]

Two completely different things. My god, you're better than that to ask those questions.

[jascl22]

Originally Posted by Jon Bon

Two completely different things. My god, you're better than that to ask those questions.

How exactly are they completely different?

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by jascl22

How exactly are they completely different?

1 HOLDS THIS MUCH !! THE OTHER HOLDS 10 TIMES MORE !!!!

[FilmmakingFiasco]

The price of a Blu-ray goes beyond the manufacturing cost of Blu-ray. Studios also want to keep the price of Blu-rays higher for a while so they can see profits even when they're not turning over a lot of copies of one title.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by jascl22

How exactly are they completely different?

On a video game, you're paying for the work of the developer. Most games that are multiplatform are about the same on PS3 and 360.

You're paying more for a BD movie than a DVD because of the upgrades in picture and sound quality.

[sinister184]

blank BD discs are still more expensive to produce than their DVD counterparts, honestly the reason they're not more expensive is because they have to remain competitive with microsoft. you can bet if MS had a standard price out of the gate at 64.99, Sony would have followed suit. both want to make the most money they can without losing the competitive edge.

[Blu Man]

Xbox and PS3 games are both HD. It's not at all like DVD to Blu Ray, More like Blu Ray to HD DVD.

[atomik kinder]

Originally Posted by jascl22

How exactly are they completely different?

The physical media of it is entirely irrelevant. You are purchasing a game, the price of the production of the media is just a small fraction of the cost to produce them. When buying a DVD you are buying only a standard def version of the movie. When buying a Blu-ray you are purchasing a Hi Definition version of the movie.

Think, why does it cost the same to buy a download of an album on itunes as it does to buy a CD. You aren't paying for anything physical whatsover when you buy itunes.

Why does Fox charge more (retail price) than Disney for their Blu-ray discs? I am pretty sure it doesn't cost Fox $5 more to make each of those discs.

[navyman]

Originally Posted by Jon Bon

Two completely different things. My god, you're better than that to ask those questions.

Actually the op brings up a good point. PS3 games are on bluray while 360 games are on dvd. So it seems that it costs more to manufacture a PS3 game then it would to manufacture a 360 game. I would guess that the prices are the same in order to remain competitive but this would shrink the profit margin for the PS3.

[Canada]

Originally Posted by navyman

Actually the op brings up a good point. PS3 games are on bluray while 360 games are on dvd. So it seems that it costs more to manufacture a PS3 game then it would to manufacture a 360 game. I would guess that the prices are the same in order to remain competitive but this would shrink the profit margin for the PS3.

Thanks

[bajor27]

Originally Posted by navyman

Actually the op brings up a good point. PS3 games are on bluray while 360 games are on dvd. So it seems that it costs more to manufacture a PS3 game then it would to manufacture a 360 game. I would guess that the prices are the same in order to remain competitive but this would shrink the profit margin for the PS3.

This is what I would have said. Thanks for saving me the trouble.

To add to this though. Games also seem to be produced in larger quantities than movies. For example, not one blu-ray movie (well maybe Iron Man) has sold 1 million copies, but there are at least a handful of PS3 games that have. Since companies know they aren't getting those sales numbers on movies, they won't have as many manufactured. If the games are being produced in larger quantities, the cost per disc should be lower and thus selling the games at equal price to the 360 version probably isn't as big of a hit to the profit margin as it would be with movies.

[cydetrakd]

Originally Posted by bajor27

This is what I would have said. Thanks for saving me the trouble.

To add to this though. Games also seem to be produced in larger quantities than movies. For example, not one blu-ray movie (well maybe Iron Man) has sold 1 million copies, but there are at least a handful of PS3 games that have. Since companies know they aren't getting those sales numbers on movies, they won't have as many manufactured. If the games are being produced in larger quantities, the cost per disc should be lower and thus selling the games at equal price to the 360 version probably isn't as big of a hit to the profit margin as it would be with movies.

it also takes a long time to make a game a really good game with thousands of people involved much like a movie and most games takes years to make unless it a recycle game with a few improvements from year to year. But in the end its all about competitive prices and i was hoping with the recession that game makers would drop the prices of games down to 49 instead of 59 but instead they are making games shorter for the same price

[LifeOfAPirate13]

The question is just pointless to ask...well blu-ray is a more advances technology and like every new thing on the market they tend to cost more. Ps3 and XB360 are in the competitive game market where you have more cost to make the disk as in development costs which tend to be more than it is to make a DVD or Blu-ray...

[fronn]

These are pretty similar situations, except in the world of video games it's more about comparing PS3/360 game prices with PS2/Xbox/Wii game prices. $60 vs $50.

It's about perceived value -- manufacturing cost of the disc is only a small portion of why the price is higher (not a reason at all in the case of games).

Blu-ray movies have a higher MSRP primarily because of the perceived value increase of HD, not manufacturing cost (HD DVD and BR were the same price, yet BR was more expensive to manufacture).

I'm not sure why people want to connect cost with price all the time. In a world of capitalism they don't relate as close as we'd like.

[ps3andlovinit]

Originally Posted by Canada

where PS3 and 360 games have the same audio.

Actually they don't .. the PS3 supports 7.1 PCM and the 360 only supports DD 5.1. And the games that have had 7.1 have been priced the same as ones that don't.

[JessR]

bluray is way worth the price. I would pay the higher fee anyday to watch these movies in HD.

[Schrute Farms]

I think the point the OP is making, and the question posed, is why are games SOOOO expensive compared to movies?

I guess movies make up the production costs in the box office, whereas games have only one release. Still, I will NEVER pay $60 for a video game.

[plowmanjoe]

Originally Posted by Schrute Farms

I think the point the OP is making, and the question posed, is why are games SOOOO expensive compared to movies?

I guess movies make up the production costs in the box office, whereas games have only one release. Still, I will NEVER pay $60 for a video game.

tons of people would and do pay $60 and that's what matters.

the value of a video game compared to a movie is so much greater. the amount of hours a video game can entertain compared to a 2 hour movie. i do not think $60 is too much to ask as long as it is the right game for you.

[BaronVH]

Games have to be much, much more expensive than movies due to the cost of making them versus the number of purchasers. Basic supply and demand. The point of the OP is that PS3 games should be more expensive than 360 games as the production costs absent replication are the same, but a Blu-ray disc is more expensive by itself. The reason they are the same is that Sony has to keep the price equal to the 360 for competitive reasons. As to $60 being too expensive: I don't often pay $60 for a game, but some such as Fallout 3 or Gears of War are excellent, top-notch forms of entertainment that give you literally a hundred hours of playtime. Some are worth it (but not many). You can get Bioshock for $30 right now, so good deals can be found.