I can respect that. It's just think it's weird that it's $20 more on consoles for no good reason.
I made the same complaint with Overwatch as well... it's like there is a console tax or something.
Yup.
And tax is there because console gamers are willing to pay it. That's why console games traditionally sell for the same amount (usually $60 US for the past few generations).
Using Canadian prices are a bit weird as prices can fluctuate due to currency exchange, but to give you idea of gaming prices just to prove the console side takes bigger bites of profit margin.
Early 90s
- Awful currency exchange. About $0.67 on the dollar vs the US. Genesis/SNES games were about $80 CDN
- Console games on cartridges which cost a lot.... I remember reading it could be $10-15 for the chip
3 years ago
- Currency on par 1:1. Console games $60 like the US
- Console games on discs which are probably no more than 50 cents. Digital game sales taking off which makes it even cheaper as there's no physical packaging and MS, Sony and the game maker cut out EB Games and Best Buy
Today
- Awful currency exchange again. About $0.75 on the dollar vs the US. X1/PS4 games are $80 again
- Digital sales taking off even more. Still selling games for $80 like a brick and mortar store
All the while the entire time, PC games are typically cheaper.... (although at launch, a game can be the same price of a console game), but even if it's the same price at the start, PC game prices fall fast. Then there's Steam deals down the line, and all kinds of indie bundles you never see on consoles.
Like it or not, many devs treat the console crowd as the profit makers.... high prices, slower price drops, and over the past 5-10 years many PC-centric devs now focus on console first and then release a PC port later. They see the $$$, so they want to lock in as much $60 copies on Xbox and PS4 before selling it for $40 on PC.... which will turn into a $20-30 Steam deal 6 months later.