It’s been a long-time argument: the question of why digital versions of games sometimes cost the same price as a physical release. There’s no packaging to make, no disc to press, no middleman to take their money, no distribution costs, or any of that.

Ryan Lee Perez over at Destructiod wondered this same thing when taking a look at EA’s new digital distribution network, Origin. Last week, while at the EA Summer Showcase, he asked about this very thing, and got answers that weren’t really answers.

For example, this reply: Sometimes it costs more to distribute digitally.

When Perez asked for clarification on that, he was told, In most cases, retailers buy in bulk and receive huge discounts for doing so. When a company distributes over a digital platform, they have to worry about bandwidth and other digital variables.

Unfortunately, the age-old rule seems to apply: if they can, they will. So if companies CAN get away with charging the same price for digital versions of their products, they WILL.

Source: Destructoid