Pricing is based off what you will pay, not what you should pay. You also don’t get a discount for using the self checkout in a grocery store. That one attendant is replacing 6-9 registers, and they’re saving all those salaries, but they pass the savings on to themselves.
You don’t calculate the price of something by totalling up the cost to produce it and then adding a bit for profit - you calculate it based on what people are willing to pay. That doesn’t really change if it’s digital or physical. Some people might be willing to pay a bit more for a physical copy, but probably not many and you’d turn off more people by having the higher price.
This. And a lot of people (myself included) are willing to pay more for the convenience and immediacy of digital. Sure, there’s always going to be people that consider themselves collectors that will keep physical going, but I think a lot of those people would be surprised at how small of a minority they are among the general populace that just wants to play a game
Im just a cheapskate r/patiengamer that prefers to buy used or on sale and sell the game after Ive completed it and have no intention of replaying it.