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Another reason to buy your cross-platform games on PC

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PC games are cheaper than their nearly-exactly identical console equivalents. That’s been the case since Old Father Games ruled a permanent discount into being as compensation for the occasional time a graphics driver update would mean melted plastic all over the study carpet.

Stick a lot of Steam prices right next to the recently-announced digital launch prices on the PS4 and Xbox One, however, and an ugly picture emerges – publishers appear to have used the in-progress leap to new machines as an excuse to hike up digital prices a further notch for their console games in the UK.

On PC, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes costs £24.99. On PS4, it’s £52.99. And I daren’t mention Angry Birds until we’re all inside – the shouting will upset the neighbours.

The Xbox One is now out in the UK. The PS4 isn’t, but the UK PlayStation Store is now live, and we can ogle its audacious RRPs.

EA in particular seem to have had an empathy bypass, pricing their new PS4 games at £62.99 – seven pounds above their Xbox One equivalents, and £13 beyond their PC contemporaries, if we’re being generous mathematicians.

  • Call of Duty: Ghosts: PS4 – £54.99, Xbox One – £54.99, Steam – £39.99
  • Battlefield 4: PS4 – £62.99, Xbox One – £54.99, Origin – £44.99
  • Need for Speed Rivals: PS4 – £62.99, Xbox One – £54.99, Origin – £49.99
  • Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag: PS4 – £57.99, Xbox One – £54.99, Steam – £39.99
  • LEGO Marvel Super Heroes: PS4 – £52.99, Xbox One – unlisted, Steam – £24.99
  • NBA 2K14: Xbox One – £54.99, Steam – £29.99
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition: PS4 – £52.99, Steam – £39.99
  • Trine 2: Complete Story: PS4 – £14.49, Steam – £13.99
  • Angry Birds Star Wars: PS4 – £32.99, Xbox One – £35.19, Rovio, PC – £4.00
  • Warframe: PS4 – Free, Steam – Free

Look on the bright side: I suppose there’s no reason to quibble about Warframe. But beyond that, nine good reasons to steer well clear of Sony and Microsoft’s marketplaces, if you can help it, and enjoy your future cross-platform games on PC.

If it ain’t Forza, it probably ain’t worth it. Here’s a comprehensive explanation of why your next generation console should be a PC, courtesy of our Tim.