68% of Horizon Forbidden West’s UK physical buyers paid £70, instead of the cheaper upgrade
More than two-thirds of physical copies of Horizon Forbidden West sold in the UK in its first weekend were for the £70 PS5 version, despite the cheaper PS4 box offering the same content for less money.
According to GfK sales data first published by GamesIndustry.biz, 68% of boxed sales during Forbidden West’s launch weekend were for the PlayStation 5 version, whereas the remaining 32% were on PlayStation 4.
However, players who purchase the PS4 version – which is priced at £59.99 in the UK, compared to £69.99 for the PS5 version – get a free PS5 upgrade.
This essentially means that 68% of players who bought physical versions of the game in the UK spent £10 more than they needed to.
The anomaly is due to a U-turn made by Sony following backlash to its statement that “dual entitlement [did] not apply to the standard and Special Editions” of Horizon Forbidden West.
The news meant that players would only get a free upgrade if they purchased more expensive versions, a move that appeared to contradict SIE CEO Jim Ryan’s comments in the past about cross-gen launch window titles getting free upgrades.
It appeared that because Horizon Forbidden West had been delayed to after the launch window, Sony wasn’t including it in this offer. However, following widespread negativity by the game’s fanbase, Sony changed its mind and said players who bought the PS4 version would get a free upgrade to the PS5 version.
However, as VGC reported earlier this month, players buying the game through their PS5 console are only given the option to purchase the £69.99 / $69.99 PS5 version, even though the £59.99 / $59.99 PS4 version contained exactly the same content.
Only players who access the store via a web browser or the PS4 console are given the option
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