Bottom line is they are too greedy ---- half the price will probably result in more than twice the sales ..... lower profit per unit resulting in higher unit turnover .........
Simplistic -- but then, I have a simple mind :-/
Doesn't work, certainly in this country.
Earlier this decade, DVDs were £20 a pop, now they average about £12. The proportion of illegal duplication has gone up, despite prices going down.
There is a mentaility in this country, because you can do it easily, that makes it OK to copy or download, hence all the uproar a couple of years ago about ISP traffic shaping, FUP/AUPs, and ISP assisted p2p discovery.
I agree the current 'high street' distribution method will increase costs, as you have physical costs, packaging, distribution, and retails costs. The likes of Play/Amazon should be much cheaper than they are, they are the greedy ones. They buy direct, pay lower tax, and send direct.
Some kind of electronic direct distribution would half the costs, but it would obviously have to be heavily DRM'd, which always gets people's hackles up. It would also be another nail in the coffin of the High Street - sadly how many High Streets now have unique independent shops, rather than the usual chains that every other town has?