10 euros. Apparently, nothing more needs to be said about "Days Gone Remastered" when it comes to criticism. If you own the PS4 original, you can get the PS5 upgrade for this amount - and suddenly the game is presented in an unassailable light. The price becomes a vest that makes any shortcomings invisible. Criticism? Uncomfortable. For ten euros? Ridiculous! And that's exactly what makes the release of "Days Gone Remastered" so perfidiously clever.
The price tag as a killer argument
Sony has understood how to steer discussions. A low price for a remaster acts as a protective shield against any form of criticism. As soon as someone asks whether the game has any real new features over the new game modes or deserves the term "remaster" at all, the answer is reflexively: "What do you want - for the price?"
This argument always works because it seems logical: if you ask for little, you owe little. But this is exactly where the problem begins. Because with this attitude, people no longer talk about whether a product is good, but whether it is cheap enough to disregard quality.
A thought experiment: What if it cost 80 euros? Let's imagine that "Days Gone Remastered" had not been released for 10 euros as an upgrade or 50 euros as the regular price, but as a full-price title for 80 euros. What would the reaction have been?
The criticism would have been loud, direct and widespread: "Hardly any innovations!", "An upgrade, not a real remaster!", "Rip-off!" - exactly what has been experienced in other cases such as "The Last of Us Part I". A price of 80 euros would have steered the debate in a completely different direction - namely to where it belongs: the actual quality of the product. However, this has yet to happen and is likely to be exciting once again.
Inexpensive ≠ good
But at 10 euros? Even the loudest voice on the net cringes. The discussion often ends at: "Well, you can't complain for the money." And that is precisely the point. The price is not just a sales argument - it is a political tool to defuse criticism in advance.
Of course, a low price is not a bad thing per se. On the contrary - if you want to offer console owners with tight budgets a technically revised version of an old game is customer-friendly. But it becomes problematic when the price has to be used as a killer argument to avoid discussions about quality.
After all, what does it say about a game if it can only be defended by its low price? Is the remaster really good then? Or just good enough not to upset anyone at 10 euros? We'll see in a few days.
The real problem: expectation management
"Days Gone Remastered" is a good example of how cleverly Sony uses price to control public perception: for 10 euros, expectations are as low as the loading times are short, and every little bit of progress is gratefully chalked up as "worthwhile" - not because of the quality, but because it was cheap. Criticism? Disproportionate! Discussions? Pointless! And so sometimes a small tenner is enough to wrap a lukewarm remaster in benevolent reviews - clever, or simply cheap.
And what is often overlooked in the end: You don't pay the 10 euros for the PS5 upgrade in a vacuum. If you bought the original "Days Gone" at release, you paid the full price of 60 to 70 euros back then. So if you add both amounts together, you end up paying a pretty classic price for the remaster too - just in installments. Although this does not detract from the technical added value, it does put into perspective the often quoted "You really can't accuse us of anything" attitude. Because the whole thing looks good on paper - especially for those who paid years ago.
Let us know what you think in the comments!
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