Why Red Dead Redemption's Price Has Fans So Angry

Summary

Red Dead Redemption fans are unhappy about the game's $49.99 price tag on PS4 and Switch, especially considering the lack of meaningful improvements.
The PS4 and Switch ports offer minor performance upgrades but are essentially the same as the 2010 game, with less content due to the removal of multiplayer.
Despite the backlash, Red Dead Redemption has become popular and is already at the top of the PS4 PlayStation Store page.

Red Dead Redemption is freshly available on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, but fans aren't happy about its $49.99 asking price. Many fans haven't been happy about the Red Dead Redemption PS4 and Switch ports from the get-go. Ever since they were announced, there have been complaints about the fact that there still is no Red Dead Redemption PC port and that the game isn't getting native PS5 or Xbox Series X versions.

Prior to Rockstar's official announcement, rumors spread online that the company was looking to remaster or even remake Red Dead Redemption for modern platforms. The announcement of the Switch and PS4 ports confirmed that wasn't the case. The PS4 and Switch ports of Red Dead Redemption left hardcore fans deflated and disappointed, especially in the wake of the disastrous Grand Theft Auto 3D trilogy remasters.

What's really put some Red Dead Redemption fans over the edge is the game's price of $49.99. The original Red Dead Redemption cost $49.99 when it first launched on PS3 and Xbox 360 all the way back in 2010, so it's understandable that fans are confused about why the game is priced so high 13 years later, especially since the PS4 and Switch ports offer very little in the way of meaningful improvements.

The Red Dead Redemption PS4 and Switch Ports Are Basically the Same as the 2010 Game

There are some very minor performance upgrades found in the PS4 and Switch ports of Red Dead Redemption, but nothing substantial. Effectively, they offer the same experience fans had in 2010, though the Switch version at least makes Red Dead Redemption portable.

What's more is that there is technically less content in the Red Dead Redemption PS4 and Switch ports when compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360 originals. Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer is gone in the new versions of the game. One could argue that this is offset by the inclusion of the Undead Nightmare DLC, but even then PS4 and Switch gamers are paying $10 extra than Xbox gamers for the same content.

Right now, Xbox gamers can buy the Undead Nightmare DLC for $9.99, while the base game is $29.99, for a total of $39.99. Besides the fact that the new versions lack online multiplayer, comparison videos have shown that there are no substantial differences between the different versions of the game performance or graphics-wise, meaning PS4 and Switch gamers are expected to pay $10 more for less content than they would get if they played Red Dead Redemption on Xbox Series X through the backward compatibility program instead.

But even though many fans have been vocal about their disapproval of Red Dead Redemption's PS4 and Switch price, that doesn't seem to have stopped people from buying it. In fact, Red Dead Redemption has already shot to the top of the PS4 PlayStation Store page, indicating that many people are at least checking the game out if not buying it outright. And with a physical release coming in October, it seems safe to say that even though many are upset about the Red Dead Redemption PS4 and Switch ports, many more are still going to buy the games.