rock band europe price

mayordenis

its ****ing scandalous

i hope that nobody buys this i understand that people want this game badly but nobody should put up with this sort of ridiculous over-pricing

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=130927

Retr0gamer

It's an absolute and utter ****ing disgrace that EA are charging this. It comes to 240 euros for the instruments and the game (not including the extra added on by irish retailers anyway) while the game and instruments cost 107 euro in america. It's almost 2.5 times the price over here.

It would be cheaper to import the game for the 360 including the shipping costs just for the instruments and to buy the game over. Thats what I'm considering doing.

Never let it be said that EA are not a pack of utter c*unts.

LookingFor

It's not really my type of game, but that's lol-worthy...WOW.

Gunmonkey

Does the €240 contain both guitars, the drums and mic? Because compared to games like Guitar Hero (€100 at least for 1 guitar and game) its not that bad.

As for it being cheaper in america, welcome to european game pricing. We always pay far more than the USA.

WellyJ

I can only guess that it is a mistake,

And the "Instrument Edition" DOES in fact contain the game,

170 euro is not too bad.

If its true and the game and instruments are sold seperately (which makes no sense at all) then its a disgrace.

But i really think it must be a mistake.

Gizzle

I'd sooner make a €240 papier maché swan tbh. What morons do the pricing for EA in Europe? Seriously. I was mildly interested in getting this game but if this is level of cretinry EA think they're dealing with (I hope) they're sadly mistaken. With the Irish retail bump, I can easily see this retailing for €300, more than an Xbox360 and the same price as a PS3...Jaysus me heart, I think I'll go sit down now...

faceman

What a pile of cack. Why would the game not be included in "instruments addition"??

I expected it to be 150-200 euro but FFS!!!

S.I.R

this is just as bad as guitar hero as its just a case of " click click click click click "


whoever pays 240 for it needs a smack of a bus imo :rolleyes:

faceman

Check out the you tube clips where punters have wired their rock band drum kits to their mac's etc. Mad stuff!

There is another one where some bloke made his real drum kit his rock band drum kit!

Kristok

wont be bothering with that then maby import the ps3 version but no way im buying it here. Another peice of european price hiking. Anyone really surprised at this happens with everything game related.

mayordenis

Gunmonkey wrote: »

As for it being cheaper in america, welcome to european game pricing. We always pay far more than the USA.

well yes we all know that but more than twice the price?

mayordenis

like in dollar terms in the us you get everything for about $170 and here we'll get it in dollar terms again for about $380

Fnz

Urge. to. kill.... rising!

EA, you're like school in summertime! :mad:

BlitzKrieg

*whistle*

It cant stay like that.

No one will pay those prices, especially not that its 360 only.

You might have gotten away with it on a console with a much less connected fanbase but between xbox live and the internet huge number of people will know how much they are being ripped off.

Now if they had shipped with Wii and PS3 versions in tow, EA might have caught a few via the casual gaming market but this wont sell unless the instrument pack ships with a copy of the game.


It has to be a mistake...look at what you can buy for the same price: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10552143&postcount=202

m2p2008

no its going to be 170 for evary thing got pre order allraday on play .com

Mr E

EA will come out later today (or in the next couple of days) to say that the Instrument Edition includes the game.

They've got massive amounts of free publicity today, and increased product awareness.
When they say that the €170 includes the game, everyone is going to go "Yay" and prebook/buy the game.

Negative publicity is still publicity.

Ciaran500

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=130870
(Update: EA has now clarified pricing details, too, having left them out of its original announcement. The instruments will be GBP 129.99 / EUR 169.99 with the game sold separately.)

seraphimvc

240 for EU price?then 300 for our local shop i guess?:D

Burning Eclipse

Bite the pillow, it's goin in dry...

Mr E

Burning Eclipse wrote: »

Bite the pillow, it's goin in dry...

Ouch...

wayne040576

240 quid to play Simon?
They can keep it. Unfortunately people will pay it.

BlitzKrieg

reading around the petitions and forums about this.

Which is p*ssing people off more here?

a) The price tag of the instruments

b) The fact that you get only the instruments and have to pay seperatly for the game.


Alot of people seem to be getting angry at the 160-170 euro price tag and demanding equal exchange rate price between the US and Europe.

Now my grasp of economics is dusty leaving cert standard, but I do understand that as part of the EU we play host to a wide selection of laws and restrictions on products that dont exist in europe, from restrictions on what the packaging (yes I do believe the plastic used on american products does not stand up to european standards) can be made out of to tax on goods produced outside the EU. of course there not the only costs, especially if you buy from high street.

So the higher price tag of 170 euros for the product (rather then a direct exchange rate cost putting it at 100 or so euros) is understandable if one was to work out the hidden costs.

But what gets me as the money grabbing greedy aspect that screams injustice to gamers of europe is seperating the game away from the package. Thats pure simple greed. EA cannot put the blame for that on the EU or other such nonsense.

Mr E

Its not 170, BlitzKrieg. Its 240 for the full package. 170 will just get you some useless plastic toys.

BlitzKrieg

read my post again. its 240 only because you are forced to buy the game seperatly to the instruments.

it should be 170 for instruments and game in one package. Thats what I feel EA has most f*cked up on. IF they had announced 169.99 for the same package the US got, I would expect there would have been some complaints about *rip off ireland* (or europe in this case) but not the same outright backlash they are getting from both you and myself because they have broken the package up.

(sort of like Grindhouse all over again)

Mr E

Sorry man, it wasn't clear from your post.

Just so we're on the same page: EA Bad.

WellyJ

BlitzKrieg wrote: »

read my post again. its 240 only because you are forced to buy the game seperatly to the instruments.

it should be 170 for instruments and game in one package. Thats what I feel EA has most f*cked up on. IF they had announced 169.99 for the same package the US got, I would expect there would have been some complaints about *rip off ireland* (or europe in this case) but not the same outright backlash they are getting from both you and myself because they have broken the package up.

(sort of like Grindhouse all over again)

Again i have to say,

I am sure that the package will be 170 euro WITH game,

And that they have simply ****ed up with the press release, possibly for publicity.

There is no way they will sell the "Instrument Edition" with no game.

It makes no sense whatsoever.

thelordofcheese

yet people will still buy it, justifing EA's decision to price it in this manner.

Sure people whine, moan and bitch and sign some kind of pointless electronic petition, but they'll eventually just shut up and hand over the 270Quid.

I'd be very, very surprised if EA back down over this.

Ciaran500

WellyJ wrote: »

Again i have to say,

I am sure that the package will be 170 euro WITH game,

And that they have simply ****ed up with the press release, possibly for publicity.

There is no way they will sell the "Instrument Edition" with no game.

It makes no sense whatsoever.

Well no one in EA seems to know about the **** up

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=131029

Tusky

240 euro for a game. Regardless of how good it is, who can afford that ? Ridiculous price. Sales will suffer as a result.

BlitzKrieg

the fact that you can buy a 360 arcade version for that price, or just about a Wii (short a tenner) more then says that the excuse:

"But Rock Band isn't normal in videogames," he continued. "This is an entirely new thing. What other game comes with three peripherals that are all different? It just makes sense for the experience we're trying to deliver."

is a load of bollocks.


And the Vat/electronic consumers good argument doesnt work because the problem has nothing to do with adding on charges to cover vat etc, thats already covered by the 1 for 1 exchange rate, the issue here is charging 70 euro for a specific item that in all respect was handed out free in the US and Canada (instruments + game in US in one price, Instruments+game seperate in EU)


Though the curious thing about the article is the fixation on price point, WellyJ could (in a very long shot) be right that its all a misunderstanding because the internet backlash has been so muddled that alot of people have picked up that europeans are pissed at the difference in price between the US and EU, not that we are being forced to pay twice over. The article says nothing about why the packages were divided up, which gives a small glint of hope.

BlitzKrieg

Full interview is up now:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=131097


Maybe the euro/sterling thing is confusing them?

Stephen

If any of you are stupid enough to buy this for this price, take this. You'll need it:

Cosmonaut

I recon they planned to go for the individual instrument sale they couldnt pull off in the States. If theyre selling guitars for 100euro odd and drums for similar, they couldnt go selling the entire package (with game) for anything less than 200.

The representative interviewed on Eurogamer new nothing about the pricing reasons and thats all that anybody wants to know. We know the game is fun, we know its an unusual gaming package, please stop waxing lyrical and talking marketing crap as if we owe you for anything Harmonix.

I expected more from Harmonix personally. And until anybody gives a real reason for such a price hike, im importing the instruments (thats if EA havent started region locking hardware already).

Holsten

€200 delivered from play.com.

koneko

I suspect the interview with the Harmonix guy might have been planned before the price announcement and subsequent outrage, and I feel bad for the guy. It's not his decision, not his place to answer those questions or defend the price, he's a designer not a PR person at the publisher. The interview should not have gone ahead as it did, it should have been with someone else that IS in a position to answer questions (PR @ EA) and not fob people off with some vague references to "taxes and stuff".

jasonbourme.cs

imported about 2 weeks ago ordered it on from seller on ebay on tuesday arrived on monday of following week 200 euro including the shipping from the states .

dont see how EA can justify the absurd price difference and the delay in release
typical though the europeans get screwed , although could be worse .


Oz probably wont get it til next year

WellyJ

Holsten wrote: »

€200 delivered from play.com.

I doubt they will deliver the instruments to ireland to be honest,

They wont even deliver the GTAIV collectors edition due to the weight.

If you order it you will get notice of this i think.

Cosmonaut

WellyJ wrote: »

I doubt they will deliver the instruments to ireland to be honest,

They wont even deliver the GTAIV collectors edition due to the weight.

If you order it you will get notice of this i think.

Are you serous about the collectors edition? I need that lockbox?!?!?

WellyJ

Cosmonaut wrote: »

Are you serous about the collectors edition? I need that lockbox?!?!?

Yeh tried play.com first for this, as i got the Halo 3 CE from them with free shipping!

But obviously they have changed their policy and wont ship above certain weight.

Game are the same, ended up ordering it from hmv as they dont appear to have this issue, though who knows, i will probably get an email on the 29th saying they cant ship it....

Dont be at yourself

Europeans are getting well and truly gouged by EA here. They can waffle on about localisation, about taxes, about all the various laws and distribution networks, but it's all a smokescreen. The markup here is over 100% which doesnt add up no matter what way you look at it.

Memnoch

a while back I made up my mind to avoid buying anything with an EA label on it unless I was really desperate.

So glad I did.

Smellyirishman

Another dev tries to reason about the pricing. I just don't understand why they started with such a high RRP, if Play is already able to offer the game + instruments for £140, a price most would have been expecting, then clearly the markup is way too high. Still gonna wait and see what retailers charge and if it's close to RRP then I'll be importing the drums.

super_furry

I honestly think they're in for a big shock when the game comes out as I don't think anyone is going to buy it. Seriously, just who is going to pay €240 for a videogame? Not the casual gamers, who have made the game such a success in the US - they can buy a Wii console or Xbox 360 for that price.

faceman

its up to us as consumers to make a statement by not making the purchase.

Attol

I have friends who imported it from the states and I think it cost them about €120 altogether. Definitely something to look into. It's the PS3 version which is region free, not sure if the 360 one is or not.

Mr E

360 is not region free, unfortunately.

ghouldaddy07

absolute joke wanted to pick this game up for awhile but I dont think I could stomach even importing this game with the attitude E.A are taking on it its not a bloody virtual reality machine ,its a game with abit of music and some funny looking joypads.

I really hope the game dose terrible in europe but i know it wont.


Pointless to really give out about E.A its blatant they are pure evil :mad:

BlitzKrieg

they finally got around to explaining why they split the bundle up

and of course its a load of bollox

1. The peripherals are manufactured in China, but the software is manufactured in Europe (Mike?). In order to bundle the software, we would need to set up a bundling facility, ship all the peripherals to it, open each box to insert the software, then re-pack it into containers and route it to the distribution centers. This is very expensive to do in Europe, and we are actually focused on trying to keep costs down; see earlier post. It isn’t really possible to do the bundling in China, since the peripherals shipping is done by boat (airfreight would be insanely expensive for boxes that big), and the peripherals need to leave China before the software development is complete.

ok

A) I assume you had to the same for the US?

You do know you dont actually need to put the game into the actual bigger box.

2. The game disc and peripherals are identical for all European territories, but the manuals have to be localized for each country, so in practice the software package is different for each country. That means that for each territory that we launch into (currently UK/France/Germany), we’d need to build and track separate bundles. If we were to launch into additional territories in the future, then we’d be obliged to track even more unique bundles. This also has big inventory-management challenges. For example, if the game ends up selling really well in Germany, but not in France, then we’d have a warehouse full of French bundles and no inventory for Germany. For a region like Europe, it just makes more sense to treat the software and hardware separately. This wasn’t an issue in the US, since it’s one giant (mostly) English-speaking country.

Uhmmm every game does this? Why is Rock Band so unique?

3. Given that the game is expensive (which we acknowledge), we want to provide some alternate options for purchase than the entire bundle at one go. If you already own a USB microphone, it will probably work with Rock Band. Depending on the console you own, other controllers you own may (OR MAY NOT! See lengthy commentary elsewhere on this forum) work with Rock Band. Providing standalone software and peripherals may give you an opportunity to get into Rock Band at a lower price, depending on your situation.

ok you dont seem to be understanding here...

*the games expensive, break it up and charge more*

THE GAME IS EXPENSIVE BECAUSE YOUR BRAKING IT UP!

Sell it as a bundle and its no longer an overpriced monster.

You're creating your own monster.

bah bah bah!

faceman

Crowd of muppets, completely agree blitzkrieg.

witnessmenow

Arent you subject to import tax when you buy it off play.com?

Fnz

Y'know what EA... don't bother releasing Rock Band in Europe at all. It just sound like too expensive a proposition, for you... for us.

Just remove the region restrictions from the game and let us, the consumers, take on the expense of importing the kit ourselves from America. Your obviously too timid to upset your import partners by requesting a sane (bulk shipping) fee off them... and wily individuals are already importing the kit for less anyway... so save everyone the hassle of a European release.