FIFA 13 - Gamesnash offer

Zero-Cool

1st of all Pat from Gamesnash posted this in his Gamesnash section on Boards. I believe someone else posted it in the Fifa section but if you don't usually browse the Gamesnash section or you are like me and don't go on the Fifa forums you might miss this so apologies if it has been posted a bit much and mods can decide if this should stick to Gamesnash/Fifa forums....

Anyway...

Gamesnash.ie are selling FIFA 13 now on preorder for €59.49 or €64.99 for the ultimate edition. If you have a boards.ie account, you will get a free voucher to use on your next purchase. The more boards member buy it, the higher the value of the voucher. Only Boards members with accounts created before today will work. Details below:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056720877

I'm not a big soccer fan and usually stick to basketball but I found Fifa 11 way more enjoyable than NBA 2K12 so I will be going for Fifa 13 and definitely gonna order through Gamesnash for that voucher!

http://gamesnash.ie/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=fifa+13&x=0&y=0

SeantheMan

60euro ?

Is that the lowest expected price ? Surely it will pop up in HMV etc for 50 ?
Can't remember the last time I paid 60 for a game

Sephiroth_dude

Pity the offer doesn't include to the vita game

Josey Wales

SeantheMan wrote: »

60euro ?

Is that the lowest expected price ? Surely it will pop up in HMV etc for 50 ?
Can't remember the last time I paid 60 for a game

That is exactly what I was thinking. I don't think I have paid more than €45 for a game on the PS3 or 360, unless it was a collectors edition.

the groutch

sorry, but it'll be €50 on release in Gamestop, possibly cheaper in Tesco.
it would have to be one helluva voucher.

Zero-Cool

Well Gamestop have it for pre-order at 58 euro (not including delivery so looks like the stores will be selling it for 60 quid as well. Not sure about other places

http://www.gamestop.ie/SearchResult/QuickSearch?q=fifa+13

Josey Wales

It does seem like an expensive game looking around at a few sites. I guess they know it will sell regardless so they just want to get as much money out of the FIFA fans as they can.

Amazon have it available for €51, which is more expensive that I thought it would be. But that has to do with the Euro/Sterling rate at the moment.

xxyyxx

€60 for any game is robbery. And that goes for all retailers.

SeantheMan

I'd be happy to support and buy it off Gamesnash.ie , if it were priced the same as all other stores upon release.
As I don't care who I get it off

chopperbyrne

Try to get free chocolate off them like we did for SFxT!

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

Hi guys,

Just to explain that retail price. There are a few factors in play here.

The cost price for this title is significantly higher than most AAA releases.EA sell it to their distributors / retailers via the UK and in pounds sterling. As the value of the euro has fallen so much it in the last year it has also increased the cost price to us here. If the euro continues to fall we will most likely have to increase the prices. Retailers are not jacking up the price knowing that they can get more for the title. It is very much the cost price that is the issue.

The RRP for Fifa 13 is €64.99 - €74.99 and we have significantly discounted it. We have made a concious decision to price match Gamestop. We will make less than €3.00 on each Fifa 13 we sell after we pay our postal costs and payment processing costs. What this means is that straight away by giving boardsies a €3.00 voucher we're effectively loss making on the title. And if the numbers come in and it's a €10.00 voucher then we will be losing / subsidising it even more. That's our decision of course and we hope to get goodwill / other sales from doing this. We therefore see it as a marketing spend.

saiint

Gamesnash.ie: Pat wrote: »

Hi guys,

Just to explain that retail price. There are a few factors in play here.

The cost price for this title is significantly higher than most AAA releases.EA sell it to their distributors / retailers via the UK and in pounds sterling. As the value of the euro has fallen so much it in the last year it has also increased the cost price to us here. If the euro continues to fall we will most likely have to increase the prices. Retailers are not jacking up the price knowing that they can get more for the title. It is very much the cost price that is the issue.

The RRP for Fifa 13 is €64.99 - €74.99 and we have significantly discounted it. We have made a concious decision to price match Gamestop. We will make less than €3.00 on each Fifa 13 we sell after we pay our postal costs and payment processing costs. What this means is that straight away by giving boardsies a €3.00 voucher we're effectively loss making on the title. And if the numbers come in and it's a €10.00 voucher then we will be losing / subsidising it even more. That's our decision of course and we hope to get goodwill / other sales from doing this. We therefore see it as a marketing spend.

to-mato tomato
its still a rip off
even though its not your fault of course its the whole euro thing
but still 60 euro for a game of anyones money is robbery
the prices may go up so you can make money but at the end of the day none of that effects the customer they can only see the price of the game, they dont take into account everything you just said
like 60 euro for a game is what nearly 10 hours work on minimun wage

same with smokes but thats a different story :P

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

the groutch wrote: »

sorry, but it'll be €50 on release in Gamestop, possibly cheaper in Tesco.
it would have to be one helluva voucher.

I tell you this - if they are selling it at €50 in store I will be in the queue buying off them myself

xxyyxx wrote: »

€60 for any game is robbery. And that goes for all retailers.

The reality here is that the percieved value of games here in Ireland and the UK has been lowered due to the heavy price cutting that retailers here are involved with. I've posted ad nauseum before about this so will refrain from repeating myself in detail but basically over here new games are priced a lot lower than they should be (sometimes at a loss) because retailers are looking for customer loyalty and to make money on the pre owned market. Look at Gamestop's italian website - Fifa 13 standard edition will set you back over €70 after delivery charges are added in. And in shops over there you will pay €70 -€75 on release day for it.

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

saiint wrote: »

to-mato tomato
its still a rip off
even though its not your fault of course its the whole euro thing
but still 60 euro for a game of anyones money is robbery
the prices may go up so you can make money but at the end of the day none of that effects the customer they can only see the price of the game, they dont take into account everything you just said
like 60 euro for a game is what nearly 10 hours work on minimun wage

same with smokes but thats a different story :P

Your post there crossed with my second one. I understand the sentiment in what you say - the only thing I am at pains to point out is that the retailer isn't setting the price, the publishers are, and even at that retailers will be selling at a loss / subsidising the game here.

saiint

Gamesnash.ie: Pat wrote: »

Your post there crossed with my second one. I understand the sentiment in what you say - the only thing I am at pains to point out is that the retailer isn't setting the price, the publishers are, and even at that retailers will be selling at a loss / subsidising the game here.

i see what you mean mate, sadly most people who buy from this voucher deal wont relise you guys are actually losing money on the deal so they wont appreciate it as much specialy if they see the game as 60e as a start off, they will just think grand i can bring down the price abit,

are all games going up to 60 euro now though? or is this with only with fifa13*

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

saiint wrote: »

i see what you mean mate, sadly most people who buy from this voucher deal wont relise you guys are actually losing money on the deal so they wont appreciate it as much specialy if they see the game as 60e as a start off, they will just think grand i can bring down the price abit,

are all games going up to 60 euro now though? or is this with only with fifa13*

I honestly don't know. Fifa is costing more in sterling than any other title this year and will only be beaten by Call Of Duty Black Ops 2 so we've no plans to retail other titles at that price point. But that said if the euro continues to fall I can see some of the other bigger titles heading back to €60+ retail prices too. The price cutting going on here is a big factor in what led to Game's collapse, HMV lost another £100 million + last year too. It's hurting the other bigger players too and as for smaller players I believe we are the only independent Games retailer left in Ireland. I don't think the industry can sustain it here to be honest but time will tell.

TheDoc

Applaud you discussing and explaining the situation.

However what is simply happening here is really nothing out of the ordinary for a major title and has been recognisable over the past 6-8 months.

The vast majority of new releases go for between €45-€50, with HMV being the best I find retailing at €45 for new release. This includes big name titles. I picked up BF3 here release day for €45. As I did GOW3.

There is an obvious trend by publishers that for big games the RRP is higher. Call of duty typically retails €15-20 higher then anywhere else as does most Fifa games. It is evident with Publishers decision making then rather than take higher sales and market share from a normal RRP, they will settle for higher margin from starting with a higher RRP.

I also don't think its correct to compare countries like Italy, Spain or Portugal who have a higher tax rate on specificly, electronic goods. Portugal this year introduced a 40% tax increase on electronic goods, and in 2010 Italy introduced an electronic tax of about 10%.

An accurate representation would be for the UK and the US where pricing and taxation on electronic goods is very similar. Including currency conversion at the most "retail rate" ( i.e. during conversions from online retailers you always get charge a tiny fraction more) the going rate for Fifa 13 looks to be €55.

So I think it is entirely plausible that as a smaller independent trader, you would not be able to match the pricing of larger establishments on the UK and the US.

In summary, your pricing isn't too far of the mark, and while people are rightly aggravated at the blatant raised pricing by the publishers for a big brand title, I think it is unfair to solely blame the retailer. But I would expect, as normal, certain retailers to have a very reasonable price on launch day. Origin are offering the game €49.99 direct to PC customers, adding more weight to the fact its the publisher driving the pricing.

And on a final note, I think the comments about Game and HMV are very misleading. HMV, for example, have sighted their drop in revenue towards consumers moving away from buying in stores, and buying their music digitally through iTunes, Google play and Amazon , sighting cheaper prices and instant delivery. Video games are not sighted as one of HMV's financial cores.

Many case studies have been now published on the failure of Game, which each and everyone sighting that the main reason for Games collapse was their inability to keep up to speed technically with rival stores technical infrastructure online, and the Digital Distribution services like Steam, Origin and a host more reducing foot traffic. While this has affected all retailers, Game planned and reacted the worse.

It did mention however that Supermarket giants like Tesco have become accustomed to selling their gaming titles as a loss leader, with the marketing plan to encourage impulse sales of other items within the store. All though as reported, and I'm sure anyone here can attest, Tesco arn't always the cheapest when it comes to games.

It has been coming for some time, and I know there is plenty of people who have called it, and I know I am one. Retail stores for gaming are in rapid decline and I've no doubt they will be gone in the coming years. Digital Distribution is the way forward, and as the barriers to entry lax within the EU, and specifically Ireland( who have a horrendous policy for digital distro) I have no doubt that Digital Distribution will be top dog, but that is for another discussion.

Schorpio

Tesco are generally never the cheapest for new games in my experience except when it comes to new fifa releases. They always seem to make an effort to undercut all of the other games outlets for about a week upon release. I bought fifa 12 there last year after doing my price homework beforehand. €70 is madness for a game which will lose 95% of it's value after 12 months imo.

Kudos to Pat though. I've never known Gamesnash to try and rip anyone off. EA charge top dollar for this game because they feel (probably correctly) that they can get away with it, which leave the giants selling the game at a loss and people like Pat lose out. I think it's a great promotion anyway, and fair play to Gamesnash!

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

Hi TheDoc,

I won't quote your post to avoid cluttering the forum. Thanks for your input.

I'm well aware that we don't enjoy the same purchasing power as some of the bigger players and there will obviously be more room for them to discount than ourselves.

I used Italy as an example (and wasn't aware of extra taxation there) It wasn't a deliberate ploy to mislead the community. However you will find the same price point of circa €69.99 on their German and French sites. I am 100% confident that the bottom line ex taxation price here in Ireland is significantly lower than the European mainland.

In regards to the USA comparison. Whilst retail pricing may indeed turn out to be on par - cost pricing to the retailers is not. I know we can purchase US stock from US / Far Eastern suppliers far cheaper. That's something only the publishers can explain but the reality is that each individual territory has different cost prices.

In regards to Games failure the cost cutting and loss leading by their competitors was a big factor. That isn't misleading IMO. I didn't say it was the only factor. When someone as big as Game is sending memos to their stores telling managers and staff to take money from the till and buy stock from the local Tesco as it was cheaper to do this than buy off Nintendo you can't ignore the impact of competitor pricing. That's not to say that the impact of digital distribution and online buying etc should be ignored or disregarded.

HMV may not cite games as one of their financial cores but their games trade is contributing to their losses and IMO is reflective of the strategy of the group as a whole. Again acknowledging that their purchasing power is greater than ours but even so I have seen countless cases of HMV retailing stock here far cheaper than the Irish and UK distributors are charged for the same stock from publishers - nevermind what price we as retailers end up paying for it.

I do agree with your assessment of the future of games retailing though. Digitial distribution will change things considerably.

TheDoc

Just to note, I didn't think you were misleading anyone intentionally, just thought a few pieces are common misconceptions

max life

Are there going to be any preorder bonuses for Fifa 13 when ordering from Gamesnash?

Zero-Cool

max life wrote: »

Are there going to be any preorder bonuses for Fifa 13 when ordering from Gamesnash?

I think the pre-order bonuses are for gamestop and somewhere else where you get the addidas team and kit to play with.

Gamesnash are offering the free voucher and the ultimate edition for an extra fiver.

pre-ordered my copy yesterday but just went with the regular edition as I'd say i'd get slaughtered in the ultimate team seeing as I've never played fifa online before.

Sephiroth_dude

Gonna preorder for vita soon,sure it's the same price on gamestop

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

max life wrote: »

Are there going to be any preorder bonuses for Fifa 13 when ordering from Gamesnash?

Unfortunately not - If we were buying the few hundred thousand units that Gamestop have EA might have given us an exclusive edition or similar but our purchasing power doesn't extend that far ! I know some places give out a cheap football etc but for us to add anything in increaseds the delivery costs and is unviable. As sheehy83 mentions we are offering the voucher here.

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Gonna preorder for vita soon,sure it's the same price on gamestop

I think we actually work out a couple of euro cheaper as our price includes delivery whereas they have a €2.00 charge.

quarryman

I really don't know you guys are still going Pat. Hats off to you but it must be a tough existence.

I'll be honest, once or twice I've gone looking to buy a game. I want it quick so I check your price. Then I check Amazon or one of the others and pretty much always go with the cheaper option (amazon) and wait the extra few days.

I appreciate that you have next day delivery and the customer service is there but the price difference is just that much that you never get a look in.

Really wish you all the best though, it can't be easy competing with the big boys.

Gamesnash.ie: Pat

quarryman wrote: »

I really don't know you guys are still going Pat. Hats off to you but it must be a tough existence.

I'll be honest, once or twice I've gone looking to buy a game. I want it quick so I check your price. Then I check Amazon or one of the others and pretty much always go with the cheaper option (amazon) and wait the extra few days.

I appreciate that you have next day delivery and the customer service is there but the price difference is just that much that you never get a look in.

Really wish you all the best though, it can't be easy competing with the big boys.

It is to be honest.

Demand for us for the latest new games is very much service driven which in current times isn't the best end of the market to be in but other than moving to Jersey there's not much we can do about it. Our customers typically want their games tomorrow not next week (and pre orders on release day) and are willing to pay that difference to get that. In your case you're not willing to pay it which is your choice and if you don't mind the few extra days wait it's a no brainer.

On the flip side we give better trade in credit than anyone out there so if you are trading in games as part of the transaction we offer a lot better value on the bottom line transaction and again most of our regular customers come back to us for that value.

Thanks for the wishes

psugrue

sheehy83 wrote: »

I think the pre-order bonuses are for gamestop and somewhere else where you get the addidas team and kit to play with.

Gamesnash are offering the free voucher and the ultimate edition for an extra fiver.

pre-ordered my copy yesterday but just went with the regular edition as I'd say i'd get slaughtered in the ultimate team seeing as I've never played fifa online before.

ah you dont gotta play online for ultimate team! you get more xp alright but for fifa 12 i never played the ultimate team online, its a great mode, had me addicted to it for a good month before i had to stop myself haha

Zero-Cool

Ah right I thought it was only online. Must give it a lash when I get it