Price of Games!

Saruman · 08-02-2002 2:45pm #1

Anyone notice before Christmas, maybe October or before the price of games went mental? I mean i always shopped in either Game or EB, Game was always cheapest and loyaly card holders got money off a good few games..

Then something happened.. dont know what maybe one of those cartel business decisions and the price of games went ape.. between £44.99 and £49.99 for brand new games for the PC?? What?? thats console prices!! Game no longer cheapest.. its crazy! They were always £35.99 - £39.99 for new releases... i Then went to softwarezone in Smyths toy stores.. wow! normal prices again, selection in the Blanchardstown one not as great as Game but still great and for those prices? Plus i bought a PS/2 there cheaper than anywhere else and got a few £5 off vouchers.

Anyway anyone else notice it?

azezil · 08-02-2002 3:43pm

Baught Armada 2 and Civ 3 for €32 each ... so have to say no!

EvilGeorge · 08-02-2002 4:16pm

Dont actually remember, but I do remember a mate mentioning it.

Saruman · 08-02-2002 4:22pm

Thats coz you dont buy games you miserable Louth boy.. you get Bilford to rip them for you!

EvilGeorge · 08-02-2002 4:29pm

And who gets them after that ?

amp · 08-02-2002 6:22pm

Eh kids? Xnay on the ripnay? See Attention Warez Monkeys announcement for more details.

Despite the lack of Atari Jaguar option I have chosen on this occasion to vote no. I haven't noticed cos it's been a while since I bought a full price game. But I'm sure they have.

chernobyl · 08-02-2002 7:37pm

Playstation 2 games are now a standard £51 and some are over £60, now microsoft are ok selling games @ €70+.

Dont be at yourself · 08-02-2002 7:44pm

I hear Microsoft are planning on selling memory cards at £50 STG a pop. Its a good thing they're not neccessay. I had to put off playing GTA3 for days due to lack of a memory card.

adnans · 08-02-2002 7:58pm

Originally posted by Saruman
between £44.99 and £49.99 for brand new games for the PC?? What?? thats console prices!! Game no longer cheapest.. its crazy! They were always £35.99 - £39.99 for new releases...

that will teach you all to buy crap games, you only end up encouraging publishers to up the price. and then when a really good game comes out, they sell it at an ridicilous price.

i remember paying £45 for B&W. immediately after that, EA ended up on my enemy list.

adnans

amp · 08-02-2002 8:18pm

Good god adnans, that sig is a thing of beauty.

Oh and the latest Edge magazine is worth buying for the cover alone.

Dont be at yourself · 08-02-2002 8:19pm

After buying B&W, EA wasn't on my enemy list.

After playing it, EA was on my enemy list. Along with every PC gaming journalist on the planet.

Fidelis · 08-02-2002 8:35pm

Never ever buy full priced games, unless it's a Half-Life or some other eg. MOH:AA, having played the demo, I'll be buying it regardless of price (within reason, of course). Hopefully it'll be no more than £40-£45.

As for price increases in games, that's called inflation. They've been slowly going up in price over the last 5 years.

As for PS2 games, I spit on you, sir. £50 for a game is pure insolence on Sonys part. What's worse is that the unsuspecting public i.e. YOU are buying that much for them.

meglome · 08-02-2002 8:39pm

Actually Saruman is right the prices were jacked up in Game and EB recently from £30-£35 to £40-£45. This is a £10 increase which is why I never buy games there anymore. Smyth’s toy store is the cheapest place to buy new games. I know Game and EB have their lowest price guarantee but I wouldn't even give them the time of day for that kind of price increase.

chernobyl · 08-02-2002 8:41pm

Sony did not jack the price up, its the shops.
It all happened in the "changeover" when the games started selling over £50 and now over £60...

Shinji · 08-02-2002 8:53pm

It's worth noting that the prices haven't gone up in the UK. Given Irish stores get their stock from the UK, I guess their justification is the current strength of sterling against the Euro...

Q_Ball · 08-02-2002 11:47pm

Originally posted by amp
Eh kids? Xnay on the ripnay? See Attention Warez Monkeys announcement for more details....

...I haven't noticed cos it's been a while since I bought a full price game...

ROFL

The price of PS2 games have gone up from £49.99 to £51.18, or €63.47 to €64.99. Some are coming out at €59.99, but not that many. After Game's recent sale a few games were reduced in price to the irish equivilant. eg £49.99 became €49.99. I'll be the first person to admit that game are more expensive than most other places, but i guess they feel that, as shinji pointed out, that the currency has a lot to do with it. Still doesn't explain why HMV and Virgin are sometimes a fiver cheaper. I haven't been in smyths for a while but i'm willing to take your word on it. GBA games are still ridiculously expensive, but i think thats everywhere. We don't often get a lot of people coming in quoting cheaper prices but when we do they are prices from smyths. It's worth noting that game get their prices from head office, as with most businesses.

Xtravision have been dirt cheap with PS2 prices. They had GTA3 for £39.99 before christmas, £10 less than game.

Expect XBox games to be in or around the same.

Also i was told today that the XBOX will retail at €500 and not €479 as was announced. At least thats what we're selling it for.

PC games did all of a sudden rise from £34.99 to £44.99, I don't really have an explanation for that except for "thats what it is" ... Trust me i'd rather have a better excuse. Or even not have to give an excuse.

It's a sorry state of affairs really. Cossacks add-on is €49.99, which is seriously taking the pee, but there's not much we can really do tbh.

Mills · 09-02-2002 12:13am

Yeah I've noticed a huge increase in price sometime over the last 3 months, not sure when exactly it happened, I'd usually buy my games in Game, but not any more.

Xtravision have been dirt cheap with PS2 prices. They had GTA3 for £39.99 before christmas, £10 less than game.

Agreed, I used to have to go to Dublin to avoid being completely ripped off for games, now it works out that the local xtra vision usually has it at a cheaper price, damn shame they don't stock pc games

.

Q_Ball · 09-02-2002 12:21am

I noticed it about the time Wolfenstein came out tbh. £50 for the individual tin case did seem a bit much at the time. I'm dreading what MOH:AA will be, I'm guessing about €50.

sceptre · 10-02-2002 3:02pm

Originally posted by Q_Ball
I'm dreading what MOH:AA will be, I'm guessing about €50.

£29.99 on Amazon so I'd guess you're not that far off (30/.65=46)

Samson · 10-02-2002 3:07pm

While we are on the subject, can anyone recommend a cheap and reliable mail order company to buy PC games from ?

I'm sick of getting ripped off here.

10-02-2002 9:16pm

I just had a flick through the argos catalogue and i saw Smackdown 3 and Devil may cry for 74.99 Euro. I whipped out my trusty euro converter and this came to 60 odd quid. dear oh dear thats quite pricey.

meglome · 10-02-2002 9:39pm

Looks like there will be a lot more people going to Symths toystores and their local Xtravision. Please do not go to Game or EB, they are seriously taking the piss with those price increases.

10-02-2002 10:26pm

As a matter of interest, where is this legendary smyths? I dont have that kinda money to be forking out for my habit.

Mountjoy Mugger · 10-02-2002 10:48pm

Smyths - isn't that the one on Jervis Street, Dublin?

Squall · 11-02-2002 2:55am

Its all the goverments fault. Them an there damn Luxuries tax(They put it up in the last budget in case ye didnt know).

Games arent a luxury theyre a necessity.:mad:

PS. Smyths(The cork one) usually has a fairly good selection but if Virgin have the game then its usually a few euro (i still think it sounds gay without the s) cheaper.

Celt · 11-02-2002 1:26pm

I got Diablo 2 and Fallout Tactics for €24.99 each in Game which was decent enough(full packaging, not budget) and got Fallout 1 and 2 in Smyths for €13for the two.

Smyths has the best budget selection, at least in the tallaght one.

tHE vAGGABOND · 11-02-2002 2:17pm

that price increase is the shops getting greedy..

What developers get is fixed in a conract and would only be a few quid per copy, the publisher would sell the game at a pretty fixed price to everyone and the end user gets ****ed up the ass by mister shop owner who makes a fortune

SheroN · 11-02-2002 5:04pm

Ah i'm sure if i was a shop owner i'd do the same. Young people only dying to spend their pocket money. You'd be obliged to help them.:D

Greenbean · 11-02-2002 6:57pm

Well if the margins are getting that wide (ie if its enevitable due to cartels and richer customers more willing to spend) then I suggest the developers start looking at taking a bigger cut per game. No point starving, hoping your game sells hundreds of thousands when 50,000 will do if you get your fair share of the sale. In the end the developers are a very important part of the game making process don't you think?

Lex_Diamonds · 11-02-2002 7:08pm

I just saw something horrible today. Star Wars Starfighter on PC-CDROM for.... £47.99!!!!!!!!!!!

tHE vAGGABOND · 12-02-2002 11:39am

easier said than done GB

][Spoof Jesus][ · 12-02-2002 7:54pm

Return To Castle Wolfenstein for €50...umm...BOLLOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

12-02-2002 9:25pm

For prices like these i may have to resort to warez

tHE vAGGABOND · 13-02-2002 10:49am

so your saying you did not get value for money with RtCW, with a hard game and lots of challenges?

Irish_Ranger_IR · 14-02-2002 4:07pm

When will it stop !!!!

Pricing needs to be looked at,

PPC · 17-02-2002 1:09am

I think PCGamer said something like 95% of games don't make any money.
Must find that mag. Prices are going up because people are buying copies and the developers are getting diddly squat.
What games do ye think are in the 5%?

Price of Games!

Notice the price of games go up? 55 votes

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