PS3 software pricing

[pipo]

Since I've had some discussion on this subject before, here's the deal straight from the horses (Oz) mouth.

http://blogs.theage.com.au/screenplay/archives//008499.html

I wanted to talk to you about software pricing. Last year first party PS3 titles crept up from $100 to $110. Why was that?

We went out early at sub-$100, and as is well documented, PS3 has been a very expensive console to produce and sell. The losses are public knowledge. About six months into the year we realised we needed to increase our revenue on software to be honest. We're still in line with third parties, and it was just a business decision regarding profitability.

Does it concern you that some third party publishers are charging more for the PS3 version over the Xbox 360 version in some popular multi-format games?

To be honest, I wasn't aware of that.

Exactly what I've been seeing over here... In short, you can't blame retail for this, just like I expected all the time.

 

[PARANOiA]

DMC4 is selling at some stores here for $79, RRP of $99. It's $109.95 base on PS3, though there's a rumour of Kmart selling it for $89. Apparently it's due to the $AUD being stronger against the $USD than the yen.

It is funny that PAL is once again generally on the receiving end of game companies kicking us when we're down, with frequent delays paid for by premium prices. At least we're better off than the PS1 era when we didn't get many great games such as Tobal2 or FFT.

 

[deepbrown]

I was pleasantly surprised by the price in the UK. First party titles are £10 cheaper...and reduced by £10 again online. SO it's £30 for first party, £40 for third. Not bad really, considering I remember PS2 games being the same or more expensive.

 

[Colourless]

You just need to look at the AUD-USD exchange rate, then compare the price of games in Australia to the USA and you see that games prices in Australia are rediculously expensive.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

Yep, some ps3 games are 75 euro down here...

 

[Silent]

Thats why i'm importing most of my games. The asian versions are dirt cheap and localization is not an issue for most of the games. The asian version of R&C even had dutch language to choose from Which was also the case when I imported the american version of uncharted.

 

[PARANOiA]

Thats why i'm importing most of my games. The asian versions are dirt cheap and localization is not an issue for most of the games. The asian version of R&C even had dutch language to choose from Which was also the case when I imported the american version of uncharted.

Hrmm.. isn't this the same sort of thing that caused Sony to sue Lik Sang, resulting in it closing its doors? Region free is good and all, but these importers taking advantage of the economy need to be wary of rooms full of lawyers. It's a global economy if you're a manufacturer... not so much as a consumer unfortunately.