A lot of people have noticed the prices being sneakily increased across the board and I was personally just hoping it was some people attempting to take the mickey. Unfortunately though it has now been confirmed that prices are going through the roof all over the place.
Kalahari.net has confirmed that prices are being increased by all the distributors in regard to hardware and software.
As a quick example Frontlines, Condemned 2, Ratchet & Clank and The Club all have a RRP of R750, PC titles are going to be coming in at R350 and PS2 titles at R500
Hardware is not being ignored with the price of the 40GB PS3 going over the R5000 mark and I am still waiting confirmation from Mi-Digital and The Core Group on their hardware.
This is horrible, but can you blame these guys when the Rand is about to break the R8/$ mark and 16 to the Pound…
Even though I understand it, I cannot justify R750 for a mediocre game. GTA IV, Killzone and the like could sell for R750 but I would never pay that amount for the more arcady type games.
Last Updated: March 3, 2008
Yeti
March 3, 2008 at 11:27
That is utterly preposterous. How can R750 per game possibly be justified? I think if this is happening we are going to see more and more people vanishing off live as their modded consoles get banned. One game is now nearly a third of the price of the console, where is the logic in that?
JP
March 3, 2008 at 11:46
And PC gaming is cheap again.
LOL.
Anyway. I game on pc and wii. So this R750 a game ludicrousness doesn’t really affect me.
Fox1
March 3, 2008 at 11:49
I doubt we will see similar action from MS because they are already turning a profit on the 360 also considering that SA is one of the cheapest places in the world to buy a 360.
The Wii is already overpriced here and I noticed local retailers for R2999. So a price increase would make it more expensive than the 360 Arcade which has more and cheaper games.
Speaking of price increases, I saw Beowulf on 360 for R199 this weekend and PGR3 for R89.
R5000 for a PS3 moves it of the mass market and is only going to slow the transition to BD.
bokka1
March 3, 2008 at 12:00
I must agree that R750.00 is too much for a game. All the smaller titles are going to suffer. I just pre-ordered GTA before the increases hit that to.
Lupus
March 3, 2008 at 13:47
It was like that a couple of years ago, reaching R750 for Final Fantasy X on the PS2, when the rand did it’s slide in 2001 and 2002. But yeah it is ridiculous, don’t see Xbox games going up much.
Evilredzombie
March 3, 2008 at 14:44
any one know of sites that buy body parts and organs ? how will I make it? I cant pay 750 a game!
Evilredzombie’s last blog post..Asta La Vista 3rd party
Naudran
March 3, 2008 at 15:58
Well the inflation rate is going up, so it’s kinda expected that things prices will go up to. I’m sure this will be happening across the board (cars, houses, furniture… you name it)
Ognipode
March 3, 2008 at 16:14
Kids should just turn to drugs, it seems to be the cheaper option these days…
Ill consider getting whack on smack next weekend, ive never tried hardcore drugs, but this seems like a good reason to try and kill myself in a creative and euphoric way.
Fox1
March 3, 2008 at 16:55
@Ognipode- There is a better option than drugs… the XBox360!!! I had to send in that cheesy line… hahahahaha
@Evilredzombie- You may have to hire a number 3 guy to increase production for your organisation, lol.
Thomeval
March 3, 2008 at 17:19
I’m sure this will make pirates and console modders laugh all the way to the bank.
Fan
March 3, 2008 at 18:18
I support the console modders. Boo to you crooks who make so much profits in the first place. I hope you lose business.
sabagamma
March 3, 2008 at 21:43
Why do you guys think this is PS3 specific? I cannot see how they can push games to R 750. The market will just pull back and then what? Add to that the whole mod thing and nobody will be making any money selling one original game a month.
scotty777
March 3, 2008 at 21:56
lol… well… thing is the modders for the ps3 will be at a disadvantage. I mean, a BD writer costs 5g’s and the BD disks cost R100 or so. that means the pirate games will cost +_ 300-400 rand a shot. but at least it’s something. my word, it looks like people won’t be buying many new games, and if they do, they selling there shyte as soon as they finish. Oh crap, i bet final fantasy will cost like 1000 bucks when it comes out 🙁
doobiwan
March 4, 2008 at 10:45
Don’t joke, you might very well be right!
The publishers are shooting themselves in the foot.
*croaky voice*
“I remember when I was but a wee lad, no PC games companies could sustain a business in SA, dealers would change more regularly than we changed our socks (it was Durban, we wore sandals okay!) PC games cost anywhere from R450-600, it was stupid. People just pirated.
Then along came EA South Africa and boldy cut its prices to R300, and the legal games market exploded.”
These console companies make a lot of noise about justification, but at the end of the day, everyone is price sensitive.
Fox1
March 4, 2008 at 11:11
Eh… I get you guys points about console modders but is it possible to mod a PS3 to play those pirated games?
Fox1
March 4, 2008 at 11:16
@doobiwan- Thanks for that Back To The Future episode but unfortunately in current times PC games like UT3 sells for R420(and this place is still called Durban and yes we still wear sandals) 😉
doobiwan
March 4, 2008 at 12:02
@Foxi, you should try socks, they’re liberating! 😉
Yeah, well, I’m talking 15 years ago, and most PC games are still holding around the same price, impressive. As much as I disagree with it, Piracy has benefited the PC market.
Fox1
March 4, 2008 at 12:05
@doobi- lol…Hmmmmmm…. socks… Right now socks don’t go well with the heat and humidity.
I doubt that there are pirated PS3 games.
doobiwan
March 4, 2008 at 15:22
There aren’t. So I guess at least piracy expands the 360 userbase :p It worked for the PS2 . . . .