Star Wars Battlefront on consoles is pretty much R1000...

[Wesley]

How do you feel about this? Discuss, pretty please?

It's research for an article I'm writing. ^_^

UPDATE 04-12-2015:

Last month, Electronic Arts and DICE launched Star Wars Battlefront, the shooter that’s replacing what would have been a Battlefield launch this year, and it’s a great game, as evidenced by our recent review of it by Dane, and the first impressions that my brother Matthew and I wrote during the beta. But while it is deserving of the accolades it’s been given by critics elsewhere on the internet, I never noticed until these past few weeks that Battlefront has finally taken us past the point of no return – the game costs R1,000 in most walk-in stores and online retailers. Yikes! But it’s not just Battlefront, as I later discovered. Hit the jump and join me as I learn more about this sad situation.

Source: NAG Online

 

[PsychoFish]

It depresses me as I'll still buy it at some stage, possibly just not now.

 

[MetalSoup]

I refuse to pay more than R550 for any game, I don't care how good or special or shiny it is.

 

[DieGrootHammer]

So, here is my thoughts.

The moment EA was given exclusive rights to the Star Wars franchise to make games as they please, it was inevitable and unsurprising that the games would include paid DLC, various bundles and season passes and an inflated price tag. It's something that shouldn't have been a shock to anyone that have been buying and playing games for many years now.

So when Battlefront was released, I knew I had to budget accordingly if I wanted to play the game when it launched. And that's what I did. When the day came to pay for it, I had the money ready and paid for the game happily.

I've already spent a fair amount of hours in the game, and to date I've got no regrets pre-ordering the game or even splurging for the season pass. In total the game has cost me R1.5k. It's probably the most I've ever spent on a game

The reason why this cost is so easily validated for me is due to my rabid fanboyism of the Star Wars franchise and brand. I am a super huge Star Wars fan, and I adore the brand in every form. For me Battlefront was a no-brainer purchase. As long as the end product is something I enjoy I have no problem spending that money on it if I'm that big of a fan. Other people spend lots of money on other things; me, I spend it on Star Wars, and I'm totally okay with that.

 

[Wesley]

[MENTION=9789]DieGrootHammer[/MENTION], would you enjoy your hobby less, or more, if you had to do this for every game that you buy?

 

[DieGrootHammer]

[MENTION=9789]DieGrootHammer[/MENTION], would you enjoy your hobby less, or more, if you had to do this for every game that you buy?

Hmmm, that's a really good question. I think it's an issue that cuts a few ways.

So, on the one hand:
I play golf, like a lot. I love golf and I invest a lot of money into my clubs, training and rounds on various courses. Although the cost of that hobby is rather huge, I enjoy it nevertheless. The same I can say about gaming. Being a console only gamer, I have to live with prices of games ranging over R600 for any new titles. It's one of the realities of my hobby. It's not something I can control, and if I want to enjoy the latest titles at it's launch dates, I have to cough up the money and spend it. This has been my reality and thus has not had any effect on me enjoying gaming at all. There is a lot of room for disappointment when spending large sums of money on bad games, but I like to think that I do a lot of research to ensure my money goes to something I would enjoy. Same as in golf, I don't just go out and buy any old balls or clubs; I'll do extensive research to ensure what I have and own is something that fits me and that would make me enjoy my hobby more.

On the other hand:
I wouldn't WANT to pay this amount for EVERY game I play. I know that my blind love for the franchise pretty much steered me into the purchase, but I know that I won't have that some level of MUST HAVE feeling for every single game. There are many games that I would not spend R1k on at all. I'd still want to play them, but I'm willing to wait for a special or price drop. I think it comes back to me doing the research before making a purchase to ensure that what I do buy, I would enjoy to the max.

So, my motivation to buy Star Wars in particular was my undying love for the brand, but this will not be the same love I have to every other game out there. So, in the end, Star Wars was a purchase with the heart more that the brain, and I've been totally okay with that, because I planned for it and I knew what I was getting myself into.

 

[Wesley]

Thanks for the feedback so far, everyone. This helps a lot!

Edit: I've also just noticed that the RRP for Black Ops III is also R999.95. That's equally mad.

Edit: Chalk up Need for Speed to this growing list as well.

 

[Avatar]

I'm with @MetalEugene. I'll make exceptions every now and then, but I honestly can't remember the last game I bought full price. I just bough MGS at ~R450, because $60 at launch was too much for me, and this is a game that I was incredibly excited for. Now Fallout 4 is R800, so I'm holding out. Hopefully I'll be able to get it with a season pass or something with the steam summer sale.

Battlefront is a mixed bag for me. I've been boycotting EA games for some time, so I really only had a passing interest. I also didn't believe that the game would be very good.. It looked a bit bland and too short lived for my tastes, so I wasn't even tempted to look up the price.

I can understand prices rising to ~R750. I don't want to pay that much, so I wait. But a grand?! That's a bit much.

 

[FarligOpptreden]

I can understand prices rising to ~R750. I don't want to pay that much, so I wait. But a grand?! That's a bit much.

It has happened before... A couple of years ago when the Rand took an equally bad nosedive the prices of AAA console games also stretched to R1k or more... Luckily it recovered not long after that, but I suspect we're in for the long price-hike haul this time around.

 

[Wesley]

Rise of the Tomb Raider and Forza 6 have also been bumped up to R999.95.

Edit: And Halo 5.

 

[DieGrootHammer]

Rise of the Tomb Raider and Forza 6 have also been bumped up to R999.95.

Where are you getting the prices from, because from what I can see it seems both those games are equal or under R800 on the Xbox Store, and even cheaper on Takealot or Raru.

 

[Wesley]

Where are you getting the prices from, because from what I can see it seems both those games are equal or under R800 on the Xbox Store, and even cheaper on Takealot or Raru.

I'm looking at shops that stick to the RRP and don't add discounts. I'm going to get pricing info from the distributors tomorrow, if possible.

 

[DieGrootHammer]

I'm looking at shops that stick to the RRP and don't add discounts. I'm going to get pricing info from the distributors tomorrow, if possible.

So the $60 all international sites post isn't the RRP for new games? That's really strange that they would do that. Would love to see the outcome of the research you are doing and the price issue, because even at R15 to the dollar, $60 games will not be R1k. So that would imply a huge amount of markup for SA only....maybe tax related...very intriguing indeed. Looking forward to your research

 

[Wesley]

So the $60 all international sites post isn't the RRP for new games?

Yep, it's been like that for a while. I remember being told a few years ago that we'd transitioned away from sourcing games in the dollar and switching to the pound or the euro, so doing direct comparisons isn't as easy anymore.

 

[The_Imp_ZA]

I refuse to pay more than R550 for any game, I don't care how good or special or shiny it is.

*cough* ...

Although I guess this one is more accurate.

 

[XbatousaiX]

This is just a sad situation but our rand is in the toilet and it won't be out of the toilet for a long time because of "reasons".The second hand game market is gonna boom.

 

[diabolus]

Thing is , i know i've paid R1000 for a few Xbox One games this year already, but it was worth the price. I bought Forza 6 Ultimate ed. for R1k, but that is a game of endless content and that includes DLCs that i KNOW what it will actually be...i know i'll play this on and off until the next Forza .

I also paid R1k for Destiny-Taken King , i didn't buy Destiny before, so i got Destiny + all the expacs + Taken King +++ for the R1k. I played the game for hours and hours (and continue to do so)...and it is still one that is very open to continue playing on and off, both single player and multi player.

Now, SW:Battlefront. The first thing that pops up in EVERY SINGLE review is the "limited content" and there are alot of concerns about the longevity of this game , considering that ANOTHER $60 is required to get the DLCs for the next view months. I will almost never pay R1k for something i will be done with by the end of Dec....

 

[Solitude]

I normally only buy games on really good specials. There are so many games and well if you wait a year then the games will get discounted. Of course this doesn't work for mainly multiplayer games like Star Wars Battlefront. I did buy one full price game this year and like diabolus and others I got Forza 6 for R900 (bought with eBucks at 40% discount at Makro luckily) which is the most I've ever spent on a game and I don't see myself doing it again soon.

 

[Crableg]

Very hard for me to justify spending R1000 on a game, and the only time I would come close if for a Console game.

For PC games I rarely spend more than R500 on a game, usually wait for a special or sale. Unless its a game i have been waiting for for months then I'll usually get it on release.

It's pretty crazy the price of PC games nowadays, it used to be R300-350 for "AAA" games, crazy how much it has increased in 10 years

 

[Avatar]

Very hard for me to justify spending R1000 on a game, and the only time I would come close if for a Console game.

For PC games I rarely spend more than R500 on a game, usually wait for a special or sale. Unless its a game i have been waiting for for months then I'll usually get it on release.

It's pretty crazy the price of PC games nowadays, it used to be R300-350 for "AAA" games, crazy how much it has increased in 10 years

More like 20 years.. I remember buying Tomb Raider 2 (1998 I think?) For R300 - R350. GTA 1 was R300. Pretty sure Deus Ex was R300 in 1999. The prices just got stuck at that point for so long that we didn't really notice how long it stayed there..