I haven't received this e-mail yet - am I the only one?
I'm with [MENTION=17]MetalSoup[/MENTION] that this doesn't necessarily mean prices will increase. Hoping the same thing as [MENTION=1872]Grievous[/MENTION] that this might actually cause prices to drop for us, even with the VAT.
PC games are much cheaper than console games at retail in South Africa, so hopefully Steam brings digital prices in line with retail.
Wonder what that would mean for the likes of BTGames?
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
Mine came this morning, so you could still get one.Originally Posted by Jan
T A N S T A A F L
Sadly I think they will go the way of music stores. Unless they adapt to sell other items. I use to buy everything through BT games, in the last year I purchased a controller from them, that's it.
Surely BTGames make most of their money from console games anyway?
As far as I know it is on digital products, and not just any online product purchase. I think that is what is confusing people a bit
Not sure - the video game industry in South Africa has always been very cagey about revealing details like that.
It wouldn't surprise me either way...
If our surveys are anything to go by, the people who buy lots of games every year (digital & retail) in South Africa tend to be PC gamers, so BTGames could make most of their money from PC game sales.
However, console games are more expensive, so they could be making more margin on those which means they make more money off console games.
It could also very well be that South Africa might be split ±40% PC, ±35% PlayStation, and ±25% Xbox, and that the money retailers make from PC games might be slightly less than consoles, but still significant.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.
I don't think this will affect retail gaming stores too much. A lot of the "hardcore" crowd will obviously buy games on steam if the Rand prices are better than the dollar ones (and more in line with retail pricing), but a lot of that same crowd (myself included) still prefer physical copies, even though it goes through steam (or a similar service) anyway.
There are also a lot people that don't have a decent internet connection with which they can download full physical games. I've also come across many, many people who actually hate services like steam, uplay and origin because of the internet requirements, but then they can't really buy physical either and they resort to getting torrents from friends who do have internet.
Last edited by Wlad; 05-11-2015 at 10:25 AM.
Agreed. Will not affect most retails stores at all. Not sure about the Codes that they sell though, bit of a grey area to me.
The thing is that I'd say 90% of the console gamers in South Africa buy games retail, not many people have the internet for current gen digital downloads, its only really the "hardcore" console gamers that do, the majority of family / casual gamers will go retail.
The only reason I like buying physical copies is to put it on display with the rest of my gaming paraphernalia.
Drummer | Gamer | Audiophile | Beard
Posting Permissions
