Local retailers "shunning" Xbox 360?

I seriously hope that the distributors, developers et al realise why the game sales have dropped.

Personally I think the drop in Xbox game sales has a lot to do with people getting pirated copies. With the advent of cheaper uncapped internet, a lot more users will rather spend R1000 per month on uncapped internet and download copied games "for free" rather than pay R300-R700 per game. Now, I am not justifying this, but I can understand the reasoning. I mean, never mind children, I'm a working adult earning a salary with no children and to be able to afford R700 for a new title is simply too much. How on earth is little Timmy or Suzy going to afford that or their poor parents? I realise there are development costs etc, but R700 for a game? Insane.

And the same would apply to the PS3 if the console could handle cracked/copied games.
 
Console game prices are more than reasonable at this point in time. R700 for a game is fine.

Gaming is a commodity, no one is forcing you to partake in the hobby.

I have started purchasing all multi-platform games on my PS3 instead of my 360. For various reasons.
 
I think DenSweeP has a good point there. Sadly, there's already a significant community of Xbox pirates in South Africa, and uncapped internet is only going to enable and increase that.

Having said that, I don't think R550-700 is all that unreasonable for a game that's likely to deliver 15-20 hours or more of entertainment. And if that's too much, hang on a couple of months, and the price will drop.
 
Azimuth said:
I think DenSweeP has a good point there. Sadly, there's already a significant community of Xbox pirates in South Africa, and uncapped internet is only going to enable and increase that.

Having said that, I don't think R550-700 is all that unreasonable for a game that's likely to deliver 15-20 hours or more of entertainment. And if that's too much, hang on a couple of months, and the price will drop.
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I have to agree. Having a night out can be more expensive.
 
R700 for a game is not reasonable. Why then are PC games so much cheaper? R300-R400 The distributors etc must not then come and complain that their sales are dropping. It's a commodity after all and those are the first to go when the budget is tight...

Or maybe I'm just in too low a income bracket?
 
DenSweeP said:
R700 for a game is not reasonable. Why then are PC games so much cheaper? R300-R400 The distributors etc must not then come and complain that their sales are dropping. It's a commodity after all and those are the first to go when the budget is tight...

Or maybe I'm just in too low a income bracket?
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I think PC games are cheap. :P Also, console games are more expensive because publishers have to pay licensing fees to Microsoft / Sony / Nintendo.

Deceptor said:
Just import from the UK etc if you don't want to pay R600 for a console game.
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Games aren't much cheaper in the UK generally. You might save a little right now with the favourable exchange rate, but for the most part, it works out around the same. New console titles sell for 40-45 quid. I spend a lot of time in the UK, and the exchange rate is usually around 15:1, which makes the price just about the same. Of course, if the pound stays as weak as it currently is (about 11:1), importing might not be such a bad idea. Just don't cry when you're hit for customs duties and end up paying a lot more than you'd expected. ;P
 
Paying R700 for a game was the main reason I never bought a console. Its a lot of money, no matter which way you look at it.

However, there are tons of specials on Xbox games and rereleases (Classics) which go for under R200. (Just trawl Take2 and Kalahari.net)
Then you have the secondary market, although I'm not sure how long that's going to last.
 
Yeah well, PS3 developers are also catching on to new techniques that make PS3 titles much better. Ports still come out bad, but properly designed titles are churning out better and better sales by the month.

MGS4, Uncharted 2, BF:BC2, to only name a few.
 
Azimuth said:
Games aren't much cheaper in the UK generally. You might save a little right now with the favourable exchange rate, but for the most part, it works out around the same. New console titles sell for 40-45 quid. I spend a lot of time in the UK, and the exchange rate is usually around 15:1, which makes the price just about the same. Of course, if the pound stays as weak as it currently is (about 11:1), importing might not be such a bad idea. Just don't cry when you're hit for customs duties and end up paying a lot more than you'd expected. ;P
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PS3 games you can generally get for < $60 from US/JPN sites. Normally works out to about R450 per game.

Rand/Pound hasn't been 15:1 in ages. I import a lot and it's been fluctuating below 13:1 for more than 2 years already.
 
Strifehart said:
PS3 games you can generally get for < $60 from US/JPN sites. Normally works out to about R450 per game.

Rand/Pound hasn't been 15:1 in ages. I import a lot and it's been fluctuating below 13:1 for more than 2 years already.
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Yeah I recently imported Resonance of Fate for R360 and Star Ocean The Last Hope (PS3) for R220, they both sell for around R600 here.
 
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With the pre-played market as booming as it is, surely piracy of Xbox titles is not worth it. If you wait a month or two you get the game for less than half of retail price. It's not like the "must have now, else I'm a prestige behind" FPS multiplayer fanboys can play their pirated copy on XBL, now is it?

Molehill. Mountain. And so forth.

We (along with the rest of the world) are just starting to emerge from a recession. Somehow people forget that having a roof over your console, and a working socket to plug it into is more important for most people than getting a brand new copy of BF:BC2 with DLC unlock codes for useless shaite.
 
I don't know about this whole article tbh
I know of two retailers who dumped Xbox Support in SA, but its being generalized to such an extent that it now sounds like the console is doomed here
Fsk, I wish, just for once we could hear cold hard facts instead of media hype
 
I must admit we stopped selling the the 360 console for a couple of years - at first it was because we used to have to return them to MID at our own expense and pick them up from them at our own expense - when you make R100/R150 off a console sale and you get 7/10 returned it just wasnt worth it to sell them.

Then when MID introduced their return procedure - we tried selling them again - but we were still getting people getting upset with us for selling them a 3/4k product that broke sometimes almost the same day that they bought it.So again we stopped.

Happily now though weve been selling 360's again since the end of last year and I can not recall having a problem with any of the new consoles.
 
Xerowing said:
I know of two retailers who dumped Xbox Support in SA, but its being generalized to such an extent that it now sounds like the console is doomed here
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True. Last time i checked a major chain like Toys R Us didnt carry the product. The problem is not with niche retailers like Zaps, BT or the like that sell only gaming hard- and software, that we inevitably support due to their knowledge and support of our beloved pastime, and general better pricing.

If major chains are afraid to carry the product, unfortunately the majority of the market takes a dive. See, when a uninformed and uninterested parent gives and decides to buy his kid a console, chances are that they will go to the nearest seller to buy a product. In most cases, these will be a major retailer. If the kid wanted a gaming console and the retailer doesnt sell the Xbox, chances are good that the parent will just buy the PS3. An informed parent/buyer will buy the PS3 regardless...lol...

But I see it as good riddance to bad rubbish and shoddy after sales support. Microsoft lost a customer in me when the PS3's price dropped. I have to add that in my group of gaming friends (4 of us) we've returned close to 12 xboxes in a 3 year period. 5 being mine. Aside from the gaming-downtime-frustration, it's a massive schlepp.
Inevitably we now all own PS3's.

An interesting point is "the Xbox 360's COGS (or cost for a publisher to get a game manufactured by Microsoft) is higher than that of PS3 titles". Now, how do games on both platforms reach the same price at retailers if the XBOX versions are more expensive to manufacture? Can someone explain?
 
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I've got both consoles and I've not bought a game since December, why because I just cannot afford it anymore. Luckily we have a Games Rotation with friends so there are games to play.
 
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