Game pre-orders in South Africa raise retailer concerns

I think it's anti competitive behavior and should be reported to the competition tribunal
 
I would like to be able to choose where I buy something and not be forced to go to whoever has the exclusivity deal. It looks like BT is trying to monopolize the games industry in South Africa...
 
i dont really buy special editions, but heck, i deserve to get the same item at different shops, dont i?
 
oltman said:
i dont really buy special editions, but heck, i deserve to get the same item at different shops, dont i?
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I can't really afford special editions in my case :p
As what Ike said, it's more like the others are not being competitive.
 
Don't really see a problem here. Its not like you can't get the game anywhere you want, just some exclusive content. In general its pretty minor stuff.
 
Agree GIR, sounds like a storm in a teacup. Our market is really to small to allow for this.
 
Gir said:
Don't really see a problem here. Its not like you can't get the game anywhere you want, just some exclusive content. In general its pretty minor stuff.
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But it's the principle of the matter, we are allowing monopolization of the market
 
This:
Wyzak said:
If local retailers can offer me a deal like this
then they can have my business.
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GMG only launched in 2010 and now it's became a household name in gaming communities because of their specials.

Wonder why no one is attempting this venue in ZA. :confused:
Takealot and Kalahari is basically the ZA version of Amazon.
While Amazon was selling digital keys at 50%+ off, our local stores are twiddling their thumbs with 20% off physical copies.
 
Isn't it anti-contemplative behavior to do exclusives. I would think it would be fine if there was like time limit to it. Example per-orders is 6 months before and then only one retailer has exclusive rights but a month from release all retailers have access to the extra content.
 
How is this different than what Steam vs. Origin vs. Amazon are doing?

I have lost count how many times i've specifically bought a Steam version of a game because it got EXCLUSIVE items that you only get on the Steam version. Does that make Steam anti-competitive?

The thing is, overseas you usually see multiple exclusive versions , one for each retailer (that bothered to participate) . So technically it's a limited edition, but with a different flavor based on the retailer you bought it from. I don't have a problem with that?

I have a hunch that our local gaming retailers are all fast asleep because it's NOT their core business. It's like LookandListen and CNA who seems to be selling games "one the side" half the time, whereas for BTGames it's their core business.

Who exactly is complaining in the article? Other retailers? Or consumers? Chances are the other retailers don't even know (or care) about exclusives. Games are just another commodity in their stores. I'm not even convinced alot of retailers in SA know what games are releasing until people ask about it...
 
As someone mentioned before, SA is a very small market compared to other countries when it comes to gaming.
If 1 retailer provides exclusive content and this interferes with the competitions margins then the market becomes less attractive to the competition and perhaps other players considering entering into the market. If competitors dwindle then the consumer has less choice and prices tend to rise.
So I think that it wont be the end of the world if exclusive content is given to preferred retailers as long as other retailers also get in on some of the action to balance things out.
 
Weasley said:
Isn't it anti-contemplative behavior to do exclusives. I would think it would be fine if there was like time limit to it. Example per-orders is 6 months before and then only one retailer has exclusive rights but a month from release all retailers have access to the extra content.
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That may make sense if there was a demand for hundreds of units. We are also limited by the number of units allocated to SA.
 
steaksauce said:
As someone mentioned before, SA is a very small market compared to other countries when it comes to gaming.
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However, thanks to the Internet and it breaking traditional market barriers, we can now shop on Amazon and Steam etc. So we are no longer a small market, but a part of the global audience.
 
Wyzak said:
However, thanks to the Internet and it breaking traditional market barriers, we can now shop on Amazon and Steam etc. So we are no longer a small market, but a part of the global audience.
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I doubt the number of South Africans that shop on the global market is very much, especially among console owners.
 
Wyzak said:
It will increase though as local retailers price themselves out of the market.
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Somehow I doubt that. The majority of gamers I know are hesitant to shop online with local retailers and wouldn't even consider shopping with a site like Amazon at all. Also I think the number of console owners in SA who are connected online is a small percentage of the total. Most of them don't have access to digital distribution channels.
 
Ike_009 said:
But it's the principle of the matter, we are allowing monopolization of the market
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This is not a monopoly, a monopoly would be where you can only buy a certain game at one store. We talking about DLCs and from what i remember in the past pretty small DLCs.
 
Gir said:
This is not a monopoly, a monopoly would be where you can only buy a certain game at one store. We talking about DLCs and from what i remember in the past pretty small DLCs.
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Some of which are exclusive to pre-orders and of those some are exclusive to certain retailers.

Grid 2 was released with 3 day-one DLCs and here in SA BT games, kalahari and Takealot had different packs. Thus if you wanted the asia pack then you were stuck with Kalahari. It is in essence a Monopoly and for people like me who can't download a game with all 3 off steam like me it sucks.

Edit:
Also what's the point of having consumer rights legislation written to protect you when your gonna roll over and say "meh I'll pay more for a DLC"
 
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