When it comes to local games pricing, many consumers have had a lot to complain about in the past.

Gamers were up in arms earlier this year when many console titles were tipping the R800 mark, however, it is good to see that since then prices have come down to the far more palatable R400-R600 region.

While it is still quite possible to find games retailing for R800 and up at big stores such as Incredible Connection, a ten minute internet search will often quickly root out the same game less than R600.

To illustrate this we put together a list of games and compared their prices at some of SA’s most widely used game stores. The list is made up of a mixture between just released AAA titles such as Prototype and inFamous as well as slightly older games such as Gears of War 2 and Little Big Planet.
The idea behind the Basket is that it should comprise of a core selection of games that one could find at almost any retailer.

The basket

PC– The Sims 3, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, Empire: Total War, Crysis: Warhead, Demigod.

Xbox 360 – Prototype, Gears of War 2, Farcry 2, Fable 2, Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena.

PS3 – inFamous, Little Big Planet, Mirror’s Edge, Killzone 2, Street Fighter IV.

The Stores

Zaps – Online store with physical storefront at Brightwater Commons in Randburg.
BT Game – SA’s biggest dedicated game store franchise 
Kalahari – Online store
Take2 – Online Store
Incredible Connection – SA’s largest technology store franchise
Look&Listen – One of SA’s largest store front retailers

View the attachment on the right of the article for a clearer image

The first and most noticeable conclusion to be drawn from the comparison is one which comes as no surprise: Incredible Connection and Look & Listen are almost always more expensive than thes maller alternatives.

Secondly, between Zaps, BTGames, Kalahari and Take 2 the price difference on games is seldom more than R20. In fact in most instances there is no more than R5 separating the four stores on the selected game.

However, having said that, there are a number of instances where one of the smaller retailers undercuts its nearest competition by as much as R50, such as Zaps’ price on Street Fighter IV or BT Games’ price on Killzone 2 and Little Big Planet which are both currently on special.

BT Games

Of the four smaller retailers BT Games is one of the more expensive. While this is not particularly noticeable with PC games, it shows when we look at Xbox 360 games where Kalahari is R46 cheaper and Zaps R39 cheaper with Prototype. It is slightly puzzling that BTGames did not have Gears of War 2 or Fable 2 listed on its website.

BT’s excellent special price of R295 for FarCry2 for Xbox 360 and R279 for Little Big Planet for PS3 are its saving grace, and even though it is often slightly undercut by the competition, it offers enough specials to make checking out the website for prices worthwhile.

Zaps

This small independent retailer has been selling games and accessories at the Brightwater Commons in Randburg for over three years now, and manages to offer solid and competitive prices at all times. In most cases it is either the cheapest or just a few Rands more expensive than the cheapest.

Kalahari

This online only retailer faired competitively, often offering the lowest price or coming very close. The one exception was with Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena which Kalahari was selling for R56 more than Zaps. Of all the retailers Kalahari had the most missing titles.

Take 2

A mixed bag, Take 2 either manages to undercut the competition, get very close, or be slightly over priced. Often R10-R30 more expensive than the cheapest of its competitors, and known for not carrying live stock, Take-2 is arguably the least attractive of the four competitors.

Incredible Connection and Look & Listen

These massive chains prove unsurprisingly that they are by far the most expensive option when buying games. The only occasion when they were not the most expensive occurred because they did not have the game in question.

Conclusion

With no clear winner, the only real conclusion to be found here is that it pays to do some research before buying. If you want the lowest price then look around because in different instances different retailers offer the best price.

In the majority of cases one is able to find a given game for less than R620, which is still probably more than many would like to pay but is definitely a step in the right direction after the R1000 price scare of late 2008.

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