Game pre-orders in South Africa concerns

The concept of retailer-specific exclusive pre-order incentives is a much-debated topic internationally, and this practice has been filtering into SA retail. A local industry source has weighed in on the influence, and impact it has on the consumer’s choice and the market as a whole.

Exclusive pre-order incentives see certain retailers getting the right to be the only one to sell a certain edition of a game, or a version which includes a DLC code for particular game content. This means competing retailers lose out on the chance to market the product with that particular incentive.

This trend has started to appear in the South African gaming market among retailers, and it is said to be interfering and obstructing the growth of the industry, according to an industry source who wished to remain anonymous.

“International publishers are hampering the current growth of the local gaming industry,” said the source. “They control the amount of units sent to South Africa, as well as which editions are allocated to what retailer.”

“They are following a model that they have in other territories, where they choose one pre-order retailer out of 15 to have a special edition.”

The result is that one big retailer in a region would dominate sales through its exclusivity deal, which means other outlets are left carrying products with less sales appeal to consumers.

In South Africa, “[redacted] are always selected as the ‘preferred partner’, which means that the availability and supply of special and limited editions will always be significantly less than the current demand in South Africa. As the saying goes: ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket…'”

Assassin’s Creed 4 Black Flag Buccaneer Edition – click to enlarge

MyGaming had a look at some big upcoming games, and for example, the Battlefield 4 Deluxe Edition and the Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag Buccaneer Edition are both exclusive to BT Games.

“South African gamers should be allowed to choose their preferred retailer,” concluded the source.

What’s your view on the topic? Should SA retailers be allowed to hold exclusive rights to sell special editions or special DLC incentives? Or should every retailer have the opportunity to offer every version, competing only on price and service?