Cheapest store for console games?

We’ve taken some of the biggest games of 2013, 2012, and 2011, Bioshock Infinite, Far Cry 3, and Arkham City respectively, and compared them to see which SA retailer offers the best price.

Kalahari, Takealot, BT Games, CNA, Look & Listen and Animeworx were stacked-up against each other.

Bioshock Infinite – Xbox 360/PS3 standard version

We were considering going with GTA 5 as a benchmark, but the game features a premium price and is too new to compare, so we decided to go with Bioshock Infinite.

Bioshock Infinite is one of the biggest games of the year and is being regarded as a contender for Game of the Year, so we racked it up to see which store has the cheapest offer.

Retailer	Listed price
BT Games	R470.90
Kalahari	R599.00
Takealot	R631.00
Animeworx	R670.00
CNA	R699.90
Look & Listen	R699.99

There is a big discrepancy in price, with some retailers offering specials on Bioshock Infinite, pricing it at R470.90 at the cheapest (BT Games), with the most expensive being R699.99 (Look & Listen) – that’s nearly a R230 difference.

Far Cry 3 – Xbox 360/PS3 standard version

Far Cry 3, arguably one of the best games of 2012, was compared at a number of different retailers to see which prices are available.

Retailer	Listed price
Takealot	R298.00
Kalahari	R310.74
BT Games	R313.90
Animeworx	R320.00
CNA	R329.90
Look & Listen	R399.99

There are some big discrepancies here, as Far Cry 3 prices range from the lowest R298.00 (Takealot) up to R399.99 (Look & Listen).

Check out MyGaming’s Far Cry 3 review.

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City was also put to the test, as it’s a prominent game of 2011, and well worth picking up. It should be noted that BT Games no longer stocks the standard version of the game but does carry the Game of the Year version.

Batman: Arkham City (2011) – Playstation 3/Xbox 360 standard versions.

Retailer	Listed price
Takealot	R230.00
BT Games	R237.90
Animeworx	R245.00
Kalahari	R249.00
CNA	R249.90

Takealot comes in with the cheapest offering, but not by much, as most retailers appear to have dropped the price on pre-2012 games.

Check out MyGaming’s Batman: Arkham City review.

Conclusion

The findings show that you ideally should be in the mid-R200 amount for a triple-A game from 2011, and toward the R300-mark for a 2012 title.

Each retailer has its own particular prices, however, in relation to the 2012 and 2011 games, the margin is relatively small. So, convenience will be the decider when picking up a great game from yesteryear.

Pricing on the latest triple-A games from 2012/2013 will likely vary a lot depending where you shop, so it pays to do some research before making a decision, keeping an eye out for promotions and specials.