UK video game prices going up

Komedy · 13 Apr 2011 at 20:51

Supermarkets are often accused of selling video games at rock bottom prices just to get shoppers into their stores to buy bread and cheese while they're there.

But according to new data, video game prices are going up – and it's the supermarkets who are raising the average price the most.

UK game sales tracker Chart-Track said the average price of a video game in 2010 was £24.32, up 7.2 per cent on 2009.

The supermarkets, reports MCV, were the biggest culprits, raising video game prices 8.7 per cent to £23.93.

The average cost of a video game in specialist stores, such as GAME, and independent video game shops, was £25.31 – up 8.2 per cent.

And games sold by online portals cost £22.97 on average last year – up 5.4 per cent.

The figures do not factor in digital sales.

Read in Full here -> http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43950/Average-games-prices-on-the-rise/retail

orderoftheflame · 13 Apr 2011 at 20:53

Got a link to aaaany of that? Or are we to make do with just a copy / paste.

Games are still way cheaper than they used to be on average surely.

Komedy · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:05

orderoftheflame said:
Got a link to aaaany of that? Or are we to make do with just a copy / paste.

Games are still way cheaper than they used to be on average surely.

The article spells out that on average we are paying more and are likley to continue doing so. Also of interest is that releases in 2010 were at a 6 year low. Lets hope 2011 is better.

trigger-happy · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:06

Another reason why to buy digital copies.

buchtis · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:08

Does not bother me one bit to be fair as i'm always playing catch up and playing the older games + there's nothing that takes my fancy apart from Portal 2.

trigger-happy · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:09

buchtis said:
Does not bother me one bit to be fair as i'm always playing catch up and playing the older games + there's nothing that takes my fancy apart from Portal 2.

battlefield 3?

SkeeterUK · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:14

Who on earth would buy a game from a supermarket?

LeJosh · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:15

SkeeterUK said:
Who on earth would buy a game from a supermarket?

Thousands of people.

What difference does it make where you buy it? :confused:

It's usually cheaper.

mame · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:16

I think anyone who pays £40 for a game these days is insane. Game prices drop so fast that it's not even funny. AAA titles turn up for £19.95 in no time at all. The amount of £40 games that end up being ~£15 in a couple of months is huge. COD is 1 exception. It's a corner I always fight in the 'PC games' section when someone comes out with the old "console games cost £40-50!!!111!!11!!!"

I reckon any console game from 2010 (again, with the exception of COD) you could find for £17.99 or less

EDIT: oh I've just realised this is in the PC Games section. Well I'm a big PC gamer as well. It's just one 'fact' that always annoys me. As someone who buys plenty of games for all 3 platforms, I can confirm, it's a myth.

Margaret · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:16

SkeeterUK said:
Who on earth would buy a game from a supermarket?

How about the shed loads that got MW2/Black Ops from Sainsburys/Tescos because of the insanely good value?

Tefal · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:17

surely this is down more to activision forcing the cod sires to sell at £40 ?

GeezerButler · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:19

Tefal said:
surely this is down more to activision forcing the cod sires to sell at £40 ?

I wondered why Game are still selling this at £40.99 :eek:

On the other hand Dragon Age 2 is down to £19.99

SkeeterUK · 13 Apr 2011 at 21:29

DA2 is actually 13 quid.

http://www.game.co.uk/PC-Games-and-Downloads/RolePlaying/~r351145/Dragon-Age-2/

mame · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:05

SkeeterUK said:
Who on earth would buy a game from a supermarket?

supermarkets offer some of the best console game and hardware offers around. I'm always impressed with the whey that they keep their game sections upto date. Slashing 20% off the Xbox slim 250gb to £159 is what made me buy one.

SkeeterUK · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:06

Duno i mean i could probably find stuff cheaper online easy enough which is where id get my games or hardware from. Console stuff i couldnt care less as this is the pc section.

HangTime · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:18

orderoftheflame said:
Got a link to aaaany of that? Or are we to make do with just a copy / paste.

Games are still way cheaper than they used to be on average surely.

In real terms they definitely are, at least over the long-term. Go back 15 years and games cost around £20-35 when new typically. Same now, but due to inflation they should be more like £30-50.

FoxEye · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:20

Cheaper than where? Whenever I look at gamestracker.com, supermarkets are always about half way down the list. Online retailers have always been cheaper for the games I haven't bought via Steam.

FoxEye · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:22

HangTime said:
In real terms they definitely are, at least over the long-term. Go back 15 years and games cost around £20-35 when new typically. Same now, but due to inflation they should be more like £30-50.

PC games too? Console games, sure. But I remember early 1990s PC games being like 12.99 or so...

Margaret · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:34

FoxEye said:
PC games too? Console games, sure. But I remember early 1990s PC games being like 12.99 or so...

PC games are usually found from between £20-30 online and usually at a max of 35 in stores, although some exceptions. (Activision as you can imagine push for £40 - ****s)

Not including Steam deals and stuff though, that's where real bargains are found.

Mattyjw · 13 Apr 2011 at 22:54

Cartridges were hugely expensive for what you got. Bulletstorm was 19.99 for PC in a store today as were allot of recent releases. There were also a lot of multibuy deals for PC games in there.