Why the Australian retail games industry needs to change.
I have been considering this for a while, so I have decided to write a few pieces about what is wrong with gaming in Australia and why things need to change. The first one is all about pricing and why our retail stores may be at risk.
Given the recent collapse of GAME in the UK, you would assume that the major game retailers in Australia might be starting to worry. Retail conditions across the board are pretty rubbish and have been for a few years now, but you are even more at risk when a large part of your target audience is tech savvy and know their way around the interwebs.
My most recent experience with the bricks and mortar stores came a few days ago when I went looking for a copy of The Old Republic, but first I need to set the scene. I know I am late to the SWTOR party, but only two MMORPGs have held my interest in the past so I am sick of forking out $100 to play for a few weeks then get bored.
For your information the two that held my interest were Ultima Online and EVE. I originally hooked into WOW but was severely disappointed by the fact that it really has bugger all to do with Warcraft as we knew it at the time. EQ and EQII, LOTRO, Guild Wars, RuneScape and Warhammer Online have all had a go and been quickly turfed in the disappointment bin. Because of these disappointments and many hundreds of wasted dollars, I decided that I would wait until there was a free trial of SWTOR as there always is with every game.
I finally had a chance to hook in and I was addicted. I was in love after about 3 days and decided I better buy it before my 7 day trial was up. So pay day rocks around and now we come to the issue of gaming in Australia. I very rarely buy games from bricks and mortar stores, but I thought that maybe they have changed...
First stop EB Games. Walked in, didn’t even look for it. Went straight to the counter and asked. ‘Its ninety dollars mate’ came the reply. A look of puzzlement crosses my face followed by ‘You do realise this is a 4 month old game?’
‘Nope, only came out this month’
‘In Australia perhaps but anyone who was really keen has been playing it for months’
‘But it’s only been released this month’
‘But the rest of the world has had it for four months now, surely it can’t cost that much’
‘Yep that’s the price because it is only a new game’
I shook my head and left. Next stop, JB Hifi. Same deal, only their gaming staff thought it was released worldwide on March 1....seeya. Called the GAME store near my house, same price. Starting to see a pattern here. Obviously I was naive and the stores haven’t changed a bit.
I took to my usual haunts. Not on Steam, Goddammit. Now I might actually need to sign up for ORIGIN, something I have been trying to avoid since it was launched since it offered me nothing I couldn’t get from Steam. ORIGIN AU has it listed for $89.99. WTF? For a digital copy? I might as well buy it from GAME and then I will have some handy coasters to put my beer on.
Time to dig a little deeper. Unfortunately my usual game key haunts like Greenman don’t have it so I did a little googling. After reading some reviews of where people in Australia have bought a key from I jumped onto one of the sites and had the key emailed to me and loaded up on my SWTOR account in under 10 minutes. I hear you all shouting at me ‘What was the bloody price!?’ Well, It was really expensive and it set me back a whole $40.
That is what it wrong with gaming in Australia. Why would I take the time to go to a shopping centre, park the car, go to a store, buy the game for more than twice the price and then drive home again. I can get the exact same game online and be playing it within 10 minutes without leaving my house which leaves more time (and money) for me to spend with my kids. Time for the brick and mortar stores to step up or fade away.
