EA Join the ?54.99 club

[eastyy]

was chatting to a mate online and this question came up...would you rather pay more money upfront and get all dlc free .....or get the game cheaper but paying for dlc later on i guess its about giving customers the choice

back on main subject though i tend to buy games online xbox 360 asian versions tend to be cheaper i find

[importaku]

This is terrible news, won't somebody think of those poor chavs, how will they be able to afford the latest fifa with their benefits.

[Number45]

They'll just have to pilfer a little harder for their fix.

[speedlolita]

This is terrible news, won't somebody think of those poor chavs, how will they be able to afford the latest fifa with their benefits.

More kids.

[importaku]

touch? mr speedlolita touch?

[NW2013]

This is a perennial argument but modern games cost far more to produce than on older machines and sell for less

Why the surprise that publishers have to recoup that and the people who play the games are being asked to fund it

I dont even know why its considered news

Pro evo looks and plays like a budget game nowadays so may as well price it accordingly

Do you work for EA? I could buy this argument for a small developer that releases one or two titles a year but EA can and probably should make smaller profits on certain big titles that sell in the millions so that they can sell the same, or higher, volume of the next update next year. This type of move will just erode some goodwill and casual consumers will say, 'No ta' and buy PES or, like you say, just continue to play the last version.

[merf]

why do most of you lot turn into raving communists only when discussing game prices, is all art theft and companies should only be allowed to sell their product at a break even cost ?

first rule of most business transactions where you want an ongoing relationship is there has to be something in it for both sides or one party will soon get fed up with the arrangement and walk, or worse still go bust.

I don't see reams of discussion in the CAMRA thread about the price of a pint, or cinema ticket prices in the film thread or the cost of hot sauce in the pickles thread. I guarantee most of you would drop ?15-?20 on a round of drinks (big round if up north) and not think twice about it and that will last less than 30 minutes yet you'll whine about a game that will last a year being ?45 (after it gets discounted).

One of the biggest problems I see in the games industry is the devalued nature of the product in many of the consumers eyes which doesn't match the high cost of production. I don't see many companies making vast continued profits, just a select few.

[Matt]

"Raving communists"?? Come on man.

Maybe I was the only one expecting yearly updates for FIFA via Live/PSN when this generation was introduced - you know, but the game, then get the yearly expansion packs for a tenner, complete with the changes they make.

?55 for any game is ridiculous. Prices need to come down for the industry to grow. It's no coincidence that only the truly mass market products are see the ?55 RRP, and oddly these titles are yearly updates. I imagine some "gamers" do not look beyond CoD and FIFA, they buy both and that's them done for the year. Great for them, great for the publishers of those titles.

[Team Andromeda]

?55 for any game is ridiculous. Prices need to come down for the industry to grow. It's no coincidence that only the truly mass market products are see the ?55 RRP, and oddly these titles are yearly updates. I imagine some "gamers" do not look beyond CoD and FIFA, they buy both and that's them done for the year. Great for them, great for the publishers of those titles.

Indeed and more so for a annual update . I would mind the price for RPG or a brand new game , but it's seems too much for a annual update . Mind you if the game shares little code and is a brand new entry in the series (in terms of massive improvements in the series) It may be worth it

[JU!]

I`m sure places like ShopTo will undercut that price. It is rather expensive then again I paid 80 pounds for Shemue back in the day. I`m sure lots of people here bought Street Fighter II for the Famicom at crazy prices too. As long as all the paid DLC is included it would be no prob for me at 54 quid.

[Flabio]

I suspect they're hitting a high RRP purely because they know that shops will price war over it. Consumers won't know that the RRP is higher cause it'll be priced lower than other games anyway once it's on the shelves, and EA make more per unit.

Cynical? Yes, it probably is. They won't be the first to do it with a title that's guarenteed to sell regardless, and they won't be the last. It's not a new strategy, big games have been priced higher for decades now.

[Stoppy2000]

I believe this is only for the ultimate edition anyway. The default one will be 30 quid as always.

[sj33]

My understanding is that it is the other way around - the regular edition will be ?54.99 RRP, but Game and Gamestation have gained exclusive rights to sell the limited Ultimate Edition for ?44.99.

Yeah, I don't quite get it either.

[Number45]

Unless I'm mistaken, publisher profits will be based off of the higher RRP. So regardless of what the consumer ends up paying, EA ends up quids in.

[Stoppy2000]

I'll be amazed if this isn't available cheap on launch day.