360 GOD pricing varies by territory

By Oli Welsh Published 11 August, 2009

Australians pay 6000 MSP for Mass Effect.

As the new Xbox Live update rolls out, prices for the new Games on Demand service have been found to vary much more than the 1600 to 2400 Microsoft Points originally revealed in the US.

Kotaku has learned that each Xbox territory is responsible for setting its own prices, and some seem to feel that the US isn't asking enough.

A NeoGAF forum thread has collated the prices known so far, and Australia and New Zealand seem to be the worst offenders, asking as much as 6000 MSP - $99.99 in Australian money, or some £45 - for Mass Effect, and 3000-4400 points for some other titles.

The UK and most European countries seem to be sticking to the 2400 MSP (£19.99 / €29.99) upper price point, but applying it across the board - even on titles, like Sonic the Hedgehog, that are being offered for 1600 MSP in the US.

"No one retailer has the lowest pricing for every product, and our program is about giving people 24 /7 convenience and selection when shopping for Xbox 360 games," Xbox Australia told Kotaku in a statement.

Games on Demand offers digital distribution of Xbox 360 games for the first time. The line-up includes Assassin's Creed, Oblivion and LEGO Star Wars, many of which are available from the shops for less than the asking price. Is the convenience worth the extra few quid? Or is a game without a box and manual worth less than physical media?

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (101) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Physically_Insane #1 3 years ago

    6000. Jesus...

  • matrim83 #2 3 years ago

    LOL @ Autralolia. Think of it as an Ashes upkeep tax. :p

    The pricing is retarded though. I doubt many people will go for it as you can find most titles cheaper in shops by now.

  • dynarama #3 3 years ago

    Bend over Europe

  • asphaltcowboy #4 3 years ago

    Doesn't matter much... people just won't buy GoD... that simple!

  • MadSurg3on #5 3 years ago

    But it costs money to ship games down the tubes that make up the interweb - everyone knows this. *sarcasm off*

  • paulf #6 3 years ago

    How many companies really don't get the point of digital distribution?

    Pass on the cost reduction to the consumer you fools !

    Also this smells of a monopoly to me

  • thegamesthething #7 3 years ago

    I certainly wouldn't pay £45 for Monopoly.

    The Australian Mass Effect had a load of DLC added, including a space barbie and Kylie and Jason doing the voiceovers, it all costs.

  • Apostle #8 3 years ago

    Absolutely no way I'm using this service unless I really, really want a game right NOW. Mass Effect I've been if-ing and but-ing over for a few weeks, but getting a real copy that I can put on my shelf will always be my preference. Hopefully MS will do some deals and offers once in a blue moon, maybe you'll even get a chance of winning a GoD game in 1vs100? That'd be nice.

  • andywilkie35 #9 3 years ago

    If I can download a game for £19.99 or buy a boxed game for £9.99 at places like shopto, clearly I'm going to buy the boxed game. I'd only consider downloading a game if it was literally dirt cheap.

  • bioreit #10 3 years ago

    @ paulf

    Actually, it's precisely because this is a monopoly of sorts that Microsoft wouldn't be allowed to undercut retailers.

    Look at BT, for example - they sell their lines wholesale to ISPs, who then rent it to their customers, for cheaper than BT offers! BT could undercut every single competitor in the UK, even those offering LLU lines, but they are forbidden from doing so because they could feasibly drive all competitors into the dust with ridiculously low prices, then jack them back up when they're the only company around.

    With GOD, Microsoft has a dedicated, 24/7 retail route directly into the homes of every single one of its Internet-connected customers - something the likes of HMV, GAME, Amazon, Tesco, etc cannot compete with. If Microsoft undercut the general selling price of games, they would be slapped with a huge anti-competition fine - at least here in the UK and most certainly in Europe too.

    Also, keeping track of all the retailers' various prices for every game available on GOD is a mammoth task - prices would have to change weekly to remain competitive.

    Therefore, the simplest, best option for Microsoft (but not necessarily for us), is for them to take a look at the general retail price of a title and make the games cost around that. Here in the UK, that apparently means 2400 MSP.

    I'm not saying that the prices are fair per se, nor appealling to consumers, but I know that I'm likely to buy the odd game via GOD, especially as it means I can quick launch without swapping discs. Battlefield 1943 has been excellent in demonstrating to me how a 'full' title that is download-only can work compared to a disc.

    And for the 'difficult to get hold of games' (a la Psychnoauts on Xbox) should have a guaranteed safe haven now - which is very welcome news.

  • Vice.Destroyer #11 3 years ago

    If there is an australian eurogamer still awake and posting, can you confirm just how much of a piss-take these prices are? I feel outraged for the antipodeans that they are being shafted. I understand that in many respects, Microsoft's hands are tied.
    they really can't make the prices any lower. Multiple markets with a single price point, anti-competition laws, single-retail channel monopoly - wouldn't be allowed, I don't think. (according to my man Bioreit, who never gets these things wrong)

    If that is how much games are down under, I would suggest buying only region-free games and getting them from videogamesplus.ca or play-asia.com

  • macmurphy #12 3 years ago

    LOL. Who is going to be daft enough to pay £45 for Mass Effect. I got my copy new for £12 around Christmas, and surely the Australian market can't be that different from over here. Surely people that have the X-box live service are more likely to be the computer literate, internet savvy people that realise they can google these games and find them for 'the lowest pricing' that our Australian X-box chum somehow thinks is hard to find.

    His comments translate as 'We're hoping our customers are either too lazy or too stupid to look for the best deals, and we're going to try and do them for as much money as possible based on this appraisal.' Way to go, I hope the service dies on its arse at this price point.

    I'm like most people that are probably willing to pay maybe £5 over the cheapest price for an impulse purchase or to save a trip to the shops. Charging £35 over is a joke. On a side note I hope our cricketers slip it to you even harder than your Xbox division want to.

  • Vice.Destroyer #13 3 years ago

    Speak of Bioreit, and he appears. Look, I quoted you.
    :)

  • macmurphy #14 3 years ago

    A one minute google reveals a couple of sites where its retailing at AUS$44.
    I know they're all convicts but surely this is daylight robbery a step too far.
    (slightly ashamed of wanton xenophobia. Strokes Kylie poster...)

  • Brakara #15 3 years ago

    In Norway, all the titles cost 4000 MSP. It's ridiculous.

  • skillian #16 3 years ago

    If Microsoft undercut the general selling price of games, they would be slapped with a huge anti-competition fine - at least here in the UK and most certainly in Europe too.

    Have you got any evidence for this? Not that I think you're making it up, but I just find it difficult to believe that to be true.

  • AphoticCosmos #17 3 years ago

    Crikey.

    Really, in the case of Mass Effect:
    a) What self-respecting 360 owner doesn't have one of the console's best games by now anyway?
    b) Why pay £45 for a digital download of ME when you can get a real copy anywhere in the games-playing world, second hand or new, for less than half of that price.

  • Darren #18 3 years ago

    6000 MP/£45 for Mass Effect in Australia?!?!? :o

    What a rip off. Microsoft should do something about this quickly because it's likely to put many people off buying games digitally. I think selling the games at £19.99 is greedy too personally as many games can be bought much cheaper than that locally and online if you shop around.

    Why are digital downloads so expensive when there's no distribution, packaging or disc costs? I've noticed that e-tailers like Steam are also grossly overpriced for new releases as they're sold at their RRPs and often £10-£15 more than their online prices. Personally I think it all reeks of sheer greed.

  • jiveguy #19 3 years ago

    Will the old trick of having a US account for getting their demos work on this?

  • Monkey_Puncher #20 3 years ago

    6000? Christ!

    The pricing from what I've seen across the board is a joke, 19.99 for Viva Pinata? Jog on!

    Most the games I've seen listed can easily be found in store and online for £10 and lower.

  • thegamesthething #21 3 years ago

    Viva Pinata wouldn't sell iin Oz regardless of price, you can see weirder creatures in your garden down there than anything in game.

    My mate who lives there got bit on the todger once by a spider lurking in his bog.

  • Charlie_Miso #22 3 years ago

    $99 is now about 50 of your English pounds. It's also RRP.

    Don't have a Xbox so can't really stick the knife in. But jeez, hundred bucks? As if, mate.

    /throws prawn on barbie

  • ardamillo #23 3 years ago

    This is taking the piss. Brand new games in Australia are usually around $100, sometimes less. I saw Mass Effect for $25 new the other day.

  • actionfitz #24 3 years ago

    it costs more in the UK / Australia etc because of shipping costs, DVD manufacture and printing boxes etc...
    oh wait a minute...
    my mistake...
    it's because M$ are money grubbing cunts.

  • Frumper #25 3 years ago

    And in one fell swoop they do more damage to the reputation of this system than anyone else could possibly do.

    It's a global system, with varying prices per region but you need to keep them all in the same ball park. The service provided must demonstrate greater benefit than picking up the game second hand.

  • Darren #26 3 years ago

    "Games on Demand offers digital distribution of Xbox 360 games for the first time. The line-up includes Assassin's Creed, Oblivion and LEGO Star Wars, many of which are available from the shops for less than the asking price. Is the convenience worth the extra few quid?"

    Only if you're stupid, too lazy to put a disc in a tray or so rich that money doesn't matter. ;)

    With a huge number of Xbox 360 owners only having access to 20 GB HDDs and the larger drives being obscenely overpriced I can't imagine this service will have that much success anyway, certainly not if the games themselves are deemed too expensive.

    On reflection if Microsoft really wanted digital distribution to be a massive success they should have (a) launched the 360 with a larger capacity HDD back in 2005 and as standard; and (b) adopted the Sony idea of allowing third-party HDDs to be installed in a mounting frame to make upgrades as cheap as possible. You can buy a 320 GB HDD for less than half the cost of Microsoft's own 120 GB HDD for example.
    Edited by 1 at 11/08/09 @ 10:40

  • actionfitz #27 3 years ago

    @Vice.Destroyer
    "they really can't make the prices any lower. Multiple markets with a single price point, anti-competition laws, single-retail channel monopoly - wouldn't be allowed, I don't think."

    which then begs the question: why bother.
    Is there anyone in Microsoft who seriously thought there wouldnt be an outcry over this? and that the blame will lie a their feet?
    If retailers are allowed to shaft Developers out of a return from the pre-owned market what right right have the retailers (who are the reason we pay over £50 RRPs) to bitch about getting undercut at Digital distribution?

  • login_name #28 3 years ago

    Quicker and cheaper to just run to the bloody shop. I don't see the point at these prices. You'd have to be extremely bored or extremely lazy to buy anything from this service. Same goes for Steam (excluding the weekend deals, of course).

  • actionfitz #29 3 years ago

    @Darren
    "larger drives being obscenely overpriced"

    check Ebay mate, I just bought a 120g 360 drive for £43 :D
    some hong kong reseller I think :p
    but you're right. the normal price is stupid. considering you can get a 1.5 TB drive for just over £100 these days.

  • waynenot #30 3 years ago

    Way to get everyone flocking to Game, Blockbuster etc to buy used copies. Mass Effect, for example, being 12.99 at my local BB.
    Greedy arseholes. (ooer)
    Edited by 2 at 11/08/09 @ 10:39

  • j1m.ch053n #31 3 years ago

    bloody hell unanimous hatred all directed at the same entity on a forum

    a first

    i agree though £20 for COD2 - ive seen that for as little as £4 2nd hand

    microsoft had a really great thing going there what a shame greed has ruined it

  • Darren #32 3 years ago

    @Frumper - "And in one fell swoop they do more damage to the reputation of this system than anyone else could possibly do."

    +1

    For a company that is so keen to promote a future of digital distribution only I find it totally bizarre that they'd mess it up so badly by overpricing it. Maybe they're not bothered? After all, even if only a handful of people ever buy these games, it doesn't cost the publishers anything like what it would cost if they had to manufacture boxed copies; the games are just files sitting on a server.

  • macmurphy #33 3 years ago

    @Actionfitz.

    Great, great point. This is a way for Microsoft to take apart the second hand market which shafts the developers out of so much cash. If these games were at the right price they could really hurt the preowned sector; this ultimately is surely good for the consumer since a lot of the profit in the sector must be going to places like Game who recycle games again and again at the expense of the developer who in turn must put up their prices to recoup investments. It also means less units are sold since people 'rent' games by buying preowned and quickly reselling.

    It seems like there's a lot at stake here, so why the hell can't they do it right? Microsoft don't even need to charge the lowest price available, just one that means that buyers do not feel taken advantage of.

  • bioreit #34 3 years ago

    @ Vice.Destroyer

    Thanks again :-)

    @ skillian

    Not directly relating to Microsoft, no, but I know how the anti-competition thing applied to BT because my Dad was a director at BT and was always telling me how BT had to change its policies and plump for being the 'Best Known, but Kinda Crap' brand, because they'd had all their competitive teeth pulled out.

  • Johnhost #35 3 years ago

    I think the UK has got a fair shake out of this. £19.99 is the standard price for the "classics" range of games. All of these titles are apart of the classics range.

    Yes it's always going to be cheeper used, but they are selling these direct to you with no worries about disks. Digital Distribution is the future and if games like Call of Duty 4 come out for GoD at around £29.99 that would be good too.

  • Fab4 #36 3 years ago

    GOD must be using 'IP over Avian Carriers' at the core of its delivery system. Hence the cost increases the further away you live from the US. Those pigeons tire easily ;)

  • spookyzombie #37 3 years ago

    'Way to get everyone flocking to Game, Blockbuster etc to buy used copies. Mass Effect, for example, being 12.99 at my local BB.
    Greedy arseholes. (ooer)'

    Even better than that at Blockbuster. The Classic edition is selling for £12.98 brand new.

  • muscleblade #38 3 years ago

    GOD will flop - I cant believe MS cant see that. Its not rocket science.

  • Zomoniac #39 3 years ago

    Not directly relating to Microsoft, no, but I know how the anti-competition thing applied to BT because my Dad was a director at BT and was always telling me how BT had to change its policies and plump for being the 'Best Known, but Kinda Crap' brand, because they'd had all their competitive teeth pulled out.

    Perhaps if they used some of that extra money they make from being 'forced to overcharge' into getting some UK call centres and not having the worst customer service I've ever dealt with by a million miles that isn't how they'd me known. It's not the price, it's that it's an abysmal, incompetent company. It's not that other companies have BT lines for less than BT, it's that they have BT lines for less than BT AND manage to keep them running most of the time and much faster (somehow) AND might actually bother fixing it when it breaks.

  • Zomoniac #40 3 years ago

    I would like to know will they ever have sales? People only ever seem to buy from Steam during the weekly sales, because the rest of the time it's a rip-off, and they get away with undercutting retail during those periods. We do have the odd discounted XBLA game, and they did start that Arcade Hits thing over a year ago with 10 discounted games, which got an eleventh game about a year ago and still has 11 games and has turned out to be a massive waste of time.

    If they do promotions to get around the monopoly accusations then it could be really good. But as ever I doubt it, MS's track record of implementing a great concept and completely breaking it is unmatched.

  • Darren #41 3 years ago

    @Johnhost - "I think the UK has got a fair shake out of this. £19.99 is the standard price for the "classics" range of games. All of these titles are apart of the classics range."

    You're absolutely right, of course, so that's a good point.

    But isn't the point of digital distribution that these games are supposed to be cheaper than the standard prices? There's no distribution, box, disc or manual costs involved after all. Why would you buy a game from the Marketplace if you can pay the same or less online or locally and have something to trade in/sell on once you've finished/tired of it? Where's the incentive to purchase games digitally?

    As far as I can there isn't any for me because I'm not so lazy that I can't be arsed to handle a disc. :?

  • RexRunti #42 3 years ago

    Microsoft are playing the long game £20 for older games is not unreasonable, sure you can find all of these games cheaper with a bit of shopping around (assuming you can find them), but that's the point. MS don't want to piss off the retailers (which is also the reason it's old games).

    Let's use the new PSP GO as an example as it's games are download only, if I run Game and a customer asks me what they should buy a DS or the PSP GO, now I make jack all profit on either so do I recommend the PSP GO and never see the customer again or the DS when I can sell them a game there and then (which returns a good profit) and will see them in months time for another one? It's the same with the major consoles, I wouldn't push XBox 360s out the door if I knew I wouldn't get any return customers.

    Finally, MS and other publisher's don't care if you shop around they still make money, and think of all the free publicity Mass Effect has got since GOD was announced.

    PS. 6000 MSPs in Oz is taking the piss though.

  • Darren #43 3 years ago

    @Zomoniac - I love Steam...

    ... but only for their weekend deals. Everything else they sell new is priced at RRP and therefore too expensive. I'm actually amazed that they've even survived as long as they have but people are clearly buying these games at those prices otherwise they'd have dropped years ago.

    Makes me wonder if Microsoft's GOD will also be a similar success because it seems some people really don't mind paying way over the odds, perhaps because they just like the idea of *not* having physical media? Strange people... :?

  • Retroid #44 3 years ago

    I'd love to know how much control MS has with all these prices and what 'outside influences' there are, because a good portion of those prices are just bloody stupid.

    You'd think internet mail-order hadn't become popular :/

  • bioreit #45 3 years ago

    @ Zomoniac

    "It's not that other companies have BT lines for less than BT, it's that they have BT lines for less than BT AND manage to keep them running most of the time and much faster (somehow) AND might actually bother fixing it when it breaks."

    Oh, absolutely agree that BT has the worst possible customer service and appalling reliability! Hate 'em. Even using my Dad's insider knowledge for things (he was a senior engineer before answering 'the call') gets pretty much nothing these days. But if they could undercut people by say 50%, enough no-clue normal folk would switch to them that all the other ISPs and telcos would disappear as they haemorrhage customers.

    As it stands, I think GOD will be a slightly more successful venture than Xbox Originals - which is to say it takes a bit longer to die a slow, lingering death, especially in territories like Ozland. Might survive here with prices around the Classics RRP, but it won't be a runaway success.

  • Moribundman #46 3 years ago

    Someone should seriously have a whisper in Microsoft's ear about CEX, Game, or even HMV's (relatively) expensive 2nd hand market. FFS, you couldn't spit down any high street without hitting a shop selling these titles for half the price. Even brand new, the sparkly 2 disc platinum version of Mass Effect with exclusive NXE premium themes and vids costs about a tenner less than the asking price on GOD. And that's all in the UK, God knows re Australia and these other poor countries!

    Clearly MS are pricing GOD in "real" money and not points since they'd be laughed out of the room for putting 6000MSP in writing for a 2 year old game.

    Seriously. I appreciate there is an "issue" with P&P in markets like Australia or Northern Europe, but you can buy Mass Effect for $45 Aus: [link url=http://www.gameswarehouse.com.au/boxs earch.asp?title=mass+effect&Page=XB360
    ]http://ww w.gameswarehouse.com.au/boxsear...[/link]

    That's HALF THE PRICE they want for it on GOD. And if you live in the middle of the bloody outback, I don't imagine your 5GB downloads will exactly soar down the tinny phone line...

    On the plus side, from checking out the Aussie Xbox site, it LOOKS as though Arcade titles and other downloadables are at a fixed price so they must work out relatively cheaper than the UK(?)

  • Irien #47 3 years ago

    The thing that really bites me is that MS points are already a independant "currency", so pricing cannot be blamed on dollar, pound or euro conversation. The points are sold for a variable amount of cash based on local currency in the first place, and such a system can only work if the final product is then sold for a fixed amount of MS points.

    To subsequently vary the MS point cost by territory is just taking the micky altogether.

  • skillian #48 3 years ago

    Basically the competition commision has a thing for MS :/

    Well, MS have some very unsavoury anti-competitive processes ;)

    In this case however, I really don't think that would come into it. MS are not the only company selling consoles, and they're not even the only company selling Xbox 360 games. Yes they are the only ones selling them online, but that's just a delivery system.

    Sorry, but I don't believe for a second that the high prices are because of worries about anti-competitiveness. They are because of MS' desire for profits.

    Also, MS are unsure about what to charge for stuff like this, and it's easier to adjust prices downwards than it is to try and raise them.

  • Moribundman #49 3 years ago

    I don't think anyone's crying out for MS to completely undercut high street prices, but for fuck's sake they could at least *approximate* the market price...

    The product requires less expense to produce (it's a digital copy and costs exactly sweet FA top the producers and distributers once there's a master on the server) yet they think people will pay these idiotic rates for "convenience"?! Even a bedridden, housebound person can order online and ofter receive the game within 24 hours. How the hell do they think they can justify this?

    As for a monopoly and anti-competition, aren't Microsoft just doing what Apple did with iTunes? A free platform through which to download third party products from a singular entity? iTunes is distributing digital copies of traditionally physical media, and they manage to make these cheaper than (or at the VERY least the same as) physical prices

  • Moribundman #50 3 years ago

    I think on closer inspection the angle of this article misses the point somewhat... The points price sounds outrageous, no doubt about it, but having seen the GOD titles emerge via the Preview Programme, I noticed that points don't figure into it, just the regional currency price. You don't buy GOD with points, you pay direct as you would with your credit card to buy points direct online from MS.

    This being the case, it's not really an issue of MS charging "6000 points" for Mass Effect, but more that they are charging double the going rate across the board. The price of 6000 points in Australia is pretty much double the market price for Mass Effect, just as 2400 points or whatever is almost double the going rate for Mass Effect in the UK. I think bringing "points" into this equation confuses the problem, which essentially is that all markets have been screwed over by GOD by about the same amount in real money...

  • Daymare #51 3 years ago

    If retailers are allowed to shaft Developers out of a return from the pre-owned market what right have the retailers (who are the reason we pay over £50 RRPs) to bitch about getting undercut at Digital distribution?

    +2

  • Freek #52 3 years ago

    Yup, it's insane. Mass Effect in the classics range, goes for about 17 euro at retail, new. And that includes all the downloadable content and the special edition DVD.

    Why pay 29,99 for an online version? It makes no sense.

  • skillian #53 3 years ago

    It's not about rights or justice, it's about money.

    Game developers will lose a certain amount of money if they piss off the retailers. So they don't do it, it's that simple.

    Personally I wish the developers (more for PC games admittedly) would just grow a pair and do what they want without regard for bricks and mortar retailers. Then I remember that at the moment it's the retailers giving us good deals and publishers stiffing us with high prices, so i must be careful what I wish for.
    Edited by 1 at 11/08/09 @ 11:57

  • Shadders #54 3 years ago

    £20 is actually a pretty good price for Lego Star Wars (it is the complete saga right?), it's £30 at GAME.

  • Darren #55 3 years ago

    @Shadders - It's £17.98 at Amazon and just £14.99 at Play.com so you can save 25% straight away by ordering it from the latter. ;)

  • Whizzo #56 3 years ago

    You don't buy GOD with points, you pay direct as you would with your credit card to buy points direct online from MS.

    You can pay in real world currency with a credit card or with a press of a button switch to paying with points.

  • Velios #57 3 years ago

    "Or is a game without a box and manual worth less than physical media "

    I say NO, you can't trade in old games if everything goes digital, and it's taking away choice from the consumer.

  • linksdad #58 3 years ago

    The pricing has more to do with keeping publishers and retailers happy. If MS sells games for a tenner then 2nd hand games will have to come down to that level or thereabouts and everyone will then wait for that massive price diferential to kick in rather than buying new games.

    There is no way MS could establish a monopoly becuase Sony and Nintendo (and Apple) are in the business of offering PDLC.

    Special rules apply to BT becuase they WERE a monopoly and have all the commercial advantages.

  • Shadders #59 3 years ago

    @Darren

    But it's sold out on Play (I did actually look there before posting) they have it on PlayTrade for £20, but frankly I'd rather download it.

    Fair enough about Amazon though.

    And I think LSW is the only game on there that is even close to being an alright price the rest can be found for half the price easily.

  • kendoji #60 3 years ago

    I don't believe in God.

  • kangarootoo #61 3 years ago

    @MadSurg3on

    I'm not for a second saying this pricing business is right, but you know it DOES cost money to deliver software digital. It very literally does.

    Clearly whether "everyone" knows something or not has little to do with whether it is correct.

  • kangarootoo #62 3 years ago

    "GOD will flop - I cant believe MS cant see that. Its not rocket science."

    I knew a comment like this was bound to crop up eventually.

    MS have a packet of money saying they have an idea or two about doing buisness. The alternative possibility to that suggested by the comment, is that MS know exactly what they are doing and the poster does not (hence the poster's confusion). I wonder which one it might be?

  • GreyBeard #63 3 years ago

    @Kangarootoo

    What a ridiculous comment! Yes, MS are a highly successful business, but not every venture they try, or aspect of those ventures is a success.

    MS have made more than their fair share of mistakes over the years, but their virtual monopoly over the desktop market has made sure that when they have screwed up, it just tends to slow their progress not set them back significantly.

  • Darren #64 3 years ago

    @kendoji - Hehehe... nice one! :)

    Maybe Microsoft should use the tagline: "Do you believe in GOD?" for the service?

    No doubt the new ratings system will allow for us to judge how popular this service is or isn't. That's a good thing in a way because Microsoft will be able to see how Xbox 360 owners are reacting to the content. Any low ratings are surely going to come to Microsoft's attention better this way than if the ratings system didn't exist at all.

    Certainly I'll be rating all the GOD games low when I get home tonight... just to try out the new NXE feature, you understand. ;)

  • kangarootoo #65 3 years ago

    @GreyBeard

    You misunderstand. I'm not saying MS are perfect. But they have a proven record and a multi billion dollar bank account to match.

    To dismiss a new venture by any successful multinational with hollow language like "this will fail, I can't believe XYZ can't see that" is absurd.

    If someone can structure a well reasoned case for why this will fail, I'll be all ears. But everyone is keen on simply saying "its obvious, trust me"... well I will tend to trust the successful corp over the internet poster any day.

    As I tire of saying, if the solution seems obvious the observer probably doesn't understand the problem. The very idea that any poster on here would see a huge and obvious flaw in any business plan that NOBODY at MS had spotted is beyond foolish. Seriously, is that what we are saying? That muscleblade knows more about selling digital products than EVERYONE at MS?


    Besides which, you seem to be suggesting that MS are successful, not because they have done anything right, but because they have a monopoly (which has allowed them to succeed depite making various mistakes). How exactly did they get their monopoly, if not through being extremely good at business?

    MS may not make the best products, and I would agree with you on that, but if there is one thing they do well it is sell products.

  • muscleblade #66 3 years ago

    I love my 360 - its the best console this gen. The prices on both GOD and Avatar clothing etc is far off. Good thing nobody forces us to buy it then. I must say the 400MS point lightsabre is tempting and i can easily afford to waste that kind of money even if the price is ridiculously high.

  • IronCladChicken #67 3 years ago

    I'd always been lead to understand one of the reasons for video games being priced as they are was to cover losses from piracy (as well as costs to rent\mortgage the building, pay staff, electricity, taxes, etc...)

    But presumably there is no piracy with the downloaded versions - so how come the games cost more than most retail shops are selling them for?


  • geeza2020 #68 3 years ago

    Kangarootoo:- "If someone can structure a well reasoned case for why this will fail, I'll be all ears. But everyone is keen on simply saying "its obvious, trust me"... well I will tend to trust the successful corp over the internet poster any day."

    Surely that is a case of choosing the lesser of two evils? They are both quite likely to be completely wrong

  • GreyBeard #69 3 years ago

    @Kangarootoo

    MS core business are amongst the most successful and profitable in the world, with that level of income they don't need to worry about short-term losses as it most likely won't adversely affect their overall performance for the quarter/year.

    For example it took them a long time to turn a profit on the Entertainments and Devices division, because neither the original Xbox or Zune were the successes they hoped for.

    The point is that now, they can say Xbox is profitable and successful, but they couldn't say the same thing 5 years ago. The issue at hand, GOD, is arguably a similar case.

    This is their first run at opening up the market, and chances are it won't be a huge success given its their first attempt. This isn't to say that it won't be a success in the future though.

  • kangarootoo #70 3 years ago

    @geeza2020

    Well yes I guess it IS a case of choosing the lesser of two evils. They may both be wrong, but I know which one I think is more likely to be wrong (which is more "evil";). That is kind of exactly my point.

    I'm not saying MS are right, and that this will be a roaring success. But I figure they must have least spent quite a lot of time and money finding out whether there is at least a decent chance it will be successful. AND they have a record of doing business, on this and other platforms, with this and other customers bases.

    Which is what makes it rather bonkers when a random internet poster says "this is rubbish, its obvious", as if MS (the whole company) just woke up one morning and thought "I know, GoD, has a ring to it, lets do it" and NOBODY at MS pointed out the apparently obvious flaws that are staring said internet poster in the face.

    Perhaps, rather than choosing the lesser of two evils, I am just applying occam's razor.

  • kangarootoo #71 3 years ago

    @GreyBeard

    You see, I don't disagree with a word you said. It is all fair comment and well observed.

    And FAR more preferable than the uninformed "all-or-nothing" nonsense that is "GOD will flop - I cant believe MS cant see that. Its not rocket science".

  • Oceadge #72 3 years ago

    Just wanted to say that I bought Mass Effect on launch day for $79 here in Australia. I'm not sure what they're thinking with a $99 price point almost two years later. Bizzare.

    BTW, someone mentioned that $99 is the usual launch day price for games in Australia. Well, if you buy in EB or Game that might be so (although EB often seem to add an extra $10 to that). But JB Hi-Fi usually sell 360 and PS3 games on launch day for between $79 and $89.

  • Moribundman #73 3 years ago

    @Darren Sadly I don't think that will work... I *believe* the rating system treats online versions as the same thing as the hard copy (makes sense as they'll also be hooked up to the same patches and achievement links online). My guess is that to all intents and purposes, once its on your hard drive the xbox views it as though it IS the disc based version.

    What WOULD piss off retailers would be if MS allowed HDD installs to run WITHOUT putting the disc in the tray... That'd spare everyone a minor pain in the arse, but that combined with trade ins is the only thing I can see "hurting" retail sales.

  • Freek #74 3 years ago

    Looking at the disaster that is Live for Windows, and the less then stellar success of Vista. I don't think you can make the case that MS thinks everything through carefully.
    They do , at times, make exceptionally stupid choices that it's users do not agree with and then spend a long time trying to fix it.

  • metallicorphan #75 3 years ago

    holy fuckstains...they've got Rockstars Table Tennis up now for 20 quid as well

    that game was considered a cut price title when it came out back in 2006...i actually got it then in a 2 for 20quid offer

  • Moribundman #76 3 years ago

    @Kangarootoo I know you're not exactly cheerleading this, but come on, you can't say GoD will be a resounding success - more like a minor revenue stream whenever they can catch out someone gullible or too rich to care. Or maybe they're hoping to get people like nagging kids and impatient types who can't wait to go the shops or wait for delivery.

    I can understand charging a premium for brand new games that you can get like an XBLA title the second they are released - download Arkham Asylum from work and it's sitting on your Xbox waiting when you get home... That's almost tempting enough to ignore the premium rate price...

    They could certainly get away with charging the absolute maximum RRP for new triple A releases like that, and maybe that's where MS sees this going in the future, but to be honest, it takes more effort to make an Original Xbox title compatible with the 360 and release a DVD sized download than it does to simply take a 360 title and shovel it into a download stream rather than installing from disc.

    They're phasing out new Xbox Original releases now, presumably because they weren't a resounding success. Some of the GoD releases are almost as old now as the XBO titles were on release, so considering they take less effort to get online and they're not as rare in the shops these days, how can MS justify this pricing?

  • Moribundman #77 3 years ago

    As MrZ said (and I did previously on another thread ;-) they'd actually provide a decent reason for buying these titles if they provided extra content - if these games are all "classics" why not throw in a few themed avatar items and premium themes based around them that you can't get anywhere else?

    I know I bought the £6 rip off that is Official Xbox mag in order to get my hands on their exclusive, not available anywhere else, L4D premium theme...

  • muscleblade #78 3 years ago

    Kangarootoo is way off this time. I gladly pay 1200 MS points for arcade classics like MvsC2 and other new XBLA games without complaining. But charging this kind of prices for old games that is easily obtainable in shops for a much lower price is way off. I think GOD will fail unless they changes the prices quite a bit. Wait and see. Their prices for the new Avatar stuff is also made of fail imo.

  • kangarootoo #79 3 years ago

    @Moribundman

    Dude, I'm not saying this will be a resounding success. I think it is just naive to write it off this early. Especially if we are writing it off on the basis that is will "obviously not work".

    If pricing is the issue here, you can be sure that its the easiest problem for MS to fix further down the road if they need to.

    Lets look at what we are talking about here. MS, selling downloadable games on a service that they have been providing for some time now. What part of that is so revolutionary or different to what they have already been doing for some while now, that anybody with half a mind would state it is obviously going to fail?

    Steam exists, XBLA exists, PSN Store exists, Direct2Drive exists. All of these do in essence what GoD is planning to do. All it is doing really is expanding its catalogue, sticking a different hat on it, and shoving it to the front of the crowd.


    Methinks this whole subject (which is getting blown way out of proportion, making me look like some digital-distribution-phile) has been born out of the comments one ill advised gamer who still likes the idea of having his games room filled up with cardboard and plastic. Said gamer has confused their own preferences (which are fine and dandy and valid) with some sort of prophetic power or business in sales degree, and declared this service a failure simply because he doesn't like the idea of buying games online instead of in a store.

    I call shenenigans on that is all.

  • kangarootoo #80 3 years ago

    @muscleblade

    You could have piped up a bit sooner :)

    Like I said, if pricing is there problem it is easily fixed at a future.

    However, I would imagine MS are basing their initial pricing to some degree on how sales of XB Classics have gone so far. By whatever route they have taken to these prices, they will have done some market research. We the internet posting loudmouths don't represent the whole of the wider market, and just 'cos we don't like something doesn't mean it will fail.

    ALL I have been saying is that MS know how to do business. If we can agree on that (surely?), we can perhaps agree that they are unlikely to have suddenly lost all that experience along with their minds when launching this new service.

  • Moribundman #81 3 years ago

    As I say, only way I see this working is brand new games @ RRP and/or bundling exclusive extras with GoD. Similarly with Avatar items, all the games-related ones should be achievement unlockables.

    Charge for "lifestyles", designer labels and "fan t shirts" by all means, but put in game outfits and accessories as things to win via games rather than pay money for. Makes them mean more apart from anything else. Imagine the Monkey Island and Fable clobber was unlocked when you hit some significant mileastone in the game...

    340MSP for a remote controlled Warthog that you can watch when you "try it on" and which doesn't seem to appear anywhere except idling on your own desktop? LOL.

  • Moribundman #82 3 years ago

    HAHA. Participated in MS MR for Lips. They're a little bit cuckoo... Seemed to think wireless mics were the second coming until I pointed out all peripherals are wireless these days...

  • muscleblade #83 3 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    Sure.

    I work close to a game shop so im not their target consumer i guess. I just cant understand how they can defend higher prices for a download via Live than those of every website or game shop. I dont get it.

  • kangarootoo #84 3 years ago

    @Moribundman

    Those are all good ideas, and it does make sense that unlocks match game performance rather than wallet performance.


    @muscleblade

    I don't get it either. I'm not likely to be a customer for this stuff either.


    I wonder if all of the objection stems from thinking that people would have to be mad to buy DD games at this price, when a bit of hunting on eBay would find the same games for less than half the price.

    BUT (and its a big but, hence the uppercase), knowing that mad customers exist who will pay these prices doesn't make MS mad. It just makes them well informed.

  • RexRunti #85 3 years ago

    Why does eveyone assume MS want GOD to replace retail? MS like retail, it's how they created their dominance in the OS market. (Ever tried to buy a new PC without windows on it?) They also understand that you can never download a console off the internet, you need retailers to sell them, and consoles are sold almost exclusivly from entertainment or specialist stores (HMV, Game, Amazon, Play.com) who make their money from selling games not consumer electronic stores like Currys.

    If you compare GOD with any retailer it's going to come off worse as MS pretty much have to charge RRP at least. However if you look at it as just a way to get your hands an older game for £20 without having to wander down to the shops or wait for delivery, then there really isn't too much to find fault with. Besides if price was as much an issue with the public at large as some of the people on this forum seem to think it is, Game would be out of business and every game puchased would have had at least eight different previous owners.

  • ParanoidZombie #86 3 years ago

    Too expensive, as expected. 29.99€ for tomb raider legend and Prey? Get out of here! Viva Pinata TIP might be worth it, since the game doesn't require a manual and it's a great game from fall 2008, but that's about it.
    The avatar marketplace is ace, though: even if the items are overpriced, the COG armor and the splinter cell outfits are hard to resist. Bummer, though: I have 50 000 GS points and it unlocked absolutely no clothes. FFS, Microsoft, you could have given me something!!!

  • metallicorphan #87 3 years ago

    @Rexrunti

    you almost sound as though MS have put these high prices up,so that we DO go out and buy more games from the retailer

  • Collymilad #88 3 years ago

    nice one MS, make GOD useless by charing £20 across the board which is 2x the price you can pick the games up for in the shops in most cases.

  • Roamer #89 3 years ago

    4000 points across the board in Norway is incredible...

  • Binglybob #90 3 years ago

    To Microsoft,

    I love the 360, it's a great machine. I love the games. I love the controller. I love Halo. But would you please stop fucking Europe/Australasia in the arse when it comes to pricing. Just stop it. It's not fair. Fuck you.

    Binglybob

  • clockworkzombie #91 3 years ago

    Most Aussies are laid back we will have a laugh and go back to shooting people in CoD, certainly I do not care. Though that may be due to me already owning ME on disc. If it was a game I wanted and the prices are stupid I will buy the cheaper disc version.

  • AHiFi #92 3 years ago

    This is no surprise to me. Been to Australia twice and have seen the game prices there. £55 for new and recent releases.

  • aids #93 3 years ago

    Yup, games down here in Oz are always a rip-off, GoD or not. It's why the pre-owned market is so popular here, as are overseas retailers/ebay.

  • citizenHUNTER #94 3 years ago

    The main game that bugged me was seeing Viva Pinata up for £19.99 when it's been widely available, BRAND NEW at times for a tenner in the shops.

    I don't like how they're spinning it to make it sound like it's fair to charge this much when downloading for the added convenience yet they fail to make reference to the many downsides to the digital model, i.e. no re-sale value nor possibility, and the perhaps slightly unclear nature of what happens a few years down the road should a later console no longer be compatible etcetera. Basically the transitory nature of buying a digital download game next to the life-long promise that a boxed version brings.

    Wish these companies would just stop pussyfooting around and someone make a move. High Street retailers quite frankly probably make most of their money these days from the pre-owned section rather than brand new titles. It's unfair on consumers.. the ones who get paid a couple of quid to see the same game go up for £25 pre-owned the next day... Microsoft has a chance to really kill off this, but clearly the price needs to be fair to the consumer and competitive against retailers. NOT having a boxed version to me represents a bigger negative than the plus points of having it installed and ready to go, and this needs to be reflected in a LOWER download price compared to a boxed copy.

    Someone see sense here and let the price war and the battle for the high street begin.

  • RedSparrows #95 3 years ago

    I'm of the persuasion that most comments here are pointless: yes, it's too much, and yes, go buy it elsewhere.

    NEXT.

  • 3william56 #96 3 years ago

    Strewth Eurogamer. Don't you realise we're upside down here? It's 0009 points for ssaW fcett3. Sounds like a ripper bargain to me.

    These Kangaroos don't tie themselves down, Sport. Costs money, which Dingos generally steal along with babies. Not to mention the Paul Hogan tax - we pay 1% of all sales to pay for upkeep of his plastic surgery, and to keep the b*stard out of Aus.

    Luckily $onybucks are region free, works fine upside down so we pay near enough exactly the same as you pommie b*stards on the PSN (i.e. we get ripped off equally for Fat Princess), so yes, MicrOZoft are pulling the p*ss.

  • JensonJet #97 3 years ago

    I get the impression people are annoyed that these download game prices are high. I must be one of the few that's incredibly happy about it. I want paid-for anything game related to be expensive and therefore fail.

    Download only systems may one day be the future, and that's when gaming gets expensive and the console manufacturers have even more control and will really start making us pay. Currently I enjoy being able to pick up second-hand games or part exchanging old for new. So I'm very happy that these prices are high. I doubt it makes any difference to Microsoft whether this service is a resounding success or not, it's just the begining of the future for them.

  • Genji #98 3 years ago

    This is for Mass Effect 2, right? It must be. The original has been out for ages, and is now less than $50 in most Australian stores. Pay double that to download it? Uhhhhhh..... shouldn't it be cheaper?

  • simianRJM #99 3 years ago

    I'm a kiwi and can get Mass Effect in store for $39.95 (down from the normal 59.99 http://ww w.dse.co.nz/dse.shop/4a824dcf01... )why on earth would I pay the equivalent of $99 to get a copy that I cant even put o a shelf and doesn't come with a real manual?

    Dont know if everyone knows but MS NZ has also stopped under 18's from purchasing anything online so they have alienated a big part of there market right there anyway here in NZ, having crazy prices as well just means that that GOD is not going to do well in Godzone!
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/09 @ 06:11

  • septimus #100 3 years ago

    GoD is pointless at these price points. Sorry MS, nice idea horribly executed. I would have picked up Assassins Creed, but not at these levels.

  • Quak #101 3 years ago

    Faced with the prospect of being ripped off like this, I either play such games on emulators instead or I buy second-hand.