Rock Band man defends Euro price Comments by Ellie Gibson

@Espiox (and every other Gamestation employee on here):

If you actually did recommend that people wait for the price to go down when they try and buy it, I would really respect you. I know that's entirely meaningless through the internet, but we've clearly all had enough of EA and everything they do (I'm an American who doesn't even want to play the damn game and I find this as outrageous as the rest of you). It would be great if there was at least some effort to prevent this from being sold.

I mean, isn't that what capitalism's all about? If they're putting out a shitty, overpriced product, there's nothing wrong with us telling people not to get it.

dear Rob Kay.
you are a wanker. I hope your bed of money crushes you.
regards,
UK

Pricey, for sure - and another shameful example of rip off Britain, but phantom516 is right, you can find it online for the sort of money we all expected it would cost. I can't say for sure, but it seems that the yanks don't have quite the same access to heavily discounted online retailers that we do - which rather negates much of the RRP inflation we have to put up with. The wonder of play.com's VAT-dodging channel island-ness to the rescue again, then.

@Bertie - So that's MTV charging a premium for the MTV generation who made a fast buck in the late 90's/early 00's? Same scum, different label unfortunately...

/bought from Play.com

/is a hypocrite

/am cry...

Well done EA... you got publicity. Is any publicity bad publicity? Stick one of our mystical hedgehogs up you ass to find out.

Harmonix, please spare us the peripherals if you make another Frequency sequel - our continent can't afford your publisher's prices.

I reckon they know they have stock shortages and so have stuck the price up to a level where a lot less will buy it, but as long as they still sell the full shipment (at double the price) theyll be happy

"but observed there is an option to buy just one instrument or a microphone separately."

And there are much better games at better prices if you just want a single instrument... This is just a very poor value proposition.

they can shove it _period_

and I hope it blows up in their face

There's just no way in hell the maths works on this, and any bullshit about taxes and higher costs is just that: bullshit. I was expecting a price of around the £100-120 mark, and at a push may have justified £130 to myself. Thing is, that was when I was expecting the release over here to be somewhat closer to the beginning of the year. Also, hardware usually gets cheaper the longer it's available (case in point: any fucking hardware you like, they all do) so production costs should be less now.

Even with some retailers offering it at about the £130 they can take a running jump. Being expected to wait 6 months for a handful of 'free' tracks (that one continues to give me a good laugh) and then pay over the odds, well it's a joke isn't it. There's some nonsense reason behind all this, potentially trying to reclaim losses from the US market, possibly a stock shortage, but there is no way in hell it's down to tax.

Next time EA or Harmonix push a lackey out the door to provide an explanation, can they make sure they actually know, well, anything.

I hope it doesn't sell a single copy in this country.

It's time to take a stand and send out a message that we aren't going to tolerate being shafted any more.

The price at Play.com is much fairer and a price I would of been prepared to pay but I'm so pissed off by this whole thing I refuse to buy it now.

From the Wikipedia:

Boycott - A boycott is the act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with someone or some other organization as an expression of protest.

Hmm well if they are going to charge 240 euro, That works out to be about 400 dollars Australian.

I dont think i'll be getting it

@smelly:
"Erm.. Um.. Erm.. You WERE around when the ps3 launched werent you? And the 360.. and the psp?
All sold for considerably more than their US counterparts at launch"

Yes, I were around and I do remember that Microsoft launched the x360 at $399.99/399.99€ (premium) and $299.99/299.99€ (core), Nintendo launched the Wii at $249.99/249.99€ and Sony the PS3 at $599.99/599.99€ (for the 60Gb model - no $499.99 20Gb model for EU). As for the PSP, I don't have the launch prices at hand, but it currently retails at $169.99/169.99€.

So, it clearly depends on how you define "considerably more" expensive. Yes the "$1=1€" conversion is not based on currency rate and yes it does work out to be more expensive (as stated in my original comment), however it's nowhere near the $169.99=239.98€ mark-up we're dealing here. EA just want to make up for lost revenue (whether it is from original US price set at a loss, less-than-targeted sales/DLC or warranty expenses) not conform to global economics...

Also, in my original comment I did state EU prices not UK ones; this might be where you lost me...

The best thing would be if retailers simply refuse to stock it. A boycott would be fantastic but I doubt it will work because retailers and online shops will want to (and probably need to) sell this product and to get people to buy it they will heavily cut down on the RRP to get people to buy. EA won't mind as long as people are buying and with somewhat affordable prices people will be buying, sadly.

Yeah, um, doesn't seem likely, does it?

Fair play to Rob Kay for coming on here and talking about the pricing, but really I feel sorry for the guy - he's being asked to defend the indefensible and Harmonix's game will selll fewer copies than it (arguably) deserves to precisely and singularly because of the high price.

And I don't accept the "just buy one instrument" argument - if you want to play guitar, you might as well buy Guitar Hero and if you want to sing you might as well buy Singstar. Only the drum kit really stands out here, yet surely the main attraction is the ability to play all three (or four) instruments together.

What Rock Band needed was one bundle with everything in for £129.99 tops.

Well Smelly your Global Economics class 101 left me totally unconvinced.
You haven't explained The ridiculously over the top price increase when compared to other consumer electronics equipment.
It should have the same mark up as other relatively large ie: plasma/lcd TV's equipment that come from abroad.
It doesn't, the maths don't add up .. EA got the price wrong they will reduce it by at least £50 very soon.

I am wondering if that Play.com price will rise though tbh.

@Smelly
While the UK does has higher costs for pretty much everything (petrol, transportation etc) this does not quite equate to the increase that is being suggested.

EA will probably be supplying from one destination in Europe, then sending to there distribution partners in each country. They obviously be taking there cut, but they pay for everything, EA will not be driving the delivery truck and paying the petrol themselves.

The production cost will be the same worldwide, we will not be getting special ebony guitars or anything.

Do not get me wrong, most of Europe now gets the same raw deal when it comes to pricing on the whole. The UK is generally terribly expensive for everything. I think this just takes the biscuit. EA cannot expect to get many sales at that price, I think they overestimate the strengh of the product.

@hahayou
In the US store shelf space is also at a premium, in fact it is worse than the UK. They pretty much only want standard DVD cases only. EA will have to think of another excuse.

Hi Rob Kay,

Why don't you fuck off and shove an over priced plastic rock band guitar up your anus while your at it, wanker!

It's an indefensible decision. I can't recall ever seeing such ridiculous profiteering in the videogames industry. Even Nintendo in the 90s didn't take the piss as much as this.

I really want the game, but this has really annoyed me.

@smelly

A quick question, why is it that you're happy to quote people that didn't understand what you said so you can appear knowledgable, but whenever someone asks a valid question that completely destroys your argument you just ignore them?

It's odd, that.

@r3n

If what you say about everyone except you being stupid is true, and they will sell millions regardless, the EA marketing people are hardly fuck-tards are they? Think.

you could get about 5 different brand new recently released games for that, and even if they were crap i'm sure you'd get more time out of them than out of this, no matter how cool it looks.
you could buy a new console for that much... :|

EA didn't get the price wrong. You lot are the hardcore. The idiots will still buy it. They probably won't even be aware of the price difference. Plus, as has been seen already, they can knock 20+ quid off the RRP and people are thinking 'BARGAIN', when in fact it's still a fucking rip off.

I hope it bombs along with every other EA game and that the executives find themselves on the street having to suck off grimy tramps for pocket change.

Not because of the pricing here specifically, I just don't like them.

Rock Band wasnt 'normal in videogames' when it came out in the US and they still managed to sell it at a price that didnt mean the average punter had to sell a kidney.

But, yeah, I do feel sorry for this guy having to defend this. Although he really shouldnt have put himself in that position in the first place as its pretty indefensible.

After years of 'different tax rates' and all those platitudes we get year after year, we are pretty cynical about this kind of thing.

Doesn't matter how its spinned £180 is too much for a game and peripherals... The game just will not sell at that price in any great numbers.

Steel Battalion never sold many copies and neither did Samba Del Amigo simply because it was around the £100 price point. Paying £69 for a game like Guitar Hero is a lot but paying £180 is just insane.

Well this is the thing. For all the 'casuals will still buy it, were all doomed' stuff, its nearly 200 quid and thats a lot of corn for anybody, stupid or not.

I think, to be honest, a lot of people will get the game with one peripheral and build up from there, treating it, basically, like GH4 or a new singstar.

@smelly

Thanks for replying.

"I agree all that still probably doesnt account for why this game costs so much.. But i cant see EA being stupid enough to purposefully price the game out of the range people can afford in mass quantities without there being a good reason for it.

They've done their math.. they'd WANT to get the game out as cheap as humanly possible. "

I don't doubt they want to get the game out as cheaply as possible. And I don't doubt they aren't trying to price the game out of people's reach. But there are plenty of other products out there now, which when compared $ to £ just leave RockBand standing in the middle of the room all by itself. Has someone f'ked up on this at EA? I don't know, but I just don't see how global economics can explain everything when all other products seem less affected.


@wattoo

Dude, its the hardcore that buy this stuff at release. We are the early adopters, ready to lay down the big money because gaming is "wot we do". The mainstream won't be buying this for ages, if ever. The mass market won't look at any video game costing over £100 and think "bargain". If we aren't buying this at release, there isn't anyone else left.

"and thats a lot of corn for anybody, stupid or not"

I like that, and shall pinch it for future snappy one liner usage.

Look at JUST petrol. England pays more than DOUBLE that the US pays.. How do YOU think businesses pay for that when selling goods?

Yeah, but their petrol is lower grade (starting at 87/89, going up to 93) and their cars use more of it. They also travel far greater distances than UK drivers. You talk about economics and use this as an excuse for higher prices but what you obviously don't realise it that the average American pays just as much if not more than the average UK/European driver in fuel.

What is the word on build quality these days btw? I believe there were issues some time ago, and I was never convinced that a plastic drum pad set would survive getting hit with sticks for very long (I play drums, and actual proper drum stuff breaks all the time).

Okay, so stuff is generally more expensive in the UK than in the US. I get that. But if you compare the price of ANY high-end entertainment product on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk - be it iPods, consoles, TVs etc - the UK cost is generally 20 - 60% higher than in the US.

Rock Band is OVER TWICE THE PRICE in the UK. You show me any other mass-retail entertainment product that has a 150% price differential between the two countries and maybe I'll admit that the Rock Band RRP is justified.

Until then, I'll pay no heed to the lame excuses of EA and their Harmonix lackeys.

I have to say that they are not trying very hard

the 'bargain' was directed at people on this thread who have derided the 180 price but said they're happy to get in at 130.

crazy.

Well, they're not going to rip me off with this, 'cause I'm simply not getting Rock Band now.

People, is it really that hard to understand what is happening here?

These instruments are made in Asia (I guess) and they have been selling them too cheap in the United States (crappy Dollar exchange rate). Now they just make us Europeans compensate that by charging us too much what they charged US buyers too less. There is no other excuse for this and I think it is ridiculous. Shame on you EA, shame on you EA.

And people who start about global economics really don't understand this. A 1:1 $ to GBP conversion is truly ridiculous. 170 EURO is the maximum this package should have costed. I don't want this game but I would say EA go f*** yourself.

It immediately stops any kind of impulse purchase IMHO. Why not just buy real instruments and learn a valuable life skill?

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this, but what they're doing here is turning into an almost exact carbon copy of the PS3 launch. Heavily delayed, vastly inflated (although even moreso) with an attitude of "it doesn't matter, people are stupid, they expect delays and big markups and they'll pay whatever for any old shite over there". And look what happened to that. Nobody bought it, and within two months it had an £80 price drop and had 2 free games and an extra controller thrown in as well.

If they know they have no stock and this is just an attempt to fleece early adopters with what little supplies they have before dropping the price when they actually get some units into shops then it makes good sense financially. But if this is actually what they intend the price to stay at then it's going to do a PS3 and get slashed a lot, and fast.

I was keen as mustard for this. Now I'm not so much...

hmmm. I already own an electric guitar, a mic and a CD player - I can buy a real electronic drumn kit for less than the Rock Band package and have an actual rock band.

Obviously I'll still be shit, but you get the point.

I was going to buy this game but just the fact that it's more then double then in the us.. no thx! not interested anymore

It's a huge rip off and anybody that buys it is an idiot.

I agree with Octo and Greeny, I could buy a fender strat (squire) and a practice amp for 180 notes, feck me you can buy a real drum kit for 200 quid.
If you had 4 people you knew who were prepared to spend this sort of money each then you could start your own fecking band.

BAh feck EA and Rock Band .

I play drums, and actual proper drum stuff breaks all the time

In which case you've either got very dodgy gear or you're doing it wrong. For the first couple of years I started out I would go through a pair or two of sticks in a week through awful technique. I've been playing for 12 years now and I can't remember the last time I dented a head, let alone break anything else. If you've been playing for a while and have decent rebound control and cymbal technique you really shouldn't be breaking anything. If you are then you might want to get a teacher to have a quick look at your grip and strokes as you're probably gripping the sticks too tightly. That's what I did, after a few years of self-teaching and finding myself breaking things as well as getting terrible hand pains I got some proper technique tuition. Did me a world of good.

feck me you can buy a real drum kit for 200 quid

I wouldn't recommend it though. I've seen a lot of people across the internet saying 'look you can get this instead' on these threads and linking to £200 all-in-one drum kit packages. A Squire Strat is not a great guitar but it looks, plays and feels like a guitar, is decent enough to start on and if looked after will still function in a few years time. The same cannot be said of ultra-budget kits. If you want a drum kit instead of Rock Band then go to eBay and get a second hand set 90s Export or Rockstar kit with a few cymbals for the same money and you'll be infinitely better off. Unless you're getting a high-end or custom kit then you'll pay probably more than double the price if you get new.

I hate to go against the flow of the foamy mouthed frenzied EA hate mongering, as I know you all enjoy it so much, but is EA actually the publisher? I though MTV were, and EA were just the distributer.

I'm not criticising, but the occasional person saying "Fuck you MTV!!!" might help give a little balance is all.

"Why not just buy real instruments and learn a valuable life skill? "

Its simple really and can be summed up by one situation.

Its closing time at the local on a Friday night, you have had a good night with your mates but nobody really wants to go home. A club is out of the question as you wouldnt meet the dress code, plus you are all a bit wobbly on your feet. You though have a great idea what to do next

"I know guys, lets go round mine got a few cans in the fridge and we can play Rock Band"

The response to this will be arguments over who plays drums and your mates will remember why they like you so much

or

"I know guys, lets go round mine, got a few cans in the fridge and a guitar, we can have a bit of a sing song"

This response to this will be fake yawns and excuses as to why everyone has to get up early in the morning. Your mates will also think you are a ponce and will avoid your house at all costs for fear of the guitar coming out.

Of course playing a real guitar can help pull a lady, you take her back to your place and serenade her, but Rock Band wins here as well, invite a lady back to play Rock Band with you but you would still be 2 short for the best experience so good excuse to invite her hot mates back as well

Repeat after me:
"It's just a videogame"
"I don't need it"
"It won't make me smarter"
"It won't make me happier"
"It won't make me more attractive to the opposite sex"
...

I can't see it doing well at this price at all. Out of all the people I know (in, you know, real life), I probably spend the most money on videogames, and if even I won't consider paying this, they're definitely not going near it.

@ Zomoniac

I spent several years at school trying to get my French teacher to help me with my gripping and strokes. Sadly she was never up for it.

(sorry)