Now this wont be as much of a rant as with Part 1. But this will be some tips and tricks I’ve learnt over my time to get the best price for games.Games from pre release through its life sometimes to the classic re brand, prices for games can change from store to store. So when you want a game always check else where before confirming the purchase; I know common sense but some just go out and buy.

Though all new release games have a RRP (Recommended Retail Price) the prices can vary for pre order (although not normally), so don’t expect to get the game $15 to $20 cheaper then the rest. But when you are going for the pre order look around first, for the bigger releases that come with the limited editions or special unlocks. Look around quite often different places have different ones or more then others or they have the same and are cheaper then the other place.

If you can live without the limited edition or there isn’t one you can normally get the game cheaper on release at one of the major store chains (Big W, JB Hi-Fi, etc) so always check the specials for them before going for the game.

And as the game gets older different places will have them on special and continue to get cheaper. Just be sure to check, I’ve seen Original Assassins Creed for around $80 at Big W where you can pick up Classic Assassins Creed for $25 at EB Games. As a general rule games as they get older the game stores have them cheaper and the major chains don’t, with the opposite for them at new release.

Another option is to look for games online from Europe as they have the same PAL settings on their disks. I have done this myself before and been lucky but you should always be careful when buying games online that you aren’t being sent fakes. Always do backgrounds check on the site or the buyer if on an online auction site. Check that they are either based out of Australia or out of Europe. Don’t go with the ones from China or other Asian counties, this is where most of the pirate copies come from and the chances are you wont be able to play them with a standard console.

Now the final options for saving money are the trade in and pre owned options at the game stores.

• Trade in is a useful option if you have a game that you plan not to play anymore however the older the game gets the smaller the trade in. Trade ins are at their best for games less then 3 months old so this option should only be taken if you really don’t want to have the game anymore.
• Pre Owned games are always cheaper (though have seen at same price at EB Games) but what are you buying? Unlike most it appears I look after my games including the cases and instruction booklets. But so many times I’ve seen games without either so you have to wonder how good condition is the disk? Personally I never buy pre owned game for this reason but its an option but be careful.

A fellow gamer, Jonathan Ian Mathers had some interesting thoughts to share on game trades.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN4qHZsytKk 

So there are many tricks and options to get your games cheaper but be careful for some of the options. The best advice is to shop around before buying anything.

Part 3 – Is there a Mr. I.S.P. Freely? – Not so much about games but online gaming and download speeds / limits are important to gamers. Will be posted soon.

Australian Gamers live in the world of overpriced games inconsistent pricing of games when they finally go off their RRP (Recommended Retail Price). American Gamers get nice cheap games compared to the rest of the world especially with Australia; even the European Gamers get a better deal than us.

Prices of Games in Australia are 60% to 80% higher at RRP then US and almost as bad in Europe. Why you ask? Well some will tell you it the cost of shipping (Most games are either produced here or in East Asia) other that we are PAL instead of NTSC (PAL is the standard in most of Western Europe). But that still doesn’t stop with the high prices of games or even us not getting a release of the game in Australia.

The sad and simple reason for this is supply and demand. This has always been the case in Australia. Even back in the earlier generations for consoles the prices were higher than elsewhere in the World but back then people believed that prices were higher because of where we were in the world. But as the publishers learnt that they can get away with this the prices slowly went up. Brand new Nintendo 64 Games $100, new games for the Nintendo Game Boy around the same time $50 and of course as the game got older the prices went down. These days you will pay more than $120 for some new release Xbox 360 games and even more if you go with the special or limited editions of games.

Who is to pay for this? The overpriced retail store? No they have their set mark-up on games, yes some higher than others but still only a percentage mark-up. The publishers? Yes and no, they are the ones that set the RRP that’s higher then everywhere else in the world. How about your parents and their parents? Yes they allowed the higher prices “back in the day” and it’s only gone up since then. But we can’t take it out on them they didn’t know.

What can be done about this?
Well not that I like it, nothing. The prices for many new items never go down; new items only do down in price because there is something new to take that price tag or no one wants the item so they drop the price until they sell them all off. So we can just not buy new release games until the prices go down. That’s never going to happen, me like so many others pre-order the game as we want the game as soon as it comes out. We want to say hey you played the new game yet? Well I’ve already finished the Campaign or Story Mode.
How about reporting it to the consumer watch dog? Seen the price of petrol lately? Or know how much other countries pay for a SMS? That should answer it for you, they can’t help even if they tried to.

Solutions to this problem? Well you can wait till the game comes down in price, which can be a good option gives others the chance to test the game out. Import from Europe this option is becoming more common even I’ve got a few imported games but with buying online you always have that risk of getting a fake, pirate or dud copy. Go online and get pirated copies of games, this is a good option only but the fact that your favourite game developers won’t have the money to make new games if everyone does this. Stop gaming, like that’s going to happen, Gaming is a life not a choice. Final option which is my personal choice, buy the game at the overprices RRP and have a good old bitch about it.

Check out part 2 – How to Beat the Retailers System; which will be posted soon.

For many years this topic keeps coming up in the media and politics, about the push for a new classification system for games in Australia. Most other countries have an Adult rating or 18+ rating even the kiwis over the road have the adult rating for games.

So what does this mean for us Aussie Gamers?

• Games have to be modified before release in here. Pushes back release dates and helping keep Australia isolated for the rest of the world in most areas or media and software.
• Some games will never make it to our shore as the cost of the changes will not make up for the profits made in sales here and there has been many games over the years that this has occurred for.
• This forces Gamers to source the games by other means. This encourages piracy causing game developers to lose money and not have the funds next time to release a modified version for the Australian market next time.
• When games are given the highest rating 15+ it will not stop children from getting these games. This is the main argument against the 18+ rating that it will make the higher rated games more ready available. However this is something I believe will have an opposite effect if 18+ games are forced to be sold similar to other 18+ content.
• Retailers often capitalise off the back of a refused classification for their game, generating publicity for a game that would previously have passed un-noticed. Many games are actually sold in New Zealand with the tagline “The game that was banned in Australia”.

So what can we do about this?

• Write to your States Attorneys-General
• Sign this online Petition here

If you would like some more information about this. Check out these sites:

• R18+ Games Australia
• Grow Up Australia

And follow them on Twitter @growupaustralia.

Well this is the first post on the new blog site (not that I really need one). The point to this pointless blog is to have a written spot of my life as a gamer in the world of anti-gamers.