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PS3 gets a price boost in South Africa
Just as others have spoken publicly about the value of the PS3, we again remind you the price structure could always be worse. A forum post brings our attention to online retailers in South Africa, charging as much as R 6799 ($964.80 U.S. dollars) for a 60GB PS3 console. No extra games or controllers to be had with this particular bundle. FYI: The U.S. $599.99 price, converted to South Africa Rand, is R 4221.86.As we all know, bundles for game consoles is nothing new. But at least over here, we get something for the additional expense, even if they are wonderfully average launch titles. So before you sign any petitions to lower the North American PS3 price, take a look at what our brothers and sisters in South Africa are paying.BT Games: R 6499 ($922.20)Look & Listen: R 6799 ($964.80)Incredible Connection: R 6599.95 ($936.55)[Via digg]
Where the $60 for new games goes
With the 20% price hike in PS3 and Xbox 360 games, gamers wonder exactly where it all goes. We hear it is because of the increase in production costs, but we still would like to know the breakdown of where our triplet of $20 bills gets sent. Now, Forbes has given us the skinny on the whole deal, explaining why games like Gears of War are priced at $60. According to Forbes, $27 of the $60 taking its leave from your wallet goes toward the actual making of the game; $15 goes toward art and graphics while $12 goes toward gameplay mechanics. Other major price aspects are the 25% retail markup ($12 from a wholesale $48 per game) and console owner fee of $7 (Forbes says the PS3 is higher). All in all, the parties involved (retail and publisher) only get $1 for every game sold (publishers can boost it up to $3 per game if they sell advertising in the manual or as a pack-in pamphlet). This is, of course, before all those costs are paid up; after that, they can still make a nice profit at a $20 price point. The article, accompanied by a nifty slide show presentation, is an interesting look into the world of the new current generation. Still, it doesn't exactly explain why we got the 20% boost other than the "increased production costs". Are programmers getting paid more, working more, need more to finish the game, etc? In either case, the breakdown is an interesting glimpse of the inner workings of a game companies pricing decisions. [Thanks, Scooby Doo]
