Atari Comments On Test Drive Unlimited Price Difference |
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US Gamers already know that Atari has graciously decided to put Test Drive: Unlimited on shelves for a mere $39.99, making the online racing game affordable to almost everyone. In Europe however, things are looking much different: Test Drive Unlimited will retail for £49.99, a price that translates to roughly $90. Inevitably, this caused an uproar in the gaming community, to which Atari has now responded.An Atari spokesperson told Eurogamer that "The price in the US reflects the local Xbox 360 market situation". The main argument for Atari is "a significantly larger Xbox 360 installed base, with a much bigger Xbox Live Gold membership", making for more potential sales in the US than in Europe. The publisher adjusted the prices according to their revenue expectations.
Granted, this statement won't satisfy European gamers in the least. Most feel that Atari simply tries to squeeze the money Atari "loses" on Test Drive Unlimited's reduced US price out of another part of the market. Some have also expressed concerns that this could be just the start of greater price differences between US and European territories.
In the end, publishers have the market in tight grip - but only while consumers are complying. Have Atari stepped over the line, or are people making too much fuss about nothing? Whatever your opinion is, it's a given fact that this is not going to be the last time next-gen game prices are topic of debates.
Via Eurogamer
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Comments [refresh]
Anything less than a price-cut won't convince me that I'm supposed to pay almost twice the price that some will pay...
Selfish American comment of the day:
"The price difference is because America kicks Europe's ass. America > World."
And no, I don't believe that in the slightest.
that game is going to be the pirates no1 target
Hm, that's weird, as I was under the impression that Microsoft was following the opposite strategy in Japan. Basically this just means that Atari thinks very low of Europeans. That's good to know.
I don't understand Atari's reasoning on this. If there is less installed base in Europe, why would you increase the price. If you release it at the same price don't you think that there would be MORE of an incentive for Eurogamers to pick this title up. Thus creating a larger install base and since this title is a "MMOR" it means that more Europeans will be connecting to live's gold services.
Besides didn't Atari say they will be releasing downloadable content once a month or so. I am sure that if the European gamers bought this game that they would definatly pick up the DLC as well. Atari will make its money on this title, it is one of the most anticipated games being released.
if it's region free I'll probably by the US version, if not then my DVD-Drive may need to be flashed....
Its to inspire fat yanks to get of their asses.
just after peter mooore says that us brits (and europeans) are getting more and more important as more europeans get into gaming, they decide to do this.
shows what we really are to the industry.
Atari even stated the $40 US price tag was because they were going to be releasing quite a few xbox live marketplace packages in the following months after release, and expected the extra revenue from these packs would balance out the $40 retail price.
I guess since people in UK are apparently not excited about xbox live gold and a significantly lower number of potential Test Drive customers would actually buy the extra marketplace packs, they could not rely on the additional marketplace income to balance out the price of the game, thus they would have to charge a normal retail price.
So anyways why are all you euro wankers so upset. Isn't 50 pounds a normal price for a 360 game? Aern't some 60 pounds? Whats next your are going to start complaining that we can get a McDonalds cheeseburger for $1 US and you wankers have to pay a whole 1 pound... 1.85 times the price? You live in England you morons, you get paid more and you pay more, its just economics...
Test Drive Unlimited is such a great game and it is just a little frustrating for me to see people complaing about paying retail for it. Personally I can't wait for it to come out, it's a very high quality product and worth every penny. (or worth every 1p for you British whiners) Duh, just go buy it whatever the cost!
wouldnt you be upset ifthey said that this game would cost say, $30 over here (cant be bothered to convert) and yet it cost like $60 where you are?
I think that if they just made all games $20, they would sell so many copies that they would make a hell of a lot more profit...Just my 2 cents.
@squarebob
oh yeah right. wanna switch places so YOU can come cry all day long how mean it is that europeans get it cheaper? just be quiet and be gone!
at least europeans usually speak at least 2 different languages so we CAN import games from the us market without not understanding anything and btw europe consists of more than just brits.
TDL may be a great game BUT I'm not gonna pay twice the amount some lame farming boy is paying in another part of this world and believe me I'm not the only one thinking this way.
Have a good day
Damn Agreed man!
Seems like its time to spin the Piracy Wheel again...
The Companys are just beggin for this to happen.
I´m not a great fan of that game in particular BUT its the response of Atari (wich where ONCE one of the best) that drives me mad.
I mean come on... I think here at germany the game will be 69€ like a LOT of the titles lately. That is 61$ !!!
Thats just insane.
I bought 12 Titles so far but I think Dead Rising will be the last purchased title for a looooong time!
PEACE
(Oh yeah, and excuse my bad english...)
That Atari is a French-owned company (Infogrames), so it's not some anti-europe vendetta.
Also:
" it's a very high quality product and worth every penny. (or worth every 1p for you British whiners)"
Is the most idiotic thing I've ever read. Pennies are english, cents are american.
Was going to buy it, won't bother now.
seems stupid that when the bad guy is obvious people still need to hate on everyone who is different.
atari suck for making such a decision but the majority of euro gamers will be blissfully ignorant to the cheap american price.
"Innovation should be available to everyone, not a privilege for those can afford high price tags," said Bruno Bonnell, CEO of Atari. "Our GamersFirst program demonstrated the positive impact of flexibility in pricing. We believe it is our mission to deliver triple-A games that are accessible to the masses. As such, we are offering Test Drive Unlimited - a game that is being positively touted and recognized by the media - for $39.95, and furthermore, will continue users' experiences past launch by featuring new cars and free music for download."
the price thing is why i didnt buy prey, but it was a bit different, its £40 on 360 (i know i know rrp £50 but most online shops sell em for £40) but £25 on pc... it wont run on my pc so they can screw themselves if they think im playing £40 for a £25 game.. all this "next generation games cost more to make" is complete BS! if my pc had sata id flash my dvd drive right now... they are the cause of piracy, if a game is good, and comes at a fair price il buy it, but i wont be ripped off!
I imported my copy of Prey for £24 from play-asia.com and didn't get hit by import tax.... ;)
...and you just know it wont be a region free game like ridge racer & the others.
@ squarebob - a simple question: do you think $90 for a game is a good deal? another one: where do pennies come from? another one: *****.
Screw it, Atari lost a certain sale by thinking up this brilliant move. I was gonna buy this, but won't now. And just forget about pirating, because this game relies so heavily on Online features, that is won't even be worth pirating (remember, XBL will not work with flashed drives).
@squarebob, isn't this attitude of yours not exactly the reason why you are fighting wars on the other side of the globe? Next time don't call on the europeans, when someone from a country you couldn't be bothered about respecting blows up your local train station, and your retarded monkey in the oval office wants to bomb a country that has nothing to with it...
this was one of the very few games that I was looking forward to for the 360. Doesn't look like I'll get it now, unless its Multi region.
How to make your console a failure:
1. Release it full of bugs
2. Make sure there are only a handful of games to play on it.
3. Concentrate all your effort on breaking a market that clearly doesn't want you (Japan)
4. Allow software developers to set unfair prices between the regions.
5. Make games that have wildly different prices and region lock them.
Now number 5 is yet to be seen but I'd put money on it happening. £50 in fact. That way if someone is willing to cough that up when I win the bet, I won't pay anything for the game.
your an idiot , i would see your face when you must pay more then other people for the same product !
well test drive is priced at £39.99 on play.com so that kinda blows the 50 quid price arguement out of the water really, although my gf works at asda and i'll get 10% discount off that price as well so that makes it aruond the 36 quid mark.. still can't help feelin g a little peeved by the strategy of atari though, but hey this is the way it has always been with game prices. developers always charge what they beleive the market will bear and because the pound is so much stronger in comparison to the dollar we lose out in the uk, just today i received a pair of oakley sunnies that i got off of an american ebayer for 89$ which eqautes to around 47£, they cost over 100£ in the uk so wheres the fairness in that and i'm damn sure if oakley could region lock their specs they would too!
atari can go to hell if they think im going to pay extra (more so) because they felt like it.
well australia gets shafted more than you whinging poms or u arrogant yanks. Pretty much every game released to date retails at 119.95 AUD which translates to $95 US or 50 quid. Seriously it is getting out of control. I think ill just wait to see if this one is region free. If not looks like its a drive flash for me.
FIRST POST!
Thats nothing to us "poms" (you racist cuznit). Because our games retail at £50 in the shops too. A little research goes a long way.
All 360 Games are £50 in the shops and about £40 online. I'm sure you can find games cheaper online too but your prolly too busy being racist.
atari: you loose to focus on the most important thing in businnes... customers.
even in italy hardcore gamers know this difference of price.
they not really happy to spend 70 € and not 36€ (40$) .
Market Place sistem is bs ... because kill the re-sale system for 360' s games.
and if you can sell a used game for 50% less, and you already pay for :
-the game system
-your original game ( that cost double)
-your Hd
-your gold membership
-your fast internet
would you spend money for a crappy extra?
So, lets get this straight.
The US has more potential buyers, and Europe has got less.
Now, with about the double of the US price, what do they think to achieve?
Nobody in Europe is gonna buy it now, so even more losses coming your way Atari! Atari, you've brought this onto yourself.
Much import I see near in the future... (Yoda ;)).
Well ***** u atari.
Well I am sure Atari has their issues and need the money but I don't want to be the one paying for their ignorant way of treating us. It is a global world and information is shared, reading things like this only position Atari as ignorant *insert bad word*. I grew up playing atari games all the way back to 2600 and this feels more like a betrayel.
I been a customer for what? 25 years or so? And this is how I get thanked. Well point taken Atari...