SPOTLIGHT | Next Gen Retail Pricing Woes

EVERY new console generation comes with its fair share of controversy, but none more prevalent than the current pricing woes that are ongoing at this time.

From the modest BND1,300 to arguably the most excessive price of BND2,499, the sale (or lack thereof) of PlayStation 5, not inclusive of games and accessories, is a discussion that is raging on social media platform at this time of writing.

With the latter's bold pricing move received a severe backlash from the online community calling for boycotts, accusing of taking advantage of a situation and some choice words, other competing video game retailers are still keeping mum about any announcements of their pricing. 

It is widely known that the PlayStation 5 pricing, announced in September, was going to cost gamers USD399 (BND570) for the Digital Edition and USD499 (BND712) for the Console Edition. So essentially, we should be expecting the same price, correct?

Unfortunately, that is never the case.

SUPPLY & DEMAND

In the 30 years as an avid gamer, there's a trend with every highly anticipated release, the console in question will always demand a higher retail price than what is suggested, that much is consistent. 

When the Sega Dreamcast first appeared in Brunei sometime in 2000, one of the first few retailers who brought it in was selling it for BND1,500 when it actually retailed for USD199 (approximately BND450 taking into account of inflation). During the twilight years of Yaohan, the original PlayStation 1 had an asking price of BND679  which we struggled to collect funds (and failed miserably) to even get one. The PlayStation 3 we bought in 2008 from the now closed down Electronic Gaming Master, we had to fork out BND799 and bought a few older titles as the games were priced around the BND100 mark each.

So why the drastic gap in the price?

OTHER FACTORS

Sourcing out the console (or any other console for that matter) is not merely a matter of bringing in the console into the country and selling it as is. As retailers are trying hard to appease the market demand while also earning their profit margin, they are also facing their own hurdles in bringing the consoles and games to Brunei, all of which contributed to the final retail price.

These include shipping and transport costs, lack of official distribution rights, short supply due to the holiday season, 20% tax on video games and consoles (yes, they do exist), reliance on shady third party distributors, and let’s not forget the current COVID-19 pandemic that limited shipments on the regular, all of which could have lead to the bloated price we see today.

Imagine, if you took an overseas trip during this COVID-19 era to purchase and pick up one PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X console, it's hard to justify selling it at cost price when you already paid BND2,000 just to make the trip along with the accommodations and other necessities for a smooth journey. If you accumulate all that spending, the system could easily cost triple the original price. Not everyone could afford or willing to just write-off that amount. Anyone expecting a bargain price on Day-1, to say the least, is just being unrealistic.

PATIENCE, GRASSHOPPER

While we do encourage supporting local businesses, we just couldn’t condone retailers for this questionable archaic pricing trend whenever the next-generation consoles hits the market. 

Despite it all, they are, at the end of the day, a business that rely on profit margins to continue operating and it’s really up to the individual how they want to spend their hard-earned cash on the next-gen gaming. The main issue of contention here is whether this pricing trend to pay exorbitant amount for next-generation gaming should continue, especially in light of the pandemic. The obvious answer is a resounding no. That much has been made clear by the online community. 

While the said retailer has since issued a statement to apologise for their pricing and is working towards procuring systems at a lower price, this, however, will take some time before we eventually see anything below BND1,000 range, when there is a steady supply or at least, if a newer revision with cheaper components become widely available.

So, unlike Nintendo releasing a limited run of their classic mini consoles and more recently, the Mario 35th Anniversary series of collectables, Sony and Microsoft's next-gen system is still in production until the next foreseeable future. Some of us will just have to wait a bit longer before we get our hands on it, at a reasonable price, of course. 

Geeks Republika