Supermarkets Kick Off FIFA 10 Price War

[John Funk]

Supermarkets Kick Off FIFA 10 Price War

Three major supermarkets in the UK have kicked off a price war for EA Sports' hotly-anticipated FIFA 10, selling the game for approximately half the recommended retail price.

So I hear that on the other side of the pond, soccer - yeah, you heard me, soccer - is a pretty big deal. FIFA is to Europelandshire like Madden is to the States, so it's not too surprising that some more generic retailers are trying to get the jump on specialty game retailers like GAME by offering FIFA 10 at a fraction of the cost.

Though FIFA 10, released in the UK today, carries a recommended retail price of £49.99 ($79.22), three supermarket chains - Tesco, Morrisons and Asda - have slashed the RRP to try and undercut one another. Asda is offering the game for £26.71 ($42.33), Morrisons for £24.99 ($39.60), and Tesco ever so slightly cheaper at £24.97 ($39.57). So if you really, really care about getting the game at the cheapest possible price, Tesco seems to be your best bet. On the other hand, the difference is so negligible that it really doesn't matter much, does it?

It isn't just the supermarkets getting in on the price war, either - major general-goods retailer Argos [http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Home.htm] has an Xbox 360 Elite bundle that comes with FIFA 10 and Halo 3: ODST for 197.77 ($313.41), which is actually cheaper than the standalone 360 Elite's price tag of 199.99, and considerably cheaper than buying the standalone and the two games separately.

So yes. If you're in the UK and looking to pick up FIFA 10, maybe you might want to shop around. You never know what deals you could find.

(GI.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/supermarkets-begin-fifa-10-price-war])

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[DrunkWithPower]

Why couldn't the U.S markets do the same with Madden? Madden would be selling more than like hot cakes... uber fire cakes maybe.

P.S. Soccer high five.

 

[Woodsey]

Sounds a bit bloody cheap for a brand new game.

And why is it called soccer in America whilst their version of what is very similar to rugby is called football, which often lacks any usage of the foot?

 

[Ophiuchus]

I don't much care about football - yeah, you heard me, football - but for some reason I always feel the need to have at least one game in the genre as a bit of a distraction from the other stuff that I play far too much. I've been bumbling along with PES6 for a long time now, maybe it's time to upgrade while they're cheap. It's been a long time since I got to play as my beloved Norwich City - I haven't played a FIFA game since 2004, which my brother had, I haven't owned one myself since 2001.

 

[sneak_copter]

Cool.

I might buy it preowned.

 

[ae86gamer]

Sounds a bit bloody cheap for a brand new game.

And why is it called soccer in America whilst their version of what is very similar to rugby is called football, which often lacks any usage of the foot?

I looked it up.

This is what I found: The term "soccer" is of British origin, not American. It's an English slang term from the early twentieth century. It is short for "Association Football" aka what is now called simply "football" in Britain ("soccer" meaning "association").

OT:Thats cool, but I don't live in the UK, and soccer doesn't interest me.

 

[El Poncho]

To ASDA I go Wasn't going to get it but I may aswell now.

 

[Gxas]

Sounds a bit bloody cheap for a brand new game.

And why is it called soccer in America whilst their version of what is very similar to rugby is called football, which often lacks any usage of the foot?

I looked it up.

This is what I found: The term "soccer" is of British origin, not American. It's an English slang term from the early twentieth century. It is short for "Association Football" aka what is now called simply "football" in Britain ("soccer" meaning "association").

OT:Thats cool, but I don't live in the UK, and soccer doesn't interest me.

Oh... I was gonna say it was because we Americans are retarded when it comes to the rest of the world...

I still stand by my statement.

 

[ae86gamer]

Snip

Thank you for the compliment. I'd reply to your insult, but I don't want to get suspended or banned.

 

[Terramax]

Modern Warfare 2 is going up to £49.99 because they fear they aren't getting enough profit yet Fifa, always a hottly anticipated title, is still yet to make serious money even at about half the price. That says something.

 

[Woodsey]

Sounds a bit bloody cheap for a brand new game.

And why is it called soccer in America whilst their version of what is very similar to rugby is called football, which often lacks any usage of the foot?

I looked it up.

This is what I found: The term "soccer" is of British origin, not American. It's an English slang term from the early twentieth century. It is short for "Association Football" aka what is now called simply "football" in Britain ("soccer" meaning "association").

OT:Thats cool, but I don't live in the UK, and soccer doesn't interest me.

Oh... I was gonna say it was because we Americans are retarded when it comes to the rest of the world...

I still stand by my statement.

Haha, well that guy's post was a fair catch I guess. Still, the American Football term still doesn't make sense, although it does explain soccer.

 

[Erja_Perttu]

See, this is why I dislike supermarkets so much. They can sell beans at, say a penny more and make back the money they lose off of selling videogames, whereas retailers like Game and especially independant retailers are forced to the lows of selling warrenties and offering useless add-ons to try and claw back the difference.

As someone working in the games industry, it's a killer. You can't price match the game because you won't make any money, and it's hard enough to make any sort of profit when the margin is £2.50 about a game. On the flip side, you lose the customer by not offering them something to make them want to buy with your company, which will most likely be at a discount as an incentive, meaning you still make a loss on it. It's a lose:lose situation.

Where I work, we did a midnight opening for Fifa 10. We got ten people in, eight bought the game and we closed quarter of an hour later. The shop next door, Gamestation was the same story, they got only one customer. Asda had about fifty.

So yes, if your in the UK, feel free to shop around, but also think about where you're buying something from. Supermarkets can re-coup their losses. Specialists can't do that as easily, if at all. You wanna get something cheap, trade a game you don't play in or something, support a local retailer. Supermarkets will most likely always be there, but specialist stores can easily be pushed out of business and if that happens, there goes the majority of choice of the high street.

Modern Warfare 2 is going up to £49.99 because they fear they aren't getting enough profit yet Fifa, always a hottly anticipated title, is still yet to make serious money even at about half the price. That says something.

Last I heard it had an RRP of £54.99. I don't think that's changed.

 

[Eagle Est1986]

Ahhhh, so that explains why Amazon refunded me £10 this morning, because they're price matching too. Wow, that was good of them, they took my money on Thursday, when they dispatched it, but it drops £10 in price the next day and give me that back, the fools!

 

[Soxafloppin]

I played FIFA 10, i found it very similar to FIFA 9 :|