The Xbox One is shown on display during a press event unveiling Microsoft's new console in Redmond, Washington. The Xbox One is shown on display during a press event unveiling Microsoft's new console in Redmond, Washington.
Computer gaming has never been a cheap pastime. First you need to buy a console or PC, which will set you back anything between R5 000 and R20 000 – and right up to R50 000 if you go for one of the high-end gaming laptops.
Then there are the games themselves (R500 and up) and, in the case of gamers using the two most popular consoles, a subscription to either Microsoft’s Xbox or Sony’s PlayStation gaming networks – or both for the well-heeled.
The rand’s recent freefall hasn’t helped, pushing up the prices of games, PCs and consoles alarmingly. But two price announcements over the past week are shocking even in this context.
The first bombshell affects Xbox fans who will see their monthly subscription to Xbox Live shoot up from June 20.
An e-mail sent to subscribers delivered the news that a one-month Xbox Live Gold subscription will soar from R50 to R159, while a 12-month subscription for Xbox Live Gold in South Africa will go up from R590 to R979.
As leading local tech website, MyBroadband points out, South Africans will soon be paying more than their US counterparts. The US pricing for an Xbox live Gold 12-month subscription is $59.99, which equates to R936 at the time of writing.
“South Africa is not the only country affected by this massive price hike, as five other countries are also experiencing subscription cost increases – although South Africa is the most heavily affected, with a price increase of 218 percent,” says MyBroadband.
If you didn’t receive the email from Xbox Live – perhaps you’re a parent who pays for it, but the e-mail updates go to your teen – I’d urge you to pay particular attention to the following paragraph:
“If your subscription is currently set to auto-renew before June 20, 2016, you will be charged the current price at the time of your next scheduled auto-renewal. If your subscription is currently set to auto-renew after June 20, 2016, you will be charged the new price at the time of your next scheduled auto-renewal.”
Factoring in the new prices, how does an Xbox Live Gold subscription compare to its Sony equivalent, PlayStation Plus? Not very well. A one-month PlayStation Plus subscription is R99, while 12 months access will set you back R749.
I’d advise PlayStation fans not to be too smug, however. Sony has a history of steep price hikes and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those isn’t around the corner, although I haven’t heard anything that indicates that such an increase is in the pipeline.
Several parents of console gamers have asked me despairingly if a subscription is really necessary. Strictly speaking, no, but for all practical purposes you do need a paid subscription.
Without a subscription, your child will be able to load the game from the CD and – after downloading the inevitable huge update over the internet (another cost) – they’ll be able to play the game. It’s the typical isolating lone wolf scenario we used to associate with video games.
A subscription, however, opens this up in an altogether more satisfyingly social and positive manner.
He or she will be able to play games online with their friends, download bonus levels and sometimes even whole games. Subscribers are also offered discounts in their respective virtual marketplaces for new products.
And boy will you need any discounts going. Prices of games have skyrocketed since my kids – now both teenagers – were introduced to gaming via Nintendo’s family-friendly Wii console some eight years ago.
Back then I complained bitterly when a game cost more than R200. So imagine my reaction when I heard on Tuesday what the local prices for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare would be. If you’ve got a teen who’s a fan of the hugely popular franchise, I suggest you sit down.
The Deluxe Edition – the one that includes the Modern Warfare remaster – will set you back R1 899 for the digital console versions. The Standard Edition of the game will cost R1 199 on both consoles.
Compared to this, the R799 price tag announced for competitor Battlefield 1 is a bargain.
And these are only preliminary, pre-order prices. By the time these games hit the market towards the end of the year they could be even more expensive, depending on how the rand holds up in the intervening months.
Maybe it’s time to haul those dusty Monopoly and Scrabble board games out of the attic.
l Follow Alan Cooper on Twitter @alanqcooper.
