Possible SavyGamer downtime

I'm doing some complicated behind the scenes stuff that may result in some downtime at some point in the near future. If I do go away, it won't be for too long (hopefully). You can just fill your time by buying some games at RRP or something. <3

Edit: Right, that should be it, went down for a little while, but we're back in business now.

Also, Some of you who tried to email me might have noticed my email being broken, should be fixed now.

£3 off £35 at Zavvi mark 2

Update: I've reposted this with a bunch of great new deals added.

There is currently a £3 off £35 code for Zavvi, add promo code "ZWalk" to any order totalling £35 or more to receive your discount.

Here are some games which you might want to consider getting with this discount:

Xbox 360
LEGO Rock Band - £32.95
Borderlands - £29.95
Dark Void - £28.95
Dead Rising 2 - £27.95
Red Faction: Guerilla - £17.95
2,100 MS Points - £15.95
Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena - £15.95
Tomb Raider: Underworld - £8.95
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames - £8.95
Skate - £5.95
Stuntman: Ignition - £4.95

PS3
LEGO Rock Band - £32.95
Borderlands - £29.95
Dark Void - £28.95
£20 PSN Card - £15.95
Disgaea 3: Absence Of Justice - £14.95
Fuel - £12.95
First Encounter Assault Recon 2: Project Origin - £11.95
Overlord 2 - £11.95

Wii
LEGO Rock Band - £27.95
MadWorld - £11.95
House of the Dead: Overkill - £9.95
House of the Dead: Overkill Hand Cannon - £8.95
Minon: Everyday Hero - £7.95

PC
World of Warcaft: Cataclysm - £24.95
Dark Void - £23.95
Batman: Arkham Asylum - £23.95
Resident Evil 5 - £17.95
Tropico 3 - £17.95
Ghostbusters - £17.95
ARMA 2 - £15.95
X3 Gold Edition - £12.95
Dead Space - £7.95
Civilization IV: Complete (Missing Colonization) - £7.95
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor - £7.65
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky - £5.95
Crysis - £5.95
Blacksite - £3.95

PSP
Gran Tourismo - £17.95
Motorstorm: Arctic Edge - £17.95
Dissidia: Final Fantasy - £17.95
Little Big Planet - £17.95
Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny - £16.95
MGS: Portable Ops/Silent Hill Origins - £14.95
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters - £7.95
Killzone: Liberation - £6.95
Every Extend Extra - £4.95

DS
Phantasy Star Zero - £24.95
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days - £17.95
Space Invaders Extreme 2 - £12.95
Lock's Quest - £8.95
New International Track and Field - £5.95

2 for £25

Pretty good selection of games for 2 for £25.

Dawn of War Shenanigans on Steam

In case anyone is thinking of buying the Dawn of War complete pack on Steam, I'd suggest you take pause for a moment.

The pack costs £32.46, and comes with DOW1: Gold Edition, Dark Crusade, Soulstorm and DOW2.

The individual components bought separately cost:
DOW1: Platinum Edition (Gold + Dark Crusade) - £8.49
Soulstorm - £8.49
Dawn of War 2 - £9.99

A total of £26.97, a whole £5.49 cheaper than buying the package deal.

I think THQ need to hire a new person to be responsible for their Steam pricing. Cheers to @Driaden for the tip off on this.

Fallout 3, GOTY Edition, PS3 - £28.99

Fallout 3, GOTY Edition, PS3 - £28.99 delivered

This includes all 5 pieces of DLC, which cost roughly £30 separately. I can vouch for at least 3 of the 5 being great (Operation Anchorage is only OK, and I've not played Mothership Zeta).

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, DS - £8.78

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, DS - £8.78 delivered

Stormrise, PC - £4.49

Stormrise, PC - £4.49 delivered

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - £34.73

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - £34.73 delivered

Apply code "HWalk" to get £3 off.

£3 off £35 at Zavvi

Updated post on this can be found here.

Fallout 3, GOTY Edition, PC - £17.48

Fallout 3, GOTY Edition, PC - £17.48 delivered

This includes all 5 pieces of DLC, which cost roughly £30 seperately. I can vouch for at least 3 of the 5 being great (Operation Anchorage is only OK, and I've not played Mothership Zeta).

Maths with THQ

Red Faction Guerilla is this week's weekend special on Steam. This game normally costs £34.99/€49.99/$39.99 on steam, but the weekend special has brought the price of Red Faction Guerilla down by 25%. It is now £26.24/€37.49/$29.99. The UK and EU price of the game is still higher when it is on weekend special than the standard USA price.

To add insult to injury, Saints Row 2, a game by not only the same publisher, but the same developer, is priced much more sensibly at £14.99/€19.99/$29.99.

This table shows the prices for the two THQ/Volition games on Steam in the three regions and three currencies:



The astronomical inconsistency in international pricing between these two games is certainly frustrating. You have to assume that THQ have chosen this pricing strategy simply because it will make them more money. It is essentially price discrimination, the equivalent of looking at customers walk into a shop, and gauging how much to charge them based on how rich they appear.

I don't know exactly what we should be doing here. How steam used to work, where everyone paid in dollars exchanged into their currency at the exchange rate when the transaction occurs seems like it might be better for most people outside of the USA, although as SR2 proves this is not always the case.

How steam currently works is that the publisher sets a specific price for each region. These prices are generally roughly comparable to each other based on exchange rates at the time, however, if the publisher wants to charge more in one region, they are completely allowed to do so.

Were it up to me, I would still allow this practise, however, I would also regulate it a bit more. I would say some kind of rule where no game was allowed to be sold for (say) 10% +/- the price of the same game in another region, and could be reviewed monthly with regard to currency fluctuations. This would give publishers a margin for error, but prevent them gouging different regions just because they can.

Perhaps the whole thing is academic anyway, since RFG is far cheaper to get at retail:
Red Faction: Guerilla, PC - £17.99 delivered

Prototype, PS3 - £23.80

Prototype, PS3 - £23.80 delivered

Ninja Gaiden, DS - £5.99

Ninja Gaiden, DS - £5.99

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, PC - £3.99

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, PC - £3.99 delivered

LEGO Batman + Pure, Xbox 360 - £14.95

LEGO Batman + Pure, Xbox 360 - £14.95 delivered

Spyborgs, Wii - £12.95

Spyborgs, Wii - £12.95 delivered

Cheers to Opium for the tip off.

Xbox 360 Elite, Pure, LEGO Batman & an extra controller - £127.02

Xbox 360 Elite, Wireless Controller, Pure, LEGO Batman - £127.02 delivered

Add the Xbox 360 Elite and Wireless Entertainment Pack to your basket, and at checkout, the price will resolve to £127.02.

I believe the reason this happens is because the site is coded to deduct the price of the Entertainment Pack from the price of the console, but the Pack has been mispriced. As retailers aren't required to honour misprices, this order is likely to be cancelled. Undoubtedly worth it if it isn't, though.

In light of the postal strike affecting the UK within the next week, I advise anyone who hasn't already signed up for the free trial of Amazon Prime that they offer at checkout to do so, or to pay for faster shipping in addition to the console price in order to ensure reliable delivery. If you do sign up for Prime, ensure that you've unchecked the rebilling option in the settings, or after the trial is up you'll automatically be billed.

- Will Templeton

Saints Row 2, PC - £3.75

Saints Row 2, PC - £3.75

PSN £20 card - £15.73

PSN £20 card - £15.73 delivered

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, PC - £4.13

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, PC - £4.13 delivered

Amazon have dropped the £5 minimum spend for free P&P, now all items get free super saver delivery.