Despite the Australian dollar steadily maintaining parity with the US dollar for quite some time now, most videogame prices still remain painfully high. In what comes as welcome news, Macquarie Bank consumer analyst Rob Blythe predicts people in Australia will not have to fork over mountains of cash for their videogames for much longer. On the back of a consumer report into online spending in Australia, Blythe believes that the disconnection between the dollar’s parity and high game prices will soon be something of the past:
Australia has been slow to adapt to international pricing for games, yes, but I think in the second half of this year or at the very least by early 2012 we will start to see game prices in Australia coming down. From my estimates, I predict they’ll drop from around A$120 to somewhere around A$70.
If this eventuates, it counts as another success of Australia being brought into line with other countries in terms of interactive entertainment. There’s still a long way to go, however. Game delays and other factors remain valid reasons for the importing market to flourish while brick-and-mortar establishments become less enticing. With this price drop, perhaps that will also become nothing but a memory.
Aussie Game Prices To Drop By End Of Year: Analyst [Gamespot Australia]
