Don't buy a game from HMV during the first 2 weeks of release (HMV)

Member Name: shuttlex

Product:	HMV
Date:	16/08/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Convenient

Disadvantages: Over priced games, prices fluctuate too quickly

Recently I purchased a 80GB PlayStation 3 bundle at HMV. The bundle came complete with 1x PlayStation 3 unit, dualshock control pad, Infamous PS3 game and Fight Night Round 4 for a total of £293. Overall this seemed like a reasonable price for the system however the choice of games included in the bundle are limited. On the surface the deal seems fairly good, two titles bought individuallly last week at HMV would have cost approx £40 each. However, in the initial week of release while in the top of the charts they retail at £40, the following week such games tend to be slashed by over £10.

This week Fight Night Round 4 is being sold for £30 at HMV. This seems like an unreasonable price fluctuation however there appears to be a reason for this. During the first week a game goes on sale, there are very few second hand copies on the market, therefore HMV can charge a high price. After a week of playing the game people get bored and sell it on second hand on ebay, thus affecting HMV's sales of new games. This tends to happen especially with mediocre games with a date attached to the end produced by EA. To compete with the second hand market, HMV suddenly slash the price a week or two later after release. For this reason I would advise anyone to wait a few weeks after a game has been released. In reality retailers such as HMV sell video games at overly inflated prices within the first few weeks on sale.

Summary: Don't buy a game from HMV during the first 2 weeks of release