Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

Pop quiz. How much does the hottest new game for the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 cost? If you said $59.99 (excluding special offers), your right! Now, how much does the hottest new game for the Nintendo Wii cost? That’s right, everybody knows they’re always $49.99! Final question. How much does the hottest new game for the Nintendo DS cost? If you said ANY single price, then you’re wrong! That’s because it DS game prices always seem to vary. Sometimes they’re priced at $19.99. Sometimes $29.99. Sometimes, $34.99.

This confusing yo-yo pricing scheme for DS games never really bothered me, until I discovered that at least one retailer is apparently using it to bilk gamers. Who is this wolf in sheep’s clothing? None other that Gamestop/EB Games.

I discovered this gamer abuse when I bought Professor Layton and the Curious Village the week of its release at my local Gamestop for $34.99. I assumed that price would be the same at all retailers, until I happened to spot the same game on the same day at Circuit City for $29.99. A quick check of retailer web sites reveals that both Layton and the new DS Advance Wars games are still selling for $34.99 at Gamestop/EB Games, and $29.99 everywhere else.

While five dollars difference doesn’t seem like much, imagine what you’d do if someone tried to sell you a new Xbox 360 game for $64.99 instead of $59.99. You’d buy it somewhere else, right? That’s exactly what I’m planning to do with my future DS game purchases.