Analyst: Aussies to enjoy videogame price drop "by early 2012"

Games will drop in price in the region from around AU$120 to AU$70, that's according to a consumer analyst for the Macquarie management group.

A report by the Macquarie Bank's Equities Research arm suggests that the price of videogames in Australia will tumble by some AU$50 by early 2012.

The report, which was based on studies and surveys of the online retail market, showed that toys and videogames make up just 3.7 percent of the Australian online market, compared to 19 percent in the US and 24 percent in the UK.

Due to the strong Australian dollar and comparatively lower prices overseas, many Australian gamers import their games - which may or may not include our very own Brenna - but Rob Blythe of Macquarie believes the desire to do so may be lessened by videogame prices in Australia falling closer in line with other territories.

"Australia has been slow to adapt to international pricing for games, yes," he said. "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.

"That said, Australian pricing will still be at a premium to offshore, due to things like distribution and shipping costs, but the gap won’t be as significant. Economists are predicting that our currency will normalise and eventually come back down below parity with the US dollar and when that happens, the attractiveness of buying video games overseas will be eliminated for Aussie consumers."

Thanks, Gamespot AU.