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It looks as if Electronic Arts’ return to Steam may have been a double edged sword. Its library of games may be back, with the promise of newer games to come, but overnight it appears as if EA jacked up the price of its classics around the globe.
The changes would appear to be widespread, hitting just about every EA-published game or slice of downloadable content around the world. The price hit is going to vary depending on the territory you’re in though, with the US the only country which is maintaining old pricing.
Actually getting to the bottom of all these price changes is a feat in itself. Prices vary from territory to territory but Russia and Brazil would appear to be hardest hit, with price hikes up to treble the previous retail price.
Here in the UK, for example, many EA games have now nearly doubled in price in an instant. SimCity 4 was £9.99, it’s now shot up to £17.99. Nearly everyone has gone up to this price point, including Kingdoms of Amalur, The Sims 3, the Medal of Honor reboot, Dead Space, all up to £18. Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition has been raised all the way up to £25.
It’s definitely worse in other countries though. Crysis 2 was R$ 39.99 in Brazil, it’s now R$ 119.00. The old excuse of adapting for regional pricing doesn’t exactly ring true here, Brazilians are paying well over the odds in their local currency.
I hate to break it to you EA but Medal of Honor ain’t a fine wine. You can’t lock it in a cellar for a decade and pull it out with a ‘vintage’ price. It’s still a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Crap.
What do you make of this move then, are these EA ‘classics’ worth the jacked up prices? How are the prices in your country? Let us know below!