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Sony has increased the prices of upcoming PS3 titles Beyond: Two Souls and Gran Turismo 6.
Both games were previously priced at Rs 2,999, but are now increased to Rs 3,499.
The price hikes are attributed to the continuing decline of the Rupee, which today stands at Rs 67 against the US Dollar.
It is widely expected that other publishers will follow suit. Games from several publishers are currently priced at Rs 2,799 or Rs 2,999, and many of these are expected to increase.
Retailer buzz suggests that Grand Theft Auto 5, which is only two weeks away from release, will also receive a price hike, although the exact amount is not known yet.
Distributors appear helpless to prevent these price increases. With high custom duties and the freefalling Rupee, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep prices down.
While it is understandable to see prices of third-party publishers’ games go up, it’s a little strange to also see first-party PS3 games get more expensive. These games are now manufactured in India and therefore do not incur the import duties that third-party games do, so one would assume the pressure to raise prices wouldn’t be as high on these games.
Whatever the case, until the Rupee starts to recover, gamers should be prepared for prices to go up further across the board.
If there’s a game coming up that you’re interested in, it would be wise to preorder it now through retailers like Flipkart, who won’t charge you more when the prices go up.
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