Canada’s Video Game Prices May Be On The Rise

If you’re like me and hail from the true North strong and free of Canadia, then you have been pretty bummed to hear about the Canadian dollar losing its value against the US Dollar over the past year. It was only a matter of time before we saw it in the prices of our wares, and for Canadian gamers we may be going back to the ill-remembered days of $69.99. Michael Pachter predicted that next-gen games would cost $70, and for an entirely different reason we are already seeing that price rear its ugly head in Canada.

So far we can see standard games being priced up to $69.99 (and including $64.99) at EB Games, Future Shop and Best Buy, with no confirmation out of Walmart Canada. It may become commonplace for $5 to be bumped for the majority of games going forward, according to sources from Game Deals Canada.

While the increasing prevalence of on-console digital downloads, paired with the lowered Canadian dollar, there is a certain sense of begrudged understanding that these companies would raise the prices of games to cover losses. However, I am of the mind that we will see fewer and fewer people buying games Day 1 at full price if, when it’s all said and done after taxes, Canadian consumers are paying almost $80 to do so. International gamers already have it pretty rough with their prices; let’s hope that this $5 extra trend can either be avoided or will be a temporary measure, at best.

(h/t NeoGAF)

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