I have never been a fan of EB. They have been ripping off gamers for years, and their "Get a XXX for yyy, when you trade in a console & 20 games" should just about be illegal.

But now, in my eyes they have hit a new low.

I have a couple of new DS titles coming soon (Pokemon & QuickSpot), but as I have almost finished Castlevania:PoR, I stopped by EB on the way to work this morning to see if I could pick something up for the weekend.

We finally have FinalFantasy III on our shelves (yes, it has just launched) - months after the US release, and many months after the Japanese release.

I was more than keen to pick this up (and even pay some good $ for it!) - that was until I saw the price.

$80AU.

A typical DS title retails for $60 ($59.95), and high profile titles at $69.95 (Pokemon I think is just under $60 when it launches).

What makes this even worse is that the Australian $ is basically at a 15year high - trading at around 83c US (and its been there for a while).

So the price translates to $67US.

Ouch. That's more expensive that any 360/PS3 title, and its more than most Wii titles cost in Australia ($70-$80 now).

Thank you again EB - not only have you lost a sale, you have lost a customer - forever.

What does it retail for in other stores? FF III is the most expensive DS game here in the states, too. It retails for $40 vs. $30 or $35 on other DS games.

Is it available at another store for a cheaper price?

I have to look around. I can pick it up at an online retailer for a fraction of the price - but this is generally because they directly import the US version (ok for the DS). The other issue is this - even since Blockbuster sold off their "GameRush" chain, EB basically are the ONLY gaming stores around (there are a few indy stores, but they can be hard to find). The exception is Toys R Us, which I have found to have excellent prices. But Im not sure if they are stocking FF3 at all, last I asked they were not. Will look this weekend.

lol www.dvdcrave.com.au is your friend. stuff EB man.

I'm pretty sure DS can play games form the US as well so here you go:

DS - Final Fantasy III Release Date: 2007/05/03 Availability: Currently: Out of Stock AUD $70.14 Inc. GST
DS - Final Fantasy III (US Version) Release Date: 2007/01/30 Availability: Currently: In Stock! (10+ Available) AUD $59.95 Inc. GST

A $10 price difference over the pal one and a huge $20 over EB

It seems like everything in Australia is more expensive... What's the minimum wage down there? Just curious of your purchasing power compared to other countries.

We have a pretty decent minimum wage - and its slowly creeping up. A "typical" (low) wage is about $30k AU (keep in mind, that for the last few years our dollar was worth 73c US). We also have an extensive social security system ("The dole"), where you can score $200/week for not working (about $10k/yr). Min wage would be around the $400-$450/week (for full-time work - 38hrs) - but what has happened over the last few years (thanks to our unwelcome Liberal party "aka Republicans" in office) is that there has been a big shift from full-time employment to part-time/casual employment. More people are working, but working less hours (and getting paid less).

I'll check out Crave - I grabbed my other games from Burn (http://burn.com.au/) but their price for FF3 is also $80 (US version!). No thanks... Might just grab it from Ebay (someone selling to Oz...). Can see copies for $20US or lower...

shams those are cheap asian made fakes. They can be faulty sometimes. Shams the doll has changed. Now u have to work for the doll doign whatever the gov tells you. Problem with our wages is that food and house prices have sky rockete din the last 3years. However the wages went up slightly. TO give an example about 7years ago $600AU wage could feed a family of 4 peopel and cover bills. Now u need like two $600AU wages o cover food costs, bills and morgage.

...just bid for it on Ebay (Oz), for under $50AU. Lets see if I will win the bid - 2 days ;)