Diablo® III

Hi,

I was wondering if a blizzard representative could explain why the digital version in AUD is more expensive than the RRP from other retail stores like JB or Big W? Their prices where about the same before compared to the digital version and now they dropped them but I believe most of us already bought the digital copy. Thanks.

Yeah retail store pays less than RRP by a fair amount and so as long as they make a profit they are happy so they try to undercut each other and Blizz.

Blizzard don't reply to difficult questions.

I know here in NZ, JB HIFI sell games at a loss most of the time. They act as items to get people in the store to buy bigger things (TVs, computers, gadgets). So that could explain very simply why the digital version is more expensive. If you regularly use JB to buy games because they're cheap, chances are you're going to go to them to buy a TV or a laptop because you have this 'understanding' that they are the 'cheapest'.

Like supermarkets will sell alcohol at a loss, because people end up buying chips and softdrinks at the same time which is where they make most of their profit.

Dicksmith has a launch price of $69 for standard D3

Answer here:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/4175831408?page=26#501

This is also true for Steam.

Here's another one. It seems to me that the only people who are surprised about pricing are the ones who don't pay their own bills.
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3236816.htm

This is an easy question to reply

Ans:

Physical retailers be it EBgames, Amazon, Walmart, Kmart. etc are only willing to carry and sell the product (Diablo 3 in this case) only if Blizzard does not undercut them.

If you are the manager of Walmart, would you agree to help Blizzard sell their games if you know Blizzard is selling them for less than you, thus stealing business away from you?

That is why Blizzard has to sell at the Recommended Retail Price, whilst retailers are free to sell below that (lowering their margins)