Hasbro is trying to pull at your nostalgia while also price gouging anyone who has the misfortune to be a gamer living in the UK. If the gaming company really wants to boost sales, they should lower the price for everyone.
Hasbro is charging UK customers nearly twice as much US customers for the same handheld video games. | Credit: Piotr Swat / Shutterstock.com
- Hasbro is releasing these throwback handheld consoles featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and The Transformers amongst others.
- While these units are priced at around $15 in the U.S., they’re the equivalent of nearly $30 in the UK.
- Is this a mistake, or a deliberate act of price gouging from Hasbro?
Hasbro recently decided to bring some classic handhelds back onto the market. Tiger Electronics games were a budget series of handhelds for those who couldn’t afford a Gameboy or GameGear.
They were cheap, but they were a lot of fun if you were on a budget. They also made great gifts because they were so cheap. These games can be excellent gifts once more, at least if you live in the U.S. where the prices are fair.
If you’re in the UK, get ready for some price gouging.
Hasbro Is Charging Nearly Double in the UK
If you live in the U.S., you can go online to GameStop and buy one of these devices for $15 dollars. At least you can as long as GameStop is still in business. It seems like a fair price for something that was outdated back in ’94.
In the UK you can head over to Amazon and pick one up for £21.71. At the current exchange rate that means in USD, you’d pay $28. Hasbro is charging nearly twice as much for the same hardware.
It’s not even like this is some third-party seller driving up prices. It’s an official Hasbro being sold and dispatched by Amazon themselves. So why on earth is this price so inflated?
Why Are They Doing This?
You have to wonder why Hasbro is doing this to UK-based gamers. It’s possible they’ll change it before the full release. But since both of these items pre-order, they’re just as likely to make the U.S. version more expensive rather than making the UK one cheaper.
Maybe it has something to do with Brexit causing economic uncertainty in the country. That sounds like a bit of a cop-out. If Hasbro is worried about not making enough money they should charge less to guarantee sales, not more.
Personally, I feel like they were just hoping that no one noticed. Well, I did. Unfortunately, it’s made me think twice about getting one, despite really wanting to add Sonic 3 to my collection. I guess Hasbro knows how to lose customers.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
This article was edited by Aaron Weaver.
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