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http://pawsoffury.blogspot.com/

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-Mitzy

So there's been alot of uproar about the announced (EU) price of Rock Band recently.
As it currently stands the official RRP stands at 130 pounds for the instrument pack (with no game) and 50 pounds for the game itself.

While the instrument pack not including the game is both attrocious and ridiculous in equal amounts, the price for the game itself is the same as any other 'Grade A+' title released on the 360. That means that while it will hold an RRP at 50 pounds, the on shelf price will be considerably cheaper. An example being that even COD4 was selling at 37 pounds the first fortnight of release and Assassins Creed dropping down to the high 20's at one point.

Play.com are offering the instrument pack at 100 pounds and the game at 40. That's already 40 pounds cheaper combined then the RRP amount that's being toted around as 'unacceptable'. If you really wanted to get the game cheap as possible, Play-Asia the equipment and purchase the game using many of the discount schemes available in stores (E.g. use a student friend to get a 10% discount).

So in summing up, yes the RRP is high and despicable etc. but the reality is you'll probably be paying 150 pounds max anyway and alot less than that if you're smart about it. It shouldn't be this much of a hassle but if you live in the UK/Europe you should expect such things by now anyway.

So as everyone's trying their hardest to squeese out pre-orders at the moment with a variety of special offers, I decided to jump on the proverbial bandwagon and reserve my own copy. 20% off and a 3 month XBL gold subscription isn't a bad tempter, although I think HMV offering 1000 free gamer points is a better deal (despite being cheaper as it's more versatile).
No thank-you online special edition, I neither need a bag or a lockbox.