We do wish for the best when it comes to gaming and India, but what I heard today makes me want to strike out ‘good’ from the equation. Why? Because government has upped the import duty for games Becasue Redington who are in charge of distribution of many Xbox360 titles in India has upped the prices by almost Rs800.

According to Consoul.in, prices of EA games (Xbox360 only)are going up, up and away

EA Catologue Titles – Old MRP – New MRP (Tentative)
Fifa 2010 – 2499 -> 3299
Nfs Shift – 2499 -> 3299
Brutal Legend – 2499 -> 3299
Dragon Age – Collectors – 2699 -> 3999
Saboteur – 1899 -> 2699
Left 4 Dead – Classic Edition – 999 -> 1699
XBox 360 Game CD Left 4 Dead 2 – 2499 -> 3299
XBox 360 Game CD NBA 10 – 1999 -> 2999
upcoming titles, all prices are tentative
Army of Men – 40th Day 3499
Mass Effect 2 – Collectors 3999
Mass Effect 2 – Standard 3499
Dante Inferno – Collectors 3999
Dante Inferno – Standard 3499
Battlefield 2 Bad company – Collectors 3999
Battlefield 2 Bad company – Standard 3499

Thankfully the price hike is for only console games as PC games which are sold here are packaged in India. Which brings up the question of why console games are not packaged here. If you ask the console companies, they’ll tell you that the volumes are not large enough. And the volumes won’t go up until the prices reduce. A classic chicken and egg scenario. So what should come first the volume, or packaging of games in India?