Aussie retailer Harvey Norman to open video game import website

@so_hai it is indeed.

I bet they'll still charge $110 for new release games! The Shmuck!

This douchebag was complaining about JB undermining HN's sales because of the online retail boom. Time to taste the sweet bitterness of your own damn humble pie Gerry! Don't expect any money from me >___>

It's because of people like Gerry Harvey and his scam of a franchise that people turned to the online market to begin with. Now that the jerk is getting cut out of the game he thinks I'm going to turn around and buy from him? Fat chance... uh oh I just killed your 100% theory right there

This is just typical of ppl like Gerry Harvey and like his buddy Alan Joyce he will force the issue to a head and the result will be the government having to act and charge GST on all imports as more companies like his try to remain competitive in an environment that they created by trying to continually rip us off, they wanted global marketplaces and they have it, but they say now its not fair because we can save money by cutting them out of the loop, KISS MY A#@ Gerry i will never give u my money, go ozgameshop.com

For 100% market share, you would need to be cheaper than every competitor across the board (which is isn't), have every game ever (which it doesn't, no where close), and have copies of new games arrive on release day (which is pretty much impossible in this import market). Even though Mass Effect 3 is cheaper online, I'm going down to the store and buying that baby on release date and shell out the extra 20-30 bucks - screw waiting 2 weeks or more. If you could somehow do all those things, then in theory, sure, you could have 100% market share...what a dope. Overall though, interesting development...not sure how I feel, I would rather not have mega-retailers like these drawing attention the incredibly cheap games I'm getting from ozgameshop. The last thing we need is the government to get involved and do something crazy to stop it. Or this could go the other way, if the other retailers follow suit and all of the sudden this import market becomes much more competitive, which should mean the consumers win. But, they're not going to get there with these current prices; ozgameshop still undercut most of their listed prices, especially when all games cost $3.95 additionally to post, whereas postage is free from ozgameshop. Although $24 for LA Noire is pretty crazy! .

@ WaterMeinKidd Haha did i upset you? :) then let me respond like this. I say tryhard because of these reasons 1. Harvey Norman has completely backflipped on thier stance of the "gray Market" Since they now see just how many people are now using and have been using this method for some time already in order to not be ripped off by the current neanderthal australian market. So you could rightly say they are "children" since they have been foolishly against it but now that they finally give in and see that its financially beneficial they want "all" in on the profits : quote "100 percent market share" yeah whatever! 2. Childish arrogance - quote Ben Mackintosh "bring legitimacy to [gray import]" What arrogance! So they are telling the informed/ proactive consumers of these products that every purchase we have made overseas is "bad" or illegal if we organise the purchase ourselves, but now that this almighty company has stepped in to do the very same thing (but with a nice cut for themselves) that's perfectly ok and now legal and good???.... Whatever kid! They are behind the times and are really pushing it. They think they will get 100% market share? Screw them, im gonna buy online like i always have or if i do buy it from a store it will be through Gametraders who have been doing this already for a long time. (BTW all the references eg. "kid" and "tryhard" are directed at Harvey Norman, not you WaterMeinKid....unless of course you work for Harvey in which case feel free to take it personally :) )

100% market share? They do realize that there are already other Online Stores that cater to the Australian market. ozgameshop.com is one of them, and their products are a lot cheaper with FREE DELIVERY.

GOG.com also offers Australians the same prices on their games as the US. With their sole exception, The Witcher 2, which they can't mark down for legal reasons, they offer in-store credit to make up for the extra cost.

This is great news . I went into EB games a few days ago to have a gander at what was on offer and the prices had me running for the hills. I will be keeping a close eye on the development of this medium.

Also, to anyone who doesn't already realise this, the shipping period will almost certainly be up to 3 weeks. It often takes me 3 weeks to get games from England.

@Banefire76 That's just the most stupid thing I've ever heard. How can a store be "tryhards"? "They"? "Adults"? It's owned by a man, who's definitely older than you, and it's not exactly tryhard, the prices are good. $24 for LA Noire.

Harvey Norman are tryhards, they should leave gaming to the adults and back off.

I don't care how bad Harvey Norman has been in the past, this is by far the best thing that's happened to Australian stores ever. I know OzGameShop sells to Australia, but this is a store known to every Australian citizen. As soon as they start getting known by everyone (and they will, once people see the prices) they will easily be the biggest Games Retailer in Australia. By far. $26 for Deus Ex on Xbox 360 shipped is amazing for Australia. It costs me about that to buy it from my home country of England and get it shipped, or maybe even more.

I like how Gamespot Australia treated the retailer Harvey Norman like a person, by shortening it into "said Harvey". It's like calling Bing Lee, 'Bing'.

OZGameshop has been good to me, so that's where I'll be staying. Wow, that's already taken HN to below 100% market share. Bad luck Gerry.

I bet harvey norman is still going to keep charging $90-$100 in store though. I checked out some of their prices, they are reasonable though nothing that great. $60 for saints row 3 shipped, well I already have a copy from asia shipped for $40. try again harvey, I wouldn't support them anyway because of their overpriced goods. every gamer needs to boycott retailers that persist in charging these insane prices. I'm starting to see new releases hitting $110 it's insane, we get screwed so bad.

@Davo-C But isn't ozgameshop actually British?

@Scorchstar Exactly right. But I'm pretty sure he's doing this before the legislation comes in to tax imports from online purchases (I heard about this a while back though...)

what i find funny is that he owns a chain of stores in ireland anyway so he buys from his overseas stores and and brings them here double dipiing much

Are you kidding me? Harvey Norman doesn't even do online delivery!

Low Prices = Good Import = Bad ... I dont know if I should be jumping for joy or thinking this is un-Australian ... Ohhh BF3 for $63....

This is crap! Even if he does set up a video game import website, that just means he is the one buying games from the foreign retailers and not us. This means he can charge what ever he wants! So blow me Harvey Norman!

There is absolutely no way I'm going to buy from Harvey Norman, even if they are cheaper (which they are not). He is the greediest C word around. Ozgameshop and other sites are still reasonably cheaper.

This sounds good

PC Games are coming soon... as it is indicated on the site. Well I'm happy this has come around. Hopefully we should see some fierce competition from the rivals, JB Hi-Fi are already trying their luck with direct-import cameras and supposedly expanding their range. In the end, the consumers win and the gaming industry is going to get a healthy boot if it catches on.

holy cow, those prices kick over any aussie retailer! i mean 59 for skyrim...109 in EB (I think)

He will sell RC games right?

They could name it better instead of 'Direct Import'

Had a quick look at the site, should have known it would only be console games. Guess they didn't even want to try competing with Steam.

I can see some benefits, if it drives down prices at other places as well. I've often thought EB should be cheaper than it is, especially when it's parent is selling things in USD for US$20 cheaper than EB is selling in AUD (whilst the AUD is at parity or stronger than USD).

I think I'll stick with Steam, instead of "Geezers Inc".

Awesome!

FYI the Site is NOT live. Cmon gamespot, dont lose that cool of yours! (it should hopefully be launched around 6pm Aest tonight 22/12)

Was going to say something sharply critical of Gerry Harvey's astounding backflip, but I got to the line "We should in theory get 100 per cent market share" and now I can't stop laughing.