I've been looking at Zavvi for some cheap games, but I've heard and read conflicting stories about if they work here.
Does it matter where I buy the games?
Is there something I should be looking for when buying games online?
I don't want to buy some games and find out I can't play them.
Thanks !
Very informative post and well written, however, I bought Homefront (for the 360) off Zavvi and Homefront has an online pass. The code redeemed and has worked on my Aus. account and console fine.
Having said that though, you are right, quite a few games from Europe (even though PAL) their codes won't work..
Ah, different companies have their own set of rules I think, I know that EA does their Online Passes by country though.
I bought BF3 (EA game) from The Hut - online code (and Karkand DLC) works fine.
Oh really? Maybe they have removed the country restriction for Online Passes then
Excellent, thanks for all that.. Looks like I’ll be buying more games than I thought :)
I won’t be playing online since I only have a satellite connection, lol…
Look for the PAL rating on the games, i.e import from the UK if you want to be safe. Most NTSC (Asia, USA) games are region-locked except for Microsoft Exclusives such as the Halo Series, Fable Series and the Gears of War Series. Forza for some reason has a region-lock though.
ozgameshop.com, 365games.co.uk, zavvi.com, thehut.com are great sites to take a look at for online game shopping. Ozgameshop and 365games.co.uk are owned by the same company, but there might be a minor pricing difference, such as from 365games.co.uk I managed to get a copy of Red Faction Guerilla for $9 whereas it was $15 on the ozgameshop site. Zavvi and Thehut are also owned by the same commpany, small minor differences in price again, such as on Zavvi Deus Ex Human Revolution is 9.95 ($16-17) pounds but on thehut it's 12.95 pounds ($21-22).
Oh and if you buy any game with an Online Pass (such as Battlefield 3, Assassin's Creed Revelations) overseas, it will not work with your Australian account. If you really want to play online, you'll either have to spend a extra $15 to buy the code off Xbox Marketplace if you import or buy the game locally.