I was surprised to see that the highly-regarded Rock Band game has been rated only a two-star game by customer reviewers at Amazon.co.uk.

The reason: not the game, but the price. The Band in a Box package, which costs up to £129.00, neglects to include the game itself: buy it separately for up to £49.99.

Amazon’s prices are a little less; but in the USA Amazon.com offers the whole lot for $149.99 (list price $169.99). I’m using the Xbox 360 versions for this example.

The problem for Electronic Arts is that buyers are only a click away from checking out the prices in other countries. “The price is a joke. No purchase,” says one UK customer review.

Will it seriously affect sales? Only if people really do refuse to buy; then of course we’ll see the price lowered. However, it is currently occupying positions two and three in Amazon’s all-format bestseller chart, so maybe not.

Aside: why does Amazon say this has a PEGI rating of 16 for the instruments, but only 12 for the game? If the problem is risqué lyrics, you would have thought it would be the other way round.