Witcher 2 Price Goes Up Down Under

[Andy Chalk]

Witcher 2 Price Goes Up Down Under

More good news for Witcher fans in Australia: not only will The Witcher 2 be censored in your country but you're going to have to pay more for it, too.

We found out yesterday, to nobody's great surprise, that toned down [http://www.amazon.com/Witcher-2-Assassins-Kings-Pc/dp/B003VJNPPE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304696025&sr=8-1] for the Australian market, in that you won't be able to choose sex as a quest reward. [On the upside, you'll apparently still be able to have lots of sex just for fun.] Today we discovered another little tidbit of happiness: the game is going to cost more than originally expected, too.

GOG revealed earlier today that because of "licensing reasons," the price of The Witcher 2 available through GOG Facebook [http://www.gog.com] page, its pricing policy was in violation of legal agreements with other Australian distributors, forcing it to kick up the cost.

Fortunately, the guys at GOG are a stand-up bunch and they're doing what they can to soften the blow. It's too late now to preorder at the original price but its "Fair Price Package" is being extended to Australian customers, giving them a $26 U.S. credit to use on the site. That could easily add up to another four or five games and possibly more if you happen to catch a sale.

I don't know why Australia always seems to get the short end of the stick in these deals. You can only blame a dysfunctional rating system for so much, after all, and while it's not the most conveniently-located continent on the planet, I would think that digital distribution would make that almost entirely a non-factor. So what's the deal?

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings comes out worldwide on May 17, exclusively for the PC.


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[GiantRaven]

The Australian government really does seem to hate games. That really sucks.

 

[Woodsey]

Ouch.

That's like what, a £20 increase? Ridiculous, but if its out of their hands, then at least they're trying to ease it up a little bit.

 

[Irridium]

Now that just sucks. Glad they're at least trying to make up for it, but still, that sucks hardcore.

Why the hell are games so expensive in Australia anyway? I doubt localization would be the reason, since most games' default language is English, and almost all at least have an English option.

Just doesn't make any sense.

 

[Adzma]

The Australian government really does seem to hate games. That really sucks.

Nothing to do with the government, sans the toning down of course.

All this will do is push more people to piracy, and do I care? No. I've been screwed over by distribution costs so much now I don't think they deserve to make a profit from us.

 

[Bretty]

WOW! I am nowhere near Aussie land and this still hurts. Sounds to me like you need someone to import this for you?

 

[GiantRaven]

Nothing to do with the government, sans the toning down of course.

Sorry. I assumed it was a law that the government had imposed.

 

[Shamus Young]

This is probably the best look we've gotten at Aus. distribution that I've seen in years. I've always wondered why prices were so high down there. Government? Retailers? Publishers?

This deal points directly at distributors.

As I understand it:

You need a distributor to get you onto the shelves at retail outlets. You can't possibly call each and every Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Sears, Gamestop, etc. This is particularly true if your company is based in one country and you're trying to sell in another. The distributor han handle contacting all the stores, getting you shelf space, and getting the product to the stores.

There must only be one or two distributors down there, and they must take a HUGE cut. Additionally, they will only deal with you if you agree to not undercut them online. You CAN sell games for $60 down there, but only if you're willing to forgo retail. A digital-only indie can do that. A AAA game can't.

Note that all of this is my own take on this, based on what we're reading. Other interpretations are possible.

Very interesting.

 

[RA92]

According to the GOG Facebook page, its pricing policy was in violation of legal agreements with other Australian distributors, forcing it to kick up the cost.

I hate it when physical distributors fuck around with digital distribution. Die out already!

At least GOG is nice enough to extend the Fair Price Package.

 

[tkioz]

I blinked at the prices, thinking they couldn't possibly be right (see EBGames preorder page http://www.ebgames.com.au/pc-150896-The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings-Premium-Edition-PC), until I realised it was for the digital versions.

The AUD is about on par with the USD, a little better at the moment, and PC games cost between $80 and $99 RRP when they first come out, and console games are almost always between $108 (normal price) and $129 RRP. Yes, you read that right, over double the RRP of a US version, when our dollars are the same.

We get royally boned on game prices, and it's not tax as far as I've been able to tell, or import duties, hell PS3 games are manufactured in Sydney at the Sony Blu Ray factory, so it can't be shipping... but some how the price difference is massive.

And people wonder why I import all my console games.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

I hereby declare it OKAY in the law of my own little world for Australian gamers to pirate EU or US versions of The Witcher 2.

Would be my pitch line if I wanted to be elected in Australia.
Given how many gamers there are in Aussie land, and how much they seem to hate the current system, I think it's a good plan...

 

[The Mighty Thesaurus]

There must only be one or two distributors down there, and they must take a HUGE cut.

I'm not sure about video games, but I know that 97% of anime is distributed by Madman Entertainment.

 

[Adzma]

Nothing to do with the government, sans the toning down of course.

Sorry. I assumed it was a law that the government had imposed.

Nah it's a common misconception. It's actually because of Australian retailers. They claim that they can't compete with online distribution like Steam so we get the ridiculous markups of retail applied to our online purchases too.

 

[samsonguy920]

This is probably the best look we've gotten at Aus. distribution that I've seen in years. I've always wondered why prices were so high down there. Government? Retailers? Publishers?

This deal points directly at distributors.

As I understand it:

You need a distributor to get you onto the shelves at retail outlets. You can't possibly call each and every Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Sears, Gamestop, etc. This is particularly true if your company is based in one country and you're trying to sell in another. The distributor han handle contacting all the stores, getting you shelf space, and getting the product to the stores.

There must only be one or two distributors down there, and they must take a HUGE cut. Additionally, they will only deal with you if you agree to not undercut them online. You CAN sell games for $60 down there, but only if you're willing to forgo retail. A digital-only indie can do that. A AAA game can't.

Note that all of this is my own take on this, based on what we're reading. Other interpretations are possible.

Very interesting.

Is it any wonder then that Mad Max was conceived in Oz?

 

[Wolfram23]

Man, that's bullshit. There's a legal agreement in Australia to increase prices? Isn't that like a mutually accepted monopoly?

Aussie gamers need to start a riot or something lol.