European Commission Seeks to End Regional Pricing on Digital Purchases

[Steven Bogos]

European Commission Seeks to End Regional Pricing on Digital Purchases

The EC's Digital Single Market proposal would see prices for digitally purchased games unified across its 28 member states.

Regional pricing was one of those things that made sense back in the days of physical goods - as companies had to pay extra costs to physically ship things to foreign countries - but in the world of digital downloads it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The European Commission has also seen the futility of regional pricing on digitally purchased video games, and with its new "Digital Single Market" proposal, aims to end it (at least across its 28 member states).

"The Digital Single Market initiative seeks to provide an unfettered European market for digital goods and services across all its 28 member states," the EC told MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/european-commission-our-digital-single-market-will-strengthen-the-industry/0153432].

The proposal would mean that publishers must maintain a single price point across all of Europe, and would also not be able to limit services to certain regions.

"Simplified and modern rules for online and digital cross-border purchases will encourage more businesses to sell online across borders and further develop digital markets such as games," the commission added.

Dave Clark, head of marketing at indie games label Kiss, was one of many who supported the proposal, stating that "To suggest to the consumer that the cost of selling a digital product or a physical product sold via a digital outlet can vary from country to country is becoming ever more difficult to justify."

As an Australian, who has felt the sting of regional pricing [https://www.steamprices.com/au/search/?preset=unfair] ever since I started gaming, I only have good things to say about this proposal and really hope similar ones are put in place all over the world.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/european-commission-our-digital-single-market-will-strengthen-the-industry/0153432]

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[RicoADF]

Regional pricing should be outright banned, punishable with billions of dollars in fines. It's ridiculous and discriminatory.
Hell even capcha can see how stupid it is:
Captcha- flat out
lol

 

[mad825]

But but not everyone in the EU uses the Euro, but but some EU members are far less developed.

Well, if they did I wonder how it would effect the eastern Europeans. You can all slander regional pricing but there are not many things equal in the EU when it comes to financial matters, RIP Greece.

 

[Uhuru N'Uru]

But but not everyone in the EU uses the Euro, but but some EU members are far less developed.

Well, if they did I wonder how it would effect the eastern Europeans. You can all slander regional pricing but there are not many things equal in the EU when it comes to financial matters, RIP Greece.

It's got nothing at all to do with the Euro, Regional pricing can theoretically, mean Germany pays more than Italy for the same product, regardless of currency. The exchange rate between two countries with different currencies, should determine the price is equal.

I'm on the high price side of the equation, but remember there are also those who benefit from lower regional prioces, they would lose out.

 

[Abomination]

All this will do is make Steam and all the like give everyone the prices they give Australia and New Zealand. Just watch.

Pretty much, but it is aimed at only Europe so it would mostly impact the price disparity between countries like Poland and Germany.

What'll happen? German consumers will pay 10% less, Polish consumers will end up paying 50% more because there's far more profitability out of the German market by comparison.

While I think it sucks how much more New Zealand and Australia pays for the product, especially because how small our markets are compared to US, I am fine with Russians paying lower than the US because folk in that country literally could not afford more. But how can you justify charging more in a country where the GDP per capita is LESS than the US? The very argument used for Russia should apply to AU/NZ and their prices should be lower.

 

[War_Dyn27]

I'm pretty sure that wages are generally higher in Australia and New Zealand, that's why everything costs more. thusly, wages in places like Russia are lower, so the games and the like are priced lower, otherwise they would be prohibitively expensive and people would just pirate.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

All this will do is make Steam and all the like give everyone the prices they give Australia and New Zealand. Just watch.

I have a terrible feeling that this is accurate. I often bemoan regional price differences, since Britain pays a fair bit on Steam, but I can only see publishers taking the chance to raise the prices further.

I'm pretty sure that wages are generally higher in Australia and New Zealand, that's why everything costs more. thusly, wages in places like Russia are lower, so the games and the like are priced lower, otherwise they would be prohibitively expensive and people would just pirate.

I have a friend in NZ, and considering the exchange rate for currency, wages don't really seem any better there. Publishers just tend to be a bit dickish when it comes to pricing.
I'm looking at you, Kotick. You monster. I bet you eat baby soup for breakfast.

 

[Albino Boo]

This not going to happen. Non Euro members are not going to take to take the hit for currency fluctuations and those in eastern europe are not going to want to pay German prices. Again those in the Euro in southern europe are not going to want to pay German prices. This is just same old commission grandstanding about deeper integration, which currently has even less public support than normal.

 

[munx13]

But but not everyone in the EU uses the Euro, but but some EU members are far less developed.

Well, if they did I wonder how it would effect the eastern Europeans. You can all slander regional pricing but there are not many things equal in the EU when it comes to financial matters, RIP Greece.

Eastern European here. Only a couple games are cheaper here on steam and its always by maybe 1 or 2 Euro. Instead most games I can get cost the same but are the russian versions with very limited voice and gift options and with separate community hubs so I'm left out of most game discussions (thank you for that, zenimax).

So yeah, I welcome this change.

 

[dangoball]

So, uh, you mean to tell me I, as a citizen of the Czech Republic, one of the less wealthy EU nations, have been paying German prices on Steam just because? New AAA releases were always 40-60 Euro and no one complained. I'm aware the prices are cheaper in Russia, but Russia is not a member of the EU so it won't affect those prices. This will change nothing, only now there will be a law as to why people with 1/3 the salary pay the same price for goods.

 

[DonTsetsi]

But but not everyone in the EU uses the Euro, but but some EU members are far less developed.

Well, if they did I wonder how it would effect the eastern Europeans. You can all slander regional pricing but there are not many things equal in the EU when it comes to financial matters, RIP Greece.

Eastern European here. Only a couple games are cheaper here on steam and its always by maybe 1 or 2 Euro. Instead most games I can get cost the same but are the russian versions with very limited voice and gift options and with separate community hubs so I'm left out of most game discussions (thank you for that, zenimax).

So yeah, I welcome this change.

Bulgarian here. We're the poorest country in the EU, by far. Our prices ARE the same as Germany. In fact, buying from a US-based retailer without regional pricing is usually a cheaper option than using Steam, because EU prices are higher than US prices.

 

[one squirrel]

The average net wage is about 2100 Euros in Austria, compared to about 1700 Euros in Italy or 830 Euros in Estonia. Currently, Steam seems to be using a 2 tier pricing system with Germany as reference for tier 1 and Italy as a reference for tier 2. That already looks like an incredibly crude system, and now the EC seeks to simplify it even more?

I don't know how thats not being unfair towards the consumers who are citizens of lower income countries, and thats coming from someone who could only profit from an end to regional pricing.

And what exactly would the benefits of equal prices even be?

 

[FogHornG36]

"and would also not be able to limit services to certain regions."

What a good idea, so even if certain regions have laws that prohibit the service, heavily tax, regulates the service, they are forced to provide it, even if its at a lost to them.

 

[Margus Vissor]

Eastern European also here (Estonian).

We already pay same prices as rest of the Europe so it really doesn´t matter. But what matters is that before we often got Russian version of the game while paying full European price, meaning we could only play with Russians and often games were localized to Russian market meaning Russian language only, even though most of us don´t even speak russian. Or we are outright banned from buying that game because it is not available in this region. Considering us same region as Russia even though we are full members of European Union.

So i do think this is good thing they are trying to do if they also enforce publishers treat us really equally.

 

[Morti]

The proposal would mean that publishers must maintain a single price point across all of Europe, and would also not be able to limit services to certain regions.

"Simplified and modern rules for online and digital cross-border purchases will encourage more businesses to sell online across borders and further develop digital markets such as games," the commission added.

This has me more concerned than the pricing. Does that mean we're going to be subject to the whims of the German ratings system?

 

[Danny Dowling]

What we need is the EU prices to be the same as the US prices. The US pay fuck all compared to people in Europe (UK at least) and it takes the piss.

How can a $10 game cost £10? it's utterly ridiculous.

 

[erbkaiser]

Ugh. Just what we need... German prices and German censorship laws across all of Europe because the (non-elected, non-democratic) EC wants to force Ein Volk, Ein Union, Ein Euro?

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

It won't mean censorship. It will mean a unified price structure.

 

[gigastar]

Not even sure how a unified price is supposed to be a good thing. It just means theyll charge more.

Also, i dont believe this is aimed specifically at Steam since its the publishers that set the prices, not Steam itself.