America, Stop Complaining.

[Chesterfield Snapdragon McFisticuffs]

I've been browsing the net for a while now and it seems that many American's have their panties in a bunch regarding a $60 price-tag for most games. When PC games are raised to this price the uproar can be heard all the way over here in New Zealand. Never mind that the PC is the best experience for almost all games and should theoretically cost MORE than the console versions for that. But I digress!
In New Zealand games retail for around $110. AAA releases retail for more than that(Arkham Asylum was $120, Modern Warfare 2 was something around $140-$150) and so on. You can find deals that will usually get the better titles cheaper(I got MW2 for $120) but my point still stands - games are ridiculously expensive.
I did a little more research because we cannot simply look at the nominal prices of games, we have to look at average incomes. So i pulled a few articles up on the net and I found the median average household income of US residents and NZ residents. Seeing as the RRP of NZ games is twice that of US games, I figured for it to be fair that the average incomes should be somewhere around double that in New Zealand. I was wrong. The average American income is something around $46 000, while the average NZ income is more like $62 556. This means that it is around 1.35x higher in New Zealand, nowhere near enough to justify the gargantuan prices on our games. As an added kick in the nads, playing in New Zealand on peer-to-peer is an absolute nightmare as the host is almost always based in none other than the USA, meaning my MW2 matches are about 2 bars every game, which basically renders the knife useless because of the lag. When I finally host a game everybody else leaves because they are all stuck on 1-2 bars.
To add discussion to this thread I'd like to hear from people from other countries(Canada,UK etc) to talk about prices of video games/average wage in their countries to see if it's not just NZ being shafted.

 

[Gxas]

We can complain about whatever we want!

*Sticks tongue out*

 

[Inverse Skies]

Don't worry, Australia is quite expensive as well, with new games often costing $90-110 Aus. I'm actually quite happy that I'm not into videogames like I used to be, as now I just wait a few months for the price to drop and pick them up for $50-60 and save heaps. It makes a huge difference.

 

[Good morning blues]

I understand that the currency difference doesn't equal the price difference, but you can't ignore the fact that the New Zealand dollar is worth substantially less than the US dollar in this issue.

 

[fletch_talon]

I understand that the currency difference doesn't equal the price difference, but you can't ignore the fact that the New Zealand dollar is worth substantially less than the US dollar in this issue.

That doesn't explain why Americans pay $60 and Australians pay $100.
Considering as of this moment the Aus dollar is worth about 92 US cents.

Meaning we should realistically be paying around the $65 mark.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Saying the price is X in the US and Y in Kiwiland is pointless unless you've done the exchange rate calculations. Though your point about the median income and such is also a pretty decent measure. However, it might be worth noting the median income of the people who fall into the main gaming demographic (18-30 year olds would be my guess) because that should be more telling. I'm 27 and my income is far less than $46k per year.

 

[FalloutJack]

With a name like Chesterfield Snapdragon McFisticuffs, how can you not pay attention?

 

[Puzzles]

Yeah, I hadn't bought a game in a while and I was surprised by the AUD $100+ price tag =(

It's pretty bad here.

 

[muckinscavitch]

As of right now, the new Zealand dollar is 77c canadian. Canadian games are the same prices as USA games. Therefore, the price of a game in new Zealand should be 25% more, or for a 60$ game here, it should be 78$ there.

Now, if we really want to factor in average income, then their game should cost 106$.

If anyone REALLY wants, I could put the math up here too, but working the numbers out this is what it comes out to.

 

[Frankydee]

I don't really have much room to complain since I generally wait for a game to go down to 20 bucks anyway.

it's still odd though that console discs are 10 bucks more than PC.

 

[mobsterlobster]

In the UK, games are usually about £40 which is about US$66 and about NZ$91.

 

[Ph33nix]

I've been browsing the net for a while now and it seems that many American's have their panties in a bunch regarding a $60 price-tag for most games. When PC games are raised to this price the uproar can be heard all the way over here in New Zealand. Never mind that the PC is the best experience for almost all games and should theoretically cost MORE than the console versions for that. But I digress!
In New Zealand games retail for around $110. AAA releases retail for more than that(Arkham Asylum was $120, Modern Warfare 2 was something around $140-$150) and so on. You can find deals that will usually get the better titles cheaper(I got MW2 for $120) but my point still stands - games are ridiculously expensive.
I did a little more research because we cannot simply look at the nominal prices of games, we have to look at average incomes. So i pulled a few articles up on the net and I found the median average household income of US residents and NZ residents. Seeing as the RRP of NZ games is twice that of US games, I figured for it to be fair that the average incomes should be somewhere around double that in New Zealand. I was wrong. The average American income is something around $46 000, while the average NZ income is more like $62 556. This means that it is around 1.35x higher in New Zealand, nowhere near enough to justify the gargantuan prices on our games. As an added kick in the nads, playing in New Zealand on peer-to-peer is an absolute nightmare as the host is almost always based in none other than the USA, meaning my MW2 matches are about 2 bars every game, which basically renders the knife useless because of the lag. When I finally host a game everybody else leaves because they are all stuck on 1-2 bars.
To add discussion to this thread I'd like to hear from people from other countries(Canada,UK etc) to talk about prices of video games/average wage in their countries to see if it's not just NZ being shafted.

is that $140 American? or AUD or NZD are those the right letters? idk you know what i mean.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

As of right now, the new Zealand dollar is 77c canadian. Canadian games are the same prices as USA games. Therefore, the price of a game in new Zealand should be 25% more, or for a 60$ game here, it should be 78$ there.

Now, if we really want to factor in average income, then their game should cost 106$.

If anyone REALLY wants, I could put the math up here too, but working the numbers out this is what it comes out to.

Thank you. The problem with the Op's figure is that he dosen't factor in the diffrence in the bills worth. The game's come out (Roughly) to the same price and seeing as how he is complaining about the price right now, I would say we have the same right to.

 

[YurdleTheTurtle]

As of right now, the new Zealand dollar is 77c canadian. Canadian games are the same prices as USA games. Therefore, the price of a game in new Zealand should be 25% more, or for a 60$ game here, it should be 78$ there.

Now, if we really want to factor in average income, then their game should cost 106$.

If anyone REALLY wants, I could put the math up here too, but working the numbers out this is what it comes out to.

Highlighted the incorrect statement.

Canadian games cost about $10 more, and then another $10 or so if you include taxes. Where I live (Ontario), it's +13% tax, so a new console game actually costs $70 CAD + another $10 = $80 CAD! It's kind of ridiculous when you think about how close the Canadian dollar is to the U.S dollar. I never really understood why we're charged $10 (retail pricing) more when the rates are so close nowadays.

It's quite expensive, but it's not nearly as bad as other places get it, as OP ranted about.

 

[lacktheknack]

Nice username. "Who's Line is it Anyway", amright?

Anyway, I have no problem with $60 games (Canada, by the way). Of course, I'm only seventeen and have enough disposable income to buy them, but I still think it's fair. If you think about it, they're INCREDIBLE pieces of technology that I COULD see going for hundreds of dollars a couple decades back.

 

[Chesterfield Snapdragon McFisticuffs]

I've been browsing the net for a while now and it seems that many American's have their panties in a bunch regarding a $60 price-tag for most games. When PC games are raised to this price the uproar can be heard all the way over here in New Zealand. Never mind that the PC is the best experience for almost all games and should theoretically cost MORE than the console versions for that. But I digress!
In New Zealand games retail for around $110. AAA releases retail for more than that(Arkham Asylum was $120, Modern Warfare 2 was something around $140-$150) and so on. You can find deals that will usually get the better titles cheaper(I got MW2 for $120) but my point still stands - games are ridiculously expensive.
I did a little more research because we cannot simply look at the nominal prices of games, we have to look at average incomes. So i pulled a few articles up on the net and I found the median average household income of US residents and NZ residents. Seeing as the RRP of NZ games is twice that of US games, I figured for it to be fair that the average incomes should be somewhere around double that in New Zealand. I was wrong. The average American income is something around $46 000, while the average NZ income is more like $62 556. This means that it is around 1.35x higher in New Zealand, nowhere near enough to justify the gargantuan prices on our games. As an added kick in the nads, playing in New Zealand on peer-to-peer is an absolute nightmare as the host is almost always based in none other than the USA, meaning my MW2 matches are about 2 bars every game, which basically renders the knife useless because of the lag. When I finally host a game everybody else leaves because they are all stuck on 1-2 bars.
To add discussion to this thread I'd like to hear from people from other countries(Canada,UK etc) to talk about prices of video games/average wage in their countries to see if it's not just NZ being shafted.

is that $140 American? or AUD or NZD are those the right letters? idk you know what i mean.

It's $140 NZD. And to everyone who says 'Calculate the Exchange rate' you guys are wrong. Exchange rates don't measure shit except which currency is strong against which other currency. NZ exchange rate varies because we get pushed around on Wall Street with people buying and selling our currency to make money. What I did with average wage was to calculate the Purchasing Power of the NZD in comparison to the USD to give what is actually a more accurate picture than the ER.

 

[Helimocopter]

oh god i the sweeping generalizations in this thread are making me woozy

 

[Chesterfield Snapdragon McFisticuffs]

As of right now, the new Zealand dollar is 77c canadian. Canadian games are the same prices as USA games. Therefore, the price of a game in new Zealand should be 25% more, or for a 60$ game here, it should be 78$ there.

Now, if we really want to factor in average income, then their game should cost 106$.

If anyone REALLY wants, I could put the math up here too, but working the numbers out this is what it comes out to.

Thank you. The problem with the Op's figure is that he dosen't factor in the diffrence in the bills worth. The game's come out (Roughly) to the same price and seeing as how he is complaining about the price right now, I would say we have the same right to.

Also this statement is incorrect. Even using the exchange rate a US$60 game comes to around $80-90NZD depending on how our ER is feeling that day. Last I checked $90<$120.

 

[SilentHunter7]

Just because some people in other countries are content with paying $100 for a game doesn't mean we have to be as well.

 

[Ph33nix]

I've been browsing the net for a while now and it seems that many American's have their panties in a bunch regarding a $60 price-tag for most games. When PC games are raised to this price the uproar can be heard all the way over here in New Zealand. Never mind that the PC is the best experience for almost all games and should theoretically cost MORE than the console versions for that. But I digress!
In New Zealand games retail for around $110. AAA releases retail for more than that(Arkham Asylum was $120, Modern Warfare 2 was something around $140-$150) and so on. You can find deals that will usually get the better titles cheaper(I got MW2 for $120) but my point still stands - games are ridiculously expensive.
I did a little more research because we cannot simply look at the nominal prices of games, we have to look at average incomes. So i pulled a few articles up on the net and I found the median average household income of US residents and NZ residents. Seeing as the RRP of NZ games is twice that of US games, I figured for it to be fair that the average incomes should be somewhere around double that in New Zealand. I was wrong. The average American income is something around $46 000, while the average NZ income is more like $62 556. This means that it is around 1.35x higher in New Zealand, nowhere near enough to justify the gargantuan prices on our games. As an added kick in the nads, playing in New Zealand on peer-to-peer is an absolute nightmare as the host is almost always based in none other than the USA, meaning my MW2 matches are about 2 bars every game, which basically renders the knife useless because of the lag. When I finally host a game everybody else leaves because they are all stuck on 1-2 bars.
To add discussion to this thread I'd like to hear from people from other countries(Canada,UK etc) to talk about prices of video games/average wage in their countries to see if it's not just NZ being shafted.

is that $140 American? or AUD or NZD are those the right letters? idk you know what i mean.

It's $140 NZD. And to everyone who says 'Calculate the Exchange rate' you guys are wrong. Exchange rates don't measure shit except which currency is strong against which other currency. NZ exchange rate varies because we get pushed around on Wall Street with people buying and selling our currency to make money. What I did with average wage was to calculate the Purchasing Power of the NZD in comparison to the USD to give what is actually a more accurate picture than the ER.

that $110 is about $80 USD so that is still alot but you have to factor in shipping and the fact that the game companies don't expect to sell as much in those countries so to make up for that they raise the price.