Australia Asks About High Game Prices

[Worgen]

Australian salaries are much higher and the conversion rates, they are actually paying less than any place in the world. $1AU is not equal to $1US. Even their minimum wage is like $18AU/hr

$18 and hour minimum wage? Fack, I no longer feel sorry for Australians having to pay more for games, that is a real living wage right there, I think minimum wage here is like $7.30 or so an hour.

That is the minimum wage, however the cost of living here is much higher than in the US or Europe. Everything costs more, even accounting for exchange rates.

The thing with video games is that they are especially crazy over here. We pay double for no reason, you can quote our minimum wage but that means nothing. You don't get a free pass on price gouging just because we're making more.

It is actually the perfect excuse, business will charge whatever people will pay and if people have more money then they can spend more on luxuries, its the reason that games keep getting more expensive, as long as people are willing to pay they will keep charging more.

That's not the reason. The $80-100 price point for games is a relic of about a decade ago when the Australian dollar was worth ~0.50USD. Due to resource demand from China over the last decade the AUD rose to parity with the US Dollar.

But as this happened prices for items published in Australia didn't fall. Books having being forced to allow parallel importing from America fell in price. There is no parallel importing for software though.

That is actually just one of the better reasons that people think the prices are so high, no one really knows, which is why the govt is asking.

It is actually the perfect excuse, business will charge whatever people will pay and if people have more money then they can spend more on luxuries, its the reason that games keep getting more expensive, as long as people are willing to pay they will keep charging more.

I guess I should rephrase...it shouldn't be an excuse.

Your right about that.

 

[Farther than stars]

Yes, yes, of course it's greed that drives the evil capitalist machine, but that aside; "Champion" has to be the most awesome name ever (besides being dreamed by an obviously narcissistic character). This Nick has to be the go-to guy for pretty much everyone he knows, for, like, you know, when people want him to kill mudcrabs 'n stuff...

 

[Farther than stars]

$100+ dollars?

Now I can see why Yahtzee gets really pissed when he finds games boring or unfulfilling.

Yeah, like it isn't the Escapist paying for his games anyway. >.>

 

[malkavianmadman]

Hell they might as well look into the price of games workshop items as well. There is alot of things that are massivly over priced in Australia and New Zealand (I know this isnt about NZ but thats where I am from and I get the feeling that if prices could be cut in Aus we might see it too)

 

[uncanny474]

On behalf of my colleagues in Australia:

"It's about bloody time, ya wankers!"

There, did I say that right?

Yep. Now drink this VB and shear a sheep. *checks you have done that* You are now an Australian citizen! Congratulations!

What's a VB? For that matter, what's a sheep? I live on the East Coast in a suburb, I know OF barnyard animals, but I've never actually been physically near one. Except maybe on some grade-school field trips.

 

[Voulan]

Check out EB Games Australia for some examples. Max Payne 3? 110 bucks [https://www.ebgames.com.au/ps3-147350-Max-Payne-3-PlayStation-3]. These aren't collector's editions, either; these are the standard, off-the-shelf releases that people in this part of the world can pick up for $30, $40 and even $50 cheaper.

New Zealand has similar prices... listed in New Zealand dollars. And given the current exchange rates, we're actually paying more for them than Australians are. Sometimes I wish the world could just operate on a system similar to the standard credit seen in almost every sci-fi universe. A single currency for the globe would make life so much easier...

... but then things would still cost more to us. Why? 'Because shut up.' That's the answer we'll get.

Exactly. The situation is worse here in New Zealand. And with all those people complaining about the minimum wage in Australia, in New Zealand it's much lower, at $13.50 an hour. And our currency is worth less. So, we're paying a good $10-20 more than Australia, which is a good $50-60 more than America, and we're earning less.

Luckily, if Australia wins this inquiry and gets games at a cheaper price, we'll be affected as well.

 

[MrStab]

On behalf of my colleagues in Australia:

"It's about bloody time, ya wankers!"

There, did I say that right?

Yep. Now drink this VB and shear a sheep. *checks you have done that* You are now an Australian citizen! Congratulations!

What's a VB? For that matter, what's a sheep? I live on the East Coast in a suburb, I know OF barnyard animals, but I've never actually been physically near one. Except maybe on some grade-school field trips.

I would advise you not to drink VB it's bloody terrible go the XXXX Gold instead.

OT: I don't know what reason there is behind this but hopefully they get rid of it and get some decent prices for the people that don't shop around online for something that isn't a rip off.

Captcha : sea change

 

[Meight08]

Australian salaries are much higher and the conversion rates, they are actually paying less than any place in the world. $1AU is not equal to $1US. Even their minimum wage is like $18AU/hr

I am so sick of that line of reasoning. The claim that minimum wage is somehow a reflection of purchasing power is ridiculous.

The AUD is currently worth 0.9724 USD. There is no significant freight or conversion costs for releasing a piece of software. The only reason for software to cost 50-100% more in Australia is publishers agreeing to take profit windfalls from the drop of the American dollar rather than to act competitively.

No they do it because you all act like good little bitches who will still buy them you just dont have the control to not buy them stop buying and this will stop!

 

[grigjd3]

Barring Australia, games are NOT expensive. Sixty bucks for ten hours of entertainment is about six dollars an hour - on par with going to the movies (if you don NOT buy a soda and popcorn) and less than the average hourly cost of going out to dinner and having wine. In fact, in modern societies, games are often the least expensive option for entertainment available.

As to why games are expensive in Australia - prices are set when a new generation of consoles are released. That is, the Australia price was set in 2005 with the exchange rate of the time and the price hasn't changed. The price hasn't changed because consumers are still buying games. The reason consumers are still buying games are that games aren't actually that expensive.

Games do cost too much - but that doesn't mean they are expensive. These are two separate concepts. Games cost too much because game companies are not managing to maximize profits on the games they make. There is almost certainly a lower price point at which game companies would make more money but they haven't found it yet.

In short, games are not expensive. Games do cost too much. Australia is being ripped off in the meantime.

 

[Metalrocks]

yes, you really pay way to much for a game down there. importing games from the US (ebay), including shipping, was way cheaper then getting it at a store.

when i asked a shop once why the prices of games are so damn high, some have told me because of the included taxes and that the shipping costs a lot. i can understand that a bit since australia is at the end of world but its still insulting why you have to pay so much for a game wile others pay less. even on steam you pay 50-60 USD.
maybe things will change once i get back to australia in october.

 

[Evil Smurf]

On behalf of my colleagues in Australia:

"It's about bloody time, ya wankers!"

There, did I say that right?

Yep. Now drink this VB and shear a sheep. *checks you have done that* You are now an Australian citizen! Congratulations!

What's a VB? For that matter, what's a sheep? I live on the East Coast in a suburb, I know OF barnyard animals, but I've never actually been physically near one. Except maybe on some grade-school field trips.

This is a VB!
http://www.annandalecellars.com.au/SiteFiles/annandalecellarscomau/images/large_7854_VB%20Stubbies.jpg

 

[Necabo]

compared to the EURO they pay less more than comparing it to the USD

100 AUD = 77 EUR = 97 USD

max payne in europe = 60 EUR (77 AUD = 75 USD)
http://www.bol.com/nl/p/max-payne-3/1004004006590805/

considering I can occasionally buy new games with a student income and living (meaning almost zero), It may seem there is just a little margin there which may be bound to their minimum wage, which is not that weird (considering their minimum wage is about 1,4 times higher than here). And living here is not cheap either.

 

[ACman]

Australian salaries are much higher and the conversion rates, they are actually paying less than any place in the world. $1AU is not equal to $1US. Even their minimum wage is like $18AU/hr

I am so sick of that line of reasoning. The claim that minimum wage is somehow a reflection of purchasing power is ridiculous.

The AUD is currently worth 0.9724 USD. There is no significant freight or conversion costs for releasing a piece of software. The only reason for software to cost 50-100% more in Australia is publishers agreeing to take profit windfalls from the drop of the American dollar rather than to act competitively.

No they do it because you all act like good little bitches who will still buy them you just dont have the control to not buy them stop buying and this will stop!

I was pointing out how this situation came to pass not the solution

Regardless that's not how the Consumer/Publisher Relationship should (Nor can) work. How many "boycotts" have you seen in this industry that get called and immediately fall over because people cave. Boycotts don't work.

Publishers should instead realize that they will SELL MORE at lower prices and since the marginal cost of producing another software unit is zero

Currently the publishers can set prices in Australia. THIS IS PRICE FIXING. And there are laws against it. It was solved in the Book industry by allowing parallel importing. I take heart that this committee might result in a similar situation for games.

 

[andrew201292]

Australian salaries are much higher and the conversion rates, they are actually paying less than any place in the world. $1AU is not equal to $1US. Even their minimum wage is like $18AU/hr

"Minimum wage $18/hr" Haha You're funny.
And our dollar was stronger then the US (Im not sure how it is now) but when it was stronger if something was $60US on steam it should have been less than $60AU.

 

[valkeminator]

About time they thought of this... I'm getting tired of us being ripped off. I remember the day when prices on Steam suddenly inflated.

Inflation on brick and mortar store price makes sense, as you have import tax, distribution fee and so forth... but inflating the price on Digital distributors like Steam ?? NO! I say NO!

I thought Digital Distribution was meant to be the solution for that.

Sure Aussies may earn more wage, but keep in mind we still have a relatively higher living cost. I don't see why it has to be Video Games or electronics to be given the unfair treatment compared to other luxury goods.

 

[Zeriah]

Having a high dollar is quite bad for a country. In order for the economy to function normally when dealing with a high dollar you must be able to import things for a much lower price than you would with a low dollar. This is because when exporting products with a high dollar, you have to sell things a lot cheaper internationally than you would with a low dollar.

For example if we ship off some wool to the US for US$50 when our dollar was 0.5 to your 1, we have essentially made $100 AUD. When our dollar is 1-1 or higher we have made only $50 (reverse this when importing). Obviously this is quite bad for businesses that rely on exportation. The upside to this is we can import goods a lot more cheaply. It is a balance that has to be maintained, otherwise it can have a negative effect on the economy. This is why China, the biggest exporter in the world, refuses to list their currency and instead keeps it low because it is much better for internal growth.

Also the people linking the higher minimum wage are clueless. We are much more of a socialist country than the US, our minimum wage is quite high because we look after the bottom class a lot more than you do in the US. The average wage is a lot closer than the minimum wage is (though still higher) to the US. We pay FAR more in taxes, the median price of a house in Sydney is $577,000 (this is not just the inner city, it also includes the huge urban sprawl which goes out like 50km), the cost of living in Australia is one of the highest places in the world (5th actually, the US isn't even in the top 25). We are not a comfortable nation compared to the US, especially for new home buyers or people who rent.

We don't pay as much in comparison to the US for any other products except software, books and electronics (though they are still higher than what you pay in the US). If we go off of how much we should be paying for games depending on cost of living and average wage, we should be paying around $70-75 for new release games. However even that is stupid, as this will negatively affect the economy (since we will be making less than we would in exports, while paying the same in imports).