Australia Asks About High Game Prices

[Eclectic Dreck]

Yet another issue of economics I don't understand. If I accept various positions put forth in this thread, then most if not all products and services in Australia are more expensive as a result of (at least in part) high minimum wage. As such, if this position is true, then it means the actual buying power of the Australian Dollar is significantly lower than that of the USD. Which means the fact that the two are very nearly equal is a point that is entirely confusing given the currency itself is of no value and simply represents a quanta of goods and services. Since the AUS Dollar purchases fewer of these on average, the fact that it is considered equal to the USD seems entirely arbitrary.

 

[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

That's a bottle of Jarate. Not to be consumed under any circumstances.

That's is why I stay away from that beer. I have James Boags Premium larger instead

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

Australia: "Why do our games cost so much?"

Game Industry: "Reasons."

Australia: "What reasons?"

Game industry: "...Shit."

 

[Alleged_Alec]

To the people saying that it's normal that Australia pays more, because they minimum wage is higher: that's just bullshit. Australia has a minimum (gross) yearly wage of around 20K. We here in the Netherlands have one of 23K, and we "only" pay 75 dollars for our games.
Apart from that: Australia has a lower purchase power per capita than the USA, which makes the argument from "well, they get paid more" even more stupid.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

First off can people in general stop using the minimum wage argument as it is really poor and not economically sound. If you want to talk about the relative wealth at a country you need to look at other factors like GDP per capita. Minimum wage is not an effective measure of standard of living.

I also seen another person saying boycotts don't work I can't remember who it is but just to say boycotts do work when people actually boycott. The problem is most people forget the not buy part of a boycott or just lack the numbers that does not mean a boycott doesn't work.

Now since we like our dodgy analogies on the Escapist I'll give another. Just because you lack the right mass of the necessary isotope of Uranium to make a sustainable fission reaction does not mean it is impossible to have a sustainable fissile reaction. You just need critical mass. Unfortunately, most gamers like in real life are 238s rather than 235s.

OT: Anyway it is good that they are finally doing something about the prices if they really are that far removed in relation to the standard of living in a country.

 

[Vinculi]

While we're at it, can we lower book prices in Canada too?

Don't even get me started on book prices here (Aus, that is).

Former EB Games (that's gamestop to you lot) employee about to divulge some info here, y'all.

All right, here we go again with this whole bitchfest.

EB Games (famous for its high prices) charges at the retail price recommended by the publisher, and only makes a profit margin of around 7-10% on a new game sale, meaning that the massive profit margin on australian game sales is going to the publisher (Kmart, for example, almost always sells under cost, for example). This is why many places, EB in particular, push for pre-owned sales, where the profit margin is much greater, often around 50%. For comparison, I've also worked in hospitality for around six years, and the MINIMUM mark up in hospitality on food is 400%, below that, and it is generally accepted that a business cannot make profit.

I can't speak for independent stores that manage to charge lower prices than RRP (it may be that publishers arrange higher buy-prices for larger retailers, knowing that more stock will move, I really don't know), but at EB I had access to profit margins in new and pre-owned stock for the store, as well as a whole load of other stuff that isn't all that relevant to this discussion (like the 2% profit margin on game consoles for EB) so I can tell you, Eb makes very little selling you Black Ops at $120, the problem, is, where does the money go?

Even on digital platforms such as Steam, the prices we get are much the same as at retail. Big releases such as CoDs come out on steam at $99.95 on steam, and that charge in USD, for some reason, so we get charged in US currency, but sometimes at as much as double US prices. Even what-was-once impulse is going that way, its reasonable prices but pitiful region distribution rights have been replaced with worldwide distribution at prices specially designed to avoid undercutting retail prices now that its owned by Gamestop.

And foreigners need to understand that living in Australia is expensive. My two bedroom house in the inner suburbs is leased at $600 a week, and my boss certainly felt it was fair to put me on $13.50 an hour.

Food costs a shiteload, petrol costs a shiteload, a book generally sets me back $30+, games cost a shitload. The reason we get so up about games is because no one seems capable of providing us with a reasonable explanation as to why a game costs more here EVEN on a digital platform, where you can't pull the "shipping" excuse on us.

Sorry about the wall of text, there, I wont hate you for not reading all of it.

 

[ElPatron]

While they are at it someone in Europe explain why 60 bucks games are 70?.

I'm tired of importing games, it's almost prohibitive to own a console if you want a cheap gaming system.

You only have to put with what you're willing to except. You don't want publishers boning you Australia? DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Did you miss the part in the article where it said the government was holding an inquiry?

Would you compliment their timing?

Games are expensive to buy because they are expensive to make

So why do some people pay $50 for them, while others have to pay $100?

But I agree, I am tired of games needing +50 million dollar budgets.

 

[Matty819]

You guys are missing the point.
This "inquiry" isn't for us Australians to get a better "deal". The inquiry is here because NO ONE is buying from retailers in Australia. And why would they when they can get the same product online, for half the price and you don't even have to leave the house to get it?

Australians do pay more for games if you buy them at a local bricks and mortar store but the majority don't do that. And that's just for a physical copy, we won't get into cd key sales.



ps. mfw you guys compare our minimum wage to your own, and then realise we still pay the same price for games.

 

[emmettr3]

Gamers do. It's called piracy.
Shockingly, publishers don't like it. But there isn't another option, beyond 'not playing games'.

 

[Excludos]

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.

Minimum wage in Norway is about equal to $18 (I don't remember exactly, and most, even extra workers, earn way more than that anyways), and we only pay 60usd for a hardcopy of a new game in stores. (which is why it was cheaper for me to go to the store and buy a hardcopy of D3 instead of paying 60 euros on the net..which is retarded to say the least).

Its not as easy as to just say "they earn more so they can pay more!". Thats not how economics works (with the exception of natural inflation, obviously). Its rather "they earn more so they can buy additional games", or "They earn more so additional people can afford them".

 

[Nouw]

Solution: Use NZ/Ozgameshop.

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.

I suppose we could negotiate a 'Middle Earth' tax .

 

[cieply]

Games are expensive to buy because they are expensive to make, simple as. Stop having games cost so fucking much to make (i.e. reduce the man-hours required just to make a single goddamed room), and you will get your cheaper games.

How dense you have to be to miss the point so hard? It's not about games being too expensive, it's about how one country is arbitrarely being charged more than another even though production cost and distribution cost (digital) are exactly the same as in other parts of the world. It's the same with steam and its policy of one euro= one dollar, which makes games in Europe about 20% more expensive to buy. Irony of this is that the richest country in the world gets better prices than, lets say, Poland, where people earn around 300-400$ a month. Now, they have to pay for their games even more than USA... And people are wondering why in some places piracy is so rampant.

This is just blantant unfairness, you charge some people more because you can get away with it. I'm glad finally someone fights back.

 

[Wicky_42]

A single currency for the globe would make life so much easier...

That just stuck out a bit - I guess you've not been following the news in Europe, but it turns out that single currencies can actually be quite problematic if governments aren't honest about their financial system and have vulnerable economies...

 

[ACman]

I may be wrong in this but: I thought that Australian businesses paid high import tariffs for games and gaming hardware. So, of course, selling the physical product is expensive. So why is the digital just as expensive? If they are selling physical versions of games while simultaneously selling digital versions of games, they can't have the price be different. So, it stands to reason (in so far as I am not wrong about my very first point) that in order to sell digital games for cheaper, they must also lower import tariffs on physical copies of games. Which means that games won't get cheaper since governments aren't going to deny themselves the money of a high tariff item. I also seem to recall some argument recently that it's because the price is in US Dollars and not localized like it is in other countries, but at the typing of this comment the exchange rate was 1:1.0284. So that excuse clearly doesn't fly anymore.

If I am wrong, then by all means, correct me.

Import tariff in Australia is generally about 5% but it is zero for software, electronics and video-games "of a kind to be used with a television receiver" (As distinct from arcade games and gambling machines.)

We also have a free trade agreement with the US thus anything from the US apart from alcohol tobacco and firearms has no tariff placed on it.

 

[FoolKiller]

I think Extra Credits came up with a good idea about this. They said in one of their videos, a mailbag episode, forget which one, that the most likely reason was that there was a time when the Dollar to the Australian Dollar was unfavourable, so the price of Australian games had to be put up, and when it reached a better climate, publishers noticed people were still buying games at inflated prices there, so they just rolled with it.

It's honestly a reason I can believe, even if it paints a really negative image on publishers.

But really, they should have equal prices to the rest of us. So should Britain, for that matter, so Activision, don't you dare have the audacity to raise the price for the next Call of Duty because you felt like it again. I will slap you Kotick, with a hard leather glove, and you will have a red cheek and your stockholders will laugh.

Calumon: And you'll look silly! >: (

Sorry, but that may have been the issue at one point, but it's not the whole story. It's actually the economics of the thing at this point.

1. The US dollar is almost identical in value to the Australian dollar
2. Australian minimum wage is $15.51. US average is around $7.25

Let's take Black Ops $60 in the US and $110 down under as an example.

$110 divided by $15.51 is approximately 7.1 hours of work to purchase.
(I'm not including sales taxes as those have nothing to do with this discussion)

$60 divided by $7.25 is nearly 8.3 hours of work to purchase.

So in effect, a game is actually more expensive in the US than it is in Australia.

I just hate to see the bad math that politicians take part in.

 

[Baresark]

I may be wrong in this but: I thought that Australian businesses paid high import tariffs for games and gaming hardware. So, of course, selling the physical product is expensive. So why is the digital just as expensive? If they are selling physical versions of games while simultaneously selling digital versions of games, they can't have the price be different. So, it stands to reason (in so far as I am not wrong about my very first point) that in order to sell digital games for cheaper, they must also lower import tariffs on physical copies of games. Which means that games won't get cheaper since governments aren't going to deny themselves the money of a high tariff item. I also seem to recall some argument recently that it's because the price is in US Dollars and not localized like it is in other countries, but at the typing of this comment the exchange rate was 1:1.0284. So that excuse clearly doesn't fly anymore.

If I am wrong, then by all means, correct me.

Import tariff in Australia is generally about 5% but it is zero for software, electronics and video-games "of a kind to be used with a television receiver" (As distinct from arcade games and gambling machines.)

We also have a free trade agreement with the US thus anything from the US apart from alcohol tobacco and firearms has no tariff placed on it.

I do stand corrected, thanks for the info. I would say it's about time companies stopped gouging our Australian gaming brothers and sisters then.

 

[Epona]

On behalf of my colleagues in Australia:

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

There, did I say that right?

Yup.

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

But when a gov makes the minimal wage twice what 'others' pay out, then see products being sold for twice what 'others' pay for...

Er, uhm... Never mind. I've bitched the same song often enough.

EDIT: *smiles at the above post ; )

both of these

yes, everything might be expensive in australia, but so is it over here, gaming is no different from any other market. seriously, try surviving on 8$/hr while scrounging for solid hours at a job, it won't get you many video games after taxes and other bills kick in, i promise you that.

Thank you for saying that. I get so annoyed when they're like "YOU GET PAID MORE SO IT'S OK TAHT EVERYTHING IS MORE EXPENSIVE"

When you get paid less than double what I would if I had a minimal wage job, I would care. When products cost you more than double what they do here, I might care...

But you, and they, don't.

It's sad really. How can you explain feeling sorry for yourselves like this?

It's so annoying when people continue to ignore that.

Australia's minimum wage is $15.51 per hour, or ONE DAYS WORTH OF WORK AT MINIMUM WAGE FOR A BRAND NEW AAA VIDEO GAME!!!!

Bloddy wankers like to think it's different on the other side of the pond, well.... IT BLODDY WELL ISN"T!

It's about double the pay, and double the price for everything. STFU already, same boat doods.

This!

Min wage is TWICE as much as it is here and so Australians should be paying twice as much as we do here, they aren't so they should stop whining!

They say the cost of living is higher, well of course it is, that goes hand in hand with the min wage and that is why games are also higher.

I do hope their prices get lowered though, so they will finally STFU!

 

[Alleged_Alec]

On behalf of my colleagues in Australia:

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

There, did I say that right?

Yup.

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

But when a gov makes the minimal wage twice what 'others' pay out, then see products being sold for twice what 'others' pay for...

Er, uhm... Never mind. I've bitched the same song often enough.

EDIT: *smiles at the above post ; )

both of these

yes, everything might be expensive in australia, but so is it over here, gaming is no different from any other market. seriously, try surviving on 8$/hr while scrounging for solid hours at a job, it won't get you many video games after taxes and other bills kick in, i promise you that.

Thank you for saying that. I get so annoyed when they're like "YOU GET PAID MORE SO IT'S OK TAHT EVERYTHING IS MORE EXPENSIVE"

When you get paid less than double what I would if I had a minimal wage job, I would care. When products cost you more than double what they do here, I might care...

But you, and they, don't.

It's sad really. How can you explain feeling sorry for yourselves like this?

It's so annoying when people continue to ignore that.

Australia's minimum wage is $15.51 per hour, or ONE DAYS WORTH OF WORK AT MINIMUM WAGE FOR A BRAND NEW AAA VIDEO GAME!!!!

Bloddy wankers like to think it's different on the other side of the pond, well.... IT BLODDY WELL ISN"T!

It's about double the pay, and double the price for everything. STFU already, same boat doods.

This!

Min wage is TWICE as much as it is here and so Australians should be paying twice as much as we do here, they aren't so they should stop whining!

They say the cost of living is higher, well of course it is, that goes hand in hand with the min wage and that is why games are also higher.

I do hope their prices get lowered though, so they will finally STFU!

I'll repeat myself: Australians do not have a higher gross yearly wage than most European countries (for example: Australia: min yearly wage: 20K, Netherlands: 23K, both in dollars). And even more important: they have a lower purchase power per capita. This kind of makes the whole "HERPDERP, THEY GET MORE PER HOUR, SO THEY MUST PAY MORE" argument moot.

 

[Epona]

On behalf of my colleagues in Australia:

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

There, did I say that right?

Yup.

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

But when a gov makes the minimal wage twice what 'others' pay out, then see products being sold for twice what 'others' pay for...

Er, uhm... Never mind. I've bitched the same song often enough.

EDIT: *smiles at the above post ; )

both of these

yes, everything might be expensive in australia, but so is it over here, gaming is no different from any other market. seriously, try surviving on 8$/hr while scrounging for solid hours at a job, it won't get you many video games after taxes and other bills kick in, i promise you that.

Thank you for saying that. I get so annoyed when they're like "YOU GET PAID MORE SO IT'S OK TAHT EVERYTHING IS MORE EXPENSIVE"

When you get paid less than double what I would if I had a minimal wage job, I would care. When products cost you more than double what they do here, I might care...

But you, and they, don't.

It's sad really. How can you explain feeling sorry for yourselves like this?

It's so annoying when people continue to ignore that.

Australia's minimum wage is $15.51 per hour, or ONE DAYS WORTH OF WORK AT MINIMUM WAGE FOR A BRAND NEW AAA VIDEO GAME!!!!

Bloddy wankers like to think it's different on the other side of the pond, well.... IT BLODDY WELL ISN"T!

It's about double the pay, and double the price for everything. STFU already, same boat doods.

This!

Min wage is TWICE as much as it is here and so Australians should be paying twice as much as we do here, they aren't so they should stop whining!

They say the cost of living is higher, well of course it is, that goes hand in hand with the min wage and that is why games are also higher.

I do hope their prices get lowered though, so they will finally STFU!

I'll repeat myself: Australians do not have a higher gross yearly wage than most European countries (for example: Australia: min yearly wage: 20K, Netherlands: 23K, both in dollars). And even more important: they have a lower purchase power per capita. This kind of makes the whole "HERPDERP, THEY GET MORE PER HOUR, SO THEY MUST PAY MORE" argument moot.

If you make $15.51 an hour, minimum and you only make 20k that comes out to only working 24 hours a week. Here in the US we work almost twice that.

Also, your numbers are off:

http://www.livingin-australia.com/salaries-australia/

Full-time earnings in Australia averaged A$68,791 a year in the third quarter of 2011.

Maybe you could show me where you got your $20,000 number from because it seems way off.