*holds you and cries*bunji said:
We suffer together, my friend across the pond!
OT: the reason games are so expensive is because they want people to pirate them. Oh wait...
Australia Asks About High Game Prices
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
We suffer together, my friend across the pond!
OT: the reason games are so expensive is because they want people to pirate them. Oh wait...
Well, you dun messed up, buddy. First you went ahead and assumed every game should cost more because some have to be edited. Then you went on to imply lots of games are edited for Australian release, which is funny, because more games have been banned in the US than in Oz. Then you decided to be blame everyone for the actions of a few.godofallu said:
That's three aaaaaand you're out!
We pay pretty much twice as much for every game off the shelf - so by that logic both min wage workers are working 8 hours for a AAA title.Crono1973 said:
However min wage for under 18 is $6.50 an hour (or round about), so by that logic a $110-$120 new release AAA title (and that's just the standard edition) would cost 20 hours of work - which is lot around, say school.
The point isn't minimum wage though - its that those prices were set when our dollar was worth half of yours, and they have only increased the price of games since because they know they can charge twice as much here and we'll pay them.
Supply and demand is all well and good, but there are really no alternative products we can switch to since they're all around the same price.
I would assume the price differences comes from the fact when online services try to lower the prices, retail stores throw massive hissey fits and claim the online places have a unfair advantage and then try to force to online people to have the same price as retail so they dont have a "unfair advantage".
The problem IS that retail still exists and they cant stand their increasing uselessness.
Much like music publishers, they are a out-of-date system that is kicking and screaming to try to hold on to their antiquated way of existence.
The problem IS that retail still exists and they cant stand their increasing uselessness.
Much like music publishers, they are a out-of-date system that is kicking and screaming to try to hold on to their antiquated way of existence.
The hells is wrong with you? I've done work at their Castlemaine brewery, on their automation systems, I can assure you - they recycle EVERY drop of water they use, regardless of source. Doesn't take too much imagination from there to figure what gives XXXX it's, uh, 'distinctive' flavourMrStab said:
(Of course, they also brew tooheys and a few so-called imports on-site)
The last AAA title I bought new off a shelf was a Red Faction and Red Faction 2 double pack from GAME last week for $2. It was glorious, even the signage was up for sale.
The last one before that... I don't even know. I bought Settlers of Catan and an expansion with 3 friends about a month ago and that's the last time before that where I paid money for any kind of game.
There's just too much free content out there for me to just abandon my money for something to do instead of the washing on my days off. And bills. And a girlfriend.
Even when I do occasionally buy something these days, I make my dollars heard. Retailers need to abandon the local distributors immediately. If the wholesale price your middlemen offer you is the same as the retail price that your competitors are able to sell their games at with a profit, then you clearly are in business with the wrong people. If a transaction along the production to retail sale process doesn't add value, it needs stop happening.
The last one before that... I don't even know. I bought Settlers of Catan and an expansion with 3 friends about a month ago and that's the last time before that where I paid money for any kind of game.
There's just too much free content out there for me to just abandon my money for something to do instead of the washing on my days off. And bills. And a girlfriend.
Even when I do occasionally buy something these days, I make my dollars heard. Retailers need to abandon the local distributors immediately. If the wholesale price your middlemen offer you is the same as the retail price that your competitors are able to sell their games at with a profit, then you clearly are in business with the wrong people. If a transaction along the production to retail sale process doesn't add value, it needs stop happening.
What is the alternative? Should game prices be linked directly to the exchange rate? It would be ridiculous if I walked into a shop and a game cost $80 AU and the next day the Australian dollar plummets and suddenly it costs $120? Retail gives you stable prices, not good prices.
I figured anyone with any sense would just use Steam or Oz Game Shop. I stopped going to those parasitic brick and mortar stores a year ago, and I haven't looked back.
And rightly so, Australians have been getting screwed by game devs for years, It's time about they stood up and asked "What the fuck is up with these game prices?"
I'm looking forward to this one.
I'm looking forward to this one.
And Canadian booze prices too. We pay double or more than U.S. prices for no reason other than the government has a monopoly on the product (at least in Ontario).AC10 said:
That could make a certain amount of sense, but only if all games had to undergo those modifications and any that didn't were priced normally, which I gather is not the case. Also I'm pretty sure companies can't charge more for their products in a country because that country chose to not sell some of their other products...CriticKitten said: