Europe is second class to the gaming industry.

[Pyro Paul]

I thought it was a nice gesture by Maxis to release Spore 3 days earlier in Australia than America.

Sep 4th in AUS, sep 5th in EU, then sep 7th in US? that is just a tad bit backwords

definatly a ballsy move on EA's part...

maybe because the US consumer base has been increasingly annoyed by the fact that EA game releases are incredably rough and buggy needing to be patched days after its release... in which AUS and EU are effectively being Open beta testers... i wouldn't put such a tactic past EA.

 

[Spartan Bannana]

Quit your bitching, Australia is way worse than Europe in terms of games, in Australia games are usually way more expensive and come out months later in my country of America

 

[Theo Samaritan]

Anyway, a lot of the delays have too do with legal checks and media complaints. In the US we have freedom of speech which means no game can be banned here unless it is proven too directly cause harm too someone or some people, since it's viewed as an art form.

With all due respect to yourself and your country, the idea that anyone in any place in any country has freedom of speech is the most bullshit ideal I have ever heard. And no I don't care what the constitution says, it seems to be amended every week anyway.

While I dislike how us her ein Europe have to pay more than Americans for our games (don't get me wrong I really do pity australia) with the world being as it is at the moment when it comes to buying and downloading, most sites/outfits work in dollars anyway so as a PC gamer I am not effected as much.

As for prices, new games in the states are what $70? If so thats already $30 less than we pay in europe, and I ahve a feeling you pay less. The fact the Pound and Euro are stronger than the Dollar means we should be paying on equal, just with smaller numbers rather than whatever justifies these companies actions with pricing.

Like I said I pity Austrailia.

 

[Joeshie]

With all due respect to yourself and your country, the idea that anyone in any place in any country has freedom of speech is the most bullshit ideal I have ever heard. And no I don't care what the constitution says, it seems to be amended every week anyway.

With all due respect to yourself and your country, you sound really butthurt and jealous. Unlike in many parts of Europe and Australia, we don't ban games because we see them as freedom of speech, which is why they cannot be banned from sale. If there is one good thing about the USA government, it's that our courts generally keep shit from getting out of hand.

Also, the last time our constitution was amended was in 1992 and the time prior to that, in 1971. Kind of puts a kink in your whole "amended every week" argument, doesn't it?

 

[slyder35]

It's not all bad - Spore has been out in Aus since Wed 3rd Sept, earlier than the USA. The Witcher also came out a few days earlier. Just 2 examples, I'm sure there's more.

In the end, you'll get over having to wait an extra 48 hours for your LUXURY gaming habit that has no actual impact on solving the problems of the world.

 

[silentsentinel]

With all due respect to yourself and your country, the idea that anyone in any place in any country has freedom of speech is the most bullshit ideal I have ever heard. And no I don't care what the constitution says, it seems to be amended every week anyway.

With all due respect to yourself and your country, you sound really butthurt and jealous. Unlike in many parts of Europe and Australia, we don't ban games because we see them as freedom of speech, which is why they cannot be banned from sale. If there is one good thing about the USA government, it's that our courts generally keep shit from getting out of hand.

Also, the last time our constitution was amended was in 1992 and the time prior to that, in 1971. Kind of puts a kink in your whole "amended every week" argument, doesn't it?

Generally is a key word. They were seriously trying to ban rock music back in the day. They got quite close to succeeding. I sometimes like to think we're a little more enlightened nowadays, but then the little nagging voice in my head beats me with a hammer and says humanity is doomed. There are still a few politicians who don't think videogames count as freedom of speech. And a few politicians can do a lot.

Whatev. Give it a few more years, and I think video games will be cemented in common culture. Then the politicians will go back to doing useful things. Like asking large grants of money used to build useless projects and taking bribes.

I hate governments of any kind.

 

[shatnershaman]

With all due respect to yourself and your country, the idea that anyone in any place in any country has freedom of speech is the most bullshit ideal I have ever heard. And no I don't care what the constitution says, it seems to be amended every week anyway.

With all due respect to yourself and your country, you sound really butthurt and jealous. Unlike in many parts of Europe and Australia, we don't ban games because we see them as freedom of speech, which is why they cannot be banned from sale. If there is one good thing about the USA government, it's that our courts generally keep shit from getting out of hand.

Also, the last time our constitution was amended was in 1992 and the time prior to that, in 1971. Kind of puts a kink in your whole "amended every week" argument, doesn't it?

Well there is the Scopes Trail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_Trial .

 

[Treblaine]

Well Britain pays more than America for everything from cars, to PCs, to songs, to DVD's to internet access, it is a universal fact that we have to pay more than America for the same services yet we have a slightly lower average income and even lower amount of disposable income.

I have heard many excuses but the big reasons could be that America is a much larger single market and most of the things you are buying are either designed or built in America or compared to another American products to set the price. But for a more substantial answer I asked my Austrian friend who was doing a PHD in business economics and banking and he said it did not make any sense to him how the British economy can function with such a high cost of living (that's essentials and "luxury" items like games/consoles) yet people are not earning enough to justify these high prices.

He says it's not so bad within the Euro but he doesn't know about gaming on mainland Europe. Ultimately, he avoids buying anything in Britain and goes home at every opportunity to buy high value goods.

 

[Treblaine]

With all due respect to yourself and your country, the idea that anyone in any place in any country has freedom of speech is the most bullshit ideal I have ever heard. And no I don't care what the constitution says, it seems to be amended every week anyway.

With all due respect to yourself and your country, you sound really butthurt and jealous. Unlike in many parts of Europe and Australia, we don't ban games because we see them as freedom of speech, which is why they cannot be banned from sale. If there is one good thing about the USA government, it's that our courts generally keep shit from getting out of hand.

Also, the last time our constitution was amended was in 1992 and the time prior to that, in 1971. Kind of puts a kink in your whole "amended every week" argument, doesn't it?

Generally is a key word. They were seriously trying to ban rock music back in the day. They got quite close to succeeding. I sometimes like to think we're a little more enlightened nowadays, but then the little nagging voice in my head beats me with a hammer and says humanity is doomed. There are still a few politicians who don't think videogames count as freedom of speech. And a few politicians can do a lot.

Whatev. Give it a few more years, and I think video games will be cemented in common culture. Then the politicians will go back to doing useful things. Like asking large grants of money used to build useless projects and taking bribes.

I hate governments of any kind.

There is a reason why they couldn't ban it, it's called the bill of rights, something the UK is severely lacking. I get so disheartened when I hear Europeans criticise America for not being free enough as their own governments pass 42 day detentions, allow government censorship of the media and are happy to hand over details to the authorities only for them to abuse them and lose them (into the hands of criminals) as well as restrict and control every tiny aspect of their lives. The idea that "we don't need a constitution, our society is good enough to prevent injustice" well that just doesn't wash with me, not at all.

 

[Treblaine]

With all due respect to yourself and your country, the idea that anyone in any place in any country has freedom of speech is the most bullshit ideal I have ever heard. And no I don't care what the constitution says, it seems to be amended every week anyway.

the devil is in the detail, you can say what you like as long as what you are saying does not directly initiate a crime like a mob boss ordering a hit, just used his speech but he is not free to bring about someone unlawful death, that is covered under murder. Same goes for threats and other crimes that can be committed verbally. But absolute freedom of expression and exchanging of information is a vital right that must be enshrined and protected rather than cast aside for pedantic practical reasons. It is important for the good of society, and important for the individual to not feel the heavy hand of government on their shoulder every time they open their mouth.

 

[Liatach]

I thought it was a nice gesture by Maxis to release Spore 3 days earlier in Australia than America.

The price difference on the other hand, was not so nice at all. $49.95 @EA Us
$74.95 @ cheap games australia

 

[Tomdoodle]

It's not that bad, usually it's only a couple of days wait. And it works both ways. This month we got Spore 2 days earlier, and Mirror's Edge isn't being released for a good couple of months in America.

Getting Fable 2 later is a kick in the nuts, but it's not the end of the world. It's not about to change either, it's not really worth complaining about.

 

[Bakery]

It's as follows.

Japan
U.S
Canada
Europe
Pluto
The forgotten places under the earth where the ancient ones dwell
Australia

Everything this guy says is genius.

Also dont forget that Rock Band has been out in the US for NEARLY A YEAR and we are yet to see it over our golden, sunny, babe covered, shores.

Im pretty sure that RB2 comes out in the US before we get RB1...

Sorry for the major whinge-fest there. :-\

 

[Logan Westbrook]

Just to play devil's advocate for a second, Ubisoft have recently made a statement that Europe was more important than the US.

Look, a link [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.69899] and everything!

 

[Jaythulhu]

A lot of Australia's bias against video games is directly due to the fact our governemt has people over the age of 50 (pre-video game era) deciding what we can play. Until aussie gamers unite as one and demand a better ratings system, we're always going to be behind the times and suffering from stupidly edited gameplay.

 

[poleboy]

It used to be a lot worse, trust me. Half my SNES games are imported because Europeans in the 90's were apparently allergic to RPG's. Even the ones Americans liked. I even had to get an NTSC machine to play them because the adapters were pretty unreliable.
Europeans (and Australians, apparently?) only get shafted with Japanese games these days, they're always released here last. American games we get the same day as everyone else.

 

[Asparagus Brown]

I think one of the reasons games are released later in Europe is to do with the different translations they need to do to cater for all the different languages. Unless they're all just released as English-speaking versions (they might be, I'm not sure, I don't live there), so they have to take the extra time to change some of the language content.

Obviously, I don't know this, but it's something to think about, and kindly disregard this comment if there's no base to my argument.

 

[runtheplacered]

Spore came out first in Australia. Then Europe, then America.

I have no idea why, or if it's even relevant. Just an observation

 

[smallharmlesskitten]

hell... new zealand in last class....

$70 NZ for Shinobido!!!? that's like five years old!!!