Game Prices

[TAdamson]

Is this justifiable?

Dishonored:

$ 79.99AU
$ 59.99US - $ 59.99AU (-25.00%)
£ 29.99UK - $ 48.02AU (-39.97%)

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

$ 69.99AU
$ 49.99US
£ 29.99UK


But if I order from a UK retailer for example The Hut

Dishonored - £34.99 + 0.99 postage World Wide ~ $54 AU or US
XCOM - £29.95 + 0.99 postage World Wide ~ $46.5 AU or US

 

[sanquin]

It's not justifiable. Really it isn't. Blame the Australian government for putting outrageous taxes on games like that.

 

[krazykidd]

Who cares . Either you have the money to enjoy you hobby or it's time to find a new hobby . Seriously , it's as if gaming is the only hobby poor people have . I can't afford to travel ever few months but you don't see me complaining . I do something i can afford , or make more money .

 

[SajuukKhar]

Australia sucks like that, really it does, hopefully they get their shit together regarding game prices, it really isn't fair.

 

[TehCookie]

Sometimes I wish I could figure out how much a person in each country makes and the cost of living to see if other countries are paying more or if it's actually more equal from a broader look.

 

[Joccaren]

Who cares . Either you have the money to enjoy you hobby or it's time to find a new hobby . Seriously , it's as if gaming is the only hobby poor people have . I can't afford to travel ever few months but you don't see me complaining . I do something i can afford , or make more money .

In general us Australians who have previously paid almost twice the price, and still pay around 33% more per game than other civilized nations, both in box and digital, in our retail stores, whilst we can order it in from overseas for maybe $1 on top of what they're paying for it.
Its one thing to have money, its another to be blatantly ripped off for no reason. No one's complaining that games are too expensive, just that its pathetic how much extra they cost in Australia compared to the rest of the world, unless you get the rest of the world to send it to you and wait a week or two for postage.

 

[Sangnz]

Same problem exists on the digital distro channels like steam which are exempt from these import taxes.
But the publishers claim they bump their DD prices so as not to undercut the poor brick & mortar stores, which is total BS.
It honestly brings up the question why bother with DD when I can import a physical copy way cheaper and just need to wait a couple of weeks.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

Who cares . Either you have the money to enjoy you hobby or it's time to find a new hobby . Seriously , it's as if gaming is the only hobby poor people have . I can't afford to travel ever few months but you don't see me complaining . I do something i can afford , or make more money .

You do't see why having to pay at least 33% more every time for no reason is annoying? Whether you can afford it or not, it shouldn't happen and is definitely worth getting pissed off about. Things are sometimes double the price, if you've built up a large collection the higher price really starts to add up. Your analogy of travelling doesn't make much sense, because I doubt that planes where you live cost 2 times more for no reason.

Why wouldn't we be pissed off, there is literally no reason we have should have to pay more. If there was actually a cost involved in getting the copies here then yeah, I get it, but digital prices are way more expensive without reason.

 

[krazykidd]

Who cares . Either you have the money to enjoy you hobby or it's time to find a new hobby . Seriously , it's as if gaming is the only hobby poor people have . I can't afford to travel ever few months but you don't see me complaining . I do something i can afford , or make more money .

You do't see why having to pay at least 33% more every time for no reason is annoying? Whether you can afford it or not, it shouldn't happen and is definitely worth getting pissed off about. Things are sometimes double the price, if you've built up a large collection the higher price really starts to add up. Your analogy of travelling doesn't make much sense, because I doubt that planes where you live cost 2 times more for no reason.

Why wouldn't we be pissed off, there is literally no reason we have should have to pay more. If there was actually a cost involved in getting the copies here then yeah, I get it, but digital prices are way more expensive without reason.

My metaphore was to point out that because i can't afford to travel as a hobby , i don't do it,thus i participate in i another hobby ( gaming ) which i can afford . I don't complain that plane tickets are to high for me to travel as much as i would like to.

Seriously you didn't get that ?

 

[ResonanceSD]

Is this justifiable?

Dishonored:

$ 79.99AU
$ 59.99US - $ 59.99AU (-25.00%)
£ 29.99UK - $ 48.02AU (-39.97%)

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

$ 69.99AU
$ 49.99US
£ 29.99UK

I use Ozgameshop (www.ozgameshop.com)


XCOM - $45.99

Dishonored - $43 (or something)

They're based in Britain, and they're specifically set up for Aussies who refuse to pay Australian prices.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

Who cares . Either you have the money to enjoy you hobby or it's time to find a new hobby . Seriously , it's as if gaming is the only hobby poor people have . I can't afford to travel ever few months but you don't see me complaining . I do something i can afford , or make more money .

You do't see why having to pay at least 33% more every time for no reason is annoying? Whether you can afford it or not, it shouldn't happen and is definitely worth getting pissed off about. Things are sometimes double the price, if you've built up a large collection the higher price really starts to add up. Your analogy of travelling doesn't make much sense, because I doubt that planes where you live cost 2 times more for no reason.

Why wouldn't we be pissed off, there is literally no reason we have should have to pay more. If there was actually a cost involved in getting the copies here then yeah, I get it, but digital prices are way more expensive without reason.

My metaphore was to point out that because i can't afford to travel as a hobby , i don't do it,thus i participate in i another hobby ( gaming ) which i can afford . I don't complain that plane tickets are to high for me to travel as much as i would like to.

Seriously you didn't get that ?

No, I did. It just doesn't make sense. Sure people who can't afford Australian prices can just find another hobby, but there's no reason they should have to? The hobby should be a lot cheaper than it is. It makes no sense that someone in Australia, who should be able to afford games if they were the right price, has to be forced away because a AAA can still cost 110$ 4 months after release. Why can't we get annoyed that we have to chose a different hobby just because our country hikes up the price for no reason?

"I don't complain that plane tickets are to high for me to travel as much as i would like to." But the problem is for a lot of people it would be affordable, if Australian prices weren't as bad as they are. This argument makes sense if people wouldn't be able to afford regular prices anyway, but that's not the case for a lot of people. I've passed up plenty of games that I would have bought at normal price, but since I'm Australian I'd have to pay double that.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Sometimes I wish I could figure out how much a person in each country makes and the cost of living to see if other countries are paying more or if it's actually more equal a broader look.

This is true... and that is why games are region locked... I found this first had on a visit to Poland... and I was really naiive.

Basically I was taken to a pub with some locals, and we were drinking and chatting. I was amazed at how cheap the drinks were... seriously, the drinks were half the UK prices!
When I mentioned this to my host he then had to explain that they were only half the price to me... he then pointed out that for the same jobs in Poland, they earn half of what we would in the UK... so to them, the beer is the same price...

I felt so gorram stupid! :/ Although I had never taken any time of economics class, and had never had it explained.

But yes... this is why games will appear more expensive or cheaper in different countries! When I worked with Austrailians for 6 months we compared pay, rank to rank, and all the Australian ranks earned loads more that we did... for someone in the UK who earned £29,000 someone in Austrailia at the same rank (and in the same job) earned about $80,000AU...

 

[Sexy Devil]

You know, what's really weird is that Dishonored is going for like $80 on Steam, but you can get it for $70 on PC in stores. Makes absolutely no sense, but at least it supports my pedantic desire to own boxed copies of everything.

 

[Crises^]

The wages are higher in Australia though. I have friends in Australia earning what I earn in a month in one week in construction.( I get 1600 month after tax btw)
So to me in the overall price of things games take a smaller cut of your wages than it does for me in Ireland.

Also games in Ireland are ?50 which is $62 Aus while cheaper than your prices but be a more costly hobby over here.

 

[Nouw]

Steam prices for new games are absolutely ridiculous in NZ as well. As Resonance said, go to ozgameshop. They're fantastic with prices, free-shipping too plus they have a points system that actually works very well.

 

[Rednog]

Yup, it is justifiable, it's basic economics and threads like this really need to end.
I honestly don't get how something like this can be explained over and over and people still don't get it.

 

[NiPah]

Who cares . Either you have the money to enjoy you hobby or it's time to find a new hobby . Seriously , it's as if gaming is the only hobby poor people have . I can't afford to travel ever few months but you don't see me complaining . I do something i can afford , or make more money .

Look at it this way, if every airline put on a "Krazykidd" tax making it so only you had to pay an additional $200.00 for every flight you wanted to take, by your logic you shouldn't complain you should just make more money. People aren't complaining that games cost money, or even that games cost a lot of money, they are complaining about the difference in comparable prices to other countries simply due to the fact that they are Australian.

Complaining is not some vice that serves no purpose other then to annoy, it's a tool used to correct injustices in this world no matter how small or seemingly irrelevant. Your answer "just make more money or enjoy a hobby that you can afford" completely misses the point and serves mainly to annoy those who read it.

 

[ScaryAlmond]

It's not justifiable. Really it isn't. Blame the Australian government for putting outrageous taxes on games like that.

No it's not the government its due to previous prices not being moderated.
Photoshop is about a $1000 extra in Australia i don't think that's taxes.
Businesses in Aus Gouge because they are able to get away with it.
It's annoying but until the goverment or Steam do something about it nothing will change

 

[BoredAussieGamer]

Yup, it is justifiable, it's basic economics and threads like this really need to end.
I honestly don't get how something like this can be explained over and over and people still don't get it.

Please explain. Explain how we're paying larger amounts then the bloody yanks despite our dollar kicking their collective ass? This stuff could atleast be handwaved when 1USD = 2AU, but now days it all seems like bullshit.

 

[fix-the-spade]

But if I order from a UK retailer for example The Hut

Yup, it's expensive in Australia.

It's not just your games either, I spent last month in Brisbane and everything is half as much extra to double the price it is in the UK. Even a meal from McDonalds costs about £11 versus £5-7 in the UK, they include drinks in the price here too. Food prices border on the absurd.

I guess you're just screwed by geography, there are no small transport costs in Aus and you're an all but captive market. Being the only native English speakers that side of the planet (Kiwis excepted).

However, before you get all uppity about it, don't forget that you get to live in Australia. Also, I noticed that trains, buses and ferries are really cheap (and clean, reliable, politely staffed) compared to here, that and the weather I could get used to.