Game Prices

[krazykidd]

See if you can do some eBay-ing, TC. Or hack your console so you can play without a regional lockout. If I was subjected to those kinds of prices, like hell I would play by their rules.

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 ?

In the beginning of 2010 I decided I wanted to get in shape. So I decided to get a gym membership and start running on the treadmill, like I've never ran before. I'd be burning upwards of 750 calories per session, and the feeling of taking a shower afterwards would be great. Until one day where I got a pain in my knees where it felt like there were 3-inch-long thumbtacks being stuck under my kneecaps. Even today whenever I jog upwards of a mile, that familiar pain returns.

So because I can't afford knee surgery what you'd basically tell me to do is... stop complaining running and accept it like a quitter because other hobbies exist? Pathetic.

First , Apples and Oranges .

Second , had you read my original post , you would have understood that the solution to that COMPLETLY UNRELATED problem would be to , a) STOP running or b) RAISE funds to be able to afford surgery .

Inability to think logicaly and transfer a proper response to different situations . Pathetic . For everything else , there's Mastercard .

 

[johnnnny guitar]

No it's not justified unfortunately the problem is nation wide across all products and of course someone will say 'oh your wages are higher' but the fact of the matter is they are higher but the insane price hike on everything negates it and makes it worse than other countries like the US

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

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

There is no tax on games apart from GST (like VAT).

Well that completely depends on how much money the average Australian makes and the cost of living as stuff like that has an effect on the price of items. I can't just go stuff is so cheap in the UK supermarkets so unfair same as UK can't really go fuel is cheap in Ireland this is unfair. Different countries have different tax levels on different stuff so if say food and fuel is cheaper in Australia(not saying it is just an example) it will affect the prices of other stuff.

This is not a tax thing. And your ruminations on how wages affect cost of living betray a severe misunderstanding of how economics works. Just because people make extra money does not mean that the price of goods goes up. This only happens if there is scarcity.

Digital goods don't suffer from scarcity.

There's also no transportation cost, no localisation cost, no extra marketing cost. With a BMW I know why it costs twice as much in Australia than in Germany, there's making it right hand drive, Australian safety standards to adhere to, and shipping.

We have a situation in Australia where the dollar doubled in value and has remained that way for years and the price of many imports has not come down. And the retailers complain that people are going to internet importers.

That is how it works. Games as a physical medium are in scare supply and as shown during a steam sale so are digital games with no enough CD codes being generated. Since you the OP was asking about retail we are not talking about digital so yes there is transport, localisation in some cases, manufacturing and marketing costs. No matter the scale they are there. I don't even know why you are bringing digital into it in this case.

Also given that VAT, DIRT, PAYE, etc all effect the cost of goods or money available to people when comparing goods in one country to another tax always come into. That is why people were in the Rep. of Ireland on the border going to shop in UK supermarkets and Northern Irish buy their fuel in the Rep. to get the lower VAT rate in the UK and the lower Excise on fuel in the Rep. It is also why a lot of companies set up in Ireland as we have a ludicrously low Corporation tax among other things. So yes tax levels are important in the price of goods.

Higher wages with a higher take home pay and a smaller tax wedge means more disposable income which means more demand which will mean an increase in prices as people are willing to pay it. That is how you get demand pull inflation if supply does not meet new demand level. Given that Australian has a higher GDP Per capita showing a higher standard of living this is likely to be the case. Given that the last time I checked Australia has a higher minimum wage and as far as I know I haven't looked into it a smaller tax wedge higher prices make sense.

Now I am not saying there aren't/are other factors and that these are the be all and end all factors affecting video game prices in Australia but these are things that do effect price of goods. It is also how it works economically.

 

[ResonanceSD]

US Minimum wage: $7.25 / hour
Australian Minimum wage: $15.96 / hour

That's all I ever think about

Who on minimum wage is seriously buying luxuries? Gaming isn't a necessary product.

 

[TAdamson]

No matter the scale they are there. I don't even know why you are bringing digital into it in this case.


Higher wages with a higher take home pay and a smaller tax wedge means more disposable income which means more demand which will mean an increase in prices as people are willing to pay it. That is how you get demand pull inflation if supply does not meet new demand level. Given that Australian has a higher GDP Per capita showing a higher standard of living this is likely to be the case. Given that the last time I checked Australia has a higher minimum wage and as far as I know I haven't looked into it a smaller tax wedge higher prices make sense.

These are the digital prices. It's cheaper for me to import a single copy from England. Thats the point.

This is not demand pull inflation. It's a ratchet effect from having the Aussie dollar increase when all other currencies tanked.

And no. Scarcity does not affect the price of media goods. That might affect the after retail price on ebay but not at retail. What you deem to be suggesting is that they limit the number of codes given to the Australian region which is ludicrous.

 

[Something Amyss]

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

You know the Australia tax isn't literally a tax, right?

 

[chadachada123]

According to my friend who has lived in the AU for like four years, people in the AU make a metric shit ton more in spending cash than Americans, making it pretty justifiable both in terms of business and in terms of fairness.

Are prices scaled equally? Probably not, but I don't happen to have spending charts on hand to know how much spending money/wages are worth in each country, blah blah blah.

Point is: If minimum wage in the US is one game every ten hours of work (after taxes), but in the AU it's one game for eight hours of work (after taxes), even with the current pricing model, then frankly, the AU is getting a better deal here. And that's where the uncertainty lies and why the price disparity exists.

Additionally: You guys keep paying for it, so publishers will keep doing it. Stop giving them money and they'll lower their prices or flounder. That's economics.

 

[manaman]

I don't know enough about all the info to give a proper comment but last I checked Aussies had more disposable income than US which would explain why higher prices there.

Actually they don't. They don't by far.

Average disposable income in the US: 23,776
Average disposable income in Australia: 13,296

 

[krazykidd]

I don't know enough about all the info to give a proper comment but last I checked Aussies had more disposable income than US which would explain why higher prices there.

Actually they don't. They don't by far.

Average disposable income in the US: 23,776
Average disposable income in Australia: 13,296

First. I didn't write anything of the sort.

Second , don't care. If you can't afford it , do something you can afford . I'm pretty sure there are other hobbies in Australia.

 

[Jason Rayes]

I don't know enough about all the info to give a proper comment but last I checked Aussies had more disposable income than US which would explain why higher prices there.

Actually they don't. They don't by far.

Average disposable income in the US: 23,776
Average disposable income in Australia: 13,296

First. I didn't write anything of the sort.

Second , don't care. If you can't afford it , do something you can afford . I'm pretty sure there are other hobbies in Australia.

Despite having people highlight it to you repeatedly you seem completely unable to grasp the basic point. The issue is not being able to afford it, it is the unfairly jacked up prices. I can and do buy games, I just don't like having to pay an unjustified price hike. It's fine for you to sit there like a sanctimonious prick and say "Suck it up or find something else to do" as you aren't the one paying these prices.

 

[manaman]

I don't know enough about all the info to give a proper comment but last I checked Aussies had more disposable income than US which would explain why higher prices there.

Actually they don't. They don't by far.

Average disposable income in the US: 23,776
Average disposable income in Australia: 13,296

First. I didn't write anything of the sort.

Second , don't care. If you can't afford it , do something you can afford . I'm pretty sure there are other hobbies in Australia.

Err... Okay. All I did was hit the quote button and remove some extra text. No idea why it happened that way.

Not sure how your ramble there is relevant to anything you quoted, but kudos for your opinion I guess.

 

[prophecy2514]

if its any consolation, jb is selling it for 69, picked up a copy yesterday. it sucks dude, but thats the way it is

Edit: dishonored that is. having a fuckload of fun with it, worth the 69 bucks

 

[distortedreality]

This again? Really? This sort of thread pops up with just about every major release, I'm pretty sure that everything that needs or can be said has been said before. I'm an Australian, living in Australia, and I'm sick of the whinging. Can only imagine what the rest of the world feels like.

As has been pointed out countless times before, if you don't want to pay the Australian price, you don't have to. There are plenty of other options available to you. It just sucks that you chose "whinging on an Internet forum and hoping someone will care" as opposed to one of the more productive avenues available to you.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Well, since it's technically a thread about game prices and not Dishonored specifically (Maybe), I'm wondering how much Mugen Souls is in AUS? It'll be $49.99 new with the soundtrack and art book when it comes out in the US (It's already out in EU and AUS)

Wondering if it'll also be cheaper (and/or include the two bonuses) or just normal price.

 

[Jason Rayes]

Well, since it's technically a thread about game prices and not Dishonored specifically (Maybe), I'm wondering how much Mugen Souls is in AUS? It'll be $49.99 new with the soundtrack and art book when it comes out in the US (It's already out in EU and AUS)

Wondering if it'll also be cheaper (and/or include the two bonuses) or just normal price.

A little investigation indicates the AUS price will vary from about $50-60, so not too bad really.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Well, since it's technically a thread about game prices and not Dishonored specifically (Maybe), I'm wondering how much Mugen Souls is in AUS? It'll be $49.99 new with the soundtrack and art book when it comes out in the US (It's already out in EU and AUS)

Wondering if it'll also be cheaper (and/or include the two bonuses) or just normal price.

A little investigation indicates the AUS price will vary from about $50-60, so not too bad really.

Still like a 20% increase though (At the places with 60). Which makes it kind of sad. 20% is like 'Oh hey, that's pretty good!'

 

[Jason Rayes]

Well, since it's technically a thread about game prices and not Dishonored specifically (Maybe), I'm wondering how much Mugen Souls is in AUS? It'll be $49.99 new with the soundtrack and art book when it comes out in the US (It's already out in EU and AUS)

Wondering if it'll also be cheaper (and/or include the two bonuses) or just normal price.

A little investigation indicates the AUS price will vary from about $50-60, so not too bad really.

Still like a 20% increase though (At the places with 60). Which makes it kind of sad. 20% is like 'Oh hey, that's pretty good!'

When you put it that way....

For me a lot of the problem is frustration, I would like to buy locally, but when I can get the exact same product through Steam or imported from overseas for much less, I tend to do so. It can't even be argued that the price hike is to compensate for customers shopping online as the high prices were why people looked for alternatives in the first place. From a business perspective they are shooting themselves in the foot.

Edit: That game doesn't look too bad actually. I'd probably buy it

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I don't know enough about all the info to give a proper comment but last I checked Aussies had more disposable income than US which would explain why higher prices there.

Actually they don't. They don't by far.

Average disposable income in the US: 23,776
Average disposable income in Australia: 13,296

I said last time I checked and last time I did this they did. Since the only info I found was the US census and they give $35,553[footnote]http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0681.pdf[/footnote] for 2009 and the Aus gives $~45,000[footnote]http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/1370.0.55.001~2011~Main%20Features~National%20income~16[/footnote] my numbers say otherwise.

No matter the scale they are there. I don't even know why you are bringing digital into it in this case.


Higher wages with a higher take home pay and a smaller tax wedge means more disposable income which means more demand which will mean an increase in prices as people are willing to pay it. That is how you get demand pull inflation if supply does not meet new demand level. Given that Australian has a higher GDP Per capita showing a higher standard of living this is likely to be the case. Given that the last time I checked Australia has a higher minimum wage and as far as I know I haven't looked into it a smaller tax wedge higher prices make sense.

These are the digital prices. It's cheaper for me to import a single copy from England. Thats the point.

This is not demand pull inflation. It's a ratchet effect from having the Aussie dollar increase when all other currencies tanked.

And no. Scarcity does not affect the price of media goods. That might affect the after retail price on ebay but not at retail. What you deem to be suggesting is that they limit the number of codes given to the Australian region which is ludicrous.

These are not digital prices unless you are buying from Steam or others and since apparently digital games can actually go out of stock see Bioshock steam Christmas sale there is scarcity. Once again you are talking about retail of the physical product where there is scarcity. If a game can go out of stock in Gamestop it is scarce. Also again it may not have been Demand that put it there in the first place but it is demand that is keeping it there. What I am suggesting is the games have a limit which they do if you are buying from retail. Gamestop/others do not have infinite copies of anything in their stores they have to import them and the boxes have to produced and DvDs burned. Now games are a bit different when considered a commodity or if you want to bring luxury goods into but in broad sense that is what happens.

 

[TAdamson]

These are not digital prices unless you are buying from Steam and since apparently digital games can actually go out of stock see Bioshock steam Christmas sale there is scarcity.

These are the prices from Steam... Thats my point.

And scarcity does not affect retail price. I'm sorry. It just doesn't. It might affect the price of apples or fish but a these products have a recommended retail price (DIFFERENT FOR EACH COUNTRY) and everybody adheres to it. The eBay price might be affected by scarcity, getting Modern Warfare 4 on opening weekend might be a sensible investment to take advantage of the arbitrage but the retail stores cannot. This is not about scarcity. This is about profiteering by publishers who are taking advantage of artificially separated markets.


The fact that I can get a game for half the price simply by importing myself makes a mockery of this system.

 

[manaman]

I don't know enough about all the info to give a proper comment but last I checked Aussies had more disposable income than US which would explain why higher prices there.

Actually they don't. They don't by far.

Average disposable income in the US: 23,776
Average disposable income in Australia: 13,296

I said last time I checked and last time I did this they did. Since the only info I found was the US census and they give $35,553[footnote]http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0681.pdf[/footnote] for 2009 and the Aus gives $~45,000[footnote]http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/1370.0.55.001~2011~Main%20Features~National%20income~16[/footnote] my numbers say otherwise.

No matter the scale they are there. I don't even know why you are bringing digital into it in this case.


Higher wages with a higher take home pay and a smaller tax wedge means more disposable income which means more demand which will mean an increase in prices as people are willing to pay it. That is how you get demand pull inflation if supply does not meet new demand level. Given that Australian has a higher GDP Per capita showing a higher standard of living this is likely to be the case. Given that the last time I checked Australia has a higher minimum wage and as far as I know I haven't looked into it a smaller tax wedge higher prices make sense.

These are the digital prices. It's cheaper for me to import a single copy from England. Thats the point.

This is not demand pull inflation. It's a ratchet effect from having the Aussie dollar increase when all other currencies tanked.

And no. Scarcity does not affect the price of media goods. That might affect the after retail price on ebay but not at retail. What you deem to be suggesting is that they limit the number of codes given to the Australian region which is ludicrous.

These are not digital prices unless you are buying from Steam or others and since apparently digital games can actually go out of stock see Bioshock steam Christmas sale there is scarcity. Once again you are talking about retail of the physical product where there is scarcity. If a game can go out of stock in Gamestop it is scarce. Also again it may not have been Demand that put it there in the first place but it is demand that is keeping it there. What I am suggesting is the games have a limit which they do if you are buying from retail. Gamestop/others do not have infinite copies of anything in their stores they have to import them and the boxes have to produced and DvDs burned. Now games are a bit different when considered a commodity or if you want to bring luxury goods into but in broad sense that is what happens.

GDP per capita, disposable income, and average wages are all different things. Highly different. You said disposable income I provided figures for average disposable income in US dollars.