Poll: UK Buyers Screwed by Next-Gen Prices

[Raikazu]

So we've already seen the ridiculous price differences between the next gen consoles in the UK and the US (I know we don't get it nearly as bad as Australia but my point still stands) however people seem to have glossed over the far bigger issue here.

Here I'm taking Microsoft as the example, and I'm only doing this because while I love the Xbox360 I'm having a hard time being excited about the next generation.

If you buy an Xbox One in the US, you will pay $499. Including an average (so I've heard) tax charge of 8%, that's $538.92. buying the console in the UK will cost you £429, equivalent to $659.07. That's steep at a difference equivalent to $120.

However, nobody seems to be noticing the prices of the games.

Microsoft have announced that their games for the Xbox One will remain at $59.99, as is reflected by the games on the Amazon's US site. However, there was no word on the UK equivalent for this price. Looking at Amazon.co.uk at the time of writing, all Xbox One games are priced at £54.99. That's $84!

What this means is that for every three games you buy, you will be losing out on the same margin from currency exchanges as if you were buying the console. With current-gen games being released at around the £39.99 with some pushing £44.99 ($61 and $70 respectively), this increase of £10 on the already high-end prices of current gen games seems as if Microsoft are leaving the UK out to dry.

So let me know what you think, I'd be interested to know if others know more than I do, or simply to hear opinions.

 

[Able Seacat]

How much were current gen games at launch? For some reason I have a memory that they were a little bit more expensive for a few months before dropping back down to £39.99. Or I might have just made that up I'm not sure.

 

[BrotherRool]

If you buy an Xbox One in the US, you will pay $499. Including an average (so I've heard) tax charge of 8%, that's $538.92. buying the console in the UK will cost you £429, equivalent to $659.07. That's steep at a difference equivalent to $120.

You need to add the UK tax rate onto the US price to get a fair comparison, not the US tax rate. The much higher UK tax rate includes things like not having to pay health insurance, cost of living etc. It's not part of the price that the manufacturers can effect (or you can take 20% of the UK price to get the untaxed rate for both consoles.)

When you crunch those numbers, the US cost if they had to pay UK taxes would be almost exactly $600, which means we're still being charged $60 more by the manufacturer, but it's not quite as bad as $120

 

[Comocat]

I don't live in the UK, but some googling put the value added tax VAT on video games at 20%. I'm not sure if this is accurate because any time you google taxes te results are a political shitstorm, but it explains the higher prices.

You might be arguing that games should be priced lowerso after taxes they are the same price, but I don't think foreign companies are keen on making less profit to support high taxes.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

For those who say Australia pays more, technically, Europe pays even more (if the prices I've seen for the Australian release are correct, and it's been a while since I checked). And the 20% tax does not cover the difference between the prices in the US and the rest of the world. That of course applies to the consoles, as I think Australia does pay more for games.

So yes, we're getting shafted anyway.

 

[BrotherRool]

I don't live in the UK, but some googling put the value added tax VAT on video games at 20%. I'm not sure if this is accurate because any time you google taxes te results are a political shitstorm, but it explains the higher prices.

You might be arguing that games should be priced lowerso after taxes they are the same price, but I don't think foreign companies are keen on making less profit to support high taxes.

Even when you adjust for the tax differences the UK is still being charged $60 more for a console. We might have 20% tax but we're being charged 32% more

 

[TehCookie]

I said it before in the price complaining threads, but doesn't the UK have a better economy?

 

[The White Hunter]

I don't live in the UK, but some googling put the value added tax VAT on video games at 20%. I'm not sure if this is accurate because any time you google taxes te results are a political shitstorm, but it explains the higher prices.

You might be arguing that games should be priced lowerso after taxes they are the same price, but I don't think foreign companies are keen on making less profit to support high taxes.

VAT is a tax on the retailer thats almost always passed on the the consumer.

Also, we pay a lot more than 20% extra in tax. ANd £55 is pushing $95.

The price is bullshit if it happens but Wii U games are already £50 (a factor nobody seems to consider when they wonder why the thing is selling badly here). So I could easily see £55 being about right.

I won#'t be paying that though, as I'll start buying my games a year later and pre-owned.

 

[The White Hunter]

I said it before in the price complaining threads, but doesn't the UK have a better economy?

Simply: No.

More complex: Yes and no.

We have some things better, we have a more stable financial sector and a lot of pharmaceutical stuff going on, but almost no other industry beyond that. We also share the problems of a terrible infrastructure, and a government that doesn't know what the hell it's doing.

We have large and growing gaps between the poor and the wealthy, tax rates are high and VAT is high and charged on most things. Your money doesn't tend to go as far here and people, or at least the average person, is likely worse off than the average american. Though just like america we have a huge variety of people from insanely empoverised people to the obscenely wealthy.

It's not just the UK, Europe also gets charged a lot more, roughly the same amount more. So does Australia but their number is higher so they whine more (and they do make more money).

 

[Miss G.]

In The Bahamas, video-game related things have a 45% tax on top of what the retailer needs to sell it at for profit, and that can be anywhere from 2x to 4x the retail price in the US.
e.g PS4; US $399, Bahamas $578.55 x 2 at least and for Xbone; US $499, Bahamas $723.55 x 2 at least. We'd be royally screwed if the US wasn't a mere 50 miles away and we could just hop over and buy it there instead of at home. Even though if you can't manage to hide it from Customs thus still have to pay the 45%, you still won't be paying through the nose at a retailer.

 

[Ironside]

£55 is not beyond the realms of possibility. Afterall pc games are creeping up to £45 these days (see Rome 2 until they dropped it to £30, which i assume was because it wasnt selling particularly well and a few others like CoD on release. Console games have traditionally been £10 more expensive, so i wouldnt be surprised if this was true. If Sony and MS do raise the price to £55 they can forget me buying any of their consoles since it will be A) unaffordable for me and B) the price savings I wil make on the PC will now be even greater.

We have some things better, we have a more stable financial sector and a lot of pharmaceutical stuff going on, but almost no other industry beyond that. We also share the problems of a terrible infrastructure, and a government that doesn't know what the hell it's doing.

We have large and growing gaps between the poor and the wealthy, tax rates are high and VAT is high and charged on most things. Your money doesn't tend to go as far here and people, or at least the average person, is likely worse off than the average American.

We have plenty of other industries - they are just mostly service based these days, but we are still very successful in high tech, high quality technology and engineering industries. Unless the recession put a damper on things we are for example currently producing more cars than we ever have in our history before - it just seems like there is less industry because they dont require as many employees now. The gaps between rich and poor aren't really a problem either since the poor are all getting richer anyway - the fact that people who are rich are getting more rich doesnt mean anything. I wouldnt say an average Brit is worse off either since we all have free healthcare and a very generous social security program compared to the US, which also happens to be why we pay higher taxes, which I am more than ok with.

 

[Soopy]

$100AUD for new releases in Australia. I believe we've only got a 10%GST imposed on them as well. Riddle me that one.

 

[neppakyo]

Isn't EU prices due to some flat tax thats charged on all imports?

 

[Brotha Desmond]

It's probably a place holder price. I remember before the PS4 was announced amazon said that PS4 games would be $100.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Dont care, just wont but it. Simple people. Wait till its cheaper. lol. An if i buy a next gen console, i will just rent most of the games and just buy the ones i really want.

 

[krazykidd]

In The Bahamas, video-game related things have a 45% tax on top of what the retailer needs to sell it at for profit, and that can be anywhere from 2x to 4x the retail price in the US.
e.g PS4; US $399, Bahamas $578.55 x 2 at least and for Xbone; US $499, Bahamas $723.55 x 2 at least. We'd be royally screwed if the US wasn't a mere 50 miles away and we could just hop over and buy it there instead of at home. Even though if you can't manage to hide it from Customs thus still have to pay the 45%, you still won't be paying through the nose at a retailer.

45%? Holy shit ! That's insane! I'm surprised people even buy videogame related things at that price .

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

It's probably a place holder price.

Which one? Because MS announced the price for their games ($60) and console ($500), while Sony said the price for the PS4 ($400), so only their games don't have an official price yet.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

It's probably a place holder price.

Which one? Because MS announced the price for their games ($60) and console ($500), while Sony said the price for the PS4 ($400), so only their games don't have an official price yet.

Back before the E3 Press conferences amazon had games like Theif, AC IV, and BF 4 on the PS4 listed at $99.99