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Ridiculous Price Of Games In Australia Gets Mainstream Attention
Posted by Logan Booker at 1:00 PM on July 1, 2008
I often use the example of Activision doubling the price of Call of Duty 4 on Steam to illustrate how dire the "price of games" situation has become in Australia, but Andrew Ramadge of News.com.au has uncovered a better one:
... Gamers who visit the Steam and Electronic Arts websites are charged up to five times more to download popular titles like Medal Of Honour: Airborne -- which Australians can buy and download for $99.95, while users in the US pay just $21.15 ($US19.95).But you guys already know how crazy the situation is. Thank [insert deity here] for importing, right?
Yes, we can import, but that doesn't mean everyone else should have to cough up the cash. And why should we be forced to look overseas in the first place? That just doesn't make sense to me.
It's unlikely prices will come down anytime soon - the publishers would vomit at the lost profits - so buying games will continue to be an online affair for us (minus Steam, of course).
The article also notes how the ACCC is powerless to do anything and, unsurprisingly, that none of the publishers were willing to talk about the problem.
Aussies paying five times more for software [News.com.au]
Comments
bishopAU
Posted July 1, 2008 1:08 PM
I've never heard of a publishing company that acceded a public outcry that would ultimately accumulate them less profit
Play-asia is your friend
Alex
Posted July 1, 2008 4:51 PM
" which Australians can buy and download for $US 99.95, while users in the US pay just $US 21.15 ($US19.95)."
Wait, that doesn't really make sense. Are the first two meant to be $AUD?
Logan Booker
Posted July 1, 2008 4:56 PM
@Alex: Yes, yes they are. All fixed now.
Lev Arris
Posted July 1, 2008 5:48 PM
I was very surprised to see this hit the 'mainstream' today. And very glad, it's a lot easier to get attention to a problem when more that just a few 'whiners on a forum'.
AC
Posted July 1, 2008 7:55 PM
Hi Guys. I'm one of the stupid ones paying $120 bucks on ps3 and xbox games. What are these only diety's called?
brack
Posted July 2, 2008 12:09 AM
TBH I am almost suprised that games are still ~$100 AU, they have retailed at that price for almost 10 years now, if not longer and I am sure development costs have gone through the roof in that time.
It would be intersting to see some representation of how development costs have increased in that time compared to growth. Have games sales set the price for games, or are prices set purely on market acceptance.
gouged
Posted July 2, 2008 9:14 AM
really there is NO call for this. ESPECIALLY for digital distribution. It was almost excusable for boxed game distribution given the size of OZ and the far smaller population to share those costs by, but when all it takes is visiting an on-line store, there is no disparity in distribution costs.
price hiking like this is just pure greed.