Maybe We’re Not The Worst Off When It Comes To Game Prices…

66 responses to “Maybe We’re Not The Worst Off When It Comes To Game Prices…”

1. 

   PrettyTones

   July 21, 2011 at 9:53 am

   My wage was about $7/hr when I worked at Burger King in high school 10 years ago 🙁

   Reply
   1. 

      Alinos

      July 21, 2011 at 10:05 am

      Were you under 18 If so you get to work at slave rates

      Plus it used to be lower

      Reply
      1. 

         Brewer74

         July 21, 2011 at 11:02 am

         Yea man, I agree, it is better than when I was 14 and working at woolworths. I would work for 5 hours, and get 20 bucks. I think it was 4.70 an hour, was so not worth it.

         Reply
         1. 

            Alex Rogan

            July 21, 2011 at 1:25 pm

            14 and had a paying job? I think the true value of that job probably wasnt monetary. May have made you appreciate the value of money.

            Reply
            1. 

               Arata

               July 21, 2011 at 1:39 pm

               What’s Burger King? I’m sure it’s not in Australia.

            2. 

               andy

               July 21, 2011 at 2:05 pm

               I wan me ungry jax

            3. 

               Ragman

               July 21, 2011 at 2:27 pm

               It is in some areas. There is one at the Melbourne Airport.

               Mostly it is known buy its Australian name of Hungry Jacks.

2. 

   JimStick1

   July 21, 2011 at 9:57 am

   Is the minimum wage of a nation really that relevant to game prices? Using the above as a true scenario, you could argue that those in the United States on their highest minimum wage ($8.25 an hour) would still need to flip burgers for 7 and a half hours to be able to buy a $60US game. It’s illogical.

   Reply
   1. 

      JimStick1

      July 21, 2011 at 9:59 am

      Correction, it’s actually $8.67 an hour. But my argument still stands :p

      Reply
   2. 

      Glenn

      July 21, 2011 at 10:09 am

      When you put it that way, we actually get the better pricing than the US. We only have to flip burgers for 6 hours.

      Reply
   3. 

      Trjn

      July 21, 2011 at 10:16 am

      Doesn’t minimum wage vary on a state by state basis in America and servers get paid under minimum wage because there is the expectation for tips to cover the difference?

      Reply
      1. 

         JimStick1

         July 21, 2011 at 11:13 am

         Correct, it is done state by state. The wage I quoted was from Washington state, and is the highest in the US.

         Reply
3. 

   Sir.Sam

   July 21, 2011 at 9:59 am

   Having been to Brazil, one of the things that drives up game prices is the massive taxes applied on games by the Brazilian government combined with two things.
   1. The easily accessible black market where games can be purchased literally from the side of the road for only a few dollars (anyone who has been to a 3rd world country will know what I mean).
   2. The low prices for games in countries surrounding Brazil such as Bolivia and Paraguay.

   Reply
   1. 

      Alinos

      July 21, 2011 at 10:22 am

      Yeah from memory gaming= gambling over their and puts our ratings system to shame

      Reply
4. 

   Nathan ryan

   July 21, 2011 at 10:03 am

   Unfortunately for brazil the price of items is not based on minimum wage. Manufacturing costs add local tax and distribution costs plus profit equals price. Minimum wage is irrelevant. This does not change the fact that we are being ripped off.

   Reply
5. 

   Alinos

   July 21, 2011 at 10:08 am

   Also we have the right to bitch all we want

   Brazil just have the right to bitch more

   Reply
   1. 

      Fenixius

      July 21, 2011 at 10:13 am

      Almost there, mate: We have the same right to bitch as Brazil (and any other country, even the US!), but noone has to take us as seriously as Brazil/Turkey/Eastern Europe etc. 😛

      Reply
6. 

   dawdle!

   July 21, 2011 at 10:09 am

   We’re all white! jk 😛
   Just FYI, games in Hong Kong are around HK$300, while much cheaper, the minimum wage is less than AU$4 per hour (HK$28).

   Reply
7. 

   Klutar

   July 21, 2011 at 10:10 am

   I remember when wages were $5-10 average and games cost over $100.
   Fun times.

   Reply
   1. 

      Klutar

      July 21, 2011 at 10:16 am

      Actually going on from that – it’s cheaper now. We earn more and they cost less. I remember then my mum quit smoking because a packet cost $2.
      Take that, new age smokers!

      Reply
   2. 

      Grandmaster B-Funk

      July 21, 2011 at 10:58 am

      games still usually cost over 100… i saw black ops a few days ago and it was $120, but it did have about 20% off for a sale…

      Reply
      1. 

         Klutar

         July 21, 2011 at 1:08 pm

         I haven’t bought a game over $100 for years now. Except CE.
         Not sure where people shop, I’m going to assume EB as most people talk about then being overpriced.

         Reply
   3. 

      Shane

      July 21, 2011 at 12:12 pm

      This.

      Reply
8. 

   Cannon de Rosnay

   July 21, 2011 at 10:13 am

   I disagree with the title of the image.
   We do have the right to bitch.

   So does those who are overcharged for goods and services. Just because another group of people are charged even more relative to their earnings doesn’t mean people who still being charged high amounts, but relatively less, lose their right to bitch.

   Yes, it does put things into perspectives and it does give us something to think about, but my right to bitch and whine is not removed because someone is worse off.

   Otherwise, why should Australians worse-off complain, as long as they’re not a pariah in India or a rape victim?

   That was ranty and very aggressive.
   But eh, I demand my right to bitch.

   Reply
9. 

   Matthew Kermeen

   July 21, 2011 at 10:14 am

   My complaint about game prices isn’t that they’re high, it’s that we’re paying in excess of $100 US for something that should be $60 US.

   People in the US whine about games being $60 when that’s how much games have always been. We’ve had our games slowly creep up to RRP of $110 ($120 in same rare cases!) over the last decade for no apparet reason, as our dollar stands taller than ever against the US.
   Granted, I seldom pay more than $80 because I tend to buy games at launch from JB when they’re discounted or wait for a sale, but I’m addressing the RRP point.

   Reply
   1. 

      Alinos

      July 21, 2011 at 10:26 am

      They were generally 50 dollars when ours went to 120 there’s went to 60 with companies like activation deciding that their new cod skin was worth a premium price because it was cod

      Whether the game deserves it or not is irrelevant you should be makingmoney off total sales not jackingup the price as well

      Reply
   2. 

      Steve0410

      July 21, 2011 at 2:13 pm

      The $100 RRP has mostly crept up during the 50-60 US cent years and has stayed there, but it’s beginning* to subside.

      But Aussies always conveniently forget that unless you live in Oregon, you’re also being charged sales tax on top of that $60 which brings it closer to $65-70 USD.

      AUD:USD parity isn’t guaranteed, so it’s merely price hedging.

      Reply
10. 

    Glenn

    July 21, 2011 at 10:15 am

    Very nice article Mark, can you perhaps come up with the figures for New Zealand? I hear they’re getting charged a fortune for games ($90-99 for DS and 3DS games).

    Honestly, the price of games comes down to the consumer, those that go and pay full $109 retail at EB games on release day are idiots. I picked up Red Faction Armageddon on release day from Big W for $48, which was cheaper than anywhere else. You can actually get some pretty good bargains on game release day if you open your eyes and look past the specialty game stores.

    I’ll gladly pay an extra 10 or so percent on a game if I can get it quicker than 2 week delivery from the UK. One thing with Ozgameshop recently is their console game pre-orders are like $60. If you shop hard enough here in Aus on release day (Again, Big W, Kmart, Target, even sometimes Dick Smith) you can pickup AAA titles for $80 on release day. I don’t mind paying that extra $20 to get it on release day (will not pay more than that though) if the title is one I am really passionate about.

    Ultimately game pricing comes down to 1 thing… Stop going into EB Games and having them price match, they’re still getting the freaking sale!

    Reply
11. 

    bennie

    July 21, 2011 at 10:19 am

    Regardless, we see a new game is US$60, AU$110, and the Australian dollar is worth US$1.07… it would appear we’re being ripped off somehow.

    US$60 is AU$55.80. EB wants to charge me AU$110, so someone is making up to AU$54.20 per copy of the game. You can’t tell me that it costs AU$54.20 to import a game and sell it in your own shop.

    I think I’ll be buying all my games online now. Let’s say I buy 10 games per year, online, over that year I’ll save up to $500, which is another 8 games I could buy!

    Reply
12. 

    f4ction

    July 21, 2011 at 10:22 am

    I remember buying games while on my $6.50 p/h wage. And that was before JB moved to Geelong so the best prices you’d get would be $120 games at EB.

    Reply
13. 

    Scott

    July 21, 2011 at 10:26 am

    The issue isn’t with how much we could be paid at minimum wage, it’s the disparity with American prices when our dollar is currently superior, and it’s a huge difference. Whoever made the comic is an idiot.

    Reply
    1. 

       Steve0410

       July 21, 2011 at 2:09 pm

       Cost of living is a huge goddamn factor in how much our goods and services cost. Everything is more expensive here, even food. Why don’t people bitch about how much cheaper the cost of living is in some backwater Chinese town?

       Reply
14. 

    Braaains

    July 21, 2011 at 10:28 am

    It’s the God-given, constitutionally-enshrined right of every Australian to whinge about anything and everything. This article changes nothing 😛

    Reply
    1. 

       NovaCascade

       July 21, 2011 at 10:41 am

       Something we inherited from our English ancestors 🙂

       Reply
15. 

    Oshada

    July 21, 2011 at 10:34 am

    I just use Ozgameshop. Retailers are abysmal (except for some of their sales, of course) XD

    Reply
16. 

    Anonymouse

    July 21, 2011 at 10:43 am

    Noooooooooooooooooooooo.

    The Big Mac Index, people!

    Reply
17. 

    The Insufferable Señor Steengo

    July 21, 2011 at 10:45 am

    My original reply I posted when this first appeared on Reddit:

    Nice try, Activision/Sega/Electronic Arts/Bethesda/Ubisoft/THQ! Pity most Australians with common sense now import their game for $40-50 AUD because of our strong exchange rate instead of paying that slated $90 AUD, thereby undermining your local distributor’s sales which makes them mad enough to raise a shitstorm with you, sending you to a) local retailers to complain about the competitiveness of the online marketplace, ie. Gerry fucking Harvey and b) digital distributors to arbitrarily raise regional prices, absolutely fucking over your standing with a lot of consumers.

    Oh and nevermind the fact that ten years ago we were paying ~$100 for games at retail and the argument from publishers, distributors and retail chains was that it was due to the poor performance of our currency (when it was dropping lower than $0.50 USD per $1 AUD) and now that our dollar is performing on parity with the US dollar, the excuse is that we shouldn’t complain because our minimum wage is comparatively higher and nevermind the expensive cost of living. No, it wouldn’t befit our burger flippers and waiters to complain about the unfluctuating price of video games that have remained mostly static for well over a decade.

    Edit: downvotes away~! Won’t change the facts about retail chains struggling to cope with exorbitant price points, though. Fellow Australians: ozgameshop.com and EcoGamer are your friends.

    To those saying that the prices have become fixed at these values because “Australians like to pay more”: Australians don’t like to pay more, which is a lesson many of our local retailers are starting to find out the hard way. Harvey Norman chain of stores have spent the last year or so complaining publicly about how the company has been suffering due to the swathes of people that are importing courtesy of our strong dollar instead of shopping at his overpriced, piece of shit stores. GameTraders have also suffered, closing many of their stores and rebranding themselves as an online distributor – oh, and they’ve finally started to lower the cost of their games by between $10-20 because SURPRISE SURPRISE they’ve discovered many Australians don’t like to pay more.

    Reply
    1. 

       Christopher

       July 21, 2011 at 10:59 am

       NB. Pretty sure it’s been stated that the retail companies are the ones jacking the prices up.
       The distributors are giving the games for an equal price to Australia and then somewhere between coming off the crates and into the consumers dvd-sized pockets–the price jacks up.

       Reply
       1. 

          Trjn

          July 21, 2011 at 11:56 am

          Everyone along the supply chain is blaming everyone else along the supply chain for the increased prices.

          Reply
          1. 

             The Insufferable Señor Steengo

             July 21, 2011 at 6:44 pm

             Heh, yeah… I just mentioned distributors because last time I talked to someone from a publisher that’s who they were blaming. No doubt the distributor blames the retailer and the retailer blames the publisher or some bullshit.

             Reply
       2. 

          Ragman

          July 21, 2011 at 4:46 pm

          Yeah sure it’s the retailers are the ones jacking the prices up aren’t they.

          $2599
          http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/mastercollection/buying-guide.html

          or

          $4344
          http://www.adobe.com/au/products/creativesuite/mastercollection/buying-guide.html

          The lazy bastards didnt even bother virtual hosting a .com.au domain name to further dupe unsuspecting buyers.

          Regional printing, shipping and retailers ? My Arse.

          This lady has even made it easy for some of us Aussies to get USA stuff. Even discounted further.

          https://www.priceusa.com.au/order/index.php?mod=order&item=3

          Reply
18. 

    Christopher

    July 21, 2011 at 10:54 am

    Since when is the min. wage for Australians $15/h? Assuming this is 18+ wage rates, I’ve been paid less than that while casual (so there’s 20% loading–or whatever its called–as well) :/

    Reply
    1. 

       Alinos

       July 21, 2011 at 11:21 am

       For about a year but it assumes you are working 40 hour weeks

       Reply
    2. 

       James Maguire

       July 21, 2011 at 11:36 am

       The national minimum wage for Australia is roughly $15 an hour, however that doesn’t come into effect until you’re 21.

       Reply
       1. 

          James Maguire

          July 21, 2011 at 11:37 am

          Oh and you have to be full time.

          Reply
          1. 

             Shane

             July 21, 2011 at 12:14 pm

             Ummm, not true. Minimum wage applies to everyone, full-time, part-time, casual. It is expressed as an hourly rate as well as weekly.

             If you’re getting less, contact your union, and/or Fair Work Ombudsman, because that’s illegal.

             Reply
             1. 

                James Maguire

                July 21, 2011 at 1:30 pm

                Sorry, you’re right. I have the information in one of my drawers at work and re-reading it, you’re right. I’m not being underpaid, not being paid well but not underpaid haha.

                Unfortunately there isn’t a union for IT Technicians and for my particular occupation (diagnosing and fixing PC’s/Mac’s for personal and small to medium business), there is no award rate either, so technically we don’t have to be paid any more than the minimum wage 🙁

             2. 

                Glenn

                July 21, 2011 at 1:41 pm

                http://www.sage-au.org.au/

                Might help you.

             3. 

                Ragman

                July 21, 2011 at 1:59 pm

                https://extranet.deewr.gov.au/ccmsv8/CiLiteKnowledgeDetailsFrameset.htm?KNOWLEDGE_REF=216357&TYPE=X&ID=4827346289643804988889912894&DOCUMENT_REF=338742&DOCUMENT_TITLE=Professional%20Employees%20Award%202010&DOCUMENT_CODE=MA000065

             4. 

                Ragman

                July 21, 2011 at 2:04 pm

                11.5 Notification of conditions of employment

                Employees engaged or employed by an employer covered by this award must be advised in writing by the employer of the conditions under which the employee is to be employed.

                It’s amazing how many employers actually miss this part.

19. 

    Don Danbury

    July 21, 2011 at 10:59 am

    Aussies just love to whinge

    Reply
20. 

    DENAz

    July 21, 2011 at 11:08 am

    I’m not sure if its just me, but that doesn’t really explain a thing. Just because we’re not the only ones getting stooged, doesn’t make it ok

    Reply
21. 

    buckE182

    July 21, 2011 at 11:15 am

    I couldn’t get past the word ‘payed’ in the heading for the comic….

    Reply
22. 

    doubleDizz

    July 21, 2011 at 11:21 am

    Yea that sucks for Brazilian gamers.

    But at the same time, don’t tell me what I do and don’t have the right to do.

    comic creator is an idiot

    Reply
23. 

    phaded

    July 21, 2011 at 1:04 pm

    Nice try, but console games are priced more expensive in Brazil than US/AU counterparts because of government taxes.

    Console games cost about US$100-120 because it is taxed as a TOY , but PC games are taxed as SOFTWARE and only cost US$50

    Reply
24. 

    Joe

    July 21, 2011 at 1:52 pm

    Dear Australian video game retailers butthurt over online competitiveness:
    SUCKED IN

    I’ll gladly continue importing for a fraction of the price. I recently imported MK9 Kollector’s Edition. It cost me $106 AUD including priority shipping to my front door, and it arrived in 3 days. Now that’s bang for your buck.

    You could expect the KE to be around $180 + if it was sold here.

    Reply
25. 

    Exaemo

    July 21, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    Brazil has to work hard to pay for games?

    Guess that’s why when Team Fortress 2 went Free-to-Play suddenly the servers got swamped with them.

    AHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!

    Reply
26. 

    Corey

    July 21, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    I frankly dont care what other countries have to pay. Either they just pay the price or pirate the damn thing (as I would often experience in South East Asia 10 years ago)

    Video games are an activity that we choose to partake in so long as we’re interested and can afford it. It’s ‘optional’ therefore if I find I’m paying too much, I have the right to either bitch or on a more practical note, import for an obviously cheaper price.

    Reply
27. 

    business is serious business

    July 21, 2011 at 4:50 pm

    Most of you guys cant seem to see the big picture here.

    The australian dollar is strong, but so what? As soon as the games land here some truck driver wants 150k a year (that is doctor money in the us) to drive them and some forklift driver wants another 150k a year (lawyer money) to unload them. Then some bogan idiot with a drinking problem and a minimum level of literacy wants another 110k a year to watch a door.

    The problem is retailers are either stupid or greedy and cant control their costs, the unions are too powerful and they extort everyone. Those not in one are the ones who pay for it. Who in the hell do you think pays a truck driver 150k a year? You do, the consumer…and where does that money come from? From the 50% markup.

    I understand that concept of university is relatively new and certainly stigmatized in this country, but seriously some of you need to read a book.

    Its not just about what the retailers make, i doubt they make much considering the cost of labor here and the cost to fire and hire.

    Its a combination of greed and stupidity. Only someone stupid would pay a forklift driver 400 bucks a day and only someone greedy would take it.

    But the consumer is at the bottom of that pyramid, the costs just get dumped on to them and it doesnt matter; the same forklift driver just has to work 2 hours to buy the game and he doesnt give a damn because he probably spends x5 that much on drugs and booze.

    I import games from overseas because I think its messed up to pay some guy who took a 4 week forklift course more than what a lawyer with a doctorate who makes decisions affecting millions of dollars makes.

    Reply
    1. 

       Will

       July 21, 2011 at 5:44 pm

       Your brain is seriously f***ed up if you think forklift drivers get more than lawyers in Australia.

       Reply
       1. 

          business is serious business

          July 21, 2011 at 6:05 pm

          @will

          Why dont you fucking learn to read?
          Forklift drivers here get more than lawyers in the states do. I had already established the convention of comparing a job here against another job in the US – How you managed to miss that is beyond me.

          That is also such a miniscule portion of the point I am making, the fact that you focused on that and nothing else tells me that you’ve spent too much time drinking piss in your ute.

          Reply
    2. 

       monkeyd_93

       July 22, 2011 at 11:05 am

       But isn’t the reason why wages for high profile jobs (such as doctor and lawyer) in the US so competitive, they ultimately have to work for a lower wage to get guaranteed a spot? Hence it occurs in many other countries and one of the many reasons why international students pay top dollar to go to university here.

       And second point where are you getting these numbers from? i doubt anyone can earn 100k+ who works in transportation, not affiliated with mining and who do not own the business themselves.

       Reply
       1. 

          business is serious business

          August 2, 2011 at 3:25 am

          Part of the reason why everyone in the US gets paid less than people here is because simply there are a lot more people.

          This is attributed to several things but two of the key drivers are the united states relatively lenient immigration policies in contrast to australia’s and the overall cultural penetration in contrast to Australia. The notion of a “white america” died out decades if not a century ago, where as in Australia xenophobia is well known internationally.

          Also in the US the cost of hiring/firing is a lot lower than it is in Australia because there are not as many ridiculous OH&S rules, workers comp, etc. No one is guaranteed a spot beyond their own merit. There are no unions in the US to protect jobs, in fact the general public is against unions because of the well known and documented effects it has and would have on the economy.

          However in the case of doctors and lawyers, the supply is restricted to keep wages up, which in comparison to laborers who are a dime a dozen and completely expendable/replaceable baffles me how they can earn so much more than a profession which requires the better part if not more than a decade to become qualified in.

          Australian universities are bargain basement cheap in comparison to American universities. However the quality of the education is well regarded in most areas. Like every major education system there are “party schools” and the concept of “tradies” does not exist in the US as it does here.

          Here you dont even have to be qualified in anything to out-earn a doctor in the US. Get a fork lift ticket, join the CFMEU or whatever militant union and boom, 100k pa.

          However that concept is only a cog, an important one but still just a cog in my point.

          The US economy is very efficient because of how competitive it needed to become to compete with asian markets in the 70s etc. Unions were extremely powerful in the US up until toyota showed up with cheaper and better cars. American cars were expensive and sloppily built.

          Here there are a million poorly planned and completely generic businesses which 95% of them default on loans and raise the cost of capital for everyone, further increasing the price of goods.

          Bending pipes is not a sustainable competitive advantage.

          Unfortunately the banks are under a lot of pressure to extend loans to these obvious failures who use said money outfit a shop with an unnecessary level of technology which is then liquidated to pay off what debts it can cents on the dollar.

          I really wish they would stop lending random plumbers tens of thousands of dollars to go and spend on a Maloo to start their already failed random plumbing “business”.

          Now this is the most important part.

          If at any point in the supply chain there is a fork lift driver, truck driver, union laborer who sits all day and earns 100k. That cost will be passed on to you. Thats why games here will never ever be as cheap as they are in the states on a dollar for dollar basis.

          That is the reason why so much stuff is so expensive despite the strong dollar. A dollar doesnt buy you anything here. In America it buys you a hotdog.

          Even stuff that is locally made is expensive, and usually not as good.

          Reply
28. 

    Sam

    July 21, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    Funny because my wage was $8/hour when I worked at my local Eagle Boys from April to December last year…

    Now I’m really regretting not ringing Fair Work Australia.

    Reply
29. 

    Shinkada

    July 21, 2011 at 6:12 pm

    As the author said, it’s not that simple.

    Australia has infamously high living costs. We may get paid more than double what an American does, but we have to pay about six times as much rent. That doesn’t even start on food, electricity, water, various taxes, internet, fuel…

    And as Mark said, just because it’s atrocious there doesn’t mean we shouldn’t complain. That’s like saying China is a dictatorship so we should never complain about our rights being infringed.

    Reply
30. 

    Business is serious business

    July 21, 2011 at 6:31 pm

    There are a few concepts at play here.

    Inflation.
    High cost economy.
    Income effect.

    It’s everywhere, look at the price of housing here compared to the US.

    It’s not as simple as just blaming someone along the supply chain and being done with it. The problem is socialogical, political, economical and even psychological.

    But mostly it’s a case of cyclical ripoffs. They got ripped off by their suppliers who were ripped off by the transport company etc. All those ripoffs get compounded and passed on to you. Then you probably clock more hours than you actually worked or belong to a union that contributes to the problem.

    Reply