Australian game prices, my mission to lower them.

[edinflames]

Either way, retail outlets are overpriced wherever you look, whatever country.

In the UK (if you aren't already using steam) you can usually shave £5 off the RRP by going on play.com (postage free) or amazon.co.uk.

 

[jezz8me]

Hitman: Blood money is still about $80-$100 that is despicable. I am glad the ps3 is region free because now i can do this. There are no worthwhile games (for me) that are region locked anymore so that is why i came up with this.

 

[Fenixius]

Region free is such an awesome idea... but yeah, PC games shouldn't be stocked in Australia anymore, 'cause it's so much cheaper to get them off of Steam. I wonder if Blizzard'll give StarCraft II to Steam... I can dream, can't I?!

I'm sick and tired of this release delay bulls**t, too. We live in a global marketplace with digital distribution. Embracing that delivery method is the only way we'll teach anyone anything. We still don't have Rock Band or Smash Bros Wii in Australia.

 

[jezz8me]

I do not agree PC games should not be stocked. I will probably order a game from overseas in a box because i want the disk so they should be stoked but at a reasonable price.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

I beleive that game shouldn't differ on the region they live in, but those pesky americans get everything cheaper and earlier, us uk people pay near enough the same as you ausies. I'm starting a petition to get even pricing, microsoft is a main coulprate.

 

[Joe]

Minimum wage in America is about $10.

$5.85. $6.55 this year. If that sounds tragically low, that's because it is.

 

[rougeknife]

Out of interest, how does our average pay stack up against Americas?

Not sure, but I'm an office junior working in a job for experience before I go off to uni full time, my employer is paying for part time uni this year. I wont give you exact prices, but even after the exchange rate, taxes and in my case super, I earn a hell of allot more than my equivalent US counterpart and that doesn't even factor in the fringe benefits.

 

[Evil Genius for a Better Tomorrow]

I support this move to buy games that are substaintially cheaper over the 'net.

I'm sick of seeing the prices being kept artifically high to fatten the bank accounts of game store owners who are so absolutely crap at managing and promoting their business.

With the Australian dollar trading at roughly .92 US cents at the moment, there is no rational or credible argument with the retailers can use to justify these absurdly high prices.

The same goes for DVD's and CD's and books. All these entertainment products can be bought at a much cheaper rate, including postage, over the net.

So, as Adam Smith pointed out, the market will adjust. Savvy people who don't want to get shafted and ripped off will seek to purchase their games etc, from overseas vendors which in turn will see the local retailers loose market share. They can do 2 things, compete directely by lowering their prices or they can bugger off and go bankrupt.

 

[Lightbulb]

*sigh*

Ok an example:

You earn $200 a month and are charged $20 for a game
I earn $100 a month and am charge $10 for a game

Whats the difference? Sure it makes sense for you to buy games from my market but its not some conspiracy...


What IS worth complaining about it having to wait MONTHS for games to be released.

 

[Lightbulb]

So, as Adam Smith pointed out, the market will adjust.

You do realise that competition like that would kill the market in AUS? If you import everything you have all your currency is leaving the country. How is that sustainable?

You can only reduce prices to a certain level before you start losing money instead of making it.

If AUS economy starts to nose dive the value of $AUS will drop and you won't be able to afford to import games anyway.

You say: Cut costs like its some magic cure to the problem but it doesn't work like that.


----

Of course in reality game sales are only a very small percentage of economy as a whole so this will not happen.

That said the main point: You can only drop prices so far still holds true.

 

[jezz8me]

Games are being artificially risen in price for the sake of money though it is only because we are willing to pay that much. So much more will be sold if we could but a game for even $80 instead of $100 and the economy would either stay the same or get better.

I am not proposing prices are lowered to an amount dangerous to the economy but just a little bit so they are at least comparable with overseas if still a bit more.

 

[savagegoose]

yeah i sub to an online game, when doing the payment i noted it had country of residence option so i ticked US the price was considerably cheaper than when i ticked Australia, owing of course to the great exchange rate we currently have.
I saw someone banging on about digital copies and the fact manufacturers like them because they create no seconds market ie. u cant trade in you digital download for another game, or sell to some poor bugger who has to wait 12 months to play the latest and greatest release. so when the poor bugger wants his copy of the game 12 months after release he has to buy off the publisher.

so yea prob a good thing to buy overseas, but make sure its a real dvd copy and not digital download.

 

[Rykan]

some Xbox 360 and PS3 games cost £50 here, that's nearly $100 US or $110 Australian (based on today's rates).

So we're paying even more than you Aussie's and double what the americans are getting charged. Ouch...

It also shows how acceptable price fixing seems to be.

What about us Europeans? We pay 70 Eyro (my keyboard is old) thats about $110 (Actual = 109.563 US Dollars). 50 British Pound(s) = 99.1867 US Dollar(s). 120 Australian Dollar(s) = 109.18 US Dollar(s). Minimum wage in America is about $10. It is 7.50 Euro (in Ireland, that's high) 7.50 Euro(s) = 11.7389 US Dollar(s). So we get the same wages but pay more for our games. All conversions from: http://www.gocurrency.com/

Federal minimum wage in the US right now is $6.25.