Australian Steam Prices

[Arakasi]

This is really starting to get to me.
For a supposedly progressive, forward thinking company Valve is really not being an industry leader in terms of pricing, for example let's take Steam's pricing for Far Cry 3:

Then lets take another website which shall remain unnamed for fear of advertising reasons:

Now, granted, this is just one example and Steam sales for older games do demolish physical copy game sales, however when it comes to big AAA releases, shouldn't Steam be releasing a price that is a reasonable alternative for a physical copy?
Incase you didn't do the math there is a $16.5 difference between a physical copy of a new game (which is posted for free), and an entirely digital copy of a new game, and the physical copy is the cheaper one. It strikes me as madness, the only real advantage then to buy these games from Steam is the time delay, and if you are willing to pay $16.5 extra to get the game immediately and don't care about the physical copy, well I guess we just differ on our fundamentals.

So, thoughts? Should Steam be charging this much? Is this high cost really hurting them, or the consumer? Are the Steam prices for Far Cry 3 different in America? If not, then why buy AAA games from Steam?

EDIT: Oh. Crap, I just compared the price of an Xbox360 game to a PC game... But wait, what? The price of the unnamed website's Far Cry 3 PC edition is actually $43.99? So that makes it better than Steam by $26? What in the hell?

 

[SajuukKhar]

You are aware that Valve doesn't set the prices on Steam, they just set the price to whatever the developers ask them to.

What you should be asking is why do the devs do this, and the answer is simple, because they know people will pay more to download a game on their pc instead of leaving the house.

 

[Arakasi]

You are aware that Valve doesn't set the prices on Steam, they just set the price to whatever the developers ask them to.

What you should be asking is why do the devs do this, and the answer is simple, because they know people will pay more to download a game on their pc instead of leaving the house.

You don't have to leave the house to order something from the other website either.

 

[SajuukKhar]

You don't have to leave the house to order something from the other website either.

but since steam has all ur info on it, its so much easier.

I can get up on steam's store and buy the game in the time it takes to get to the other store's page, and I can start downloading it asap.

 

[Arakasi]

You don't have to leave the house to order something from the other website either.

but since steam has all ur info on it, its so much easier.

I can get up on steam's store and buy the game in the time it takes to get to the other store's page, and I can start downloading it asap.

This website has all my info on it too, so there's no real difference?
As I mentioned in the OP the only real differences are the following:
1. How long you'll have to wait for it to arrive
2. The fact that one is a physical copy and one is not

As for Steam not setting the price, that is irrelevant, they could change that policy if they wanted to, when their market can easily be undercut by a better business they should be attemtping to change things.

 

[SajuukKhar]

This website has all my info on it too, so there's no real difference?
As I mentioned in the OP the only real differences are the following:
1. How long you'll have to wait for it to arrive
2. The fact that one is a physical copy and one is not

As for Steam not setting the price, that is irrelevant, they could change that policy if they wanted to, when their market can easily be undercut by a better business they should be attemtping to change things.

It's still faster, and easier, to get on Steam, and your first point is EXACTLY why they an get away with it.

People have no patience, it's why people will drive down to a convince store, and buy a bag of chips, when they could drive two more miles down the road, go into a big food store, and buy the same bag of chips for like 2-3 dollars less.

Most people are dumb, and care more about whats faster, rather then whats cheaper.

 

[Nouw]

Yeah Steam's prices for new games are fucked up, which is why I only buy games from there when there's a heavy discount. And I know exactly what site that is, I use it too .

 

[Arakasi]

its still faster, and easier, to get on steam.

and number 1 is EXACTLY why they an get away with it.

People have no patience, its why people will drive down to a convince store, and buy a bag of chips, when they could drive two miles down the road, go into a big food store, and buy the same bag of chips for like 2-3 dollars less.

Your analogy is ill-equiped to handle this situation, junk food is more of an immediacy thing, videogames are not in the same way.
Let's alter your analogy a little.
It's like ordering a table online, one will arrive instantly, cost $45, but it is tied to whatever house you happen to live in, you can't lend it to a friend, get a refund, or even give it to someone when you're done with it, it's just there. The other will take a few days to arrive, costs $30, however this one you can move around, give it to a friend, whatever, and it even comes in pretty packaging which makes your table collection (analogy kinda falls apart here) look better.

I will sumbit however, that many people are the instant gratification types to whom the Steam way of doing things will appeal, but as I said in the OP, those are not the people I am aiming this thread at.

 

[Keoul]

I thought steam prices didn't change except for deals and discounts.
And of course steam is ripping off Australian gamers, wasn't there a big habub going on a while ago about how the whole gaming industry is ripping off Australian gamers simply because they can?

E.g

Spoiler

Note how both games require steam but still have a different price.
Such is the Australian gamer's life.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

I find the prices for Call of Duty games on steam to be the most hilarious, 89.99 USD.... who in their right mind would pay that amount.

The best solution for the problem is to simply purchase steam keys from other websites. Like GetGames, GreenManGaming, Amazon or Gamersgate.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Your analogy is ill-equiped to handle this situation, junk food is more of an immediacy thing, videogames are not in the same way.
Let's alter your analogy a little.
It's like ordering a table online, one will arrive instantly, cost $45, but it is tied to whatever house you happen to live in, you can't lend it to a friend, get a refund, or even give it to someone when you're done with it, it's just there. The other will take a few days to arrive, costs $30, however this one you can move around, give it to a friend, whatever, and it even comes in pretty packaging which makes your table collection (analogy kinda falls apart here) look better.

I will sumbit however, that many people are the instant gratification types to whom the Steam way of doing things will appeal, but as I said in the OP, those are not the people I am aiming this thread at.

Well, most games REQUIRE Steam, no matter if they were bought online, or at the store, so in 99% of cases, its either
a. Buy a digital copy you cant give to anyone
b. Buy a physical copy that you cant really give to anyone because they cant use the CD key because it tied to your account.

Most people I know dont care about game boxes, or hate game boxes outright. I peronally throw out most of my game boxes because I hate having that shit take up space.

Also, you can get a refund on Steam games, they have done it before, and most game stores I know of, and most stores in general, refuse to accept open game boxes because it means you could have copied the game data. I dont know what store is stupid enough to allow for game returns, but if you live in a place like that, be glad the people who run the companies over there are that pants on head retarded.

 

[Arakasi]

Your analogy is ill-equiped to handle this situation, junk food is more of an immediacy thing, videogames are not in the same way.
Let's alter your analogy a little.
It's like ordering a table online, one will arrive instantly, cost $45, but it is tied to whatever house you happen to live in, you can't lend it to a friend, get a refund, or even give it to someone when you're done with it, it's just there. The other will take a few days to arrive, costs $30, however this one you can move around, give it to a friend, whatever, and it even comes in pretty packaging which makes your table collection (analogy kinda falls apart here) look better.

I will sumbit however, that many people are the instant gratification types to whom the Steam way of doing things will appeal, but as I said in the OP, those are not the people I am aiming this thread at.

Well, most games REQUIRE steam, no matter if they were bought online, or at the store, so in 99% of cases, its either
a. Buy a digital copy you cant give to anyone
b. Buy a physical copy that you cant really give to anyone because they cant use the CD key because it tied to your account.

Valid point, in which case alter my analogy to $39 on the first table and still $30 on the second.
You see, Xbox360 doesn't have the DRM.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Valid point, in which case alter my analogy to $39 on the first table and still $30 on the second.
You see, Xbox360 doesn't have the DRM.

Actually, xbox games have region locking, well, most of them do.

 

[Arakasi]

Valid point, in which case alter my analogy to $39 on the first table and still $30 on the second.
You see, Xbox360 doesn't have the DRM.

Actually, xbox games have region locking, well, most of them do.

Unless your friend is in another country you really won't have to worry about that.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Unless your friend is in another country you really won't have to worry about that.

Xbox games also are tied to a console, which become outdated every 5-6 years, and the new consoles are not guaranteed to be able to play the older ones games.

My PC can play games from over 20 years ago, can your xbox do the same?

When I buy games for my PC I can have them forever, consoles? I am lucky I can play it for more then 7 years.

 

[Arakasi]

Unless your friend is in another country you really won't have to worry about that.

Xbox games also are tied to a console, they becomes outdated every 5-6 years, and the new consoles are not guaranteed to be able to play the older ones games.

My Pc can play games from over 20 years ago, can your xbox do the same?

When I buy games for my Pc I can have them forever, consoles? I am lucky I can play it for more then 7 years.

When the I own the Xbox, my friend owns a similar Xbox and they are both capable of playing the one game I bought, there is no problem at all. This has nothing to do with the console versus PC wars and I will not let this thread turn into that.

 

[SajuukKhar]

When the I own the Xbox, my friend owns a similar Xbox and they are both capable of playing the one game I bought, there is no problem at all. This has nothing to do with the console versus PC wars and I will not let this thread turn into that.

You are the one who started off about great it was Xbox has no DRM, I pointed out that it did.

The entire console is, by its very nature, one giant piece of DRM, fulled by region locking, and technical death dates with no promise that the replacements will be able to play the games you got on the older versions.

If you had no intention of making a console vs pc argument, then you shouldn't have tried to use consoles as justification as to why a PC programs pricing system is flawed.

 

[dmv]

To preface this, my sympathies go out to anyone who has to pay more than I do for a game.
Isn't it more expensive to ship games to australia, from the game developers perspective, no one would buy a physical copy if they could buy if or a decent chunk cheaper from steam. Just my two cents, if I'm mistaken about games being more expensive at retailers in Australia please let me know because I truly hate being wrong.

 

[Doom972]

This discussion again? Yes, you guys get unfair prices and are rightfully pissed off, but the Valve doesn't set the prices of games not developed by them - The publishers do.

Read about it here: http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/3047119/steam-price-comparison-for-australians


I remember it being said that it might be due to retail stores complaining to the [insert relevant authority here] about Steam being unfair competition, but I can't find a source that confirms it.

 

[ten.to.ten]

Unless your friend is in another country you really won't have to worry about that.

Xbox games also are tied to a console, which become outdated every 5-6 years, and the new consoles are not guaranteed to be able to play the older ones games.

My PC can play games from over 20 years ago, can your xbox do the same?

When I buy games for my PC I can have them forever, consoles? I am lucky I can play it for more then 7 years.

My PC can't even play some games from 10 years ago. Operating systems update with at least as much frequency as consoles do and that plus quirks of new hardware can make old games unplayable.

Also I don't want to be dismissive of the OP but I don't really see what the problem is, if it's significantly cheaper to buy it on a disc then why not just do that?

It's not just Steam, I don't think I've ever seen a game on PSN or XBLA cheaper than a disc copy from most retailers. Downloadable games in general seem to be really bad value for money.