Poll: $110 Dollars for 1 Video Game FUCK THAT

[brunothepig]

I totally agree with you. I'm a fellow Aussie, and it's the main reason I've started just buying second-hand PS2 games, and shopping off Steam.
It is all sorts of factors though, shipping, tariffs and other taxes, the cost of censoring many games, and of course just because they can. Still, it sucks, and Crysis 2 is the first game I've bought on release (or will be anyway. Pre-ordering soon as I get paid) because Steam sales and pre-owned is just so much cheaper.

 

[RowdyRodimus]

Are there import rates? Or do you guys make more than we do?

Then again, I'm probably going to drop $100 on the Duke Nukem Balls of Steel Edition...

The average income in AUS is double that of the US, so it comes out even

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Can't you import the game from other countries, where the price is cheaper?

 

[gerrymander61]

Aussie prices: pirate

 

[Popido]

Pirates be pirating.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Are there import rates? Or do you guys make more than we do?

Then again, I'm probably going to drop $100 on the Duke Nukem Balls of Steel Edition...

The average income in AUS is double that of the US, so it comes out even

That sort of explains it. More you make, higher the prices are.

 

[Irriduccibilli]

In Denmark it is the same. We pay up to 550kr. ($110) for a newly released game. It really sucks. Thats why I prefer pre-ordering games on a site called coolshop.dk. I recomend it to any danish people on this site. On that site a newly released game cost around 360-450kr. ($70-$90) which is still much compared to the american prizes

 

[Kiefer13]

According to this converter I'm using, $110 Australian works out around £68.2 in Pounds Sterling. So yes, that's absolutely ridiculous, considering for a brand new game here, I'm £30 maybe £40 at maximum. I knew Australian prices were more expensive, but I didn't know it was that bad.

I really feel sorry for Australian gamers. Having to pay through the nose for games if they even get them at all, due to those draconian age rating laws.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Australian wages are on average (and in US dollars) DOUBLE what the average US wage is. While the conversion rate of the currencies are about the same, the sheer amount of money each person earns is vastly different. Basically your $110 games is the same as an American getting the same game for $55 when you figure in the differing monetary grosses of each person.

Quickly, US gamer earns $1 for something while the Aussie earns $2 for the same thing. The differing prices are set to make them equal to each countries SOL (Standard of Living) so that a person doesn't import all of their goods, which would cripple a country in the long run if enough people did it. It's the new Mutually Assured Destruction that is based around economics instead of Nukes.

i figured there was something like this, which in there case, if they are smart and use ebay and other online shops right, they are at an advantage as they can get U.S. prices with their double wage.

 

[Bocaj2000]

Do they know that all they are doing is encouraging piracy?

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Im not even shure if there is shipping. The box art is different, content is different. So i may guess that they are pressed and packed in Australia. Companies would be insane to ship all around the world while sending it online (or a single version per secured mail) and then copy it right there would be much cheaper most of the time.

 

[TilMorrow]

Damn that is bad and I thought that us guys who are currently living in the worst possible place to find games had it the worst.

E.G. Games get banned here before they even come out and are checked because they listen to random BS from Fox I believes.

Also we get charged some more on games than the numbers we get from a direct currency exchange from Dollars. That is probably due to shipping costs.

 

[Lady Larunai]

American Escapist you buy games for about $60 we Aussies buy them for nearly Double.

at first i thought it was because of the American Dollar was greater but now the Aussie currency is about the same now.

Why should we have to pay $110 for a video game thats purely unfair and a dog act. Surely there has to be a solution that will make Aussie Games cheaper.

i understand the whole shipping cost even a 30 dollar decrease would make me feel a bit better.

But its purely unfair

The problem is that contracts were undoubtedly negotiated when the Australian dollar was weaker. Suppliers are still tied into their purchase agreements even though the exchange rate has changed and they have to continue to sell at that rate to make a profit. Exchange rate changes have effects that take a while to materialise, you'll probably see a change when contracts are negotiated in six to twelve months.

Problem being isnt not just games.. its everything, from food to clothes to electronics, we have also been nearly dollar for dollar with america for 4 months at least, its more greed than contracts.. the retailers tried to tax all sales on the internet which failed.. (and their maths were wrong)..

minimum wage in australia is about 1800 a month? where as average is 4000 a month depending on job and city.. but on a 700$ a weeks payment your lucky to have 100 left over for a game anyway

australia just seems to run off greed.. everything's taxed twice.. you lose 15% of your pay.. than everything has a 10% tax on top (barring produce)

 

[Wintermoot]

transportation is pretty expensive
the only way you can make it cheaper is if you go to the USA, buy your games and smuggle them back to Australia

 

[HellsingerAngel]

#1. The average Australian earns more than the average American in terms of dollars. This means that prices inflate because Standard of Living is higher.

#2. These games are imported to a very inconvenient place to export to (sorry, it's true), especially for American games. This drives the cost up.

#3. Heavy taxation on games because Australia hates video games for whatever reason. This drives the price up more.

That being said, the average person in Australia earns around x1.7 as much as the average American. You want to complain about something? Canada has a dollar that fluctuates to equal to or below the American dollar, has worse minimum wage to SoL standards and sells video games for the same price as the U.S.! Yet, I've managed to collect over 80 current gen titles, plus about 20 PC titles, 3 last gen titles and all while earning minimum wage, in the past three years. I also eat out an average of about once a day, still go drinking once a month (at least), socialize frequently with going to the movies or buying a DVD to watch, suffer from a chronic illness with no medical expense coverage and took a trip to England for two weeks.

Bottom line: Your video games aren't that expensive in comparison to the rest of the world, you're just terrible with financial decisions.

 

[Rednog]

In Poland, you pay 220 zl for a console game. 150 zl for a PC game.
Mind, in USA/Australia you probably earn like 2500 dollars a month, while in Poland you earn 2500 zl a month.
Please don't complain about Australian Dollar's buying power, its not as bad.
Really.

As another person in Poland I'm just going to parrot this. The prices for some things are insane, I went to get a 360 controller and it was close to 260zl (~$90). In the states I can get a controller for like $35-40.
Though I guess the one consolation is that while the prices are initially high, after a few months they drop pretty quickly.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

-snip-

This guy makes a good point

I think minimum wage in America is something like $6, while Australia has something like 12. So for a person earning minimum wage in each country, itd cost them about 9 hours of work for a new release. Its not about the price, but how long you have to work to get it.

Similarly, British prices are a lot higher, but they earn a lot more.

My advice would be to import if you dont like the prices. Im looking into it simply because, when I was looking this up I found Bulletstorm at

EB Games: $120NZD [link]http://www.ebgames.co.nz/ps3/product.cfm?id=18901&refer=productsearch[/link]

Playasia: $85 NZD [link]http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-bp-49-en-70-3trs.html[/link]

Saving about $20 even with importing.

And if you buy at release, youll get it before its out in PAL Terrirories.

 

[GeorgW]

Can't you import the game from other countries, where the price is cheaper?

Region coding. Damn them!!
Also, shipping costs are ridiculous and it takes forever.