Poll: Games prices in Australia

[eels05]

Whats funny is I could get a game shipped from the U.S and get still get it cheaper that buying it here in Oz.Farking hilarious.
Same deal with books,CD's,DVD's as well.

These days I NEVER buy brand new.I wait till it hits the second hand shelf like one day after release,how the fuck do people play and finish these games so quick?

 

[C3rtainD3ath]

I voted yes, just because im paying $120 for a pre-order copy of black-ops. ive traded in Medal of Honor and Red Dead Redemption, so ive only got 10 bucks left to pay. THe only way to avoid the $120 price tag, ive found, is to either buy the game at a supermarket (Big W etc.) or just wait for a pre-owned. For example, i bought a brand new MEdal of Honor for $70, and traded it in to game a week later for $50. So i spent $20....

 

[trog08]

Big W currently has Fable 3 for $88 and it's regular price is $99. Game and EB are the ones who mainly charge through the nose for games. I kinda don't get why people complain about prices when there are stores who don't charge nearly as much like JB and Big W.

 

[Continuity]

Does this overpricing include PC games? and do you have steam?

Steam jacks their online prices up for Australia anyway, and with the price of Internet data here (not to mention the speed), Steam isn't as good an option as you may think.

Well that's another reason I wont be moving to Oz then.. though to be fair the big hairy spiders are more then enough of a reason already

 

[asam92]

So an important point to note the Australian dollar and the US dollar are almost 1 for 1.
That said most games here are expensive, Fable 3 is $120 AUD yet a quick search online shows in the US it is $60. Given exchange rate wise this means if I was to fly to the US I could pay about half what I pay here I was curious. Would you guys who live in the US still buy games if they cost twice as much?

Yeah, I stopped buying games in stores when the AUD got past 80C to the USD, and now my local GameTraders went out of business, not surprising.
I just bought New Vegas on Ebay for $60, with $5 postage. So $65 all up compared to $110-$120 in stores.
The only time a new game may come out in Australia on release under $85 is when Big W have a release week special and a AAA title comes out (like Fallout NV) it becomes on sale for the first week for $70-$80 but this is only for the biggest titles and till stocks run out (which is quick) after that its jacked back up to $100 or more.

I assume that a games store like EB in the US makes say $30 profit on each game sold, it must easily be over $60 profit per game in Australia, now I know there is import taxes and postage and handling insurance etc, but USA and GB have to pay these as well to get it from Japan, China where ever they are manufactured, so why is Australian consumers paying so much more?

MAKES NO SENSE!!!

It's things like this that make me want to move to the US or Great Britain, this and the Import taxes and mark up prices on cars are just the same as the games, not to mention so many cars dont get release here either, but thats another story.
I wanted to by a MG X-Power (you Poms know what car i'm talking about) but it is not allowed into the country. SO PISSED OFF!!!

Sorry guys I'm ranting. I'll stop now.

 

[blind_dead_mcjones]

Does the Australian government hate video games or something? Because that is a huge rip off.

our former attorney general for south australia did hate them, can't say for the rest of the government

the cost pretty much comes from the low population compared to other western countries, the fact that australia is very isolated shipping wise, the lack of an R-rating, and the Goods and Services Tax (GST)

 

[C95J]

Does the Australian government hate video games or something? Because that is a huge rip off.

our former attorney general for south australia did hate them, can't say for the rest of the government

the cost pretty much comes from the low population compared to other western countries, the fact that australia is very isolated shipping wise, the lack of an R-rating, and the Goods and Services Tax (GST)

oh okay, that seems a bit more fair, but still unlucky for any fanatic Australian gaming fans...

 

[thedoclc]

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/05/monday-musings-the-price-is-right/ is a nice article about it.

Essentially, the reasons include:
1) Taxes on imports put in by the local government
2) Market conditions - they can get away with it
3) Increased cost of supply due to economies of scale
4) Global fluctuations in monies. Ubisoft deals in Euros while Bungie deals in dollars. Usually, the Australian branch reports to the home office and accounts in that currency. Since the Australian dollar can fluctuate, the prices settled at $100 AUS to accommodate both feast and famine.

A similar situation exists, for example, in Mexico. New video games are sold in Mexico for approximately $80-100 USD after the exchange. First, there are taxes. Second, there's an economy of scale in the US: greater demand, greater sales numbers, etc, able to allow a lower cost. And third, video games in Mexico are pretty much the purview of the rich and of Americans there for a brief period (such as me), so the companies can afford to put off people who can't afford their products anyway and charge those who can more. It's called price discrimination, and it's something companies do all the time. It's not always to your disadvantage; military and student discounts, senior citizen discounts, early bird specials, and special group rates are the same thing. You charge different prices based on not only on costs of production, but on all parts of supply and demand, and part of demand is motivation of groups of clients.

For the record, I'm -not- complaining about the higher price I'm paying in Mexico during my stay. It's my choice, pay it or not. I just change my spending habits. Instead, I'm buying more tequila and less video games. I don't need video games. I -like- them.

And today's prices aren't that bad; NES games used to cost $50 USD back when a new luxury car cost $8,000 USD and gas was under a dollar a gallon. Prices have gone down, adjusting for inflation. I remember paying $80 USD in the mid-nineties for Final Fantasy 3 (yes, FF3) on my SNES.

 

[CoL0sS]

NO!!! It's the same situation here, and I refuse to pay that much. I order most of my games online. Also the funny thing is that prices don't necessarily drop after some time. Just last week I found Freedom Fighters (2003 game) for 60$. Imagine that. But some people are comfortable being ripped so these games sell anyway.

 

[GiantSpiderGoat]

Jb Hifi normally puts it down too around about 50 - 60 dollars as soon as they can. I think its because of some government tax that this happens. Well that is my opinion anyway. Liberals are as much to blame for this as labor is. Although I only really like the West Australian branch of the Labor party.

 

[Vaccine]

I own, count them, 13 games on my PS3 since I got one at launch, I have a wishlist that's fairly goddamn long, but yet, I'm not paying upwards of $100 for games that much anymore.

The only game I find myself playing is WoW simply because, frankly, it's cheaper than supporting a gaming habit on a console.

One brand new PS3 game($100) per 2-3 months is around $400-600, a year. To be fair, I'd end up buying more than that if I was still mostly a console gamer, more like $1000-1500 depending how busy of a year it is for the industry.
WoW only costs me around $200 in subscriptions a year.
So yeah, clear choice for me.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

It'll be about 8 bucks shipping, though you'll need to mod your console to read games from USA, being different regions and all.

Yes...it's pretty rip-off down here.

I never got the whole regional thing with discs. Or is the problem with regional made consoles? Whatever, it makes no sense, the countries should come together and agree, this is the disc we are going to use, it will run in all consoles that it is made for.

So an important point to note the Australian dollar and the US dollar are almost 1 for 1.
That said most games here are expensive, Fable 3 is $120 AUD yet a quick search online shows in the US it is $60. Given exchange rate wise this means if I was to fly to the US I could pay about half what I pay here I was curious. Would you guys who live in the US still buy games if they cost twice as much?

I don't really get it. Are you guys over there having to pay some kind of huge import fee? Or are you having to pay an "our government hates video games fee"? Or are your retailers just ripping you off to get a 60 dollar extra profit? Because there is no other reason you guys would be paying that much.

Are your consoles over priced too? 299 for an 360 here, with the comparison to your games, you guys would be paying 599 for your consoles.

 

[Sonic Doctor]

Does the Australian government hate video games or something? Because that is a huge rip off.

That is what I was thinking. That or they are paying some insane import fee, or the retailers have banned together, to get a 60 dollar extra profit from the games.

 

[Elijin]

Well....in my experience...

www.playasia.com
www.365games.co.uk
www.game-lane.com.au

All three of these sites offer most games you could want, including backlogs. They also list which region the game comes from, the format (PAL/NTSC) and whether the games are region locked. Cost of shipping varies between sites from free, to a small cost for next day delivery, to free but ~week delivery time.

So yeah, do what me and all my friends do, dont buy them anymore. Its really not that hard, and your wallet will thank you.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

The better question is: why would you be buying video games in austriala anyways?

Just import them, I thought you guys had enough reasons to do so anyways.

 

[Luke Cartner]

So an important point to note the Australian dollar and the US dollar are almost 1 for 1.
That said most games here are expensive, Fable 3 is $120 AUD yet a quick search online shows in the US it is $60. Given exchange rate wise this means if I was to fly to the US I could pay about half what I pay here I was curious. Would you guys who live in the US still buy games if they cost twice as much?

I'd really suggest Steam mate, their prices are (afaik) universal. But yeah, that pretty much sucks, unless you standard is somehow twice the one in US, which I kinda doubt... seriously don't get why else they'd ramp up the prices that much for Aussies, outside the usual "because we can".

And I steam (although quick note some games such as fallout new vegas are forcing steam to charge regionalised prices so steam is a cure all for this) however many games just are not on steam. Also steam doesn't cover console games.

 

[Luke Cartner]

Does this overpricing include PC games? and do you have steam?

Yes on both counts.
PC games can be lower than console games however not by much.
Yes steam is available and if the producer hasn't thought to regionalise their prices (like they did with fallout new vegas) I can buy the games at US prices (if the game even is on steam).
My question wasn't so much about what options I had but would people in the US put up with this..

 

[Luke Cartner]

It'll be about 8 bucks shipping, though you'll need to mod your console to read games from USA, being different regions and all.

Yes...it's pretty rip-off down here.

I never got the whole regional thing with discs. Or is the problem with regional made consoles? Whatever, it makes no sense, the countries should come together and agree, this is the disc we are going to use, it will run in all consoles that it is made for.

So an important point to note the Australian dollar and the US dollar are almost 1 for 1.
That said most games here are expensive, Fable 3 is $120 AUD yet a quick search online shows in the US it is $60. Given exchange rate wise this means if I was to fly to the US I could pay about half what I pay here I was curious. Would you guys who live in the US still buy games if they cost twice as much?

I don't really get it. Are you guys over there having to pay some kind of huge import fee? Or are you having to pay an "our government hates video games fee"? Or are your retailers just ripping you off to get a 60 dollar extra profit? Because there is no other reason you guys would be paying that much.

Are your consoles over priced too? 299 for an 360 here, with the comparison to your games, you guys would be paying 599 for your consoles.

Our console are not over priced, they are about the same. Just the games. To my knowledge it is simply a case that the producers charge the retailers more... Its not a tax or anything, it is simply what JB hifi or eb games pay is just that much higher..

 

[Luke Cartner]

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/05/monday-musings-the-price-is-right/ is a nice article about it.

Essentially, the reasons include:
1) Taxes on imports put in by the local government
2) Market conditions - they can get away with it
3) Increased cost of supply due to economies of scale
4) Global fluctuations in monies. Ubisoft deals in Euros while Bungie deals in dollars. Usually, the Australian branch reports to the home office and accounts in that currency. Since the Australian dollar can fluctuate, the prices settled at $100 AUS to accommodate both feast and famine.

A similar situation exists, for example, in Mexico. New video games are sold in Mexico for approximately $80-100 USD after the exchange. First, there are taxes. Second, there's an economy of scale in the US: greater demand, greater sales numbers, etc, able to allow a lower cost. And third, video games in Mexico are pretty much the purview of the rich and of Americans there for a brief period (such as me), so the companies can afford to put off people who can't afford their products anyway and charge those who can more. It's called price discrimination, and it's something companies do all the time. It's not always to your disadvantage; military and student discounts, senior citizen discounts, early bird specials, and special group rates are the same thing. You charge different prices based on not only on costs of production, but on all parts of supply and demand, and part of demand is motivation of groups of clients.

For the record, I'm -not- complaining about the higher price I'm paying in Mexico during my stay. It's my choice, pay it or not. I just change my spending habits. Instead, I'm buying more tequila and less video games. I don't need video games. I -like- them.

And today's prices aren't that bad; NES games used to cost $50 USD back when a new luxury car cost $8,000 USD and gas was under a dollar a gallon. Prices have gone down, adjusting for inflation. I remember paying $80 USD in the mid-nineties for Final Fantasy 3 (yes, FF3) on my SNES.

THE AUD has been close to 1 for 1 over along period it has been > 90 c o the $US for the better part of 5 years and even higher recently.So I dont buy this, this essentially is price fixing which is technically illegal in Australia..