I find the following photograph I took from my USA 3DS and Australian 3DSXL to show up exactly how countries outside the USA get arse raped:

New Super Mario Bros. 2 digital download: USA $40 Australia $70 or $73US.

This isn't just Nintendo by the way, all companies via digital service rip off Australians, as well as New Zealanders.

On point to this matter though. If you wish to download New Super Mario Bros. 2 in America, it will cost you $39.99. However, if you are in Australia and wish to download it, it will set you back $69.95. That is a whopping $30 dollars more for what cost exactly the same to distribute. It is even worse by the fact that the US price of $40 is in fact $38.50 in Australian dolllars as the Australian currency is worth more than the US one! That means we pay $73US for it.

This is nothing short of theft. I am absolutely disgusted by this. No wonder the Australian Federal Government is having an enquiry into digital service prices. It is also no wonder that Apple and Microsoft refuse to attend (the government should force them to attend or face big fines) as they know they can't rationally or logically justify their crime. I hope at the end of the enquiry, they give sweeping powers to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to force change or start handing out fines. There are no additional costs to distribute something digital and any argument to the contrary is a flat out lie. There are no boxes, no shipping - nothing.

And another point to show just how bad that $70 price is - if you buy the card version, with the box and manual, all to put on your shelf and have for as long as you like, to resell if you so choose to, from any department store, will cost you $60. That's right, the retail version is $10 cheaper and that is without discounting that goes on.

Screw you Nintendo, and all the other digital distribution companies. Until you charge the same price in equivalent currencies, then I will treat you with the same disdain you treat us.

In the end, I got my red 3DS XL with a retail copy of Kingdom Hearts for an additional $30 as a bundle. That I am happy with. The XL is just awesome!

@Contrarian: That really is unfortunate...doesn't Steam still charge in USD for you guys?

@MB said:

@Contrarian: That really is unfortunate...doesn't Steam still charge in USD for you guys?

I don't know. Others will be in a better position to answer that, but I believe, like XBL and PSN, they set different and higher prices.

@MB said:

@Contrarian: That really is unfortunate...doesn't Steam still charge in USD for you guys?

My Steam account is linked to my aussie email and yes we still get charged in USD. I always have a currency converter in an open tab during Steam sales.

@Contrarian said:

@MB said:

@Contrarian: That really is unfortunate...doesn't Steam still charge in USD for you guys?

I don't know. Others will be in a better position to answer that, but I believe, like XBL and PSN, they set different and higher prices.

@adam1808 this will help you too.

Here is a website devoted to showing Steam and how the prices compare to other countries.

http://www.steamprices.com

Here is prices for the prices for The demon souls, they mirror Mario exactly.

£ 29.99

$ 39.99 » £ 25.25 (-15.81%)

$ 69.95 » £ 44.16 (+47.25%)

It even shows for me, USA gets this cheaper. However it does show you get marked up alot more than the small mark up UK normaly gets.

A more Aussie centered version.

$ 69.95

$ 39.99 » $ 39.99 (-42.83%)

£ 29.99 » $ 47.50 (-32.09%)

I know this is annoying as is. What is worse is with consoles.

Sony announce PS3. Say it will be $400 in the European region, it will be.....400 euros. Uk waits and the amount that is announced!!!. £400!!!!

At the time the Uk £ was double the USD. It is still worth more, however recession has made is just a quarter to a third more.

That is certainly a crock of shit. I hope the Australian government is able to intervene and do something about it. But it's no surprise. Nintendo's dirty. I love them as a game maker, but as a business, they have a long history of employing strong arm and unfair practices. Remember, they were sued by the US government in the NES days over their use of exclusive third party contracts, so maybe they'll be forced to get their shit together here. Love Nintendo, but pretty shady.

Wow, you guys really do get shafted down under... Nintendo have no shame. I hate that bloody company, I also dislike how this new game is all about money money money. In these tough times it makes things harder for parents. I'd rather have a Communist version of Super Mario Bros.

@frankfartmouth said:

That is certainly a crock of shit. I hope the Australian government is able to intervene and do something about it. But it's no surprise. Nintendo's dirty. I love them as a game maker, but as a business, they have a long history of employing strong arm and unfair practices. Remember, they were sued by the US government in the NES days over their use of exclusive third party contracts, so maybe they'll be forced to get their shit together here. Love Nintendo, but pretty shady.

@Wong_Fei_Hung said:

Wow, you guys really do get shafted down under... Nintendo have no shame. I hate that bloody company, I also dislike how this new game is all about money money money. In these tough times it makes things harder for parents. I'd rather have a Communist version of Super Mario Bros.

This has been going on for more than 10 years of Australia with ALL games. in 2003? there was a large demonstration in the form of boycotting stores to have the price driven down. It was pretty offical and organized...however there isnt a change.

This has been the norm for too long but it is sad that it has continued into the digital age. That's great that the Austalian government is looking into it. I hope some change happens to fix it.

@Wong_Fei_Hung said:

Wow, you guys really do get shafted down under... Nintendo have no shame. I hate that bloody company, I also dislike how this new game is all about money money money. In these tough times it makes things harder for parents. I'd rather have a Communist version of Super Mario Bros.

Whoaaaaaa. settle down there big fella, those are fighting words! Let's not say things we will all regret (/jk)

It's the same on Steam. I was living in Australia earlier this year and I had to get them to allow me to continue to buy from the Canadian store. Most new games were $89.99 or $99.99 USD, even though I could buy the exact same games through the Canadian store for $49.99 or $59.99. I can't believe anyone plays games in Australia, it's just so expensive. I know minimum wage is much better, but still, it sucks to pay so much more for the same product.

Why are you mad at Nintendo if all of the games down there are more expensive?

@MAN_FLANNEL said:

Why are you mad at Nintendo if all of the games down there are more expensive?

Yeah... this seems to be an Australia issue rather than a Nintendo issue. The games cost more because they all cost more - to offer a better deal via a downloadable service would fuck over retailers, and all that jazz. Write your congressman.

SUPRISE.

Don't buy it. Really you should be happy it's so cheap, a year or two ago it would have been 100 bucks.

@adam1808 said:

@MB said:

@Contrarian: That really is unfortunate...doesn't Steam still charge in USD for you guys?

My Steam account is linked to my aussie email and yes we still get charged in USD. I always have a currency converter in an open tab during Steam sales.

Steams prices seem to be fairly close to US for most titles recently but it seems to be mostly down to the publisher. Theres still the odd game that is upto 4 times the cost. I just came back from the states where steam sets the prices according to your region and I have noticed little change in prices. Most new games on there are 50 bucks - same as US. Things like call of duty modern warfare 2 however are still 90 dollars.

PSN seem to have brought their prices down to something a bit more reasonable sometime recently, but i'm fairly sure they are still up on US prices.

Origin you are still definitely paying more.

I don't know about LIVE since i haven't used it in about a year.

Nintendo is well known for being fucking ridiculous.

Over the last year or two the average cost for a brand new game has eased off from around $80-$120 to $50-$90

There was recently a parlimentary enquiry in Australia on costs associated with software, particularly in regards to digital distribution. It was found that most of the companies had weak ass excuses, if they even bothered to argue about it and not be arrogant jerks. With the awareness that's coming about surrounding it, i think it's only a matter of time before you see prices comes down across the board as companies are forced to be a little more honest to save public opinion of them.

Unfortunately the big companies like Nintendo are the most arrogant of the arrogant. Local businesses are often not much better. I saw Kirbys Epic Yarn on a "30 percent off" table at a Harvey Norman the other day. The original price it's discounted from? 99 fucking dollars. This is like a 2 year old game that was delayed 6 months before it made it to Australia which retailed in America new for somewhere around 40 dollars. Fuck me.

@Akyho: THANKS. One thing I'll say in favour of Origin is that they at least give me the prices in the currency of my IP address. Valve need to sort this out given how integral Steam is to PC gaming.

Er, they price it that way because they can get away with it. Why should the government intervene with a free market? Consumers lacking self-control shouldn't be grounds for regulation.

@Contrarian: Yeah, I know a few aussies from other gaming communities I used to frequent. Its absurd how much you guys have to pay for games. I mean most games hover around $100 don't they?

@MAN_FLANNEL said:

Why are you mad at Nintendo if all of the games down there are more expensive?

@CH3BURASHKA said:

@MAN_FLANNEL said:

Why are you mad at Nintendo if all of the games down there are more expensive?

Yeah... this seems to be an Australia issue rather than a Nintendo issue. The games cost more because they all cost more - to offer a better deal via a downloadable service would fuck over retailers, and all that jazz. Write your congressman.

This isn't just Nintendo by the way, all companies via digital service rip off Australians, as well as New Zealanders.

Screw you Nintendo, and all the other digital distribution companies. Until you charge the same price in equivalent currencies, then I will treat you with the same disdain you treat us.

If you read it properly, I address that. It is just that this example is specific to Nintendo. We don't have Congressman though, just Members of Parliament, House of Representatives and the Senate - the Senate is investigating this right now, as I wrote already:

No wonder the Australian Federal Government is having an enquiry into digital service prices. It is also no wonder that Apple and Microsoft refuse to attend (the government should force them to attend or face big fines) as they know they can't rationally or logically justify their crime.

It sucks for sure, but you also have to remember that the Australian minimum wage is twice that of the US ($15.50 in USD). The cost of living between the two is very different and almost everything is more expensive in Austraila. And that's relative to NYC, one of the most expensive places to live in the US.

What does Australia's corporate tax look like? How much does it really cost for Nintendo, Sony, Steam, etc. to have a presence there? Because if the government is taxing companies even more than America's government is, then it might not be Nintendo's fault, or Valve's fault, or Sony's fault, or whatever. It might be The Man's fault because it simply costs more to stock your products in Australia.

But this is just me guessing.

Looking at the Australian EBgames website, it looks to be the same with most games. They all cost more than games in the united states. The price for Darksiders 2 is listed at $88 AUD compared to $60 USD. That's a pretty big difference considering the AUD and the USD trade at about the same rate. It also looks like there is no unified price in Australia, the BLOPS 2 pre-order is $108 and the Halo 4 pre-order is $98. All games here in the states that are new cost $60.

@Lunar_Aura said:

Er, they price it that way because they can get away with it. Why should the government intervene with a free market? Consumers lacking self-control shouldn't be grounds for regulation.

Governments always intervene in the free market, even in the USA. That is the way it should be as a proper market is only proper when it is properly regulated. Australia's socialist leanings of regulation are the very reason Australia sailed through the GFC with no financial collapses by major financial institutions. The world acknowledges how right Australia got it. When corporations abuse a market, then they need to be put back in their place. The ACCC which monitors this does it for one single reason - the consumer. If it is not in the consumer's interest, it is likely illegal.

@Demoskinos said:

@Contrarian: Yeah, I know a few aussies from other gaming communities I used to frequent. Its absurd how much you guys have to pay for games. I mean most games hover around $100 don't they?

Most new games for home consoles start out at $100, but competition has driven the price down a fair bit. They were about $100 in 1990, so nothing has changed and that kind of makes games a much cheaper hobby than it ever was, No excuse for price gouging on digital service though.

@DigTheDoug said:

It sucks for sure, but you also have to remember that the Australian minimum wage is twice that of the US ($15.50 in USD). The cost of living between the two is very different and almost everything is more expensive in Austraila. And that's relative to NYC, one of the most expensive places to live in the US.

That only justifies retail, not digital. The only reason that can be made is to protect the local distribution companies, to protect their margins. Going back to Lunar_Aura's point then, this is about market force and if the digital price drives down the retail price, then that is just the evolution of the market. Just because we are a successful country doesn't mean we should have to pay much, much more. The damn PS3 was $1,000 when it was released! I guarantee you Sony made a much bigger margin in Australia than the USA.

Australia gets charged more for a video game... In other shocking revelations, fish can swim. This is nothing new. Our minimum wage is almost double that of Americas, so it stands to reason we should pay twice as much for things. It is actually balanced; you're just being entitled.

Isn't Australian minimum wage like 15$?

@Lunar_Aura said:

@Contrarian: Sure, you're right. I should have specified on things that are not basic human necessities, government shouldn't get in the way. My stupid opinion, obviously. Government always sticks its nose where it doesn't belong.

No, it is just your opinion I happen to disagree with. I firmly believe in and support socialist principles in a free market democracy and am not ashamed to shout it. I pay my taxes so people get government services, benefits, schooling and free healthcare. I also expect them to regulate the living hell out of business to ensure they act in a way that benefits society as its first objective, at a profit.

@believer258 said:

What does Australia's corporate tax look like? How much does it really cost for Nintendo, Sony, Steam, etc. to have a presence there? Because if the government is taxing companies even more than America's government is, then it might not be Nintendo's fault, or Valve's fault, or Sony's fault, or whatever. It might be The Man's fault because it simply costs more to stock your products in Australia.

But this is just me guessing.

Near as I can ascertain from Wikipedia, Australia has a flat 30% corporate rate and the USA up to 38%. A company that isn't based in Australia and distributes only pay tax in the country they operate in. The world tax web is very confusing I must say. We must be careful to seperate digital from retail. We expect to pay ore for retail due to higher costs of doing business outside of tax, especially our higher wages.

@FlarePhoenix said:

Australia gets charged more for a video game... In other shocking revelations, fish can swim. This is nothing new. Our minimum wage is almost double that of Americas, so it stands to reason we should pay twice as much for things. It is actually balanced; you're just being entitled.

@MikkaQ said:

Isn't Australian minimum wage like 15$?

That is irrelevant. Products should be charged on a cost and reasonable profit basis. Anything more is price gouging. Nothing entitled about that at all. If $40 is a reasonable return on a price of a game, then that applies everywhere. If it is retail, then other factors are at play.

My staff get $26 an hour by the way, but the absolute minimum is about $16.

@Contrarian: different topic but you're the first person I know that lives in a PAL region and has an import 3DS: does your US system work with a AU power adapter? I'm just guessing you guys use the same voltage as most EU countries do (220V)?

I'm asking because I'm afraid they might've changed the battery type from a multi-norm type to one specific to the regional voltage standard (110V for the US) because they've been region locking systems since the DSi. The DS and DSlite were still region free and could be used with any power supply from any region because of it.

At some point I want to import a North American 3DS because I know that sooner or later PAL regions are gonna miss out on really cool titles like the DS did (no Radiant Historia for Europe is a shame!)

@Contrarian said:

@believer258 said:

What does Australia's corporate tax look like? How much does it really cost for Nintendo, Sony, Steam, etc. to have a presence there? Because if the government is taxing companies even more than America's government is, then it might not be Nintendo's fault, or Valve's fault, or Sony's fault, or whatever. It might be The Man's fault because it simply costs more to stock your products in Australia.

But this is just me guessing.

Near as I can ascertain from Wikipedia, Australia has a flat 30% corporate rate and the USA up to 38%. A company that isn't based in Australia and distributes only pay tax in the country they operate in. The world tax web is very confusing I must say. We must be careful to seperate digital from retail. We expect to pay ore for retail due to higher costs of doing business outside of tax, especially our higher wages.

Well, in that case, you're right. I was just making sure.

I'm guessing it's the Austrailian government adding taxes to electronic media, and not the software companies. It's the same here in Central America. I don't even know how anyone can afford an Xbox or PS3 down here. I can sell my used US games down here for almost the same amount of money that I bought them for in the US :P

Most of the confusion and questions here can be solved by watching this.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/stories/s3572684.htm

@DeF said:

@Contrarian: different topic but you're the first person I know that lives in a PAL region and has an import 3DS: does your US system work with a AU power adapter? I'm just guessing you guys use the same voltage as most EU countries do (220V)?

I'm asking because I'm afraid they might've changed the battery type from a multi-norm type to one specific to the regional voltage standard (110V for the US) because they've been region locking systems since the DSi. The DS and DSlite were still region free and could be used with any power supply from any region because of it.

At some point I want to import a North American 3DS because I know that sooner or later PAL regions are gonna miss out on really cool titles like the DS did (no Radiant Historia for Europe is a shame!)

We have a different voltage system to the UK, ours is 240V. As for charging though, I use my Au charger without a single problem. Did the same with a NTSC DS I have, as well as my NTSC Wii. Most electrical items don't have the same issues they had in the 90s near as I can figure. They seem to make it all universal now.

Don't buy it and hope no one else does.

Honestly I would just be glad if they could release games down here around the same time as America. I want my Persona 4 Arena...

@Contrarian said:

@DeF said:

@Contrarian: different topic but you're the first person I know that lives in a PAL region and has an import 3DS: does your US system work with a AU power adapter? I'm just guessing you guys use the same voltage as most EU countries do (220V)?

I'm asking because I'm afraid they might've changed the battery type from a multi-norm type to one specific to the regional voltage standard (110V for the US) because they've been region locking systems since the DSi. The DS and DSlite were still region free and could be used with any power supply from any region because of it.

At some point I want to import a North American 3DS because I know that sooner or later PAL regions are gonna miss out on really cool titles like the DS did (no Radiant Historia for Europe is a shame!)

We have a different voltage system to the UK, ours is 240V. As for charging though, I use my Au charger without a single problem. Did the same with a NTSC DS I have, as well as my NTSC Wii. Most electrical items don't have the same issues they had in the 90s near as I can figure. They seem to make it all universal now.

Uk and Australia have a very similar Voltage system. We both have 240v and at 50hz rather than 60hz but thats dosnt matter too much these days.

Australia has different plugs but all things these days with a charger has a transformer in them and can take anywhere from 100v to 250v so its only the actual plug thats different so you just need a converter usually.

@Rowr said:

Most of the confusion and questions here can be solved by watching this.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/stories/s3572684.htm

Pretty much goes along with my attitude. Thanks for that, I stopped watching GG when they brought in Hex.

@FlarePhoenix said:

Honestly I would just be glad if they could release games down here around the same time as America. I want my Persona 4 Arena...

Which is why I hate region coding and bloody Nintendo are the worst for it. It is why I usually import an NTSC model.

@CABBAGES said:

@Contrarian said:

@DeF said:

@Contrarian: different topic but you're the first person I know that lives in a PAL region and has an import 3DS: does your US system work with a AU power adapter? I'm just guessing you guys use the same voltage as most EU countries do (220V)?

I'm asking because I'm afraid they might've changed the battery type from a multi-norm type to one specific to the regional voltage standard (110V for the US) because they've been region locking systems since the DSi. The DS and DSlite were still region free and could be used with any power supply from any region because of it.

At some point I want to import a North American 3DS because I know that sooner or later PAL regions are gonna miss out on really cool titles like the DS did (no Radiant Historia for Europe is a shame!)

We have a different voltage system to the UK, ours is 240V. As for charging though, I use my Au charger without a single problem. Did the same with a NTSC DS I have, as well as my NTSC Wii. Most electrical items don't have the same issues they had in the 90s near as I can figure. They seem to make it all universal now.

Uk and Australia have a very similar Voltage system. We both have 240v and at 50hz rather than 60hz but thats dosnt matter too much these days.

Australia has different plugs but all things these days with a charger has a transformer in them and can take anywhere from 100v to 250v so its only the actual plug thats different so you just need a converter usually.

Oh what the Wii had a multinormed power input as well? nice, I thought only the PS3 did that since it has the PSU built into the system.

Very cool, thanks you two!

Kinda what's busted with the "global economy". Only corps and banks get to play on the global stage - offshoring supply chains, taking advantage of the best global tax rates and laws. Consumers don't get to shop for the best global prices.

@DeF said:

@CABBAGES said:

@Contrarian said:

@DeF said:

@Contrarian: different topic but you're the first person I know that lives in a PAL region and has an import 3DS: does your US system work with a AU power adapter? I'm just guessing you guys use the same voltage as most EU countries do (220V)?

I'm asking because I'm afraid they might've changed the battery type from a multi-norm type to one specific to the regional voltage standard (110V for the US) because they've been region locking systems since the DSi. The DS and DSlite were still region free and could be used with any power supply from any region because of it.

At some point I want to import a North American 3DS because I know that sooner or later PAL regions are gonna miss out on really cool titles like the DS did (no Radiant Historia for Europe is a shame!)

We have a different voltage system to the UK, ours is 240V. As for charging though, I use my Au charger without a single problem. Did the same with a NTSC DS I have, as well as my NTSC Wii. Most electrical items don't have the same issues they had in the 90s near as I can figure. They seem to make it all universal now.

Uk and Australia have a very similar Voltage system. We both have 240v and at 50hz rather than 60hz but thats dosnt matter too much these days.

Australia has different plugs but all things these days with a charger has a transformer in them and can take anywhere from 100v to 250v so its only the actual plug thats different so you just need a converter usually.

Oh what the Wii had a multinormed power input as well? nice, I thought only the PS3 did that since it has the PSU built into the system.

Very cool, thanks you two!

I am just glad I don't need to stuff around with a step-down converter (I think that is what it was for us) anymore.

@tourgen said:

Kinda what's busted with the "global economy". Only corps and banks get to play on the global stage - offshoring supply chains, taking advantage of the best global tax rates and laws. Consumers don't get to shop for the best global prices.

Good way of looking at it - they want the rules to suit them and block them suiting us, the consumers.

@Contrarian said:

@DeF said:

@CABBAGES said:

@Contrarian said:

@DeF said:

@Contrarian: different topic but you're the first person I know that lives in a PAL region and has an import 3DS: does your US system work with a AU power adapter? I'm just guessing you guys use the same voltage as most EU countries do (220V)?

I'm asking because I'm afraid they might've changed the battery type from a multi-norm type to one specific to the regional voltage standard (110V for the US) because they've been region locking systems since the DSi. The DS and DSlite were still region free and could be used with any power supply from any region because of it.

At some point I want to import a North American 3DS because I know that sooner or later PAL regions are gonna miss out on really cool titles like the DS did (no Radiant Historia for Europe is a shame!)

We have a different voltage system to the UK, ours is 240V. As for charging though, I use my Au charger without a single problem. Did the same with a NTSC DS I have, as well as my NTSC Wii. Most electrical items don't have the same issues they had in the 90s near as I can figure. They seem to make it all universal now.

Uk and Australia have a very similar Voltage system. We both have 240v and at 50hz rather than 60hz but thats dosnt matter too much these days.

Australia has different plugs but all things these days with a charger has a transformer in them and can take anywhere from 100v to 250v so its only the actual plug thats different so you just need a converter usually.

Oh what the Wii had a multinormed power input as well? nice, I thought only the PS3 did that since it has the PSU built into the system.

Very cool, thanks you two!

I am just glad I don't need to stuff around with a step-down converter (I think that is what it was for us) anymore.

Yea I was afraid of having to get one of those if that region locking madness gets even crazier and sillier...

At least Nintendo determines your region not based on your IP but on some type of code in the system itself. That can obviously be a positive or a negative thing.

@Contrarian said:

That is irrelevant. Products should be charged on a cost and reasonable profit basis. Anything more is price gouging. Nothing entitled about that at all. If $40 is a reasonable return on a price of a game, then that applies everywhere. If it is retail, then other factors are at play.

My staff get $26 an hour by the way, but the absolute minimum is about $16.

Alright, entitled might have been a bit harsh; sorry about that. I actually asked someone at Gametraders once about the price and he told it is because here they only have one supplier for games. It means they can pretty much set whatever price they want, and the retailers need to make a profit so they need to charge more than that. With digital distribution, they can't charge a lot less than the retail stores otherwise they'll spit the dummy and refuse to stock the games altogether.

@Contrarian said:

@MikkaQ said:

Isn't Australian minimum wage like 15$?

That is irrelevant. Products should be charged on a cost and reasonable profit basis. Anything more is price gouging. Nothing entitled about that at all. If $40 is a reasonable return on a price of a game, then that applies everywhere. If it is retail, then other factors are at play.

My staff get $26 an hour by the way, but the absolute minimum is about $16.

Actually that's not irrelevant at all. The consequence of governments forcibly setting a high minimum wage means the cost of all goods have to be high in order to pay those high wages in the first place. This is the basis for inflation. You may think that an engineer making $50 per hour in your country and an engineer making $50 in the US are one and the same, but they are not. The company employing the engineer in the US isn't paying their cleaning staff, their cafeteria cooks, the people making deliveries, etc. the $14/h Austrailian minimum wage. Now, I'm sure you understand this, but what you are wondering why the hell would this affect downloadable/electronic content? The answer is simple. Aussies are already conditioned to pay more money for stuff, and game publishers know this. Are more people going to buy the games if the prices were $20 cheaper? Of course not! Any Aussie gamer is already willing to pay the premium because they've been doing it for over a decade. Now why would any publisher want to lose out on making all that money? That is, after all, why they are running a business. It's harsh, and crappy, but unfortunately the world kind of sucks that way.

Sorry duder that sucks but Go America!!!!

There seems to be some sort of weird governmental policies over in Australia which force at least some companies' hands in the matter. As I recall GOG.com—which proudly boasts of maintaining a consistent price on all their games worldwide—still nonetheless found itself having to sell The Witcher 2 at an inflated price for Australian customers. I believe they opted to split the difference for such customers with store credit (i.e. upon purchase Australian customers received a GOG.com gift card equivalent to how much more they payed compared to international customers), but the fact that it was both their game and their store (GOG.com is owned by CD Projekt) leads me to think there's more elements involved in the issue than taxes and straightforward exploitation on the part of the publishers.

Stop using exchange rates to compare prices. That's a foolish endeavor, especially since the USD is very weak at the moment.

wow that sucks. i know games cost a lot there, but that just sucks.

@killr0y said:

@Contrarian said:

@MikkaQ said:

Isn't Australian minimum wage like 15$?

That is irrelevant. Products should be charged on a cost and reasonable profit basis. Anything more is price gouging. Nothing entitled about that at all. If $40 is a reasonable return on a price of a game, then that applies everywhere. If it is retail, then other factors are at play.

My staff get $26 an hour by the way, but the absolute minimum is about $16.

Actually that's not irrelevant at all. The consequence of governments forcibly setting a high minimum wage means the cost of all goods have to be high in order to pay those high wages in the first place. This is the basis for inflation. You may think that an engineer making $50 per hour in your country and an engineer making $50 in the US are one and the same, but they are not. The company employing the engineer in the US isn't paying their cleaning staff, their cafeteria cooks, the people making deliveries, etc. the $14/h Austrailian minimum wage. Now, I'm sure you understand this, but what you are wondering why the hell would this affect downloadable/electronic content? The answer is simple. Aussies are already conditioned to pay more money for stuff, and game publishers know this. Are more people going to buy the games if the prices were $20 cheaper? Of course not! Any Aussie gamer is already willing to pay the premium because they've been doing it for over a decade. Now why would any publisher want to lose out on making all that money? That is, after all, why they are running a business. It's harsh, and crappy, but unfortunately the world kind of sucks that way.

The only relevancy applied here is that Australia can be gouged because they are used to it? I hardly see how that matters in the brave new world of technology. I also fail to see how that justifies it.

@theManUnknown said:

There seems to be some sort of weird governmental policies over in Australia which force at least some companies' hands in the matter. As I recall GOG.com—which proudly boasts of maintaining a consistent price on all their games worldwide—still nonetheless found itself having to sell The Witcher 2 at an inflated price for Australian customers. I believe they opted to split the difference for such customers with store credit (i.e. upon purchase Australian customers received a GOG.com gift card equivalent to how much more they payed compared to international customers), but the fact that it was both their game and their store (GOG.com is owned by CD Projekt) leads me to think there's more elements involved in the issue than taxes and straightforward exploitation on the part of the publishers.

It has nothing to do with the government as it is purely market forces at play. The only reason can be distribution companies protecting long held practices that benefit them at the expense of the consumer. This excuse only applied in a world of real, physical items and real shops with real people with real wages. The digital age is an entirely different matter. Let me try it this way:

I make a game in America and it I need to sell it for $30US to make a decent profit, so that is what I sell it for.

An American buys it for $30US and we are all happy. An Australian buys it and pays $30US (irrespective of the current exchange rate) then I am still happy, as I made my $30US. However, if that Australian pays $68US, at the momentary exchange rate, then my profit goes through the roof and I am even happier.

I did nothing more to make that extra money, not a single thing. How is that justified? Just as we benefit when we have a good exchange rate, we also suffer when we have a bad exchange rate - free market and all.

@Levio said:

Stop using exchange rates to compare prices. That's a foolish endeavor, especially since the USD is very weak at the moment.

See above, plus remember that physical has nothing to with digital. We expect to pay what it is worth at that time and currency rates are relevant to what the price will be at that moment.

Wait, since when has the Australian Dollar been worth more than the US Dollar? Dammit!

@Contrarian:

This is nothing short of theft.

No it is not theft.

I am absolutely disgusted by this. No wonder the Australian Federal Government is having an enquiry into digital service prices. It is also no wonder that Apple and Microsoft refuse to attend (the government should force them to attend or face big fines) as they know they can't rationally or logically justify their crime. I hope at the end of the enquiry, they give sweeping powers to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to force change or start handing out fines. There are no additional costs to distribute something digital and any argument to the contrary is a flat out lie. There are no boxes, no shipping - nothing.

Sweeping powers was one of the reasons why Australia couldn't get an 18+ Rating for Games until just last year, are you sure you want them to have sweeping powers?

And another point to show just how bad that $70 price is - if you buy the card version, with the box and manual, all to put on your shelf and have for as long as you like, to resell if you so choose to, from any department store, will cost you $60. That's right, the retail version is $10 cheaper and that is without discounting that goes on.

The reason Digital prices are as expensive as they are in your region is so they don't kill the physical games market. If they priced it just the same as America then they would have to price the physical game the same, and would loose money on shipping, duties, and so forth.

@MooseyMcMan said:

Wait, since when has the Australian Dollar been worth more than the US Dollar? Dammit!

For most of the last 2 years, plus times before that. At the highest we were getting as much as $1.10 for your dollar. Currently it is about $1.05. Our interest rates are so much higher than yours. If I remember correctly (and I may be wrong), the US is about 0.5% and ours is about 3.5%. Other countries and business are buying our dollar because it is safe and they get a very good return. However, if Europe falls apart and the world goes to crap again, then people take their money out of Australia and stick it in US dollars because when it is really bad, the US is the safest place. Then I dollar could and likely would go as low as 50 cents.

The same applies to Canada, which is worth even more. Those cocky, smart and adorable Canadians are worth about $1.10 at the moment. Australia and Canada are very similar as they are both social democracies, so proper regulation meant they didn't have the same issues as others with collapses, plus they are both exporters of natural resources, especially to China and India. Maybe the Americans should look at invading Canada - you know it makes economic sense!

@Contrarian: I knew the Canadian dollar was around the same as the US dollar, but they're the number 1 supplier of oil and maple syrup to the US, that makes sense.

What does Australia have? Crocodiles, freaks of nature (platypus), and overly venomous critters (including the platypus). You can't make a profit off of that!

Also, if you want to know what happens when the US threatens to invade Canada, watch the film Canadian Bacon.