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Poll Result |
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Do Australians pay too much for games? |
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| Yes |
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100% |
[ 8 ] |
| No |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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Total Votes : 8 |
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Author |
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Konedima
Grammar Police
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 1068
Location: Sydney, Land of Censorship
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 Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 11:57 am Post subject: Rant for the Day: Australian Game Prices |
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If icarus can have a thought for the day, then I can rant.
Today I'd like to rant about how much we Aussies pay for games. Shipping might cost a little extra (if they're not produced locally, that is), but it doesn't account for the price difference. Let's look at a standard game.
USD: 50
GBP: I'm not exactly sure how much an average game costs in the UK (maybe someone can fill me in) but for my rant I'll use the figure of 30 pounds.
AUD: 100
Now since the world revolves around the yanks (or they'd like to think it does), let's see those prices in USD:
US: 50 USD
GB: 59 USD
AU: 81 USD!
(For you British playing at home, that's about 41 pounds).
The extravagant games (PS3, X360, stuff like that), now cost 120 of our fine currency. They cost about 60 USD in the US (and if I'm right, about 40 pounds in the UK). Let's again see how much that is in the US currency.
US: 60 USD
GB: 78 USD
AU: 97 USD!
(Again for the British, that's about 49 pounds).
How about consoles? Let's pick a fine upstanding example of overpricedness such as the Playstation 3 (60gb version). First we'll see how much it is in a native currency...
USD: 599
GBP: 425
AUD: 1000 (Actually 999.95, but what the hey).
And again in the US currency.
US: 599 USD
GB: 834 USD!
AU: 808 USD
(412 pounds)
Ok, so we're not the most expensive for that, but we're close.
Back to my game point, let's see how much a game translates to in Aussie dollars (I'm using the "premium" games, purely because they give the most dramatic effect).
US: 60 USD = 74 AUD
GB: 40 GBP = 97 AUD
AU: 120 AUD = 120 AUD
I'm sure if I walked up to some random American and asked "Would you pay 97 bucks for a game?" the answer would be a resounding "HELL NO". If I walked up to some Australian and asked them "Should full price games should be 74 dollars?", what would their answer be? I don't think I need to elaborate there.
I believe my entire argument boils down to one point - You wouldn't pay that much for games - why the hell should we have to? |
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Poo Bear
Pod Team
Joined: 14 Oct 2002
Posts: 4121
Location: Sheffield, UK
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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The reason they give for games and consoles being expensive in the UK is:
a) they are always manufactured somewhere else and we have high import duties in general.
b) because they are made elsewhere and the pound is so strong the import taxes and shipping costs are amplified.
c) we have VAT, a sales tax.
d) the UK is one of the most expensive places to live in the world, with high prices seen as "normal".
I wonder if the same kind of things apply to Australia?? |
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Konedima
Grammar Police
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 1068
Location: Sydney, Land of Censorship
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:24 pm Post subject: |
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I don't know how much it costs to import stuff here, so I can't answer on that part. For the other ones however, I can answer thusly:
b) The Australian dollar is also pretty strong right now (our economy is better than it has been in ages), but I don't know how much that would affect it.
c) We also have taxes, although the government tries to make it simple (hah! I'd like to say that honestly) - everything you purchase in Australia has a flat 10% tax on it. How much is the VAT?
d) I don't know all that much about living expenses in Australia, but they're not particularly low (unless you feel like living in a shed in the outback).
Still Poo Bear, would you pay 50 pounds for a game? |
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Sorrow
Joined: 16 Jan 2004
Posts: 146
Location: Australia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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Sydney land prices are artificially high Kone, but Uk has it much worse from what i've heard.
but still interesting to see it all put into numbers, should do one factoring in shipping costs and see if it ends up being cheaper to import games from the US  , works for PC games anyhow |
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Weeble
Starscape Jedi
Joined: 25 Apr 2003
Posts: 1143
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
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| Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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| VAT is 17.5% in the UK. |
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icarus
Troll
Joined: 01 Mar 2004
Location: Olympia Washington
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| Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 12:27 am Post subject: |
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| Well I started something good and, WOW! I'm glad our games are cheep. |
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Konedima
Grammar Police
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 1068
Location: Sydney, Land of Censorship
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| Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:38 am Post subject: |
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| Weeble wrote: | | VAT is 17.5% in the UK. |
You have taxes that high and your games are still cheaper than here - Australia may be "the lucky country", but certainly not when it comes to this. |
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Tennants Lager
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
Posts: 30
Location: Paisley, Scotland
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| Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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The max I would pay for a game these days is £30. And that's if it was damn good.
More than that and I think you're off your fecking nut - just wait for the price to drop, the hints and tips will be out by then anyway. 
Then again I'm not getting a next-gen console in the forseeable future so I'm probably alone in that thinking.
Still, feel sorry for you Aussies though, what a bummer those prices are.  |
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SethP
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 302
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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A couple questions for you Kone:
1) Is that 10% already included in your 100 AUD price?
2) How much are subscription based games in your neck of the woods? I can understand shipping and import taxes causing some price inflation for boxed games, but I find it hard to believe there's any good reason to jack up the price of something like WoW (forgive me for mentioning it). |
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Konedima
Grammar Police
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 1068
Location: Sydney, Land of Censorship
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:57 am Post subject: |
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| SethP wrote: | A couple questions for you Kone:
1) Is that 10% already included in your 100 AUD price?
2) How much are subscription based games in your neck of the woods? I can understand shipping and import taxes causing some price inflation for boxed games, but I find it hard to believe there's any good reason to jack up the price of something like WoW (forgive me for mentioning it). |
1) Yes
2) Subscription based games which are paid for over the internet are usually in US dollars anyway, so it's the same (save fees, etc.). WoW game cards are $30 USD in the US, and the equivalent of $33 USD here.
Wii points (which I tend to buy a few of) are 10 USD/1000 points in the US, or a bit over 12 USD for 1000 points here. |
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Weeble
Starscape Jedi
Joined: 25 Apr 2003
Posts: 1143
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:07 am Post subject: |
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| Aren't US prices normally expressed without sales tax? I find buying anything in a US shop a frustrating experience because it's really hard to guess how much the stuff you're holding is actually going to cost. |
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Konedima
Grammar Police
Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 1068
Location: Sydney, Land of Censorship
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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| I've never bought anything in the US, so I don't know. What I highly doubt, however, is that taxes would account for the extra 60%. |
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SethP
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 302
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 1:47 pm Post subject: |
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While they wouldn't account for an extra 60%, sales taxes do make a little bit of a difference. And Weeble's right (on both counts). Sales tax is never included and, depending on which state you're in, it's almost always a different number! Talk about some fun shopping experiences...
Anyway, saying that US games cost only $50 or $60 is inaccurate if you have tax added in to your prices: it inflates the difference. Not by much, but by a little. How much sales tax you want to pretend US games have, though, is totally up to you. Check out the wikipedia article on US sales tax, if you're feeling brave. Man, a flat 10% tax has never looked so good... |
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Darth Dallas
Joined: 18 Oct 2003
Posts: 411
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Flat taxes were Presidential campaigning angles used before, but I've never heard of any state that's adopted it. I can't imagine that, no matter how they ever decide to "simplify" taxes in this country, it'll never seem that way. Otherwise it'd put companies like H&R Block outta business. |
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SethP
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 302
Location: Connecticut, USA
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| Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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Frankly, I could deal with the 50 different sales tax schemes if the tax was included in shelf prices. It was really nice (and kinda shocking) to take something up to the register in London and pay exactly what was on the sticker.
Also, taxes really shouldn't be simple. If memory serves, the ideal tax from an economic standpoint is very individualized. |
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