Local gamers are well aware of the huge disparity between the prices of Australian / New Zealand games to those being sold in America, and it becomes even more puzzling when the exchange rate is fairly close at the moment.
But for those who mainly enjoy their games on the PC, there is an alternative to buying games from retail. If you use the Valve's Steam service, you could purchase and directly download a game for the same U.S price. For example, the newly released Quake Wars: Enemy Territory can be had for $49.95 (US) which converts to $55 (AU), a massive savings from the RRP $89.95 if we were to buy it from a retail store.
However, if you're interesting in getting Company of Heroes, Dawn of War or Full Spectrum Warrior via Steam, you're fresh out of luck. Kotaku reports that publisher THQ are blocking their games on Steam for Australian and New Zealand consumers, and it's theorized that it's a deliberate tactic to force local consumers to buy from retail. From Kotaku...
In what I can only assume is a move by these publishers to ensure that AU/NZ consumers have to resort to retail given the favourable exchange rate between the US and AU dollar.
If this was done when Steam first came out you could (sort of) say, "Ok, well this is to stop parallel importing." Whether you agree with that or not it's an argument you could make. But to do it now, it is simply just a way for the local disties to keep retail happy. Funny thing is, if the exchange rate were taken into account both ways, game prices would have dropped no? Smells fishy to me...
It's a little disappointing that games in Australia cost nearly as much as they did when our dollar was only worth 50 US cents. I was thinking of getting the COH expansion through Steam. Now, I don't think I'll even bother with the boxed version.
I am so sick of artificial regions. Don't let them win - import the retail copies anyway from the cheapest region.
When I did the exchange for an XBox 360 Elite, US $479 it worked out to about $530 but the RRP in Aus is $729 figure that shit out?
Also you can't argue Tax or importation costs.
DVD Crave has PGR4 for $67 for the region free US copy, the Aus copy is $80.
i don't understand why they do it other than to rip us off here.
everytime they delay games here is the same.
most people who want the game will import it to get the game when it is first available and to save money .
if they released games here at the same time or even shorly after surely they would sell more then when they release them 6-12 months later.
c'mon, most games are released simultaneously or after a slight delay. Is there really that much of a problem with delays for Oz releases any more? I certainly haven't really noticed it, but then again, I can put up with a week or two...
c'mon, most games are released simultaneously or after a slight delay. Is there really that much of a problem with delays for Oz releases any more? I certainly haven't really noticed it, but then again, I can put up with a week or two...