3 ms·

That is all well and good, anonymous MS guy can claim that the games will be cheaper in the long run, citing steam as the model that works and drives prices dow

by malbs 13y ago

That is all well and good, anonymous MS guy can claim that the games will be cheaper in the long run, citing steam as the model that works and drives prices down. Not in Australia. In Australia we pay 89.95 / 99.95 for a AAA game released on Steam, versus the USD price of 39.95 / 49.95 / whatever. It must be the shipping of the bits over the pacific that jacks the price up right? Yes, eventually the prices drop, and you can buy a game that originally retailed for almost $100 for under $20, but that takes a long time. I just gave up on buying big studio games on steam. I only buy indie stuff now. I was really excited about the xbone (day one owner of original xbox and 360), then the official word came out about it, and I decided I would buy the ps4 instead.

bcRIPster 13y ago
Actually, I saw recently that the reason for the price difference is because Aussi minimum wage is around $17/hr where as in the US it's around $8, so your pricing is inflation adjusted against common wages. I still think the pricing is inflated on digital content across the board though.
- malbs 13y ago
  Depends on your age/industry Aus minimum wage is as low as $5.87 (for a 15 yr old)
raudabaugh 13y ago
Even here in the states, the cheaper games line feels empty. So much of these decisions the result of pressure coming from the big publishers who are in trouble. Historically their idea of a sale for a console game is like 54.99 instead of 59.99. The only reason we saw steep cuts from Steam is because PC piracy was at an all-time high and is so much more accessible since you don't have to hard-mod anything. Also, it's worrisome how little MS is supporting the indie scene while they tout digital distribution as the future. With our current Internet infrastructure, they should be going after the indies first! Right now it just makes way more sense to download a bite size game over your connection than a full AAA title.

by malbs 13y ago

bcRIPster 13y ago

Actually, I saw recently that the reason for the price difference is because Aussi minimum wage is around $17/hr where as in the US it's around $8, so your pricing is inflation adjusted against common wages. I still think the pricing is inflated on digital content across the board though.

malbs 13y ago
Depends on your age/industry Aus minimum wage is as low as $5.87 (for a 15 yr old)

raudabaugh 13y ago

Even here in the states, the cheaper games line feels empty. So much of these decisions the result of pressure coming from the big publishers who are in trouble. Historically their idea of a sale for a console game is like 54.99 instead of 59.99. The only reason we saw steep cuts from Steam is because PC piracy was at an all-time high and is so much more accessible since you don't have to hard-mod anything. Also, it's worrisome how little MS is supporting the indie scene while they tout digital distribution as the future. With our current Internet infrastructure, they should be going after the indies first! Right now it just makes way more sense to download a bite size game over your connection than a full AAA title.