Last time I was over in the States I bought my daughter a dress and a wee snappy dog thing, and a load of sweets and crisps. They weren’t particularly cheap, but I wasn’t expecting them to be. Unlike games and movies which – for reasons I’m sure are perfectly obvious – tend to be considerably cheaper. Transport for one, of course, because shipping stuff around is less expensive when fuel is so much cheaper. Rent? Maybe. Wages? Not sure.
But here’s the thing, and I’m not the only one confused – why are digital downloads so much more expensive over here than in America? If we look at Burning Skies in isolation for a moment, this is a 3GB game that costs US gamers $36 (after SCEA’s little slip-up) and UK gamers £40. That’s a considerable difference – when you factor in exchange rates it’s about $60 dollar for dollar – around 70% higher than the American version.
[drop]And yes, the file size is a little bit bigger (to account, presumably, for the localised voice-work) but the figures in that respect don’t seem to correlate at all.Even if you take VAT and tax into account it’s still not pleasant reading – take 20% off $60 and it’s still $48, add on 10% (approximately) tax to the US version and you get nearer $40 again, and that’s against $60. There’s an odd difference here, and it’s not immediately obvious – to me – why that might be.
Lets assume that there’s no transport costs – this is a purely digital download. Are we, as consumers, footing the bill for advertising costs, or is this just a case of having to placate retailers who would throw their dummies out of the prams if Sony tried to actually sell the game at below the price they’re punting it out at on the shelves? If GAME are selling it for £40, does that mean SCEE have to match them on the Store or risking upsetting anyone on the high street?
That’s not been the case for past titles, digital pricing was something Sony started to get right with their first party titles like LittleBigPlanet PSP and ModNation Racers PSP. As far as I’m concerned that’s hardly my problem anyway, it’s something they should sort out with retailers and I shouldn’t have to consider.
I’m also curious as to what happened to the 10% discounts on PSN games we were promised?
There’s so much counting against the Vita just now – the lack of respect afforded to it on the E3 stage, the lack of prominent advertising, the growing feeling that there isn’t enough software on the way to sustain it and invigorate its Christmas sales. There’s also a lot to count against Resistance: Burning Skies – mediocre review scores and chart positions to match reflect a game which has moments of enjoyment mired in many flaws. So overpricing a key piece of software, when there’s plenty of discouragement from taking the leap already, seems like madness.
Is this a mistake from someone at SCEE? It seems unlikely, mistakes can be (and have been) corrected, why wouldn’t they fix this? So it appears that the overpricing in Europe is either the result of some unknown factor forcing their hand or a deliberate attempt to gouge customers in a market that traditionally accepts a fair bit of price gouging. Either way, it’s not really acceptable and it demands some sort of acknowledgement and explanation.
We won’t get it, of course, but it’s always worth asking the question.
Youles
I suspect that due to the lack of games out for the Vita, they’ve just kept the price high knowing some people are so desperate for games, they will buy it regardless of review scores. I’m actually enjoying Resistance more than I thought, given what I’d read about it. Admittedly, it’s not value for money, unless you really love the multiplayer.
teflon
Meet tonight? :)
Youles
I will try but can’t promise, my wife is ill and I need to do some paperwork, so the chances are slim. If it’s a weekly thing then I shall join you next week!
Jakster123x
Greed and stupidity.
hazelam
this is pretty much what i was going to say, though i’d probably have said it in a more long winded and rambling way. ^_^
gazzagb
Bang on.
xdarkmagician
I would replace stupidity with arrogance.
Sony knows that regardless of the price someone will buy it. Then in time they know when they drop the price 10% more people will buy it. and so on. Since people that refuse to buy at the high price don’t boycott the game completely at any price, sooner or later the game sells the same amount of copies.
hazelam
i think stupidity is pretty apt.
i mean this is the company who promoted a white psp while the other two regions were promoting a white vita.
xdarkmagician
stupidly would imply that Sony is just too stupid to price an item. Like they let a bunch of monkeys throw poo at board with giant numbers to set the price… and who knows that may be their go to move. But Sony knows what they’re doing, they have their obvious reason. The price is intentional, they’re just arrogant enough to think people will buy it at the inflated price.
hazelam
ok that price is evidence of greedy and arrogance, but looking at everything the company has done, i think stupidity still apples.
teflon
Wipeout 2048: $40 = €40 = £35 RRP. Apply 10% online discount and it’s £30.
Resistance BS: $40 = €45 = £40 RRP. No online discount in UK.
SCEE broke the pricing conversion that they’ve held to the US for 99% of game releases over the last 2 years, AND broke their commitment to the 10% discount. That’s a very poor showing from them.
In the end I found the game for £30 on Sainsbury’s. I’ve now got the Platinum, am storming through the SP a second time, briefly, and plan on getting some MP time out of it over the next couple of weeks before selling it on.
Tomhlord
If I see it at Sainsbury’s for £30 tomorrow, I’ll pick it up.
cam_manutd
Ordered it off Amazon for £30..would get Vita games from the store but games like Burning Skies are heavy on the memory card and a memory card of 64gb+ will be needed soon.
Spence1115
Tiny problem with your VAT calculations.
VAT is 20% of the ex-vat price. This means a price including VAT is 120% of the ex-vat price. So, to get rid of VAT, you need to take off 1/6th, not 1/5th, so if it’s $60 including VAT here, then it’s $50 ex-VAT, not $48. Minor but still.
Anyway, yeah the price differences on digital is stupid, but usually things like this are best based on a comparison against hourly wage. Average wage here is about £12/hr, $18/hr in America. On a lot of electronic stuff this usually gives a fairer comparison between us and America, but here, we get screwed with digital even with this comparison, as it would take an hour less for the average American to buy it than the average Britain.
DJ Judas
Perhaps the EU is footing the bill of increased costs for everything worldwide rather than risk losing custom in the key US market through a worldwide even pricehike?
The US is more of an open battleground in Microsoft Vs Sony terms than the EU is, so it would make sense for us to foot the bill over a slight increase in US pricing.
Jim Hargreaves
Bleedin’ ridiculous.
I only buy boxed copies of retail games and I know that, even a week or so after launch, I could still bag this for around £32 elsewhere.
Vaile23
I wouldnt worry yourselves, its rubbish and you shouldnt be buying it.
skibadee
I like it shows how good FPS will be on Vita.
Izorpo
because for some reason Sony have seemed to decide the EU must subsidize the US gaming market.
even considering the tax people pay in the US (anywhere from 0 sales tax to 12% depending on the state) still doesn’t account for the massive sums we are being overcharged – the euro gets it even worse as the euro was always worth more than the dollar but if its $9.99 its 9.99 euros and £7.99
in Feb my mother who lives in the states sent me $500 the value was £323 so if a British bank that takes 6 weeks to cash a cashiers cheque can convert foreign currency correctly why can’t a global company
for another bone to pick, that could make me think Sony has become US centric, why has the £ symbol disappeared from UK english settings? they made sure they gave us a $ symbol o_O
AddictedAndy
I am so angry about this. Despite the review scores I really want an FPS for my vita. It seems like so much was promised and so little has actually been delivered with this awesome little machine that cost me £300 and hardly gets used now. Uncharted and Wipeout are the only games that have interested me until Resistance. When I logged in to buy it last Friday it looked like you needed to buy the network pass as well, so £48! I was going to buy it with the fabled 10% discount for £36 but now have refused to buy it from anywhere until SONY sort it out. I’m worried that its going to be forgotten about and just a wasted investment when it has so much potential. The games that weren’t shown at E3 all look rubbish too IMHO.