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.
WalkerD
The only logical reason I can think of is our Governments taxation on the industry. As the tax breaks are not predicted to be in effect until next year, we won’t be seeing any savings yet. That’s assuming the developers/publishers are willing to pass the savings on to consumers.
Then again, I don’t know what the US are like in terms of taxing the gaming industry. It’s just a thought.
GameBoss01
Maybe it’s the extra cost of the EU version and taxes… Also, to someone that doen’t know much about the diference in currency they just look equal, 40 to 40.
JohnnyBoy
And this is why I always buy the physical media. There is absolutely no incentive to buy from the PSN Store.
I am planning on getting this but will shop around for the best deal
enigma_flex
Seen as the hard copies of Vita games are not region locked, it pays to import them from the US. When Persona 4 comes out in the US in October I will be ordering my copy from US Amazon, especially as it doesn’t seem to be coming out in Europe. The combined price of the game and deliver, which will take only 5 to 10 days, comes to around £30 compared to the probable £40 price tag it will have in the UK. So my advice is to ignore the downloadable copies and even ignore the copies sitting on UK shelves and take advantage of the fact that all Vita games are region free.
flatspikes
Are there not network pass issues with some games if importing? Will a US network pass be redeemable in the EU store?
enigma_flex
Probably not. I suppose if your buying a game for its online multiplayer experience then importing may not be best, however, network passes can be bought separately.
fs
Aslong as living over here is more expensive, the consumer market will always be the same. Everything cost more over here, thats how it correlates. You should also think about wages, a job in the US you’ll get paid less for than over here, rent prices are higher, house prices are higher. All the factors that go into producing a game and disributing it to a specific area (be it online or offline) will alter the cost.