|OT| Steam regional pricing is getting worse over time
- Thread starter texhnolyze
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OP
This is the worst thing about all this. When platform holder(s) apply regional pricing, the first thing that people would do is to abuse the system. There was a thread in Era discussing it earlier this month, but sadly it's mixed with a drama between the OP and another user, so it got locked rather quickly. But from that thread, I saw people normalizing it. There's one argument that I can still remember:
"Companies buy stuff or manufacture their products from cheaper regions all the time and it's fine, why can't we as the consumers do the same?"
When you really get down to it, the problem is that selling physical things is completely different to selling digital things. I would say "buying and selling", but with digital content you often can't even do that. It's very difficult to draw fair parallels to real-world manufacturing due to the abstract nature of digital goods.
For example, historically you paid MORE for foreign goods. Because those goods had to be shipped and stored and stuff like that. Some argue the modern analogy is server hosting costs. Local staff. Stuff like that. Back in 2013, someone noted that you could get on a plane, fly to America, buy software, fly back, and it would be cheaper than buying it locally. The crazy thing about videogame pricing is that it's LOWER regionally because the goal was to curb piracy by making stuff affordable by taking into account the average wage. And because server hosting costs aren't THAT expensive, it's a no-brainer to reduce prices in those regions -- however, you do get the immediate problem of savvy customers wanting to exploit pricing.
Companies like Adobe and Microsoft and a number of others traditionally charged MORE for their IT products outside America. I guess Bethesda are one of the only game publisher smoking that pipe with their eyebrow-raisingly overpriced Australian Steam prices.
And that's kinda the rub, isn't it? See, what I think happens is that people feel that they're being overcharged for games. Instead of seeing regional pricing as helping other regions, they see it as gouging them when they pay $60USD instead of $30USD. In Bethesda's case, that's likely true to some extent. But elsewhere it isn't.
well, i mean - it SHOULD work like this ... but the problem here is that when consumers start doing that, the companies just raise the prices for everyone
What if we organize. If anyone have a problem with some regional price, then post in steam and everyone here help with a post, so more people can see the problem? At least we can try 
I made this yesterday
steamcommunity.com
I know is a game without much playerbase but still, if we not communicate they will never fix it. Maybe in games with more players we will see more people and more post.
I made this yesterday
Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection General Discussions :: Steam Community
Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection - INFORMATIONApril 26th, 2019 6:00 PM JST Update The necessary system requirements were previously listed incorrectly. This error has been fixed, so please be sure to check the actual system requirements which are now displayed. We apologize for any...
I know is a game without much playerbase but still, if we not communicate they will never fix it. Maybe in games with more players we will see more people and more post.
What if we organize. If anyone have a problem with some regional price, then post in steam and everyone here help with a post, so more people can see the problem? At least we can try
eh, people already do that when any game with shitty regional pricing releases ... publishers don't give a fuck about people complaining ... they only care about people not buying those games
I think that posting here, and on Steam forums is a good idea however the change depends on the company.What if we organize. If anyone have a problem with some regional price, then post in steam and everyone here help with a post, so more people can see the problem? At least we can try
I made this yesterday
Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection General Discussions :: Steam Community
Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection - INFORMATIONApril 26th, 2019 6:00 PM JST Update The necessary system requirements were previously listed incorrectly. This error has been fixed, so please be sure to check the actual system requirements which are now displayed. We apologize for any...
I know is a game without much playerbase but still, if we not communicate they will never fix it. Maybe in games with more players we will see more people and more post.
Bungie, for example, went and reverted the Argentinian price for Destiny 2, Konami, in the other hand had forum posts for both Castlevania and Arcade Collections regarding the SA prices and never addressed that. I even twitted to them to no avail. People also have been posting on PES 2020 forums non-stop since for some reason they are charging 4249,00 AR$ (U$98) for the standard edition. Contra Collection had a less shitty regional pricing but still was pretty bad.
What I mean is, some publishers will look into it and try make things right, others will straight up ignore people.
I dont really understand regional pricing and this may sound a bit harsh.
But why should you get games cheaper just because you live in a diferent country?
I always just assumed if a game was $60, it would be whatever country's equivalent of $60
But why should you get games cheaper just because you live in a diferent country?
I always just assumed if a game was $60, it would be whatever country's equivalent of $60
OP
OP
Aelphaeis Mangarae lashman there's also the fact that people have to use VPN to exploit the regional pricing. Won't people think for a second that they can't access the cheaper regions store normally because they aren't supposed to access them?
well, AAA games almost are nowadays
too bad that people in some of those countries earn like $300 per month on average (and sometimes even less than that)
There is always a thread like that. Last time I got in the middle of it was doing the EGS mega-sale (not I'm going to buy from EGS but that's another discussion
). With regional price and the $10 discounts there were some posts "hey, Borderlands 3 for $20, cool" and suddenly half the thread was about "what do I need to do the get it for that price?"And yes, the "companies do it so why can't I" is always used. It's a very complicated discussion but in the end it doesn't matter. If people abuse it, prices go up and you end up screwing people who earn a lot less than you. So the very least you can do is not go around gloating in forums that you got the game cheaper...
The one exception I have personally is if you are in on the poor regions that are currently getting fucked with prices even higher than the US..... then feel free to abuse if you can
People don't have income in US dollars around the world. When you do the conversion, for a lot of countries people will earn a lot less for the same jobs. For example over here the minimum wage is around $255 dollars, so $60 is very expensive to a lot of people. If the product has a fixed physical cost to produce, there isn't much you can do if it's being imported, but games/movies/software are not like that. You are trying to recoup production costs so there is a lot of room to change the price. What Steam showed is that reducing prices for poorer regions greatly expanded the market because with good price and service more people choose to buy instead of pirate.
EDIT:
As lashman said, we are almost there for the bigger games, because big corporations will obviously try to charge more and more. The market is not the same as 10 years ago so is hard to predict how it will react, but I for one I'm already skipping several games that I would have bought on day 1 and waiting for at least 50% discounts.
The only solution is waiting, dont buying day 0 and wait for discounts
Phoenix RISING
A phoenix always RISES!
Yeah I noticed. I said this elsewhere, but CDKeys prices have been trash for a hot minute now.
Indivisible · AppID: 421170
Indivisible is a hand drawn action RPG platformer from Lab Zero, creators of the critically acclaimed Skullgirls! Set in a huge fantasy world, Indivisible tells the story of Ajna, a fearless girl with a rebellious streak who sets out on a quest to save everything she knows from being destroyed...
Welp, another game that would've made many people interested got dumb regional pricing.
Indivisible · AppID: 421170
Indivisible is a hand drawn action RPG platformer from Lab Zero, creators of the critically acclaimed Skullgirls! Set in a huge fantasy world, Indivisible tells the story of Ajna, a fearless girl with a rebellious streak who sets out on a quest to save everything she knows from being destroyed...steamdb.info
Welp, another game that would've made many people interested got dumb regional pricing.
How these publishers can be so dumb. Like 505 also published Bloodstained Ritual of the Night. The base price sees to be the same but the regional prices are all different.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night · AppID: 692850
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an exploration-focused, side-scroller action RPG by Koji Igarashi. Play as Miriam, an orphan scarred by an alchemist's curse that slowly crystallizes her body. Battle through a demon-infested castle and defeat its master to save yourself, and all of humanity...
Indivisible · AppID: 421170
Indivisible is a hand drawn action RPG platformer from Lab Zero, creators of the critically acclaimed Skullgirls! Set in a huge fantasy world, Indivisible tells the story of Ajna, a fearless girl with a rebellious streak who sets out on a quest to save everything she knows from being destroyed...
Welp, another game that would've made many people interested got dumb regional pricing.
The game's price in South America is a joke :: Indivisible General Discussions
I get that many publishers have been moving away from Valve's regional pricing suggestions, but this is a whole new level of stupidity, almost reaching Konami levels. The game costs US$39.99 in the US, and the equivalent of US$66 in Argentina. Yeah, a country whose economy is falling to pieces...
I made a post for bloodstained
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night General Discussions :: Steam Community
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - CRIME BOSSAbout the GameBloodstained®︎: Ritual of the Night is the FULL game experience, an exploration-focused, side-scroller action RPG packing all of the best features you've come to know and love from the Metroidvania genre into a single, content-packed...
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$66 here? Thanks but no thanks, I'd rather roll up those bills and use them to snort cocaine from a platypus' beak.Indivisible · AppID: 421170
Indivisible is a hand drawn action RPG platformer from Lab Zero, creators of the critically acclaimed Skullgirls! Set in a huge fantasy world, Indivisible tells the story of Ajna, a fearless girl with a rebellious streak who sets out on a quest to save everything she knows from being destroyed...
Welp, another game that would've made many people interested got dumb regional pricing.
Already fixedit's literally just @ + start typing the username
Regional Pricing Discussion :: Indivisible General Discussions
Hey, all. Since there's a number of threads discussing regional pricing, I will set this up as a central discussion. Typically pricing is established not just by a currency conversion, but also with other economic factors. We have a team that sets international pricing. Clearly there are a...
Official thread to complain
I send the message for bloodstained prices in Chile, Peru and Colombia, hope they fix those tooRegional Pricing Discussion :: Indivisible General Discussions
Hey, all. Since there's a number of threads discussing regional pricing, I will set this up as a central discussion. Typically pricing is established not just by a currency conversion, but also with other economic factors. We have a team that sets international pricing. Clearly there are a...
Official thread to complain
I just saw the price for those countries on Steamdb, simply ridiculous.
OP
OP
Saw this too. I hope, I really do hope that this is not what they consider a solution. The worst thing, though, is that if they added this 10% discount to 'help' people from LatAm it already is more than Konami and Bamco did for their recent games.
This is getting really shitty.
Phoenix RISING
A phoenix always RISES!
The world doesn't revolve around America, but then, it sometimes does. I'm not a fan of it. I do wonder if regional pricing has ANYTHING to do with economics here. Tariffs and all that. I'm not smart enough in that area to know.
Maybe...
They set the regional price high so people dont buy directly on Steam and buy it in gmg or fanatical for that extra %?
Maybe im dumb and dont understand why
They set the regional price high so people dont buy directly on Steam and buy it in gmg or fanatical for that extra %?
Maybe im dumb and dont understand why
OP
OP
OP
OP
Bandai Namco with a nice regional pricing.
Code Vein pricing is also good for me. They earn my full respect as always.
Code Vein pricing is also good for me. They earn my full respect as always.
Square, lets talk about regional pricing! Oh, why bother?! 
OP
OP
$26 here.
Pretty bad in Canada. Its still better than the $28-$33 on Console but I think this is the highest priced $20usd game in Canada.
SEGA just increased the price of a bunch of Total War games on Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, Qatar, and some others.
Hell, on Argentina Shogun 2, Atilla and Rome 2 had a 300%+ increase.
Hell, on Argentina Shogun 2, Atilla and Rome 2 had a 300%+ increase.
OP
OP
Late to the thread, but I just noticed it.
They also gave a very PR-ish answer too.
Few things
1. Why is it that no other publishers do sneak hike like this?
2. Why is it that US prices remain the same, while other regions have to face through "price fluctuations"?
I'm not exactly the biggest Total War fan, but it sucks to see SEGA completely ignoring regional pricing. Team Sonic Racing, FM2020 and now the whole TW series.
There's no way I'm buying Super Monkey Ball or any other of those strange SEGA ports that they have been doing every now and then without regional pricing.
OP
OP
Another thing:
Microsoft actually decreased the price instead of increasing it.
So what is it? Has the market and currencies fluctuated again? If so, why don't SEGA decreased the price now?
OP
OP
We have a couple of new games pricing.
Square continues to be a huge jerk for my region, while Bamco is still as reasonable as ever, thankfully.
Trials is more pricey than the base US$ price.
Square continues to be a huge jerk for my region, while Bamco is still as reasonable as ever, thankfully.
Trials is more pricey than the base US$ price.
Both good prices for Chile. thats good to see, gears 5 in the other hand...
my country is mostly a beneficiary of the regional pricing as a consumer, but looking at the other regions, the pricing is ultra-obscure.
OP
OP
