Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[umiman]

The answer is pretty simple.

Laziness and greed.

Laziness because it's too much of a pain to change your prices every single time currency values fluctuate.

Greed because if everyone collaborates on a pricing structure, consumers don't have a choice but to pay extreme prices.

When it comes to physical product, yes shipping and other such matters come into effect, but for digital goods. Well... like everyone else said there's no excuse.

[BigD145]

Often it's import taxes. Sometimes it's the parent company that makes the product and sets the price. Sometimes the government sets the price so all distribution is on an even footing.

[BuriBuriZaemon]

With imported physical goods, a possible reason for their prices to stay high despite currency fluctuation is the sellers are carrying old stock, bought when local currency was not as high as it is today, meaning they paid more for goods priced at foreign currency. So to keep the profit margin, they will have to base the pricing on their original cost base.

Another reason is discriminatory pricing. We have two massive supermarket chains here in Australia that sell goods at higher prices in certain areas. Prices are usually higher in central business districts, because it is assumed people living there have greater purchasing power, and in remote areas, to make up for increased logistic costs.

[lemon10]

Sometimes its import taxes for boxed games, I am pretty sure however that when applied to purely electronic goods any laws that might add a extra tax are lagging too far behind to actually exist.

Its all greed, or more correctly "We have been selling games at a 50% markup here for years, people are buying, ergo why should we lower the price?", they are doing it purely because they can, and it only becomes truly visible and egregious when it applies to purely online goods, since 90% of the excuses they would use for physical goods becomes nonexistent.

Often it's import taxes. Sometimes it's the parent company that makes the product and sets the price. Sometimes the government sets the price so all distribution is on an even footing.

I have never heard of a government setting a fixed price for games, mainly because it doesn't make much sense.

[quinnr]

I think the Steam Summer Sales start..tomorrow, according to what I've heard. Always good stuff in those events!

[Catastrophic lolcats]

That's what I heard as well. Been waiting for it since the start of the month. Been wanting to pick up that Victoria II expansion but it doesn't seem to be on sale anywhere and the last Paradox sale on Steam I was broke.

[Sirus]

Can't wait to see what I'll be wasting money on

[Stworca]

It's not a steam sale, but you still have 3 hours to buy "Hacker Evolution" from Greenmangaming for 0.00$ (Yes, zero)...

..and get 20% off your next purchase.

[joemoben]

It's not a steam sale, but you still have 3 hours to buy "Hacker Evolution" from Greenmangaming for 0.00$ (Yes, zero)...

..and get 20% off your next purchase.

I love free stuff. And you, for alerting me to this free stuff.

[Neyvn]

It's not a steam sale, but you still have 3 hours to buy "Hacker Evolution" from Greenmangaming for 0.00$ (Yes, zero)...

..and get 20% off your next purchase.

From where... \\heads off to Google...\\

[Sirus]

Free stuff! Whoooo!

[Shadowlord]

It's not a steam sale, but you still have 3 hours to buy "Hacker Evolution" from Greenmangaming for 0.00$ (Yes, zero)...

But that's the game which was total shit, wasn't it? Like, the guy promised an awesome game, got people to preorder it, and then delivered Derek-Smart-level terribleness?

..and get 20% off your next purchase.

Oh, so they're not just giving it away, they're paying you to take it off their hands... Virtually.

[Sirus]

Looking around their webstore, GreenmanGaming has some weird sales going on. You've got your standard 15, 20, 25% off deals, normal stuff.

Bastion, on the other hand, is 6% off. I even saw a game that was 1% off. Instead of $2.99, it was like $2.95. WOW, WHAT A DEAL.

[hemmingjay]

Hacker Evolution wasn't bad at all, just not anything like what was promised.
BTW- My steam store is entirely blank right now. I expect either the sale is inbound or Seattle just imploded.

[Metalax]

Hacker evolution was more like a text-based adventure with a linear path than being more open like uplink as people expected. It's still not a bad game, just not as good as people had been looking for.