As I know, developers make the prices and Steam/Valve has nothing to do with them, even if they're all fucked up. :P
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I'm pretty sure publishers CAN set the prices, but they can also ask VALVe to do it for them.
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Not true, the Publisher/Developer can set the Price and some do it to give us fair prices. But Valves system is an other and when the Publisher dont change it we get fucked up prices. Valve doesnt need to care for it. The masses will buy that shit anyway...even when the money is 1:1 like in US...
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The reason for 1$=1€ rate is simple: Taxes. Most of the European countries have 19-25% tax for the game purchases and steam prices always include tax. If I remember correctly only Washington in the US applies such tax. So prices are mostly the same the difference goes to the government.
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Dead Island Riptide is $40 USD. Since I live in NZ, its almost $90 NZD for me on steam.
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Yah, luckily I knew a place where I can get it for $40 NZD
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Well as any intelligent person that you might ask would tell you, it is neither stupid nor fair. It is smart on valve's part, and could be considered annoying or brilliant by consumers depending on whether their prices are lower or higher than they would otherwise be. But it has nothing to do with fairness or stupidity.
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I think it has to do with fairness. Artificial borders in a global, abstract market like videogames is unfair in my view. Preventing me from buying at the best price on the market, while other parties are able to do that is unfair.
Example: I buy a European product. It's made in China. I have a problem with it, and I call the support line. The support service is outsourced to India. If I am forced to pay a "European" price, while they can pay Chinese and Indian wages, there's unfairness. But I'm ranting.
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You're definitely right about that, but my main concern is "Where will it stop?" They have region locks for digital games and stores so the exact same game can sell for 60 USD in America or 30 USD in Russia. The Australia and Russia argument is that they have such different wages and living costs that they need the different prices to sell the game at all, or that 90 AUD is the same thing as 60 USD.
But then what's stopping them from taking this a step further? The cost of living in Manhattan is twice as high as most other places in the US. Are they going to start charing 90 bucks for a game there and sell it for 40 bucks a state over in MA? Or even better, 90 bucks on Cape Cod, 60 bucks in Boston and 40 bucks in Springfield?
I know this probably isn't going to happen, but when taken to its logical extreme, the argument of different pricing based on income seems silly.
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You make a good point. Also, the 1$ = 1€ exchange rate used on Steam doesn't match the current economical situation at all. Europe as a whole, and especially Steam's Tier 2 countries are not 25% richer than the USA. And VAT doesn't justify the difference, either.
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1) Get a legitimate US shipping address from here
2) Create an account on amazon.com with that shipping address
3) Use your normal phone number with +44 international code
4) Add your debit card as per usual
5) Shop
6) Profit
From a fellow UK resident.
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7) Amazon finds out what you've been doing and then bans your account.
I've seen many people do this kind of thing, and end up getting banned. I'd rather just wait for them to introduce the digital store to the UK, than to risk my account.
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Ehm, if they cared they could ban them all right away. They could very easily filter all credit cards outside of the US that were used to purchase games from digital store. I know tens of people buying there for quite some time and none of them had any problem.
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Had an account since October last year, no problems at all.
It's pretty obvious what I'm doing too - I'm using a (real) UK phone number! Would have been banned on sight if Amazon actually cared.
Even if my account does get banned somewhere down the line (doubtful), it's completely separate from my amazon.co.uk account and I'll have picked up plenty of goodies along the way. I'd just end up creating a new account.
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You make a completely new Amazon account for this. I have never been banned, have bought plenty. I use a library address in Delaware to avoid the taxes too!
If they ban my amazon account, I doubt they'd kill the keys, if they do, I can charge back for a long time...
I have only ever once read about an amazon account closure and that dude just created a new one... He was still able to look at the old keys and everything, just not able to buy anything.
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This is why is good to have friends all around the world :D
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It isn't Valve that controls the prices, it is the developers and publishers. Valve only gives "suggestions" on what the prices should be.
So don't be surprised when a lot of American made games are more loyal to American customers than outside. I think it is stupid since money is money, but a handful do this.
edit: Note, I may of exaggerated and pulled information out of my ass
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Hey everyone!
I am always paying in £ because it seemed cheaper. When a game used to cost 10€, it costs £7 in UK store. For an unknown reason, Valve became an ***. Legends of Dawn cost £11.99, while on EU and NA Steam it costs 11,19€... It's not like that with all games. Skyrim costs 30€, but at the same moment it costs £14.99...
Does anyone know why are the prices so weird? I want my summer sale to be nice and cheap again! D:
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