176 réponses à ce sujet

[wtfman99]

Yeah, given the cost that goes into making each DLC, they're confusing what is reasonable with what they're willing to pay.

 

Exactly. $5 gets you an item pack

 

$15 gets you actual DLC story content. You need to pay VA, make 5-10 hours worth of content, environment, pay QA to test it out (minus Spoilers of the Qunari apparently) and put in a bit of marketing etc. Now tell me that $5 as the starting price point for something like Descent or JoH make sense? Maybe in 4-5 years when you're trying to squeeze some more money out of the content, but for the most part, people have put out their money on DA:I content.

 

I still say when DA:O Ultimate Edition is available to people for like $10 it is a ridiculously good deal, but people had to wait several years to get that deal.

[Ynqve]

We bring them up because CDPR is one of the few, if only companies in the industry that is engaging in ethical, consumer friendly business practices. When you only have one comparandum to go by - it's a sad reflection of the state of the industry - you have recourse to it a lot.

 

Not sure how you can be "fine with it." Bioware said that they are releasing additional DLC after Descent. At $15 a pop, you're looking at spending at least $45. That's almost the price of a new release AAA game.

 

Then there's the even more egregious practice of charging for cosmetic wear in the Spoils of Qunari pack. $4.99 for a bunch of useless gear that modders could make? I thought those practices went out the window after Bethesda was raked over the coals for their horse armor. Then again, this is EA we're talking about.

 

Like I said in the OP, I would prefer to see them go the route of CDPR, namely 1-2 expansions with a good amount of gameplay (30 hours in the case of CDPR) for one reasonable price ($24.99 on GoG). 

 

All I'm hearing in the TW3 vs DAI debates is "I LOVE PIZZA. PIZZA IS THE BEST. Y U CHOOSE PASTA WHEN PIZZA IS BEST?!?!?"

 

I agree that the cosmetic packs are overpriced. But guess what, I choose not to buy them because of that! But JoH and the Descent are worth $15 to me. As people have pointed out they are the same price as a movie ticket or a meal at a decent restaurant. You think it's overpriced? Don't buy it or wait for them to go on sale. I really couldn't care less. 

[Unato]

in not so surprising news the Au price is once again inflated.

 

thank god for international credit card and vpn

[Dread-Reaper]

They're doing it because they can, not because they're intrinsically better people than Bioware. They receive large amounts of money from the Polish government because it advertises their country well.

Interesting, do you have a link to the source?

[katling73]

in not so surprising news the Au price is once again inflated.

 

thank god for international credit card and vpn

 

I tweeted Mark Darrah about it and he said he'd look into it. Now I'm debating whether I go ahead and buy it anyway (since I lack the vpn and international credit card) and hope for a refund or wait and see what happens.

[Eelectrica]

I tweeted Mark Darrah about it and he said he'd look into it. Now I'm debating whether I go ahead and buy it anyway (since I lack the vpn and international credit card) and hope for a refund or wait and see what happens.

Same here. Good old Aussie tax strikes again.

[katling73]

Same here. Good old Aussie tax strikes again.

 

I'm just annoyed that they did it again after JoH.

[Morroian]

in not so surprising news the Au price is once again inflated.

 

thank god for international credit card and vpn

 

Wow really after the JOH debacle? $15US is $20AU, is it $20US? If so thats absurd for whats in the DLC. 

[Firky]

Hee hee. Hi Aussies. Remember when the last DLC was $25 and people mentioned this and we were all given $5 back? I was interested so I totally went looking in my bank account and the refund was totally there. I'm seeing this one priced at AU$25 on Origin. Are they going to refund us again?

[katling73]

Hee hee. Hi Aussies. Remember when the last DLC was $25 and people mentioned this and we were all given $5 back? I was interested so I totally went looking in my bank account and the refund was totally there. I'm seeing this one priced at AU$25 on Origin. Are they going to refund us again?

 

Maybe. We don't know yet. As I mentioned above, I've brought it to the attention of Mark Darrah, who has said he's going to look into it. So if they come back and say, "Ooops, that was a mistake, refunds for all!" then yes, you will. If they come back and say, "Nope, that's the price. Suck it up." then no, you won't.

[LightningPoodle]

It's not exactly going to break the bank and if it is, you have more pressing matters than getting the latest game.

[Unato]

the DLC is 15 USD, given the exchange rate it should be about 19 to 21 dollars since CC exchange rate isn't always the same as what the current rate is

 

I pinged GMG (http://www.greenmangaming.com/) to see if they are getting the DLC since I don't think their payment check your CC country (getting a free VPN to mask your location is fairly easy)

 

honestly I imagine EA is just seeing how long it will take us to be like "meh w/e" about the pricing

[Bethgael]

Oh, look. Australia tax. Again. $19.99 is parity, guys. Didn't you learn from the last one?

[katling73]

It's not exactly going to break the bank and if it is, you have more pressing matters than getting the latest game.

 

That's true and I could certainly afford to pay the $25 but it's the old slippery slope argument. They're trying to get us to accept the AU$25 price point despite the fact it's over priced compared with the US DLC price point. This is how they bring in the good old Australia Tax and make a nice bit of profit for themselves. They push it up, we accept it, they push it up again and so on and so forth. If we accept the AU$25 price point then in a year or two, they'll push it up again to maybe $27, then it'll be $30 and so on. This is how you end up paying AU$350 for a US$150 pair of headphones, for example - you don't push back so the price goes up and up and up. Doesn't matter that it won't break the bank, we still need to push back.

[uzivatel]

Hee hee. Hi Aussies. Remember when the last DLC was $25 and people mentioned this and we were all given $5 back? I was interested so I totally went looking in my bank account and the refund was totally there. I'm seeing this one priced at AU$25 on Origin. Are they going to refund us again?

Clearly not Australian myself, but I thought last time the price on Origin was higher compared to other platforms and they just refunded the difference.
 

This is how they bring in the good old Australia Tax and make a nice bit of profit for themselves.

The price *should* be what? AUD 23?

[katling73]

Clearly not Australian myself, but I thought last time the price on Origin was higher compared to other platforms and they just refunded the difference.
 
The price *should* be what? AUD 23?

 

Depending on what currency exchange calculator you use, between $19-$21. But as I said, it's not the price so much as they're trying to get us used to an artificially inflated price so they can keep charging us that much and then keep nudging it up. Happens all the time here in Australia. That's why we have the term - the Australia Tax. The artificially inflated price they charge us simply because they can get away with it. There's no rhyme or reason for it, especially for digital goods. There's no import taxes, no delivery costs, nothing on digital goods so any price inflation is just sheer highway robbery. I know it's only a small amount now but if we let them get away with it, they'll just keep jacking the price up.

[Morroian]

It's not exactly going to break the bank and if it is, you have more pressing matters than getting the latest game.

 

Thats hardly the point.

[Avejajed]

I'm honestly curious. How much, for those who feel the $15 price is too steep, would you be willing to pay instead?

[uzivatel]

Depending on what currency exchange calculator you use, between $19-$21. But as I said, it's not the price so much as they're trying to get us used to an artificially inflated price so they can keep charging us that much and then keep nudging it up. Happens all the time here in Australia. That's why we have the term - the Australia Tax. The artificially inflated price they charge us simply because they can get away with it. There's no rhyme or reason for it, especially for digital goods. There's no import taxes, no delivery costs, nothing on digital goods so any price inflation is just sheer highway robbery. I know it's only a small amount now but if we let them get away with it, they'll just keep jacking the price up.

Actual Australian taxes are applied on top of listed price or are already included?
AFAIK, there used to be some extra expenses getting the content approved by local classification board (which led some small studios to simply ignore Australia).

[katling73]

Actual Australian taxes are applied on top of listed price or are already included?
AFAIK, there used to be some extra expenses getting the content approved by local classification board (which led some small studios to simply ignore Australia).

 

No, the only tax that would apply is the GST and that's usually folded into the AU$20 price tag. The term 'Australia Tax' is the one we use for the artificial inflation of prices. For example, the AU$20 price tag is fair because that takes into account the exchange rate. AU$25 is gouging. It's light gouging but gouging nonetheless. That example of the same pair of headphones being $150 in the US and $350 in Australia is a true example that I stumbled over when looking to buy headphones recently. There is no way shipping and import taxes and whatnot would account for that extra $200. In fact, given the headphones in question were manufactured in China, the shipping costs should be less to Australia than to the US! So we term that $200 gouging as 'the Australia Tax' - the 'tax' we pay for simply living in Australia.

 

In regards to the classification, I think that was more of an issue of the ratings system not including an R rating for a long time so if a game didn't fall under the M rating it was refused classification overall. (Or had to have content cut to fit the M classification, which some smaller studios weren't willing to do for various reasons.) Now that we have the R rating, that problem has largely been solved.

[Eelectrica]

The $25 price point for this part of the world is going to negatively affect sales. no doubt about it. It's hard to justify that kind of expense for a DLC. It's almost half the price of a new game. Gives me something new when finished work I suppose.

Against my better judgement I went ahead and purchased it. It had better be damned good. Considering it's the price of the 2nd of the W3 expansions. Comparisons will be made when it's possible to do so.

[uzivatel]

No, the only tax that would apply is the GST and that's usually folded into the AU$20 price tag.

AFAIK, sales tax in US is not included in the US listed price. If the Australian GST tax is included in listed price, the price needs to be higher (similar to EU prices which include some %20 VAT).
Another thing is exchange rates, companies like to have some room to breath - they dont want to change the prices every week based on how well each dollar performs.
 

In regards to the classification, I think that was more of an issue of the ratings system not including an R rating for a long time so if a game didn't fall under the M rating it was refused classification overall. (Or had to have content cut to fit the M classification, which some smaller studios weren't willing to do for various reasons.) Now that we have the R rating, that problem has largely been solved.

I remember of some re-releases not being released in Australia, because authors did not believe the market is large enough to justify repeat classification.

[katling73]

AFAIK, sales tax in US is not included in the US listed price. If the Australian GST tax is included in listed price, the price needs to be higher (similar to EU prices which include some %20 VAT).
Another thing is exchange rates, companies like to have some room to breath - they dont want to change the prices every week based on how well each dollar performs.
 
I remember of some re-releases not being released in Australia, because authors did not believe the market is large enough to justify repeat classification.

 

Nah, here GST is always included in the price so you always know up front how much you're paying. We get narky with the whole adding more at the point of sale thing. We like to know right from the beginning how much we're going to pay. It's one of the many reasons why we're such awful tippers when we travel to the US. But that's beside the point. We've had the GST for yonks and the price point for DLC has generally been at the $20 mark. As I've said, this $25 price point has nothing to do with taxes and whatnot and everything to do with that slippery slope to making us pay more just because they can. This is nothing new for us. The price sneaks up and they wait and see if we'll complain. If we don't, it stays at the new price. If we do, they return to the normal price. It's what happened with JoH after all.

 

You could be right on the classification thing. I was really only involved with the discussion here to get the R rating introduced and through that I know there were some companies who didn't release games here because they didn't want to cut content. Mind you, a lot of us buy our games from overseas anyway. It's cheaper and fairly easy with things like Steam codes and whatnot. Region-locking on PCs doesn't really work with that sort of thing.

[Firky]

Ah. I'd forgotten that the "pricing mistake" was explained as lack of parity with the consoles.

 

Do Aussie consoles say $25?

 

I put "pricing mistake" in inverted commas because that sounds ridiculous, but they do happen. I bought TW3 through steam on the first few days it was a preorder for $49. !!! Then they upped it when they realised.

 

It's such a complex issue that no-one will talk about. Relating back to when distribution wasn't digital and the artificial propping up of the retailer economy. And classification is a whoooole other can of worms.

 

I'm very interested if anyone has links and stuff, but I have to run to work. Mark Serrels of KotAU seems to be the only person who has gotten any answers at all over the years. You guys could search out his writings on this, if interested.