Temporary hold on Region Locking over Christmas

[Bvz]

Just a thought I had, it seems ridiculous that certain countries cannot send gifts via steam outside their country due to region locks. Now, I understand the logic behind doing so for the majority of the year, but around Christmas you would imagine the number of legitimate gifts being sent would increase substantially.

Case in point, my friend in the UK sent me a gift for Christmas, but I am unable to reciprocate because I am from a country with region locked games (quite a recent change here, I might add). Whereas Steam would have made an additional sale, now they receive nothing from me.

If there was a temporary lifting of region locks around a time marked by gift giving, I would imagine that they would make a lot more money than that saved by preventing regional price abuse.

Let me know what you think.

As an aside, I wonder whether it has really benefitted Steam to apply locks, or whether the decrease in legitimate gift purchases outweighs the benefit of preventing regional price abuse.

[Gwarsbane]

Never going to happen. Because then people would be buying their games from the cheapest locations by getting their friends in those locations to buy them, and sending them the paypal money for it.

[Bvz]

I am aware of that. I'm just wondering whether they are reducing potential profits by restricting gifting around Christmas time.

In the end it would boil down to hard data, examining the sales that would ordinarily be made this time of year without region locks and comparing that with the current sales. If they're making less money, well, then you would imagine they'd be amenable to a temporary hold on the region lock policy.

[wuddih]

so that people can stack and horde copies from the sale to sell them elsewhere the rest of the year?

no.

[Gwarsbane]

Originally posted by Bvz:

I am aware of that. I'm just wondering whether they are reducing potential profits by restricting gifting around Christmas time.

In the end it would boil down to hard data, examining the sales that would ordinarily be made this time of year without region locks and comparing that with the current sales. If they're making less money, well, then you would imagine they'd be amenable to a temporary hold on the region lock policy.

What they should do, that would actually increase sales, is allow us to buy gifts specifically for people who are in other regions. For example, if I have a Russian friend, I buy a game he wants, I get to buy it for what ever the price is in Russia and it goes directly to them. If they decline it, I get my money back and the game gets returned to steam. It does not go in my inventory or anything like that.

And the same goes for my friend. If he wants to buy the game for me, he has to pay the price it is for me (which is much more then Russian price) and if I decline it, he gets money back and item goes back to steam, not in his inventory.

That would be the much better way to allow cross region buying and might actually increase sales.

[Hextravert]

They thought your friend's act of generosity would lead to an additional sale anyway.

They expected you to insist on paying it forward. Even if it has to be within the same continent.

Unfortunately, they received nothing from you — Christmas be damned.

Originally posted by Bvz:

Case in point, my friend in the UK sent me a gift for Christmas, but I am unable to reciprocate because I am from a country with region locked games (quite a recent change here, I might add). Whereas Steam would have made an additional sale, now they receive nothing from me.

[oldtenmyouji]

I'm having the same issue and I'm just. So. Pissed. All I wanted was to give one of my best friends a gift from Steam and that ain't happening because I'm from Brazil?!
It's Christmas, not to mention they always convert the prices from dollar or whatever to real, is it really necessary? I'm so angry, again IT'S CHRISTMAS AND I WANT TO GIVE YOU STEAM MY MONEY SO MY FRIEND CAN ENJOY A PRESENT FROM ME!! PLEASE MAKE EVERYONE A GREAT FAVOR AND JUST ALLOW IT DURING THE HOLIDAYS! Or else I'm seriously considering just deleting my account. Wouldn't be the first either because of such a simple little thing!!!??

[HLCinSC]

They should let the gifter or recipient pay the difference for the recipient's region. Or at the very least, they could offer a ROW version that works everywhere but it costs whatever the most expensive region is.

[Hextravert]

We can't even delete our accounts.

I wish they would make an exception. Just give me a break, it's Christmas, for crying out loud.

I'm beggin' you for mercy.

Originally posted by gamergoddess88:

Or else I'm seriously considering just deleting my account. Wouldn't be the first either because of such a simple little thing!!!??

[Bvz]

Originally posted by Gwarsbane:

What they should do, that would actually increase sales, is allow us to buy gifts specifically for people who are in other regions.

Very true, its probably the best solution all round.

Now, whether this will ever happen...

Originally posted by wuddih:

so that people can stack and horde copies from the sale to sell them elsewhere the rest of the year?

You'd probably find that people intending to do that would benefit more from buying games when they are heavily marked down in a sale than from a pricing difference by region.

Without access to any raw data, I wonder if the whole regional purchase price difference issue hasn't been conflated beyond its actual impact on their bottom line. Not that they're suffering in that department, I'm sure.

Originally posted by gamergoddess88:

[...] IT'S CHRISTMAS AND I WANT TO GIVE YOU STEAM MY MONEY

It really is a case of "shut up and take my money!" =P