Regional Pricing Gotta Go

[Bomoo]

I have a dream of a magical land where everyone pays the same price for the same product, one that also isn't aggressively region locked. In this fantastical land you could also buy said products to store in an "inventory" and later gift them to your friends wherever in the world they might be living.

Pity that world doesn't exist anymore, and hasn't for some years.

In other words I submit that regional pricing is a shortsighted, own-goal, train wreck of an idea that does nothing but erode the customer's perception of your good faith + breed resentment on the one end and over-entitlement on the other. Please consider rolling it back to what was there before - everyone paying the same price in USD adjusted to whatever their local currency's exchange rate is at the time of purchase. Because that's fair.

[Wolf Knight]

talk to the game developers, they decide the price for their product. that include what regions it will be available in and what that region will pay. valve can only set the price for their products, no one else's.

horrible idea. games being stored in the inventory was removed because of people abusing the system.

[Judgmental Amaterasu]

Originally posted by Bomoo:

I have a dream of a magical land where everyone pays the same price for the same product, one that also isn't aggressively region locked. In this fantastical land you could also buy said products to store in an "inventory" and later gift them to your friends wherever in the world they might be living.

Pity that world doesn't exist anymore, and hasn't for some years.

In other words I submit that regional pricing is a shortsighted, own-goal, train wreck of an idea that does nothing but erode the customer's perception of your good faith + breed resentment on the one end and over-entitlement on the other. Please consider rolling it back to what was there before - everyone paying the same price in USD adjusted to whatever their local currency's exchange rate is at the time of purchase. Because that's fair.

It's a good thing "suggestions" like this are likely laughed off by the majority of publishers.

[Yasahi]

Originally posted by Bomoo:

I have a dream of a magical land where everyone pays the same price for the same product, one that also isn't aggressively region locked.

So everyone pays 59,99€ for new AAA titles. I don't really mind since I'm already paying that. The blokes in poor countries might disagree though.

Your suggestion isn't really feasible because either the publishers set the price at the level it currently is for EU/US or they just don't sell it at all in the cheapest markets and implement heavy region locks. Neither of which they want to do since it would lower overall sales and promote piracy.

The current system is nice, no need to wreck it.

[cinedine]

Originally posted by Bomoo:

Because that's fair.

Depends on your view of "fair". I am able to pay more for my games and thus subsidise those who are not while the studio still makes enough money to continue to exist and deliver content/new games.

Also what you see as dirt cheap in another region might still be a significant amount of money and more than your region's price in relation.

[Roday]

U understand that 'fair' is different with 'equal' right?

What u asked = equality not fairness

[Satoru]

Originally posted by Bomoo:

I have a dream of a magical land where everyone pays the same price for the same product, one that also isn't aggressively region locked.

Yes lets totally screw over non first world countries? Yes indeed. Only YOUR feelings matter right?

Pity that world doesn't exist anymore, and hasn't for some years.

Note this magical world NEVER EXISTED. You can literally walk to 2 different convenience stores in the same city and get 2 different prices for the same item. Surely by your logic 'regional pricing' should not exist for that right?

In other words I submit that regional pricing is a shortsighted, own-goal, train wreck of an idea that does nothing but erode the customer's perception of your good faith + breed resentment on the one end and over-entitlement on the other

I feel like the above describes something. But its whats looking at you in the mirror.

Because that's fair.

I don't think you know what 'fair' actually means.

[Brimzel]

Originally posted by Bomoo:

Please consider rolling it back to what was there before - everyone paying the same price in USD adjusted to whatever their local currency's exchange rate is at the time of purchase.

Do that, and see the piracy rate skyrocket.

[Zekiran]

I have this imaginary planet called Zekira that I've written a lot - like, a lot - about.

They have a world-wide currency.

And yet: even from one area of that world to another, what that currency will buy for the same physical amount of it, varies tremendously based on needs and local economy.

Just like the real world.

[Irene ❤]

I think it's not that simple, maybe in big countries the competition is high, so they are forced to sell it cheaper. Which means they can't send the cheaper games to other areas.

[Zekiran]

.... That's not how economics works. They sell it cheaply in some places because of high volume of sales offsetting any 'loss' at the price point.

Also variables like local taxation and fees, import restrictions, content restrictions, and legal efforts that all contribute to "we have to make back some of this lost money". Pricing in countries is not arbitrary.

[Mad Scientist]

This is a horrible idea. That's basically just choosing the highest number and saying "good luck everyone else!"

Some countries currency can be worth far less, so imagine if they did follow this suggestion and decided to force a second world or even third world country to pay the same in their native country, so that 50-60 native country currency could be hundreds in the 2nd/3rd world country, or more.

The current model the developer sets the price, which can allow people actually living in those countries to be able to join in for the fun.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

There are probably economic problems with doing this, unfortunately, which is why it got stopped. But regardless of the reasons, region-locking is still obnoxious.

(I remember those good old days. Asynchronous gifting was a boon to giving my favorite games to friends.)

Originally posted by Fiddle:

Originally posted by Bomoo:

I have a dream of a magical land where everyone pays the same price for the same product, one that also isn't aggressively region locked. In this fantastical land you could also buy said products to store in an "inventory" and later gift them to your friends wherever in the world they might be living.

Pity that world doesn't exist anymore, and hasn't for some years.

In other words I submit that regional pricing is a shortsighted, own-goal, train wreck of an idea that does nothing but erode the customer's perception of your good faith + breed resentment on the one end and over-entitlement on the other. Please consider rolling it back to what was there before - everyone paying the same price in USD adjusted to whatever their local currency's exchange rate is at the time of purchase. Because that's fair.

It's a good thing "suggestions" like this are likely laughed off by the majority of publishers.

No, it's a shame.

[Zekiran]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

(I remember those good old days. Asynchronous gifting was a boon to giving my favorite games to friends.)

It was also a boon to resellers and people trying to make money from things they had no legal rights to sell.

[Tito Shivan]

Originally posted by Bomoo:

I have a dream of a magical land where everyone pays the same price for the same product

That's not how things work in real life. Things have different prices in different countries.

Also one has to be careful what you wish for. You're assuming in such a scenario you'd get a price favorable to you, but you could pretty much end in one when the price ends up being way higher.

Originally posted by Bomoo:

In this fantastical land you could also buy said products to store in an "inventory" and later gift them to your friends wherever in the world they might be living.

And that fantastical land was abused to hell and back by individuals trying to make profit off the system and the boom of unauthorized grey market resellers which were the source of many troubles from both developers, stores and gamers.

Originally posted by Bomoo:

In other words I submit that regional pricing is a shortsighted, own-goal, train wreck of an idea that does nothing but erode the customer's perception of your good faith + breed resentment on the one end and over-entitlement on the other. Please consider rolling it back to what was there before - everyone paying the same price in USD adjusted to whatever their local currency's exchange rate is at the time of purchase. Because that's fair.

Regional pricing is a core part of the economy. It's there for anything from a game to a Big Mac
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index

[RieperMan47]

Oh, please. Shut the hell up. Regional pricing is the reason people from third world countries are even buying games instead of pirating games. It's not unequal, its fair, the value of 60$ is something that some third world country people earn for a month.

What you think is cheap, might be a dream for the person in that country. You're just ignoring the whole purpose of it and thinking that

'oH THeYre gEtTing iT fOr ChEAPEER"

No, they arent. They're getting it at an affordable price that is the same value (of the same importance to them) for them as 60 usd is for you

And, you should probably re-join the economics class you missed. You'll learn a thing or to about these places called Third World Countries and how they're different.