Regional Pricing Ends

[okanvefurkan]

I heard that the reason for your change in regional pricing policy is because of fake locations, so why is Steam removing regional pricing instead of preventing this? They can develop an application listening software that runs in the background and thus stop Steam when any VPN is run, or they can ask suspicious accounts such as Blizzard company for an invoice photo that can prove that they are in that country, because now policies will harm both developers, Steam and players

[Brian9824]

You heard wrong, its nothing to do with fake locations, its to do with rapidly fluctuating currency that makes the price of a game rapidly change faster then the dev's can keep up with it.

They also aren't doing away with regional pricing, just creating a region for those countries and having the price listed in USD which is stable versus their local currency.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Regional pricing is not going away. It was even stated by Valve.

For example:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4145017/view/3728476412305766957

MENA-USD Region

Middle East

Bahrain
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Lebanon
Oman
Palestine
Turkey
Yemen

LATAM-USD Region

South America

Argentina
Bolivia
Ecuador
Guyana
Paraguay
Suriname
Venezuela

Keep in mind that prices may change to match USA prices, if the developer does not update the price for said region.

[ah_puch]

Originally posted by brian9824:

They also aren't doing away with regional pricing, just creating a region for those countries and having the price listed in USD which is stable versus their local currency.

That USD price will still be at least 50% more expensive than it is now. Hence, regional pricing is done. People won't magically start spending on suddenly 50% more expensive games, they will leave Steam instead.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by ah_puch:

Originally posted by brian9824:

They also aren't doing away with regional pricing, just creating a region for those countries and having the price listed in USD which is stable versus their local currency.

That USD price will still be at least 50% more expensive than it is now. Hence, regional pricing is done. People won't magically start spending on suddenly 50% more expensive games, they will leave Steam instead.

That is entirely up the devs. Steam isnt making them raise the price.

[nullable]

Originally posted by okanvefurkan:

I heard that the reason for your change in regional pricing policy is because of fake locations, so why is Steam removing regional pricing instead of preventing this?

Well, because, Steam doesn't operate based on what you've heard from other ignorant users.

Originally posted by okanvefurkan:

They can develop an application listening software that runs in the background and thus stop Steam when any VPN is run, or they can ask suspicious accounts such as Blizzard company for an invoice photo that can prove that they are in that country, because now policies will harm both developers, Steam and players

Since your premise is all wrong, your solution has no value.

The TRY and ARS are nearly worthless, and they've been a burden on Valve and publishers/developers for years. That's the main reason. People who are keen to ignore that and make it all about region hopping are deluding themselves. And also let's not forget those currencies were attractive region hopping destinations because they're nearly worthless. Valve has done a lot to address region hopping, but that doesn't address all the other issues with the currencies being nearly worthless, and still losing value. Something needed to be done about that, lie it or not.

Addressing nearly worthless currencies and the burden they create will not harm Valve or publishers/developers. Not so much as you think, not so much compared to all the harm those currencies already cause.

[rymes]

Originally posted by brian9824:

Originally posted by ah_puch:

That USD price will still be at least 50% more expensive than it is now. Hence, regional pricing is done. People won't magically start spending on suddenly 50% more expensive games, they will leave Steam instead.

That is entirely up the devs. Steam isnt making them raise the price.

So i currently have ARS$ 7500 in my wallet, if i don't use this now then it will eventially get converted to $21 (todays rate and most likely the same next month), a game i'm eyeing is currently at ARS$ 5800, you think that when it changes to USD that it will be equivalent to this? so it will be at a reduced price of $17 instead of the current $45.49?

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by rymes:

Originally posted by brian9824:

That is entirely up the devs. Steam isnt making them raise the price.

So i currently have ARS$ 7500 in my wallet, if i don't use this now then it will eventially get converted to $21 (todays rate and most likely the same next month), a game i'm eyeing is currently at ARS$ 5800, you think that when it changes to USD that it will be equivalent to this? so it will be at a reduced price of $17 instead of the current $45.49?

Unless the dev's adjust the price then it should be converted to the equivalent in USD

[nullable]

Originally posted by brian9824:

Originally posted by rymes:

So i currently have ARS$ 7500 in my wallet, if i don't use this now then it will eventially get converted to $21 (todays rate and most likely the same next month), a game i'm eyeing is currently at ARS$ 5800, you think that when it changes to USD that it will be equivalent to this? so it will be at a reduced price of $17 instead of the current $45.49?

Unless the dev's adjust the price then it should be converted to the equivalent in USD

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4145017/view/3728476412305766957

Is Valve changing or editing my prices?

No. Just like always, publishers set their own prices on Steam. Your prices won't change unless you manually submit and publish new prices. However, if you do not enter prices for these new regions, those regions will show your default USD pricing unless and until you add prices in the LATAM-USD and MENA-USD fields.

I don't think there's going to be automatic currency conversion. Publishers/developers who do not populate values in the new regions will default to whatever the developer/publisher's default USD pricing is. Which is either just U.S. pricing, or whatever the prices are for anyone not in a region, outside the U.S., but are paying U.S. prices. (I'm not really clear if those can be two different prices)

When Valve adds new regions, those regions prices aren't auto-filled with values.

Originally posted by rymes:

So i currently have ARS$ 7500 in my wallet, if i don't use this now then it will eventially get converted to $21 (todays rate and most likely the same next month), a game i'm eyeing is currently at ARS$ 5800, you think that when it changes to USD that it will be equivalent to this? so it will be at a reduced price of $17 instead of the current $45.49?

There's no guarantees a game will have it's price updated, or if it is, that that price will be more favorable. If you try to game the system, you're gambling, and the thing with gambling is sometimes, you lose.

You might ask the developer of the game what their intentions are. But keep in mind anything they tell you today is subject to change, so still no guarantees.

[rymes]

Originally posted by nullable:

Originally posted by brian9824:

Unless the dev's adjust the price then it should be converted to the equivalent in USD

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4145017/view/3728476412305766957

Is Valve changing or editing my prices?

No. Just like always, publishers set their own prices on Steam. Your prices won't change unless you manually submit and publish new prices. However, if you do not enter prices for these new regions, those regions will show your default USD pricing unless and until you add prices in the LATAM-USD and MENA-USD fields.

I don't think there's going to be automatic currency conversion. Publishers/developers who do not populate values in the new regions will default to whatever the developer/publisher's default USD pricing is. Which is either just U.S. pricing, or whatever the prices are for anyone not in a region, outside the U.S., but are paying U.S. prices. (I'm not really clear if those can be two different prices)

When Valve adds new regions, those regions prices aren't auto-filled with values.

Originally posted by rymes:

So i currently have ARS$ 7500 in my wallet, if i don't use this now then it will eventially get converted to $21 (todays rate and most likely the same next month), a game i'm eyeing is currently at ARS$ 5800, you think that when it changes to USD that it will be equivalent to this? so it will be at a reduced price of $17 instead of the current $45.49?

There's no guarantees a game will have it's price updated, or if it is, that that price will be more favorable. If you try to game the system, you're gambling, and the thing with gambling is sometimes, you lose.

You might ask the developer of the game what their intentions are. But keep in mind anything they tell you today is subject to change, so still no guarantees.

Alright, thanks for the link, there is currently a sale so i will probably just buy a few games that i have had ony my wishlist for a while, any remainder balance i guess i will just have to wait and see,

[okanvefurkan]

Originally posted by nullable:

Originally posted by okanvefurkan:

I heard that the reason for your change in regional pricing policy is because of fake locations, so why is Steam removing regional pricing instead of preventing this?

Well, because, Steam doesn't operate based on what you've heard from other ignorant users.

Originally posted by okanvefurkan:

They can develop an application listening software that runs in the background and thus stop Steam when any VPN is run, or they can ask suspicious accounts such as Blizzard company for an invoice photo that can prove that they are in that country, because now policies will harm both developers, Steam and players

Since your premise is all wrong, your solution has no value.

The TRY and ARS are nearly worthless, and they've been a burden on Valve and publishers/developers for years. That's the main reason. People who are keen to ignore that and make it all about region hopping are deluding themselves. And also let's not forget those currencies were attractive region hopping destinations because they're nearly worthless. Valve has done a lot to address region hopping, but that doesn't address all the other issues with the currencies being nearly worthless, and still losing value. Something needed to be done about that, lie it or not.

Addressing nearly worthless currencies and the burden they create will not harm Valve or publishers/developers. Not so much as you think, not so much compared to all the harm those currencies already cause.

The source of the problem is not the rapid change in exchange rates, but the abuse of regional pricing with fake locations. While there are many solutions to this, I am talking about choosing a way that will harm everyone because it is impossible for players to buy games at those prices, they will all turn to pirated systems.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by okanvefurkan:

Originally posted by nullable:

Well, because, Steam doesn't operate based on what you've heard from other ignorant users.



Since your premise is all wrong, your solution has no value.

The TRY and ARS are nearly worthless, and they've been a burden on Valve and publishers/developers for years. That's the main reason. People who are keen to ignore that and make it all about region hopping are deluding themselves. And also let's not forget those currencies were attractive region hopping destinations because they're nearly worthless. Valve has done a lot to address region hopping, but that doesn't address all the other issues with the currencies being nearly worthless, and still losing value. Something needed to be done about that, lie it or not.

Addressing nearly worthless currencies and the burden they create will not harm Valve or publishers/developers. Not so much as you think, not so much compared to all the harm those currencies already cause.

The source of the problem is not the rapid change in exchange rates, but the abuse of regional pricing with fake locations. While there are many solutions to this, I am talking about choosing a way that will harm everyone because it is impossible for players to buy games at those prices, they will all turn to pirated systems.

No, thats not it at all, if it was they wouldn't remove the currency. The issue is the currency fluctuations. If dev's want to see a game for the equivalent of $20 well 3 days later the game might now be listed for the equivalent of $5-10.

Changing it to USD for pricing keeps the pricing stable as the dollar doesn't fluctuate much

[nullable]

Originally posted by okanvefurkan:

The source of the problem is not the rapid change in exchange rates, but the abuse of regional pricing with fake locations. While there are many solutions to this, I am talking about choosing a way that will harm everyone because it is impossible for players to buy games at those prices, they will all turn to pirated systems.

Region hopping is not a non-zero problem. But you're wrong if you think it's the elephant in the room and you think the constantly decreasing value of your currency for years is the mouse. You're kidding yourself. You're trying to control the narrative because if it's all or mostly region hopping you can blame Valve for their unfair and heavy handed decision. And if it's not, then you can't, so you reject all other alternatives, your confirmation bias demands it must be region hopping.

The ARS has lots 90% of it's value in the last five years, and you don't think that's a problem?

The TRY has lost 80% of it's value in the last five years, and you don't think that's a problem?

Ignoring those issues doesn't negate them I'm afraid. Even a world where region hopping is impossible, currencies losing that much value creates a huge problem for users and business accepting that currency. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

[okanvefurkan]

Originally posted by nullable:

Originally posted by okanvefurkan:

The source of the problem is not the rapid change in exchange rates, but the abuse of regional pricing with fake locations. While there are many solutions to this, I am talking about choosing a way that will harm everyone because it is impossible for players to buy games at those prices, they will all turn to pirated systems.

Region hopping is not a non-zero problem. But you're wrong if you think it's the elephant in the room and you think the constantly decreasing value of your currency for years is the mouse. You're kidding yourself. You're trying to control the narrative because if it's all or mostly region hopping you can blame Valve for their unfair and heavy handed decision. And if it's not, then you can't, so you reject all other alternatives, your confirmation bias demands it must be region hopping.

The ARS has lots 90% of it's value in the last five years, and you don't think that's a problem?

The TRY has lost 80% of it's value in the last five years, and you don't think that's a problem?

Ignoring those issues doesn't negate them I'm afraid. Even a world where region hopping is impossible, currencies losing that much value creates a huge problem for users and business accepting that currency. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

Yes, their currencies may have lost value, but when we look at the market shares in the game industry, it does not change the fact that one country is in the eighteenth place and the other is in the thirtieth place in the world rankings, and even if these currencies lose value, it is too big a pie to be thrown away. If the developers and Steam want to lose this cake to epic and pirate platforms, this is Of course, their own preferences

[okanvefurkan]

Originally posted by brian9824:

Originally posted by okanvefurkan:

The source of the problem is not the rapid change in exchange rates, but the abuse of regional pricing with fake locations. While there are many solutions to this, I am talking about choosing a way that will harm everyone because it is impossible for players to buy games at those prices, they will all turn to pirated systems.

No, thats not it at all, if it was they wouldn't remove the currency. The issue is the currency fluctuations. If dev's want to see a game for the equivalent of $20 well 3 days later the game might now be listed for the equivalent of $5-10.

Changing it to USD for pricing keeps the pricing stable as the dollar doesn't fluctuate much

If the problem was currency fluctuations, they would prefer to change it in two clicks rather than removing the exchange rates, which already takes them five minutes to change the recommended rates.