Friday May 25, 2012 4:41 AM AEST

Atomic MPC > News > Game > PC Games > Aussie gamers screwed over Duke Nukem Forever pricing

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Aussie gamers screwed over Duke Nukem Forever pricing

The so-called 'aussie tax' strikes again, this time with Steam pricing for the upcoming Duke Nukem Forever. But why is this so?

Screwed again.

That's pretty much how local gamers consistently feel when it comes to game pricing. With the Australian dollar rising against US currency, you might expect items like games to get cheaper, but that's far from the case. In fact, it's generally believed that not only do local retails gouge gamers at the cash register, but that a lot of publishers do it via digital distribution as well.

Mark Serrels over at Kotaku published an excellent article on Witcher 2 pricing yesterday, wherein he interviewed the managing director of online distributor Good Old Games Guillaume Rambourg. Ostensibly it was about price fixing and The Witcher 2 - a game made more complex by GoG being owned by the same company, CD Projekt - but Rambourg was brutally honest about the kind of licensing agreements that lead to this kind of pricing structure.

It's well worth a read, and today Ausgamers announced that GoG is removing country IP detection, instead now choosing to 'trust' that folks are being honest with their location when they purchase stuff.

So, all this leads us to something we noticed this morning - Duke Nukem Forever pricing on Steam. Take a look at it.

At the moment, it's easily the most expensive game - more expensive, in fact, than The Witcher 2's Digital Premium edition. As a colleague observed, Take 2 is really taking the piss with this pricing structure.

So, we wonder - what's the issue this time? Is this the same kind of fixing deal that GoG's Rambourg was alluding to? We asked Take 2 about it, but the local office wasn't even aware of the pricing issue. We've passed on the above screenshot, and are awaiting a response.

Regardless of the why, does this kind of thing change or affect your buying habits?

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45 Comments

Trekker May 10, 2011 12:07 PM	been to US a few times. Most games around 49 dollars.. so with our dollar so good. Should be around 45 AU now. end of story
Blackorchad May 10, 2011 12:13 PM	Maybe the austrlian the gaming community needs to band together for, i don't know "Buy no games Australia" day where gamers stop buying games in any medium; eg. online distribers, instore, etc. And i'd be all for it.
Krispy89 May 10, 2011 12:20 PM	I saw the price this morning and thought; WTF?!? It's probably because they are trying to recoop their losses after the most recent Steam sales. But I agree that the pricing over digital content is screwing games over in Australia. I'll be importing this from the UK, at least that will be under $50 with free shipping.
slash22000 May 10, 2011 12:25 PM	On the primarily American PC forums I frequent there is massive outrage because PC games are starting to come out at $60 US rather than the traditional $50 US. Makes me depressed every time. But hey, that's why I refuse to buy PC games from Australia. Don't worry, I still buy them, just not from here.
hectorbustnuts May 10, 2011 12:31 PM	BRING BACK SHAREWARE!! An outdated pricing model for an outdated gaming experience! (Yes, I've played some DNF and was terribly underwhelmed)
smadge1 May 10, 2011 12:35 PM	so anyway, I'll just buy 6 months down the track when it's like, $15 or $20 on special. Thing is, my PC doesn't even meet the minimum specs for this game anyway (C2D+)
thesorehead May 10, 2011 1:13 PM	Definitely affects my buying habits. I've not bought a game at full release price since ... Zelda:00T on N64? Games just aren't worth $80 to me. With certain exceptions all decent games make it to the bargain bin eventually - both retail and DD. Nowadays I have more distractions from the important task of gaming than I did as a kid, so my backlog keeps me happy.
Ekythump May 10, 2011 1:28 PM	I actually shop around for the best deal. I will not buy off of steam or retailers for a bloated price cause the company wants to make more money in Australia.
mark84 May 10, 2011 1:29 PM	Look, I don't mind coughing up $80 for a game if it gives me more than 10 hours of AAA game play, Fallout: New Vegas for example. But the fact that Americans can purchase the same thing for US$60 (and they complain about that price too!!) and with the Aussie worth 5-10% more than that I fail to see why we're paying more than them for absolutely no reason (from an end users perspective). Digital downloads should be cheaper than getting it in a physical store, not the same. I hope Atomic continue to ask the publishers these things in an effort to make them see the light.
Dan_2 May 10, 2011 2:52 PM	hectorbustnuts i heard Duke wasn't flash aswell and cancellend my preorder with guy in EB telling me its going to be the game of the year I said yeah right. I simpley wont be paying overs for games anymore the $90 for MW2 was enough. I will be picking up Dirt 3 and Dues Ex though as they seem pretty well priced. But Duke and the rest of the over priced titles can just sit there until they are on sale simple as that.
Jeruselem May 10, 2011 2:55 PM	Oh well, time to wait for Duke to hit the bargain bins at EB when they do.
qwakqwak May 10, 2011 3:18 PM	Stop complaining about a couple bucks. Aussies make more money than Yanks. There are 250million Yanks and 20million Aussies. Goods bought in Aus are taxed more, however I'm not sure if this would be applicable here. Buy your games from local bricks and mortar retailers and support the industry that probably employs a lot of you tight arses. Go to independantly owned stores if it will help you sleep at night. At the end of the day every company will look at the return on their investment in every region and guess what, it will be harder to get a return in our country.
Hawkeye May 10, 2011 3:19 PM	Game of the Year, Dan_2?!? Man, EB is full of it!
codecreeper May 10, 2011 3:36 PM	Well it kinda make you wonder why games are pirated in the first place. If the these Software Distributors are going to resort to price fixing why is the consumer affair not alerted? Just send your pics and such as proof to consumer affairs and see what stance they take. Next i would take this to AFACT and say this is why piracy is so rife in Australia. Australia has been hit so hard by high prices all we hear is that we are a nation of piracy.As for EB they just follow suit with every other retailer on prices and scaling.
Jeruselem May 10, 2011 3:45 PM	Just noticed PlayAsia has duke at around $US50.
Dread Emperor May 10, 2011 4:11 PM	Ozgameshop is selling it evern cheaper; $43.99AUD with free postage.
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Count May 10, 2011 4:13 PM	The US prorder price is 44.99USD, the Australian preorder price is 71.99USD... Gee, which one am I going to order on this region free game? Either way, the game should be 4-7 bucks cheaper then it is now. They can claim that it's taxes and garbage like that, but when it comes to digital distribution. NO EXCUSE. The companies don't even pay taxes or royalties to international governments, only the areas they operate out of so there is absolutely no excuse behind this no matter how much it's rationalized. The days of paying double in Australia are over, we've already started buying retail online, we're gonna find ways to buy digital content too...
codecreeper May 10, 2011 4:32 PM	@Count; We are paying double. Check your prices again.
Paranoid_Android May 10, 2011 4:35 PM	http://www.steamprices.com/au/topripoffs you guys might find this interesting...
2bobrob May 10, 2011 5:09 PM	lol i jumped on just to raise issue about what i just saw on steam, and here it is front page news. Good to see atomic on the ball :). Its ironic that i was prepared to pay $50 for this, but instead i will wait for the inevitable sale and instead end up probably paying far less for it. Good job 2K, thanks for making this non purchase a no brainer.
squid May 10, 2011 5:37 PM	same price for NZ too on steam (and our dollar isnt as strong as yours!!) so convert that to NZD its just under $90NZD (and thats not including the credit card charge for exchanging to NZD) and my fave. online retailer has it for just over $90.... hmmm online DL for a higher price as a disc copy.... think ill go with the disc... that really sucks!
bushi May 10, 2011 6:20 PM	MW2 is still $89. What a joke!
Dan_2 May 10, 2011 6:24 PM	Hawkeye... I had a good laugh at the EB guy aswell maybe he hasn't heard of Protal 2 or Battle Field 3.
Twents May 10, 2011 8:28 PM	who cares the game looks like a turd anyway.
rankor May 10, 2011 8:46 PM	Any they wonder why piracy is such a big problem in Australia. I have never bought a game at full price. I either wait for sales or buy the reg key off of eBay, so simple not to waste $80-$100 bucks.
boltronics May 10, 2011 11:24 PM	Last game I paid full price for was StarCraft 2 when it first came out. Wait until the end of year Steam sale. Buy with a US account, and go nuts. ;)
alex8337 May 11, 2011 12:46 AM	Mark84: people like you are the reason why Australian games go all the way up to the 100% mark up price point, sometimes higher. I put a $50 pre-order down on this at EB with a $100 price tag, then I found out I could get it on steam for $72, then I found out I could get it from America for around $50. If I cant get a refund tomorrow from EB, I'm contacting the ACCC and I dont give a shit if they cant do anything about it because if enough people have a problem with it, it becomes a problem.
Ekythump May 11, 2011 7:56 AM	@qwakqwak Its not just a couple of bucks. If it was just a couple of bucks I don't think anyone would complain but when its TWICE as much as everyone else thats when i have an issue. Not everyone wants to pay $90 for a game when everyone else is paying $40
d3c4y May 11, 2011 9:30 AM	As an employee of H.arvey N.orman (seperated with periods to evade our 'Social Media Monitoring' system), I'd like to contribute. Game prices are too high. So high that we can't expect to sell any games, what with the online market, Steam and piracy being what they are today. So we agree with you all. What you guys have to understand is that we can't do a thing about it, at least on a store level. That $110 game you can get off the net for $46 and want us to price match? It costs us $98. The $99 games cost us about $85. We simply do not have enough room to move, and I assure you that even at full price, we don't make a killing on games like you seem to think we do. And don't give me that we make our money on consoles, because they run with <10% margin in them. We go negative as soon as you throw in a game or price match a competitor. So that's it from the perspective of a brick and mortar retailer. Now, from my own personal perspective, stop complaining. They made the game, they can charge you $500 for it if they want to. If you don't like the price, don't buy it. You are not entitled to purchase games at a cheap price, it isn't a basic human right. Just like with a car, a boat, a personal jet plane, a new house and pretty much anything else in the world, if you don't have the money that the creators want to charge, then don't buy it. While I agree that their pricing might be getting stupid, it is their right to charge whatever the hell they want. Vote with your wallet, not your mouth.
UberPenguin May 11, 2011 9:32 AM	I think that Deus ,which will be the far better game (IMH), is at a reasonable price but to pay that much for Duke? Especially on digital distribution and for a game that looks to have kept the same core ideas since 1996. For me it would have been a nostalgia/fun for a bit purchace not an all out "game I must play" purchace (like Deus EX)and with that price tag it should be the latter and not the former.
Jeruselem May 11, 2011 10:15 AM	With digital distribution of games, it should be cheaper. We're not playing for a box, CD or manual or markups from the shop selling it to us. They used to use the exchange rate to justify the pricing but now, they can't use that excuse either.
Electr0 May 11, 2011 11:50 AM	How about an alternative... Check out ozgameshop.com They are a company based in the UK who specialise in exporting (importing) games to Australia, at significantly cheaper prices. And they're legit too.
MotoXXX May 11, 2011 12:04 PM	When people feel they are being unfairly ripped off, they'll turn to piracy.
The Tick May 11, 2011 2:25 PM	Price absolutely affects my buying habits. For $50 or thereabouts would be cheap enough to lay down the cash even if the title wasn't fantastic.
Ekythump May 11, 2011 2:38 PM	@d3c4y Yep you're right they can charge us what ever they like. Doesn't mean we have to like it and its still unfair when other countries are charged half as much. I know this may be unrealistic but maybe if the stores refused to sell anything at an inflated price for Australia then maybe the games companies won't be so ready to charge us twice as much. I know , I know like I said its unrealistic but its also unfair to lay the blame at the consumers. Stores could do something also.
SavageD May 11, 2011 9:31 PM	I honestly do not remember the last time I walked into a local game store and paid the full Australian retail asking price for a game. That's saying something given that I actively purchase for my PC, 360 and PS3. Nor do I remember ANY time that I paid full "Aus retail" for a game launch on Steam. It's either ALL import, or on Steam if it's cheap enough. GOG gets a look-in too. But never, never full Aus retail. Simply, it's insulting to be expected to pay that much. Aus publishers don't seem to realise that we live in a global marketplace. To simply browse some UK online retail sites reveals recent games for insane discounts compared to what we're 'asked' to pay here in Aus. One such retailer even started up a site to cater exclusively to Aus/NZ, listing games in AUD. And free shipping, with insurance included (I checked). P.S. I DO remember paying $89 for Syndicate Plus (main game plus American Revolt expansion) many many years ago, but that came in a positively MASSIVE game box. So did Crusader: No Remorse. Huge behemoth of a box. Now THOSE were worth paying something approaching retail. Not to mention the massive manuals that came with the Falcon flight sims. Boxes and manuals you could kill a man with? Possibly worth 'Aus' retail. Digital download with no overhead to anyone (expect for server/bandwidth cost)- NOT worth 'Aus' retail.
AXE May 11, 2011 11:23 PM	I'll be giving Duke a wide birth anyway. What good can come from a game that has taken 3 1/4 of your life to make. LOL. If it gets good reviews I'll get it when the hype dies down. (I can wait another 6 months) Regards
0s1r1s May 12, 2011 11:57 AM	Well, screw 'em. I buy my games off eBay from a foreign source and save myself about 50% per game. That's even when I buy it from England.
Ghoullees May 12, 2011 4:59 PM	Now here's a topic that's got everyone's chin wagging. Good to see. A quick glance at Steam, as the screenshot attests, really spotlights the discrepancies in Australian game retail pricing. There are some VERY decent games, pricing quite nicely on Steam for what is, in essence, the cost of two movie tickets with Popcorn and a drink! Every single game a see priced anywhere over $80 USD I immediately disconsider to purchase, now or ever. Its plai insulting. Yes, Im looking at you Call of Duty series.... $89.99 USD for a fast twitch mash fest, and nothing else? Get your head out of your ass! $44.95 USD for Mass Effect 2 with all the voice acting, original story line, loads of content, even before DLC, and how can you put an $89.99 USD game next to that. Gamers are ultimately responsible. COD top seller! Why? They took people not smart enough to discern 'value' to the cleaners. I think the ACCC needs a dedicated Games Industry pricing watchdog, across all platforms and mediums. Distributors really are taking the piss.
magstheblue May 13, 2011 4:25 PM	@d3c4y You are an idiot. Your personal opinion of us to stop complaining is moronic. The discussion which you intruded upon with your thoughts is about digital distribution pricing between different countries not about people setting the price of a product but rather charging different prices for the same product. No one here is wanting anything other then a fair go, and we all know this is not a fair go. There needs to be a lot more complaining and noise about this issue. @Paranoid_Android Thanks for the link, I bookmarked it. It really is an eye opener. I knew we are getting raped by some of the markups but i had no idea it was so high and widespread.
d3c4y May 14, 2011 8:51 PM	@magstheblue Ease up turbo. We're all just talking, no need to react like that. Don't worry, I'll let it slide, I remember how liberating anonymity felt when I was 15 and wanted to talk shit on people who couldn't backhand me in return. I'll quickly point out out that literally everybody in this thread, including yourself, has posted their opinion, which I am apparently not allowed to do, and also the fact that I justified my 'off topic' perspective as being that of a traditional brick and mortar retailer. What I was trying to say in my post (and probably should have pointed to more clearly) is that it's the international distributors of these games that are tacking on absurd profit margins, and I think Ekythump is right in his suggestion. Unfortunately a mass coordinated boycott of distributors would never realistically happen, and even if it did, JB would bitch it and cash in on being the only retailer willing to sell games that week. I apologise if my tone came across as rude, and I didn't mean to insinuate that consumers should just put up or shut up. In retrospect I probably should have worded it all better. Really though, what I was saying at the end there is that a game company will not listen to your complaints while you're still shoving money in their wallets. Complaining out loud while still buying the games will get you no where. Instead, cease buying the games, and watch how quickly they're willing to negotiate on price.
DR4K3 May 15, 2011 9:06 PM	Fortunately for me, over the last few years I've been on Steam I have made one good friend in particular who I can trust to gift me game 'x' if I paypal him the money. There's no bloody way I'm paying $80 for DNF or any other game just because certain game publishers are pushing unfair regional pricing on us because they can get away with it. For those of you who use Steam and are unfamiliar with this website 'steamprices.com', I suggest you get well acquainted. http://www.steamprices.com/au/app/57900/duke-nukem-forever
zoombunny May 23, 2011 11:40 AM	I JUST GOT IT FOR $49.99 by pre-ordering at Amazon! Well, actually I got it for $39.99 due to additional offers from Amazon, in the U.S. So, I'm not sure why some thought it would be $60 here. And if it's really $80 over there that's kind of sad. I hope they lower the price for you guys.
Potplanty May 29, 2011 2:48 AM	That's ridiculous. If that's the case I'll be going out to EB and getting myself a hard copy of it. In the special edition too.

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