1 Euro does not equal 1 Dollar

I did a search for this topic and couldn't find it anywhere on here but I thought it would make for an interesting discussion here on GameSpot. The subject revolves around how Valve are selling games digitally for the same amount in the US as they are in the EU. Nevertheless, as the smart people among us know, €1 ≠ $1 and this has caused an uproar on the Steam forums. To add even more salt to the wound, the UK, which is part of the EU, is partially getting games cheaper than the US while the rest of the EU has to suffer from inflated prices.

So what do you guys think? Are any of you affected by this? Are you going to shop at retail stores again where games tend to be significantly cheaper than on Steam now?

The value of one euro has risen considerably in the past few months, this strikes me curious as I live in the US couldent I just transfer my money to Euros and buy games off of steam seems like a cheap easy way to get games.TrooperManaic

[QUOTE="TrooperManaic"]The value of one euro has risen considerably in the past few months, this strikes me curious as I live in the US couldent I just transfer my money to Euros and buy games off of steam seems like a cheap easy way to get games.GodLovesDead

I was wondering what he meant by that because it didn't make any sense to me. :P

Yes, this sucks a lot but I think we were lucky that this didn't happen even sooner. Valve said they would change the prices to mimic the retail prices and this is not unreasonable, seeing as how this will attract the big retail publishers. I'm not sure how it is in other countries but here in The Netherlands the retail prices are 50 or more euros for new games, so Steam's prices aren't that inaccurate. At least not for Dutch retail prices. The reason why they do it is because the publishers (or sometimes the developers) decide what prices Steam must set, Steam does not decide this. After all, the publishers own the rights to distribute the games and Steam is just a tool to make that happen. They decide that people from Europe should pay the same prices for the digital content as for the retail content in that country. Now that the digital prices are the same as the retail prices, more publishers might come to Steam, thus you'll see more games being published on Steam. That is probably why we've seen so many EA games coming to Steam in the last month or so.

I'll say it again, it sucks but here in Holland people gave up on the whole "1 euro =/= 1 dollar" retail prices battle. Seeing as how that battle was lost a long time ago, I don't think there'll be anything that we can do here in Holland. We'll just have to suck it up, I guess. It was very good while it lasted. FYI, if the publisher (or in rare cases the developer) chooses to lower the prices, they can but I guess they just don't want to.

Well, Aussies can still find a good bargain internationally-on the rare occasion

Now that I look back I can see it all-us riding on the mining boom- at nearly 95 US cents and then boom.

Sub-prime kills it and now we're down to 60 US cents

Personally, I think it's fine. If England is getting some stuff for cheaper then they are obviously doing something better than what we're doing. Maybe we should take a leaf out of their book.theafiguy

Could you elaborate a bit more, please? You might be on to something but I am not sure.

It's been like this since the dawn of time. Get over it.Baselerd

That's a pretty lame way of justifying something. :?

[QUOTE="TrooperManaic"]The value of one euro has risen considerably in the past few months, this strikes me curious as I live in the US couldent I just transfer my money to Euros and buy games off of steam seems like a cheap easy way to get games.GodLovesDead

I'm living in the US currently so while it dosent affect me I did see another post about it some time ago and it does sound odd and unfair.

I hae no idea why games would be priced one to one like that when they are diffrent currencies.. I certainly don't see them doing it to other less valuable currencies (one dollar to one italian lira anyone? :P).

Out of curriosity. How do the price on steam compare to the retail prices in european countries? Is the cost significantly higher due to the Euro - Dollar oddity?

Well, im from Norway, we arent even a part of the EU and have our own currency...Still Steam decided that we have to use Euro, which makes the game considerable more expensive. It really sucks the whole deal. So, either im gonna use direct2drive or retail from now on. Too bad, since i really loved the steam alternative.

I'm living in the US currently so while it dosent affect me I did see another post about it some time ago and it does sound odd and unfair.

I hae no idea why games would be priced one to one like that when they are diffrent currencies.. I certainly don't see them doing it to other less valuable currencies (one dollar to one italian lira anyone? :P).

Out of curriosity. How do the price on steam compare to the retail prices in european countries? Is the cost significantly higher due to the Euro - Dollar oddity?

Mazoch

I don't know the price of Steam games, I think the retail price it's different from country to country but probably not by much. In general I think they're more expensive than in the US. Are games on Steam cheaper than buying them from stores in the US?

[QUOTE="Mazoch"]

I'm living in the US currently so while it dosent affect me I did see another post about it some time ago and it does sound odd and unfair.

I hae no idea why games would be priced one to one like that when they are diffrent currencies.. I certainly don't see them doing it to other less valuable currencies (one dollar to one italian lira anyone? :P).

Out of curriosity. How do the price on steam compare to the retail prices in european countries? Is the cost significantly higher due to the Euro - Dollar oddity?

not_wanted

I don't know the price of Steam games, I think the retail price it's different from country to country but probably not by much. In general I think they're more expensive than in the US. Are games on Steam cheaper than buying them from stores in the US?

Out of curriosity. How do the price on steam compare to the retail prices in european countries? Is the cost significantly higher due to the Euro - Dollar oddity?

Mazoch

Here's a post from the thread on the Steam forums dedicated to this matter:

Man I love that interview where Valve says that digital distribution of games is cheaper since they don't actually have to manufacture or physically distribute them.

Let's see some games on the Steam frontpage and only Finnish webstores (not necessarily even the lowest prices) where you get the package and manual as well:

Fallout 3
Steam: 44,99 €
Local: 40,00 €
Local: 41,90 €

Far Cry 2
Steam: 49,99 €
Local: 40,00 €
Local: 41,90 €

Grand Theft Auto IV
Steam: 49,99 €
Local: 39,90 €
Local: 39,90 €

Left 4 Dead
Steam: 44,99 €
Local: 39,70 €
Local: 42,30 €

Mass Effect
Steam: 44,99 €
Local: 12,90 €
Local: 14.90 €

Well, it seems that I can now get the package as well when I buy my games. Far Cry 2, for example, in dollars + VAT looks quite exactly the same price as it's in the stores. But of course it's now 49,99 in euros, and obviously that's not any cheaper even though it's digital. Actually that's not even on the market level - even though it's digital.tegs

These prices certainly don't seem to be competitive, especially when you consider that prices drop a lot faster at retail than they do on Steam.

About time the UK got something cheaper....jmnderson69

There was a thread in System Wars a while back depicting how every console is cheaper by €30 to €40 in the UK than the rest of of the EU.

Simple solution... Don't use Steam.

Sitting on Gamespot complaining about it won't change anything.

They sell them for that price because Europeans are paying them... Why would they lower the price if you guys are willing to pay 80+ USD for a game? Stop buying them and they will lower prices... If you were running a business and business was good... would you just lower your prices...? Of coarse you wouldn't...

Supply/Demand... Low demand = Low prices... Lots of Europeans buying lots of Steam games = Steam not changing a thing... No Europeans buying Steam games = Steam thinking "Hmm... Maybe if it didn't cost $80+ for a game, they would buy more?"...

3,049 messages and 287,291 views.

And not yet a single official response/statement from Valve.

That is just rude.Ferdius

Taken from here.

Interesting how Valve chooses to ignore its European customers and their complaints.

just dont buy from steam?

if my local store sold games at a higher price then i wouldnt buy from there, why should you?

just get your games from somewhere else.

Well it will only damage the STEAM sales, practically killing Euro sales till he problem is solved as the games in retail are significantly cheaper.

Personaly I will just stick to retail too, when I need something through DD I will just buy it through Impulse

Well it will only damage the STEAM sales, practically killing Euro sales till he problem is solved as the games in retail are significantly cheaper.

Personaly I will just stick to retail too, when I need something through DD I will just buy it through Impulse

AdrianWerner

[quote="Ferdius"]

3,049 messages and 287,291 views.

And not yet a single official response/statement from Valve.

That is just rude.

Taken from here.

Interesting how Valve chooses to ignore its European customers and their complaints.

Dawn of War 2 is 34.99GBP on Steam so I'm getting it off Play.com for 22.99GBP and will just register it on Steam when it comes

(Why does using a pound sign bring up a html error? Stupid Gamespot!)

I did a search for this topic and couldn't find it anywhere on here but I thought it would make for an interesting discussion here on GameSpot. The subject revolves around how Valve are selling games digitally for the same amount in the US as they are in the EU. Nevertheless, as the smart people among us know, €1 ≠ $1 and this has caused an uproar on the Steam forums. To add even more salt to the wound, the UK, which is part of the EU, is partially getting games cheaper than the US while the rest of the EU has to suffer from inflated prices.

So what do you guys think? Are any of you affected by this? Are you going to shop at retail stores again where games tend to be significantly cheaper than on Steam now?

Hexagon_777

actually this is only temporary, cause they will try their hardest to keep the monetary system the backing for every country on the planet..(which is unfortunate)

and the north american union: canada, united states, and mexico will all become one, and use a currency called the Amero.

Meh I live in the UK and I'm fine with the prices, I tend to buy some games from stores though seeing how they are cheaper as was the case with Left 4 Dead which I bought for 20GBP and is 27GBP on Steam. But the Euro problem I have no problem with to be honest.lucky326

The UK gets its consoles cheaper by about €20 to €30 than the rest of the EU. The UK is also treated properly when it comes to pricing of games on Steam while the rest of the EU is not. It's common sense as to why you, a UK citizen, have no problems with the pricing. Numerous EU citizens outside the UK do have an issue with this, however. Why should the UK, an EU nation, get fair pricing while the rest of the EU countries do not?