Australia is the worst place to be a gamer!!!!

OK, maybe not THE worst but i'm sure its up there. I'v said all this before but again the stupid prices and insane classification system has me fuming at the state of PC gaming down under.

Mass Effect, 26.99 GBP ( around $49 AUD), Steam has it at $49 USD ( $56 AUD) Australian retail averages at $90 AUD.

So i have a choice, Pay Steam and wait a month until my download cap resets (another stupid Australian thing) then spend 2 days downloading or pay $90.

It could be worse... you could be a brazillian!

Can't you use a proxy thingy, to cheat your location in steam?

It could be worse... you could be a brazillian!

Can't you use a proxy thingy, to cheat your location in steam?

Masculus

yeah, i've heard about that. Also heard it doesn't always work. Still, with only 2mb broadband it will still take forever. It's like living in England 10 years ago lol

I don't think the issue is location on Steam, but rather his ISP's monthly bandwidth cap. That sucks to hear, OP. Aussieland definitely has some strange prices and a pretty weird classification system. You DO have the Ford Falcon ute, though. I want one.

I thought it can't be worse than my country... Can't you get a retail version? :)

I thought it can't be worse than my country... Can't you get a retail version? :)

Crimsader

Yes, i will get this version. It just gets me mad i will be paying double UK and US prices. In some cases (not Mass Effect 2) we pay double for an inferior product, ( L4D2 and Fallout 3 spring to mind).

Imagine being in India with a 192kbps broadband. I am glad I am moved on. Life is sweet on a 8mbps unlimited internet connection. chandu83

lol my average DL speed on Steam is 150kbps, took me 5 hours just to DL psyconaughts (spelling?) for my kids at weekend

[QUOTE="chandu83"]Imagine being in India with a 192kbps broadband. I am glad I am moved on. Life is sweet on a 8mbps unlimited internet connection. Frozzik

lol my average DL speed on Steam is 150kbps, took me 5 hours just to DL psyconaughts (spelling?) for my kids at weekend

[QUOTE="Frozzik"]

[QUOTE="chandu83"]Imagine being in India with a 192kbps broadband. I am glad I am moved on. Life is sweet on a 8mbps unlimited internet connection. chandu83

lol my average DL speed on Steam is 150kbps, took me 5 hours just to DL psyconaughts (spelling?) for my kids at weekend

lol ouch.

Do you have any kind of import option, get someone in the US to buy and send the game to you?

As far as internet speeds, the fastest available DSL here (which I'm on) is limited to around 1mb/s max download speed and around 512 kb/s upload. At least I'm not limited on my bandwidth usage or how many internet connections I use within the house (I can simultaneously have my PC, 360, PS3 and/or my Xbox all connected).

I live in New Zealand, and games are hella expensive here, worse than Australia. Some games can cost $100 or more when released. PSP games in particular for me are ridiculously priced. I remember Dissidia: Final Fantasy costing $89.99 when released, so obviously I didn't buy. Fortunately the rating system is pretty lenient here.

I live in New Zealand, and games are hella expensive here, worse than Australia. Some games can cost $100 or more when released. PSP games in particular for me are ridiculously priced. I remember Dissidia: Final Fantasy costing $89.99 when released, so obviously I didn't buy. Fortunately the rating system is pretty lenient here.

kdawg88

[QUOTE="kdawg88"]

I live in New Zealand, and games are hella expensive here, worse than Australia. Some games can cost $100 or more when released. PSP games in particular for me are ridiculously priced. I remember Dissidia: Final Fantasy costing $89.99 when released, so obviously I didn't buy. Fortunately the rating system is pretty lenient here.

chandu83

Imagine being in India with a 192kbps broadband. I am glad I am moved on. Life is sweet on a 8mbps unlimited internet connection. chandu83

blame that damn hillsong church... they run everything in sydney

blame that damn hillsong church... they run everything in sydney

xeekthecatx

I would love to pay $90 for a game... Believe me, it's not the worst place to be a gamer

Are the prices so high because of the shipping costs, or is it something else?dannenissan2

You gotta admit though, the prices regarding dedi servers and unlimited bandwidth to a pure 100 up link is similar to a house loan. mijfg

[QUOTE="mijfg"]You gotta admit though, the prices regarding dedi servers and unlimited bandwidth to a pure 100 up link is similar to a house loan. CellAnimation

Why not buy it from Amazon?

[QUOTE="Masculus"]

It could be worse... you could be a brazillian!

Can't you use a proxy thingy, to cheat your location in steam?

Frozzik

yeah, i've heard about that. Also heard it doesn't always work. Still, with only 2mb broadband it will still take forever. It's like living in England 10 years ago lol

It'd be worse to be a gamer in the middle of the Sahara. suck it up.

Just import. As son other said, PayAsia is good pricing. I haven't bought much in Austrlai for some time. At XmAs, I bought everyone's Xmas gifts from imports. This includes Shoes, Clothes, Games, and Electronics. I even got my new LCD TV imported. I lost faith in keeping my money in my country a long time ago.

OK, maybe not THE worst but i'm sure its up there. I'v said all this before but again the stupid prices and insane classification system has me fuming at the state of PC gaming down under.

Mass Effect, 26.99 GBP ( around $49 AUD), Steam has it at $49 USD ( $56 AUD) Australian retail averages at $90 AUD.

So i have a choice, Pay Steam and wait a month until my download cap resets (another stupid Australian thing) then spend 2 days downloading or pay $90.

Frozzik

You can also import retail from play-asia. Gets around the censorship too.

LOL, in Mexico console games cost about $100 US and the only way to get a pc game is with steam or D2D/piracy, also internet is expensive as hell

[QUOTE="chandu83"]Imagine being in India with a 192kbps broadband. I am glad I am moved on. Life is sweet on a 8mbps unlimited internet connection. Frozzik

lol my average DL speed on Steam is 150kbps, took me 5 hours just to DL psyconaughts (spelling?) for my kids at weekend

Why is Australia the worst because you have a small cap? I buy all my games off steam. Time to upgrade your internet buddy.

CD-Wow is your answer, my friend. It takes a while to ship, but it's insanely cheap and there's no shipping/handling costs.

As for so called modern country's, Australia seems too be full of back wards thinking people when it comes to technology and games rating systems. To say that a game is to violent for adults is just ridiculous.;)

roulettethedog

Yup and soon we're getting an internet filter just like Communist China.

[QUOTE="roulettethedog"]

As for so called modern country's, Australia seems too be full of back wards thinking people when it comes to technology and games rating systems. To say that a game is to violent for adults is just ridiculous.;)

the_mitch28

Yup and soon we're getting an internet filter just like Communist China.

That's going to be a choice for the family, it's not going to be forced upon everyone. Change your internet provider if your on some lousy cap of 20Gb per month. I'm with TPG and for $50 per month I get 120Gb ADSL2, 60Gb peak/60gb offpeak, with a cap of 512k. My only complain about Australia is pricing (looking at you Borderlands, Bioshock, MW2), and the censorship issue.

As for so called modern country's, Australia seems too be full of back wards thinking people when it comes to technology and games rating systems. To say that a game is to violent for adults is just ridiculous.;)

roulettethedog

Games - and the entire entertainment scene, for that matter - are just a tiny facet of what defines the achievements of a country. just because the people don't get to enjoy gore and violence on a computer doesn't mean it's backward. in many ways, it's actually more advanced than, say, canada.

Imagine being in India with a 192kbps broadband. I am glad I am moved on. Life is sweet on a 8mbps unlimited internet connection. chandu83

OK, maybe not THE worst but i'm sure its up there. I'v said all this before but again the stupid prices and insane classification system has me fuming at the state of PC gaming down under.

Mass Effect, 26.99 GBP ( around $49 AUD), Steam has it at $49 USD ( $56 AUD) Australian retail averages at $90 AUD.

So i have a choice, Pay Steam and wait a month until my download cap resets (another stupid Australian thing) then spend 2 days downloading or pay $90.

Frozzik