My reasons for bringing the subject is that we have just moved to Malta from the UK. I found that games in Maltaare twice as expensive than in the UK. So where does that leave the casual gamer? I guess Gamespot is being used by millions of people around the globe, so there must also be other locations where games are too expensive.

Initially I thought that paycheck levelin Malta were high which would have reflected the level in the game's retailprice. As an example, I bought a copy of Resident Evil 5 Steel-book edition for €89, normal games retail at an average of €60 to €80 especially for PS3 and 360 games. In the UK, the same game in the same steel-book edition retails at £34.99 (Source: Play.com NB: this was the lowest price I found for that particular edition in the UK). I was told that the average annual salary in Maltais around €12000, so that begs the question: how can people afford games at such prices? Not only that, but it is quiet clear thatthese prices makesaccess to games very difficult for the general public.

I genuinely believed thatthe Game Industry was making the next generation of games accessible to the masses, turns out it is not applicableeverywhere. I would understand this scenario in less fortunate parts of the globe but for Europe, I find it rather appalling. France is also another example ofhigh retail price, Resident Evil 5 Steel-book editionretails at €67.99 on Amazon France, even regular games seem to cost around €50 to €70. It's kind of crazy, considering that you get the exact same game across the channel for much less money (people in mainland Europe can freely purchase games from UK websites and same goes for UK peeps purchasing from mainland Europe).

The Euro rate is not great at the moment so it would not make any sense for UK peeps to retail in mainland Europe, but it sure is benefitial to European shopping in the UK. What do you think? Do you live in a country where games are overpriced/really cheap? If so, which one and how much?