Civilization V, Aussie price gouge

[holo`]

I'll most likely get a friend in the US to gift it to me and then PayPal them however much it cost.

[Subedai]

Do not buy from g2play.net! If anything goes wrong - like they send you a Russian key for a game - then you have to beg Steam to remove the game from your account in order to put a proper copy on there.
They've also sold stolen keys before and probably a bunch of other Very Bad Things.
They're not an authorised reseller of Steam keys and I wouldn't be surprised if Valve puts their foot down on fixing problems g2play causes at some point. It's not worth the drama, seriously.

May pick it up from Play-Asia myself. They have the special edition listed for preorder on their site but don't have a price...

Thanks for the info about g2play, I will just stick to play-asia rather than save myself a few dollars here and there. I didn't know about the stolen/russian keys, dodgy.

[Ooshp]

Thread necromancy!

Gamelane Aus also has it for $60 inc postage if you wanna go local.

Didn't know g2play was dodgy, never used them though. Seriously, people selling hallucinogenics over the internet seem to be more honest than the companies with legit products.

[Ximi]

mmm definately do it that way, its been the same with almost every major release on steam, i think Mafia II was the same?

The problem with waiting for the sale is sometimes it take a while for them to come on sale, i havnt seen BCII or MWII on sale on steam ever...?

[Jeatalong]

If you get a boxed version can you enter the key into steam to download it?

[Linxus]

If you get a boxed version can you enter the key into steam to download it?

Yes. Civ 5 is listed in the retail CD keys section in Steam support: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7480-wusf-3601

[Klas]

I wish Steam would do more in their position to protect us consumers from **** like this. They could say something like: "We can't sell your game unless you agree to a global pricing model (like we at Valve use)".

I guess money talks.

[Sathias]

I wish Steam would do more in their position to protect us consumers from **** like this. They could say something like: "We can't sell your game unless you agree to a global pricing model (like we at Valve use)".

I guess money talks.

Our money talks too They will stop charging these rip-off prices when Aussie consumers refuse to pay them.

[Minkelz]

Nah they'll just blame it on piracy.

[Polarice]

Nah they'll just blame it on piracy.

This. And for every aussie who refuses to buy here and takes their money overseas, there are probably 2-3 who will pay the massive gouge thinking that it is normal.

[Ashigaru]

Nah they'll just blame it on piracy.

This. And for every aussie who refuses to buy here and takes their money overseas, there are probably 2-3 who will pay the massive gouge thinking that it is normal.

Actually it IS normal. Think about the last time you saw a console game released at less than AU$90 in an Australian store? Same with boxed copies of retail games etc.

Personally, I've already paid the full AU$100 for the deluxe edition and I don't really give a fat rat's bum. How long do you guys have to wait for yours? I get a whole weekend's entertainment for like AU$30 above waiting for it in the mail(plus beers etc haha).

[Ximi]

You do realise ash that some of these online stores will actually send you the key when it unlocks from steam and so you get to play it at the exact same time as you do buying from steam for $40 less?

Then again some dont, but tbh i would rather wait 4 days (and save 40), than have the privelige of playing the game on the weekend of release, but thats just me.

So what your saying is that because australian retailers havnt dropped their prices in relation the our stronger dollar against the US, we should pay the inflated prices? No thanks, id rather wait a few days and get it for a reasonable price. You may say that its only 30 bucks or whatever, but when you buy 10-20 games a year it adds up.

[Polarice]

I Agree Ximi. I dont have the capacity to go out and spend 100 willy nilly. I have a house loan, car, wife and brand new child to look after. In the end, waiting 4 more days to get my copy of the game doesnt give me less entertainment than someone who bought it on the spot for 100. In fact, I would then have extra left over for purchase to get even more than that person who did fork out. In the end, its a users choice. Im sure you will get to a point in your life Ashigaru where you wont want to pay that kinda money as well.

[coatsy22]

So what your saying is that because australian retailers havnt dropped their prices in relation the our stronger dollar against the US, we should pay the inflated prices? No thanks, id rather wait a few days and get it for a reasonable price. You may say that its only 30 bucks or whatever, but when you buy 10-20 games a year it adds up.

I'm guessing that the main reason Australian retailers have not dropped their prices is becuase even though the supply price is cheaper per game, they are still paying the same rent and labour costs, both in AUD which are unaffected really by international exchange.

Thats applicable for brick-and-mortar stores, and does not however give any excuse to online sellers - whether that is either digital sellers, or companies that organise shipping direct from distributers to your door - alot of those are just ripping people off for bigger profits.

I personally think its silly, but i can see why people would still buy from an actual store for a premium - its certainly easier to get a replacement if theres any problems. Buying from the inflated online sellers is just crazy however.

[Ashigaru]

I agree that $30 adds up a lot over time, and don't think I don't have to budget, however this year alone I have purchased 3 new games, that's it. So for me I have been savouring for this release for a long time.

Coatsy has a very valid point, and whilst we blame the publishers, has anyone thought that game prices may be stuck at what they are due to tariffs to protect the brick and mortar retailers? It sounds almost trivial for an industry such as the gaming industry, but it does affect retailers, and the only reason anyone notices is because we can see transparently overseas...