£29.99 v 49.99 euro??

anyone care to explain why non UK based people have to pay an extra 50% to download the game from Steam when the exchange rate is currently only 1.12 euros to the pound??

http://www.exchangerate.com/currency-converter/GBP/EUR/1.00/?XR-QuickConverter=convert&calc_short_from_iso=238&calc_short_to_iso=266

is it to cover the overheads of the having all those people sitting there painstakingly handling requests from each poor lost TCP/IP packet that has to ask for directions to the server??

or perhaps I was mistaken in thinking that the internet transcended borders....

Australians have to pay an extra £25. That's almost double.

It's because the UK is such a poor country that we get a special economy bust discount

It's really because if Steam were allowed to severely undercut local retail prices then retail outlets would stop stocking the game, I don't think any gaming company wants that.

you dont have to!!!

http://www.greenmangaming.com/games/football-manager-2011/

$40 / ~€33 / £29,99

To make up for all the money the EU robs off us?

Sorry Steam set the prices for the game, not SI. I'd suggest contacting them if you want any kind of explanation.

This is a different arrangement than every other publisher that has made public their arrangement with Steam has.

Personally I love that in Portugal the game costs 49.99€ and in Spain it costs 25 or 26€. (stores)

Lots of people in Portugal just order it from Spain or the UK.

I'm too lazy though. (plus I don't like the idea of online shopping..)

Thats weird, it costs 40USD to buy it from steam when I look

Thats weird, it costs 40USD to buy it from steam when I look

Where are you from?

Sorry Steam set the prices for the game, not SI. I'd suggest contacting them if you want any kind of explanation.

So what do all the steam fanboys have to say about the rip off pricing now then?

So what do all the steam fanboys have to say about the rip off pricing now then?

http://gamegirl.5elements.net/2009/07/steam-who-sets-the-prices/

Even if this is untrue, I buy the game cheap as I can find retail, activate it through Steam and enjoy every single benefit that Steam has to offer. Suck it.

http://gamegirl.5elements.net/2009/07/steam-who-sets-the-prices/

Even if this is untrue, I buy the game cheap as I can find retail, activate it through Steam and enjoy every single benefit that Steam has to offer. Suck it.

Thats only because the Aussie stores rip you off as much as steam do, nothing to boast about.

Thats only because the Aussie stores rip you off as much as steam do, nothing to boast about.

That's right, Aussie stores and Steam, completely independent of SI/Sega, charge crazy prices. I'm not sure if you read the article, but if you did it's fairly clear that if Football Manager is priced independently of SI/Sega then they very much got the wrong end of contract negotiations because even minor companies seem to be able to control their prices.

All new AAA games on steam is 50 euros.

Because steam is a con, as demonstrated by their pricing system alone, IMO.

If FM can be listed on Amazon, for example, for £25, and taking into account their extra costs like physical storage and delivery, how can Steam justify charging a higher price for it? Especially when they will make around 3 times as much gross profit on selling the product as a physical retailer will.

All new AAA games on steam is 50 euros.

Is this a justification or a complaint? It shouldn't cost Steam any more to "deliver" the game to mainland Europe than the UK, as proximity is superceded by the internet.

I don't like SIgames affiliation with Steam as Steam do not care about FM users as SI have shown they do. If steam became the exclusive distribution channel for FM how much do you think they would charge then?

Steam has its good points, but I do not agree with them as a company, and do not support their involvement with FM. Listing the game for £39.99, however briefly, convinced me of this.

Is this a justification or a complaint? It shouldn't cost Steam any more to "deliver" the game to mainland Europe than the UK, as proximity is superceded by the internet.

I don't like SIgames affiliation with Steam as Steam do not care about FM users as SI have shown they do. If steam became the exclusive distribution channel for FM how much do you think they would charge then?

Steam has its good points, but I do not agree with them as a company, and do not support their involvement with FM. Listing the game for £39.99, however briefly, convinced me of this.

What do you think

Nobody likes paying 50 euros for a new game.

Steam rox, but their new game prices for europe is silly. >_<

Its funny.. i saved €20 on pre-ordering FM11 from Green Man Gaming and they will send me a steam key at release so I can download it from Steam.

Where are you from?

I can see $39,99 in Russian (also Ukrainian and for ex. USSR basically) steam-store.

Crazy) Because they made it available only last week (for the first time). I already bought the game for 49,99 Euro in France...

I can see $39,99 in Russian (also Ukrainian and for ex. USSR basically) steam-store.

Crazy) Because they made it available only last week (for the first time). I already bought the game for 49,99 Euro in France...

If it makes you feel any better, accessing the store from Australia the price is $89USD. Quite ridiculous if you ask me, more than double the price you saw.

Surely that's AUD, not USD?

Surely that's AUD, not USD?

Nope. USD it is.

Steam charges at RRP because otherwise it'd steal more sales from traditional bricks and mortar establishments. If this becomes a trend then the retail stores will lower their already pathetic commitment at PC gaming, causing more sales to leak to Steam/Gamersgate or to illegal means. This will spiral on and on until PC games aren't seen in retail outlets anymore. This is bad news for publishers because then they won't get casual buys and it'll be much harder to promote their new game for people who are not tech savvy and already have accounts with Steam or whatnot.

As it stands the major publishers aren't confident enough in digital only publishing so they generally sign agreements with the publishers who put their catalogues on Steam that Steam won't drastically undercut retail outlets apart from in publisher approved sales. At least this is the story if you believe the Steam forums.

So what do all the steam fanboys have to say about the rip off pricing now then?

that your a troll and and a lier, wen a steam tread shows you post lies and run away

Price is set buy Sega steam takes a cut from it

Originally Posted by Neil Brock

Sorry Steam set the prices for the game, not SI. I'd suggest contacting them if you want any kind of explanation.

talk to MAT from sega your wrong Neil

Sorry Steam set the prices for the game, not SI. I'd suggest contacting them if you want any kind of explanation.

Steam charges at RRP because otherwise it'd steal more sales from traditional bricks and mortar establishments. If this becomes a trend then the retail stores will lower their already pathetic commitment at PC gaming, causing more sales to leak to Steam/Gamersgate or to illegal means. This will spiral on and on until PC games aren't seen in retail outlets anymore. This is bad news for publishers because then they won't get casual buys and it'll be much harder to promote their new game for people who are not tech savvy and already have accounts with Steam or whatnot.

As it stands the major publishers aren't confident enough in digital only publishing so they generally sign agreements with the publishers who put their catalogues on Steam that Steam won't drastically undercut retail outlets apart from in publisher approved sales. At least this is the story if you believe the Steam forums.

this is also one of the reasons

To make up for all the money the EU robs off us?

+1

Perhaps they could devalue their currency?

@Aim_Less

That's a bunch of lies, though. Steam simply uses the age old dollar = euro pricing system for almost all games. In fact, it can be MUCH cheaper to go buy games in the retail stores than Steam. Hell, even using other online stores is much, much cheaper. Download version in an online store = 299 DKK = 40 euro (will only be available in English but that's how I play it anyway). Physical copy from an online store (including all languages and shipping), which by all means is smaller than several chains of stores, has a price of 315 DKK = 42 euro. Steam has it at 50 euro, as with anything else. In other words, a price increase in magnitude of 19% to 25%.. For a service that is much, much cheaper for the company involved (Valve) and isn't even remotely close to undercutting anything.

It's unfortunate that they basically turned into the Microsoft of online games, as their other services are pretty nice. But they randomly charge Europeans upwards of 50% more for their games than Australians and the Americans (my aussie friends can often buy at USD prices, as AUD and USD are virtually identical in value). The first time it changed to ridiculous aussie store prices for them was with New Vegas (which was also listed in USD for the longest time), which they wisely chose not to download anyway, as Steam's servers are nigh impossible to download from around the release of anything major.

I don't mind Steam in general but they treat Europeans like cash cows when it comes to buying their games.

It's actually the fault of SEGA.

Steam (as has been said) used the RRP so whatever that is, SEGA decides.

I agree though, Europe has always had higher prices simply because the publishers get away with it. It bothers me and it should bother you, and the answer is simple - refuse to buy it until the price comes down, by which time it should have a patch or two anyway.

It's actually the fault of SEGA.

Steam (as has been said) used the RRP so whatever that is, SEGA decides.

I agree though, Europe has always had higher prices simply because the publishers get away with it. It bothers me and it should bother you, and the answer is simple - refuse to buy it until the price comes down, by which time it should have a patch or two anyway.

Yes but the problem with RRP, is that you forget to ask "RRP for which country?". RRP in Britain, Denmark, Germany and Spain aren't the same. However, all continental Europeans (except possibly Russia, as it is so large, but I really can't say) are charged in a flat euro fee. Denmark does not belong to the euro-zone, for instance, but are still charged in euro, even though store prices are set closer to GBP, as England is the main country games are imported from. And 30 GBP are very close to 30 euros. Of course, Danish taxes etc. needs to be added, which push it closer to 40 euro, but still significantly lower than what Steam charges us.

Absurdly enough, I can order a physical copy straight from the UK, for UK price + 3 pounds or so in shipping. That's everything including UK taxes, plus time/resources packaging AND shipping a package halfway across Europe (if they are sent using the train to Paris).

EDIT: I have indeed stopped buying games from Steam, unless it's one of the few games where stores push the price up so it nearly matches Steam. I do enjoy a little "take that" moment whenever Steam sells something like L4D in 4-packs. Then it's a quick IM to a US friend and sending cash through paypal. I'll usually end up paying something like 50% of what I'd have to pay for a single game myself, since it is now 30% cheaper (calculating backwards from full euro price compared to USD, as the deal is made in USD, not euro) plus whatever price reduction is for the package itself.

L4D2 at current prices: Bundlepack = 60 euro = 448 DKK. Bought by a US citizen, a bundle = 60 USD = 323 DKK (I remember it being a straight dollar to euro convertion then). Just from switching currency, I've saved nearly 28% on my copy. But wait, I'm not done yet! As there are 4 copies, I only have to pay 1/4 of the full price, resulting in a price of 15 USD = ~11 euro = 80 DKK. Comparing that to a price of 20 euro (150 DKK) for a single copy for myself, this trick has saved me nearly 50% (47%, exactly). Note that the game was at least double that price at release (dunno if the deal was better too), so while percentages remain the same, the actual amount of money I saved nearly doubles! That is, I ended up saving around 140 DKK, which is very real money that could be used for something.

In America the game is $39.99 on Steam.

USA! ALL THE WAY! AMERICA- **** YEAH!!!!

Sorry for the radio silence - I'm having a look into what I can tell you about Steam pricing etc.

So what do all the steam fanboys have to say about the rip off pricing now then?

Nothing. I'd just point to the £6.20 I paid for Left 4 Dead 2. Or the £10 I paid for Batman Arkham Asylum. Or the £0 I "paid" for Portal. Or the £45 I paid the Rockstar pack (too many good games to mention). Or the £15 for Cities XL 2011 (new release). Good luck finding those prices in a bricks & mortar store.

That said, I can't justify the £39.99 for Modern Warfare II so I'll just wait until it's on offer and buy it then.

Well, in the very end, FM is the only game I really play nowadays and paying 50Euros (as I did on trip to France) in Steam was more than fine for me. I also bought a gift certificate to a good friend of mine. Reason? Because it was impossible to get the game legally in Ukraine. Neither in game shops nor through Steam (was blocked in ex-USSR). So for FM07-09 I used different ways to obtain the game legally.

To get FM10 I flew to London on the release day and bought 5 copies there.

I'm glad that Steam unlocked the game for former USSR (finally!) at $49,99 and have no regrets that I already bought it in more expensive European zone.

I'm just glad the game is available in my country. At long last.

I guess SEGA and Steam realized that real fans of the series are no pirates and want to get the legal copy this way or another.

Very harsh.

get free or paid VPN ($5-10 per month) and buy the US "release" from Steam, make sure you pay through Paypal(after payment, change your password) and not with CC directly to hide your card details

Such high discrepancies from one country to another are useful only to feed piracy, only fools can accept to pay twice for the same game.

SI, you should explain this concept to Steam IMO.

SI, you should explain this concept to Steam IMO.

Have we actually conclusively determined if it is Valve Software (Steam) or Sega that does most of the price setting? It seems odd to me that the distributor would set absolute prices, as this is not so anywhere else. The manufacturer will set a base price and the distributor will add some small fee to that to make money. I doubt that Steam are the most responsible for pricing. Could be wrong though.

Have we actually conclusively determined if it is Valve Software (Steam) or Sega that does most of the price setting? It seems odd to me that the distributor would set absolute prices, as this is not so anywhere else. The manufacturer will set a base price and the distributor will add some small fee to that to make money. I doubt that Steam are the most responsible for pricing. Could be wrong though.

Sega is primarily responsible.

any official clarification on why non UK people are being charged so much more for downloading the game given as there are no additional overheads not to mention, as El Strict said, the fact that digital sources dont have the costs of physical storage and delivery...

bottom line is anything going to be done about it?

Is this not against EU law? Too me it seems like a clear breach of the rules regarding free movement and competition.

Even if it's against the law, who's gonna fight it?

Steam will come round in a few years time I hope. Here in Hollands they're 10% more expensive than both the brick-and-mortar stores as well as the largest online shop (bol.com). Still, if only I'd have the patience to wait a week longer, I'd get it from a UK-based online shop and save myself 30%. Delivery is free, and with the physical copy you can still (or have to) register at Steam, giving me the same user experience.

Let the forum do it! Forum vs Steam. European court of Justice!

Let the forum do it! Forum vs Steam. European court of Justice!

Fail at understanding who is responsible.

Is this not against EU law? Too me it seems like a clear breach of the rules regarding free movement and competition.

Setting different prices for different regions is fine (legally). no-one's stopping you buying it in England then taking that copy to France (movement of goods), and competition has nothing to do with regional pricing.

But I believe there is something in Steam's user agreement that you can't pretend to be an Englishmen when purchasing something to get it cheaper. There are stories of people having their account revoked for this. Though that's probably due to them pretending to be American (no EU law applicable).

See for example http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-1327754.html

Anyway this is bad, as I live in Romania and the average monthly pays are around 250 - 300 Euros to buy this game i have to put money in the jar for at least 5-6 months so I won't be clubed by my loved ones for paying that much for a single game.

It hurts me that SI|SEGA| or STEAM still kicks the poorer.

If I remember correctly, Zavvi has the game for about £25 and ships to most European countries for £1. Would still be cheaper than 50€.

Sorry to reiterate but I have to remind that Sega ( or Steam and/or SI ) will simply feed piracy acting that way.

But I believe there is something in Steam's user agreement that you can't pretend to be an Englishmen when purchasing something to get it cheaper. There are stories of people having their account revoked for this. Though that's probably due to them pretending to be American (no EU law applicable).

See for example http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-1327754.html

That's talking about actually trying to fool them. If you are physically in the UK now, they won't charge you extra if you later move to France.

Sorry to reiterate but I have to remind that Sega ( or Steam and/or SI ) will simply feed piracy acting that way.

Wait, so by allowing Steam to price using their recommended method rather than taking an active hand in pricing, SI will encourage piracy?

If someone would buy at £30 but not €50, they can import a copy, buy it in store, or whatever. If they pirate it, they probably wouldn't have bought it for £15. People need to get past the idea that all gamers are pirates and all pirates are paying gamers elsewhere. Most people who pirate games pirate games they had no interest in buying in the first place.

Only time I've been tempted to pirate a game I was planning to release is when the pirate is out weeks before the legal release. In those cases, I do feel an early release (especially on digital stores) is a great way to prevent piracy.