If you don't live in the US then PSN is way overpriced

[hellsing006]

Apparently if you're not an North American gamer (and sure I'll include you to Canada) then you're screwed when it comes to downloads on PSN. We've already pretty much covered how overpriced the launch titles are for UK gamers but at the very least it's better than what's happening to South African gamers because wow.

To give you an idea of how bad the ripoff is Call of Duty Ghosts (Pre-order) will cost you R 927 which is about $92.

South Africa PSN

 

[Oberon]

Same here is AUS,Which is why I NEVER buy latest releases on digital download.
Here its AUD $100 which by current exchange rates is about USD $90.
Another reason why hard copies are better,although prices vary for that too,retail hard copy for ghosts on launch can go anything from AUD $63 (as was at Target) to $110.
I usually buy online and import but decided to get Ghosts locally on launch day for change,I paid AUD $68. (USD $62)

 

[The Unlosing Ranger]

Yeah... this seems to mostly happen if you're not in NA or Japan. Australia gets screwed and so does South Africa, obviously, but most of Europe gets screwed at times too, from what I've seen. In Europe, a lot of games are published using a ridiculous 1 USD = 1 Euro conversion rate. This happens even on Steam. It's pretty stupid...

 

[Wing]

I've never understood this, like if it's digital shouldn't it be cheaper? Like there are no taxes (I think), or shipping for it to be this overpriced...

 

[themarting]

i heard that for brazilians, it was cheaper to buy a plane ticket to the us, buy the ps4 and fly back. THATS pretty bad...

 

[RaggaJungle]

This is definetely dissapointing to hear, being a resident of the UK. I think that the prices should have been more fairly worked out, but perhaps it is due to inflation and some other strange 'standards'. I can't see the prices in UK being extortionate though, I can't see it being much more expensive than for US customers.

 

[Legendoflore]

The prices are ridiculous when you look at them. I can't believe how high the prices are in South Africa and Australia. Sure the UK prices were bad but those others are just unfair. I can't understand why games are priced like this, especially digital downloads. Someone will really have to break down the reasoning for me, because that is out of bounds.

 

[Oberon]

I've never understood this, like if it's digital shouldn't it be cheaper? Like there are no taxes (I think), or shipping for it to be this overpriced...

Yep,I agree,you would think cause of all this as well as no boxes etc it would be cheaper but it proves many places like AUS are being ripped off for games.
Not just digital but hard copies too.

I payed AUD $123 posted online for PS4 versions of Ghosts and BF4. If I bought them retail they would have been around $160 on average. For digital I think $200!
And you cant sell or trade digital so in the end its a total loss for digital if you ask me.

 

[MegaZero]

Very true, honestly for foreigners (People out of the USA), it would be MUCH more cheaper and better if you were to get it shipped from the USA into your country. Tons of my friends are doing this and they tell me that they are still able to save money.

For games, the price is about the same if not then only a few bucks more cheaper/expensive.

 

[Oberon]

Occasionally an ebay seller from US may be cheaper but usually its cheaper from UK to AUS or lately Ive been using AUS online sites but their games are sourced from HongKong but are actually UK versions of games...lol..Odd huh.

 

[dieselfit]

Wait till you hear about the middle east. We don't even get the technology until a month or two has gone by. GTA 5 was delayed here in Jordan because customs in the airports were making some problems or whatever. I saw the posters of the game on the video game stores but never really had it until I really just gave up looking. I usually buy everything online including clothes!!

 

[MorgUK]

Yeah the digital thing is annoying, it should be much cheaper. No shipping, no disc creation, no packaging etc. Digital downloads should automatically be 10% less than disc RRP.

 

[sidd230]

Hello, I used this method for buying games for my PS3 and it saved me a lot of money and waiting, so here is the method for those who don't know it:
Buy PSN cards on the net.
Retrieve the code from your mail.
Create a US account with a fake address
Add the fund to your account
Profit
I know it's not ideal but it's better than what we have now.

 

[The Unlosing Ranger]

Hello, I used this method for buying games for my PS3 and it saved me a lot of money and waiting, so here is the method for those who don't know it:
Buy PSN cards on the net.
Retrieve the code from your mail.
Create a US account with a fake address
Add the fund to your account
Profit
I know it's not ideal but it's better than what we have now.

This is definitely do-able, as long as you don't mind being unable to use a credit card. It also would prevent you from buying DLC for games, wouldn't it? Like, if you have an account on US PSN but you buy an European game, you would need to use an European PSN account to be able to buy DLC for it. Not too much of a problem, though. A small price to pay for paying less!

 

[DrRipley]

$92 for a game is insane. I know this is obvious, but I'm stating it anyway... That would mean 5 games would already be equal to buying a new console. Why would they even choose to do it that way? No wonder people pirate.

 

[Kosh]

I had read an article on digital downloads vs hard copies a year or two ago (I forget where now) and the economics of it, and why digital downloads are not cheaper.

There were several main points... first, they don't want to undercut the physical copies market. Even though it is cheaper (I'd say probably 10-15% cheaper at the very least) to provide a digital download, they don't want to upset those who want their hands on a physical copy (I myself prefer to have a physical copy).

The second point.. and I don't know if this is true or not... had to do with the distribution of funds on the digital copies. Since it is, in reality, less costly to distribute in that form, usually the company doing the distribution gets more (or pockets the difference over the physical copy). It would be more profitable, for example, to Sony this way (not the developer).

As for the price difference from North America (thanks OP for including us Canucks in North America!) to other locations.. That's a whole different story

 

[WarriorSoldier]

Holy crap! 92 bucks!?? Everything should be universal! Then again... that makes me feel better about 60 dollar priced games

 

[SerraGirl]

Geez, it already seems too much for a video game in the US. Is it like this in every country?

 

[BBGold]

What the... I am moving to Japan!

 

[baracksyndel]

The prices are ridiculous when you compare them to wait Americans or Japanese gamers pay. But it's been obvious for a while that European/AUS/and every other country gets screwed when it comes to prices. And the reasons that the companies give for those costs don't make any sense. It's just easy if they import and cut costs where they can.