The price on Steam jumped from US $49 to US $89 recently in Australia only. The price remained the same in the US. I contacted Steam who stated they do not determine prices for games other Valve games. The price is set by the developer. Why is this so. Moderators I know that there is a general discussion on Steam pricing but I feel this is not really a steam issue and more a New Vegas issue and thus have posted here. What extra benefits do Australians get for paying an extra $40. The box set from a retail outlet cost this much. I get no box, no printed manual, and no discs. I have to use my part of my monthly quota to download the game. Thus the US $89 price on Steam set by the developers is more expensive that a retail box set. It makes no sense. I have pre purchases at the US 49 price point so my beef is a matter of principle rather than a direct effect to me and I have the ability to import games from where they are cheaper in the future.

Publishers, not developers, set prices.

I don't know how true this is, it's just something I heard a while ago, but I'm pretty sure it's pressure from Austrian retail stores pretty much saying "Hey, make places that aren't us charge this much or we won't carry it". And since, even though Steam is still the biggest digital distribution service, not everyone knows about it and buys from retail stores instead...

It's also reasonable to expect that the Aussie govt is to blame for this pricing. Considering that they make a fuss about the content of the games regularly, they could also require high import taxes on those kind of games, that then require the publisher to raise costs to still make a profit... Video games have a notoriously low profit margin for the retailers, so high import taxes set by the individual govt are just as likely a culprit.

If that is true that is illegal in Australian law for companies to come together and set pricing as to eliminate competition. I think the technical term is collusion. I don't know if it is to that degree.

There is a topic in Community Discussion covering this.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1118103-steam-pricing/