It's not true! Weed is illegal in our country the Netherlands. Our government is just laid back about it. It's called a "Gedoog beleid" (sorry folks, dunno if a english word exist of that meaning).
And here you thought it was odd that people ask those stuff. It's because people like you that don't even know the truth of it.

Minimum wage in the UK is ￡6.08 for 21+. This is about $9.59.

Canada, while its own independent country, still has the Queen as its "Head of State" in a purely ceremonial facility, and is part of the 16 countries that form the "Common Wealth Realms". Same goes for you Aussies.

Why are prices different? Because that is what sells.

Having a higher min wage doesn't explain lower prices and the Queen's power is just as ceremonial in the UK as it is in the rest of the world.

lol

Well, back in 1962, when the USA founded Canada, the USA let Canadians took a vote, and they decided that every ten years a magical billygoat would fly in from the North Pole on boxing day. The magic goat lands in British Columbia, and prophesies entertainment taxation based on the predictions George Washington made in 1755. Since George Washington is on the US $1 bill, all entertainment goods are priced in that currency. The magic goat eats the money, and that's why the US economy is bad recently and you have to pay in US dollars.

I'm surprised they never taught you that in school

Its not that US games are expensive its just that UK games are generally cheap (if that makes sense).

It varies from country to country really. In Russia they are even cheaper and in Australia they are ridiculously high priced.

EDIT: On an interesting note.

The base game is generally cheaper in the UK while the collectors edition set is cheaper in the US.

What he said, I had to save money just so I can afford Skyrim, prices are always rising over here.

Attention Aussies.

http://www.aussiegamer.com.au/elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-pc-sealed-p-107004.html PC: $53

http://www.aussiegamer.com.au/elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-xbox-360-sealed-p-106988.html Xbox 360: $66

http://www.aussiegamer.com.au/elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-ps3-sealed-p-106987.html PS3: $66

No postage on anything.

That takes time to arrive and is pure hell knowing everyone else has it and you don't.

That takes time to arrive and is pure hell knowing everyone else has it and you don't.

That isn't worth saving 60$?

The internet can give you beautiful prices if you know where to look hell I can pay only $45AUD on one site with free shipping, plus we love gaming hell i would pay even more for skyrim if I need to

I was just putting the minimum wage out there for others to compare with, my point about why the prices were different was at the bottom and was simply "business charge what they can get away with", although I guess I should have said "what they can get away with on top of the specific countries tax"...

My Queen comment (which for the first time in a while wasn't "they rule!" ) was aimed at the person wondering the connection between the UK and Canada. I think he was talking about it being a colony, and someone else saying it is not, so I thought I would pipe in with "it is not a colony, but it is still connected in a way". I did not mention anything about the UK 'cause I rather thought that that information could be taken for granted.

Where did you get skyrim for $45?

Canadians actually have a very weird accent. Also i went up north a few times just thousands of log cabins in a grid pattern you guys are a colony i'm positive.

For all those Steam users, you can use this site: http://www.steamprices.com/au

Just set your region and what you want to compare it with, then search for games. It can show you the biggest rip offs for your region, and also the best deals. I've also noticed that when things go on sale on Steam, sometimes the Aussie special price is the same as the US price, so it can be an even bigger bargain

Actually yes. In the US the price of an iPhone (most cell phones in fact) is subsidized by the service company, in exchange for being locked into a 2 year (usually) contract. On top of which they tack on a bunch of hidden charges. If you want out of your contract early they charge you a few hundred more for "early termination".

Even once the contract is up changing carriers usually means having to change cell phones, since no US carrier will generally agree to unlock your phone for use with another carrier. The old carrier doesn't want to help you switch and the new carrier wants to lock you into a new 2 year contract which thay can't do unless they make you get a subsidized phone.

So yeah, europeans pay more up front but in exchange they have far more freedom to switch and they don't have to pay more per month just for the stupid phone. Both AT&T and T-mobile are GSM carriers in the US, AT&T costs substantially more per month than T-mobile, but you have to risk 'bricking' your iphone to first jailbreak it and then unlock it if you want to be with T-mobile. Even then, you'll have to do it all over again every time you update the OS, and it takes several months after an OS release before hackers break the security on the new OS version. And that's even after you've completed the two year contract with AT&T.

Also, is the euro price with or without VAT?

Personally I'd prefer to pay more for the freedom of picking my carrier and actually having my phone be MINE, but we don't get that option.

Because 59.99 dollars is 50 euros. Take a loon at the economic market and see the market.

The US dollar is in the toilet at the moment.

Amazon UK having discount prices while Amazon US doesn't has nothing to do with economic strength or weakness.


It has to do with the major US chains (Best Buy, Amazon, Gamestop, Steam, etc) having no desire to have price wars that cut into their profits. So they're all happy just "agreeing" to keep their prices at or near retail. Price collusion.

Different countries, different markets, different market pressures and expectations.



edit: it's interesting that the Amazon UK site doesn't show list price and discount %, like the US one.

I agree with you. People continue to complain, yet always find a way to come up with the cash. I just hope there are a lot of people like yourself when games go digital distribution (probably next gen). With no used game sales possible (hell they are already working on limiting them with online passes etc), we will ONLY have the choice of paying whatever price they charge for new games. If that price goes up despite lower production costs? I will be done with gaming or at the least limit myself to one game per year.