Sooo disappointed (about pricing)

[Zidders]

Keep in mind that not all european countries are part of the EU. Valve charges these countries for the euro mark-up and VAT, and pockets it themselves.

Only Valve doesn't set regional pricing. The publisher/developer does. If you want to blame someone for a game being too much money in your region, bitch at the publisher/developer, because Valve has absolutely nothing to do with it.If you're going to complain about something, you should make sure to thoroughly research it before you rant about it.

[Roros]

I'm not "bitching", I'm content with preordering the game from where I choose (again, not sure why people take such offense to this). I'm only explaining why I choose not to preorder from steam as I don't agree with their reasonings behind the mark-up (€1=$1 for countries that don't use euro and aren't part of EU, VAT for countries that aren't taxed on digital goods, etc) - whoever's fault it may be.

[Zidders]

The reason they do that is because if they didn't set a fixed exchange rate, fluctuations in the world economy would mean that while you might pay more for games now, there would be times where you'd pay even MORE for games. There are plenty of times Valve and developers/publishers take a bath because of that fixed exchange rate.

It might not seem like it now but back when Steam came out and Valve started all this stuff up, the worlds economy was in a lot better place. The fact is, most people living in the countries the exchange rates you're talking about effect had higher standards of living and higher wages than most other countries. Maybe it's not the same now but it would more than likely end up boning people worse if they tried to change it for every game across their platform. Publishers would run screaming and so would a lot of developers.

If you want things to change, talk to companies like Runic. Talk to developers and publishers. Get people together. Get petitions going, spread the word. I'm sure there are people out there already trying to do something about it. Just recognize the fact that it might not be something they're capable of changing. Economics is some pretty complex stuff, especially on a global scale. There's no such thing as an easy solution.

If you want to save money, have a friend from a different country buy it for you and gift it to you and then pay them back.

[Roros]

I've already said 3 or 4 times in this thread that I am already perfectly content with buying the game in the way that I choose. All I'm doing is explaining why I choose not to preorder from valve as there are better options for some of us. There's no need for your crusade.

[Zidders]

Y'know dude, I'm not on a crusade. I'm not trying to make you feel like a bad person. I'm trying to help you out. You're being treated unfairly and i'm trying to show you who you should be pissed off at. If you're pissed off at people who have nothing to do with what you're pissed off about, instead of the people who are responsible, you're just going to end up having to put up with more and more of it and things like it in the future.

If you don't want to hear it, then that's fine with me.

[xani]

AFAIK steam takes % of profit AFTER deducing VAT/country specific taxes ( http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/FAQ.php )

[Killious]

Since we are on the topic of pricing I found this little news blurb to be very interesting. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/169390/Australian_government_to_question_game_publishers_over_high_prices.php

[TheView]

Been away for awhile. I clicked on this thread and "What the ****"!! All this for 5 dollars? Well, the guy running this thread is either a hard bargainer or is having himself a good laugh.
Well, anyway, carry on. I was just passing by.