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"Why do we pay more than the American's or Japanese?"

You know what i'm sick of splashing out cash on computer hardware and games whereas i see my american and japanese counterparts spending their measly pocket change. This is a farce not only do we european gamers get everything last but for some reason we have to pay the most. i think we must have done something wrong (I bet it was tony blair the guy gets to everyone) nobody seems to like us. An example of this is the playstation2 we pay £299 for the normal package whereas americans pay $299 (roughly equating to £200) a whopping £100 difference. Our games are all high compared to the other continents, someone in America musn't realise that changing a dollar sign for a pound sign isn't converting money (DUH!!!). RARE (being the great company it is) is british based OK well why don't they at least try to release a game in their home first instead of wasting time sending it abroad before finally reaching us. You people tell me what you think this whole situation? personally i think its a disgrace as we play games as much as the next yank and japanese person.

You know what i'm sick of splashing out cash on computer hardware and games whereas i see my american and japanese counterparts spending their measly pocket change. This is a farce not only do we european gamers get everything last but for some reason we have to pay the most. i think we must have done something wrong (I bet it was tony blair the guy gets to everyone) nobody seems to like us. An example of this is the playstation2 we pay £299 for the normal package whereas americans pay $299 (roughly equating to £200) a whopping £100 difference. Our games are all high compared to the other continents, someone in America musn't realise that changing a dollar sign for a pound sign isn't converting money (DUH!!!). RARE (being the great company it is) is british based OK well why don't they at least try to release a game in their home first instead of wasting time sending it abroad before finally reaching us. You people tell me what you think this whole situation? personally i think its a disgrace as we play games as much as the next yank and japanese person.

You won't win with just one thing mate!

You never know, though....anyway, a very valid and fractious point has been raised in the above article. No matter what governments and manufacturer's tell you, don't listen. There is absolutely no excuse at all for the hiked up prices that we have to pay in the UK for CD's, games, white goods and so on. The Euro may help to level things out, but I doubt it. A worldwide single currency would be even better (let's call it the Meistertoken). You could always import from the US, seeing as shipping costs are coming down, and compatibility is no longer a problem if you pop into your local Tandy and get the right bits and bobs. That would upset Special Reserve a bit though. D'oh, won't win with this one then.......

Don't really know people take us badly because of VAT taxes! Those damn things raise their expenses up!
That's why N64 games are so expensive! I'll be quite glad if the Euro get's the GO.
Than prices will decrease.

Another thing release dates! There's a couple of titles out early in the US that's not even out here!
Banjo Tooie's set for release in November and we get it in March? What! And the PS2 they get it one month earlier for much cheaper, and they get a clear GC release date, and we get none! Why......

The sad thing is that Banjo Tooie was even MADE IN BRITAIN! And the US STILL get it first. HMPH!
At Swordspines we shall treat our European customers with reapect and when the US and Japanese gamers get our classic games a year after their UK release with slower gameplay and glitches, THEN they'll know what it feels like!


We probably won't actually do that...

As for VAT, up with the price of fuel (to save the enviorment) up with the price of Ciggarrettes (the government will get a fortune out of that!) and down with the price of computer games (that way, everyones happy!)

if you want to pay American/japanese prices, why not change your money at the exchange and buy it on import? your probably too young to have to pay tax on it so you'll save yourself a pretty penny.

I don't like to insult the company I'm getting my console from, but I also very annoyed about this. Why do the bl**dy Yanks get it cheaper??? No offence to any Americans out here, though.

Thanks all of you for letting me know i'm not the only one who think this whole thing sux!!!

Why do the companies do this to us ? Because they can get away with it ! They blame it on taxes but really they just seem to like taking us for idiots.
Thing is we love and want our games like anyone else so we end up giving in to them. Funny how they say they can't sell games cheaper to us then release these "Platinum" versions which are suddenly half the price of what the game was. Of course they need to get the money back it took to create the game, etc but surely their sales in the U.S and Japan tend to cover those expenses too so why should we foot the majority of the bill ?? I don't see how they can use the language translation excuse when it has been released in the U.S beforehand (not to mention with the yanks still being given a good price). Theres also the NTSC to PAL converting that they use as an excuse - oh of course ! Thats more than enough reason to double our price tag ! Anyone notice a hint of sarcasm ?
Its about time Sony and the rest gave us a break, we deserve better then what we get. If we're paying all this money then maybe we should be getting the games and consoles before Japan and the U.S !

Tax, tax, tax if you want it cheaper blow up the govenment, Tony blair should make things cheaper, but apparently we have got one of the lowest taxes in the world(apparently) this does not include America as everything is cheap to us as it's $1.5 to every £1! add it up and it becomes cheap. $300 is £200!