Hi - we have had a number of enquiries about price increases on Borderlands 2 and XCOM Enemy Unknown in Australia and New Zealand. This was done at the request of the publisher based on local retailer feedback. We would rather not have had to do this but we really value the relationship with our publishing partner.
Darren
Thank god we still have Amazon which openly admit that gamers from non US locations, use a fake address to get cheaper games. At least they have some backbone and don't care what publishers think of them selling their games to other regions. I've spent $200+ this xmas on games, and 90% of that has been on amazon, and with this admission, I doubt i'll be spending any more with GMG.
ReplyDeleteIf publishers requested that you charge black people, or women higher prices than white men, would you comply? I guess discrimination is okay when it only affects up to 27 million people.
ReplyDeleteStop making sense Karmond.
DeleteGreenManGaming is seemingly staffed by a load of Neville Chamberlains. "We offer bargains in our times (except for you Australians who don't deserve fair treatment)".
"We would rather not have had to do this but we really value the relationship with our publishing partner..."
ReplyDelete...which we value more than our relationship with our Australian customers.
Oh well, so long GMG, it was good while it lasted. There are other ways to buy games at the US pricing, without lining greedy Australian retailers' pockets. No way I'm paying 100% more for a digital download, sorry. Unfortunately I think you'll be losing a lot of Australian and NZ customers over this.
ReplyDeleteWOW, I'm from the U.S. and absolutely agree with all of the above opinions. Bottom line, when a company is to afraid to stand up to a publisher for the betterment of their hardworking, honest customers, then I don't think I want to support a company with A. no backbone, 2. Puts consumers well being last.GMG was starting to be my new steam, guess they are no better :(
ReplyDeletewow people so since EB games are forcing the publisher to force GMG to raise prices for aussies you call them names. you do need to understand it was ether not stock it for anybody in the world or comply with this. not like they can do much about this. i don't think gearbox liked this at all ether but they must follow along if they want brick and motar space which is more important currently than online deals to them
ReplyDeleteThat is a knee jerk reaction coming from GMG, i have spent a fair bit of money even when games were more on GMG (to further support them as competition) but i am in agreement with the common conclusion here and that is us Australians and Kiwis got the middle finger with a sorry attached.
DeleteGMG can and should have called the publishers bluff, as stated EB games stores are diminishing in Australia, the range of PC titles they sell in EB games compared to 2 yrs ago and more is less than half and quite a few of their (EB Games) stores are closing.
I guess the official reply here is to blame the publisher and EB games, wahtever happened to transperancy and or backing your loyal customer base (I am sure there is a tonne of us in AUS / NZ who buy exclusively or atleast did prior to this news from GMG).
I will keep my eyes on GMG and see if common sense prevails later on, for now and perhaps indefinately i will be purchasing via other online retailers to get US (Fair) prices.
Economics 101:
ReplyDeleteDemonstrate to the publisher that their relationship with online retailers is more valuable than bricks and mortar.
The days of EB are numbered and they don't support PC's anyway so why can't the publisher tell EB to suck eggs on PC pricing, make a greater volume of sales online with GMG and the like, and drop the margins on console games to compensate them. Surely the numbers speak for themselves?
EB are being anti-competitive and should be dealt with legally. Unless publishers, e-retailers and end-users stand up to them there won't be any change.
Further to this, by not making a stand, GMG will lose. We will simply find another way around the price gouge which cuts GMG out of the loop. Once one publisher does it, they will all do it and GMG's (probably substantial) Aussie client base will move on to the next e-retailer.
DeleteThe sad thing is that GMG gets so much right and has such a positive reputation in the Aussie gaming community.
Why not announce GMG is officially against (what feels like) punitive regional pricing and won't sell games from publishers who do it. Done well, with the support of other e-retailers, why can't the power balance be shifted away from B&M?
Without tossing names around, lets look at this from a pure business point of view. Without beating around the bush, GmG is a fairly unknown in the grand scheme of the internet, relying on word of mouth, people like us sharing links, and people specifically like me who is adamantly against racist (because that's what it is), unfair and un-ethical price discrimination who will gladly and constantly make forum posts on many sites including Steam; directing to these much fairer prices. (All free sources of advertising you can kiss goodbye now btw)
ReplyDeleteNow then for the average casual who stumbles across this place rather then just sticking to the "safe", "household name" of steam, what do you think sort of thought process is going to be running through their head? They're not only going to be wary at first from using some other third party site like most new people are when coming to an unheard of digital key seller, but they are going to see prices that are literally more expensive then retail/Steam, and are going to cringe in disgust and close the browser - good luck getting repeat business at that point.
That was your gimmick, your niche, we could say to fellow Australians who had no clue that "You are being taken for a ride on these prices most places you know, and there exists this digital key seller who actually understands the concept of 'RESPECT' and 'The internet has no borders'" -
If I still say that to someone these days it will be referring to GetGamesGo or setting up a US billing address on Amazon, certainly not you guys, since you have nothing now to offer that I can't get elsewhere.
You need to go back into that negotiating room and try make the case that "some" sort of profit after initial costs are obviously better then 0, Zero, Nothing, when our business is taken elsewhere.
Me and others brought this up in the topic on the forums, 40-50% off constant ANZ specific region coupons to bypass this 2K racism is one of the ways you can save face at this point, though I don't presume to tell you how to run your business, I would assume you are certainly in "SOME" sort of damage control mode about now to try and retain some semblance of interest to the 27 million Australians, and 4.5 Million New Zealander's you just potentially lost - of which 62% are Pc gamers, with over 20% buying from an "online" outlet. (citation http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/blogs/screenplay/australian-gamers-getting-older-and-wiser-20111011-1ljam.html)
You must have something up your sleeve to be confident enough to bite the sudden massive dip in revenue stream you most certainly will be hit with following this.
Hypocritical Pic -> http://i.imgur.com/GKUhY.png
Well GMG, that is hugely disappointing..
ReplyDeleteI don't pirate software and I want to PAY my hard earned money but also don't want to be paying up to DOUBLE the amount for exactly the same product as the USA where my dollar is worth MORE.
These DIGITAL products involve no shipping, little labour/overheads.
Considering Australia has a free trade agreement with the USA it amounts to nothing more than discriminatory PRICE GOUGING.
10% markup I could accept, 20% makes me more hesitant. 40% to 50% mark up = a LOST SALE and remains so.
I'll leave this here to be passed onto to your publisher.
The Federal Government and the IT savvy population aren't taking much more of it and an inquiry is underway. Names such as Apple and Microsoft have already been called to "please explain".
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House_of_Representatives_Committees?url=ic/itpricing/index.htm
that webpage has 99 submissions, all Government media releases.
NB- I do understand physical products involve shipping, bricks and mortar to display, rent + wages, DIGITAL require next to nothing!
Dear GMG
ReplyDeleteHow about you remind 2K that Borderlands 2 can be bought at a brick and mortar store in Australia for $47 (Aussie as well). That's a boxed copy of the game, yet online they expect to charge nearly double the price.
Thanks for the memories 2K I hope to see your Humble Bundle going broke deal appear in the next year along the lines of THQ.
Could someone please look it at from GMG's perspective?
ReplyDeleteYes, I am Australian and yes, this does suck, but publishers can be REALLY pushy - I wouldn't be surprised if 2K had delivered a "charge Australians more or you don't get to sell our games" ultimatum.
With those options, pissing off >20 million people is a better business option than losing the ability to make money (even if only from a single publisher's games, they're games people want) off hundreds of millions more - yes, important as we might think we are, on the world's stage, Australia is just a drop in the ocean.
Agreed, it's not GMG's fault. 2K needs to tell local retailers to harden up, or even make the move into the 21st century and get into the digital distribution scene (like GameStop did acquiring Impulse). They make enough money gouging console gamers on their physical copies, they can afford a little drop in per-unit income on PC games to sell more in the long run.
DeleteGMG started it'self promoting the fact at the time they were more competitive and fairer with pricing, the fact is they will lose a large percentage of regulars and word of mouth will filter on down too others about where to go now and in the furture (unless this decision is vetoed by GMG).
DeleteUltimately it is GMG's fault as well as 2K's and other publishers that encourage price discrimination, they ahd the option to say no (and i would bet money on it, if they said no and even if they lost 2K there would be a tonne of support for GMG in the form of more sales to show 2K the percentage share GMG is capable of turning over in sales.)
Simple facts are GMG loses out, 2K thinks they win, consumers are smarter than this and will shop elsewhere.
Keeping it simple. Retailers in Australia mainly stock console games. PC games are barely supported and shelf space compared to console games is very limited. Usually our best option to buy a game is online. We, like anyone else, will go for the cheapest price and stores that support price discrimination will lose those sales.
ReplyDeletePrice discrimination on digital products is unacceptable and unsustainable, anybody who engages in this practice will not have my business, no matter what they sell. We have plenty of choice and will find a way.
ReplyDeleteI used GMG *because* they were one of the only retailers that refused to price discriminate. So long and thanks for all the fish D:
ReplyDeleteI really didn't want to have to switch over to using Amazon to get fair pricing :/
Pretty much this.
DeleteNo price discrimination was the reason I purchased games here. If that is coming to end, so is my time as a GmG customer.
I get that pressure from publishers can be hard to resist, so you do what you gotta do, I guess.
But, honestly guys, this is a really competitive space you're playing in and you just lost your edge as far as I'm concerned. It took me less than 5 minutes scrolling through my bookmarks to find 3 other online digital key stores I've had good buying experiences from in the past that do not exploit AU and NZ customers with region-specific inflated prices.
I will directing my friends and workmates to those other stores now rather than to GmG (which was my preference) and warning them off GmG as a store which has "jumped the shark", as it were.
I can see this from GMGs perspective as Slashee explained but even if such an ultimatum was offered, do you actually believe a greedy publisher such as 2K would refuse to let GMG sell their games? Although they don't release sales figures, I'm quite sure that due to GMG's (previously) beyond excellent prices for Borderlands 2 and X-Com GMG would shift a huge amount of units.
ReplyDeleteIf GMG had had a bit of back bone, I doubt 2K would have done a single thing. I'm disappointed and I hope this doesn't become a reoccurring trend with GMG. If anything, GMG should have refused to sell it in Australia. I had thought that was what the case was with EA published games but now I'm not so sure.
I don't think you understand how much power the publisher has over digital distribution outlets. If GMG stopped selling 2K games, and people (around the world) wanted to buy Borderlands, they wouldn't be thinking "GMG don't have the game I want, so I'll buy something by THQ instead", they'll be thinking "GMG don't have the game I want, so I'll get it somewhere else". GMG aren't going to risk not being able to sell to the 60+ million people in the UK and 300+ million people in the US just to avoid pissing off the ~22 million people here.
DeleteAs for not selling it here at all? Nobody wins. Except for 2K. GMG don't win because they lose sales. The Australian public don't win because they lose choice of where to buy. 2K win because people will still buy the game (they'll just go elsewhere), and they'll have made an example of GMG.
Although I think boycotting GMG entirely is a step too far. I'll just continue doing what I already do - shopping around.
This seems to be a pretty clean cut case of price-fixing. I'm sure the ACCC will take a pretty dim view of this.
ReplyDeleteFor those who are concerned, you can make a complaint about potential breaches of the Competition and Consumer Act here:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/54217
And some more information about price fixing according to the ACCC:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/322980
Shame you've taken the same stance that Steam have on the over-pricing of games. Setting prices that are actually *higher* than retail must breach something. Consumers need to take a stand on this.
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall that GMG switched to offering store credit on preorders because they weren't allowed to offer preorder discounts. Could this not be a viable solution to the problem, make customers feel valued whilst also doing what the supplier wants?
ReplyDeleteWell f*ck. I don't know who I'm pissed off most at. GMG for caving, the dying breed that is retailers for crying, or 2K for being discriminatory, price gouging pricks. One thing is for sure, 2K won't be getting a single cent more from me or any of my friends. I look forward to their going out of business Humble Bundle.
ReplyDeleteSeriously guys everyone here who is saying they won't use GMG again because GMG are no longer going to offer competitive pricing should think before they talk, a total of 2 games have been raised in price and now you go on talking as if GMG have had some major problem like losing their Australian and New Zealand customer bases. Well to put it bluntly get off GMG's back and stop fooling yourselves, 2 games have gone up in price not 100
ReplyDeleteIt's called setting a precedent, the beginning of the end if you will. Nothing would make me happier to be wrong mind you..; but what's now stopping any other greedy publishers who have titles listed here, looking at this turn of events and thinking, "Hmm you know what? I'm feeling particularly racist and discriminatory right about now... I might also jump on the bandwagon and charge Oceania an arm and a leg from GmG for no discernible reason!"
DeleteI think the general feeling is that the floodgates are now breached, and that it's only a matter of time before the ship sinks.
I thought the floodgates were already breached when publishers started realising they could get away with regional pricing on Steam.
Delete1. It's illegal. Australia & US are trade partners, and have explicit trade agreements that forbid this level of discrimination.
Delete2. You might not have the backbone to take a stance on this practice, but thank god some of us do, otherwise people like you would sell us upriver at your earliest convenience.
3. If GMG aren't willing to take a stand for us, why should we be so sympathetic to them?
4. Pull your head in.
Price fixing is illegal. Greenman Gaming, 2K Games and the Australian retailers involved are all potentially open to fines on this. I've personally lodged a complaint with the ACCC, hopefully others will too. This is a link to the ACCC complaints form: http://www.accc.gov.au/content/maintain/create/index.phtml?contentTypeItemId=9133&informationSpaceItemId=268347&inPop=1&returnUrl=.&type=Other
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link, I've also now lodged a complaint.
DeleteThe ACCC cannot control prices on products that are not defined under section VIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. It goes without saying that video games are not included in that section.
DeleteSomeone please answer me this: what power does the AUSTRALIAN Competition & Consumer Commission have to stop an American publisher forcing a British website to change their prices? To the best of my knowledge, the ACCC has no power outside Australia.
DeleteThey don't but it does encourage the ACC to look into EB games practices ehre in Australia and it creates more reluctance the next time EB or 2K or another companie decides to go down this slippery path.
DeleteThe power belongs to the consumer, that is for us to shop elsewhere (Not just for 2K games but for any - it is a sad day ive been with GMG from day 1 buying games for myself and family and gifting ppl etc).
The games publishers have local Australian-registered offices, and the Australian retailers who are demanding this, both fall under local laws, which are there to prevent price-fixing and retail price maintenance. I would bet anything that a thorough investigation by the ACCC would find plenty of price-fixing collusion amongst Australian-based retailers and local publishing subsidiaries.
DeleteI guess I won't be buying 2k games from GMG. It's a shame, but there are other ways around regional pricing.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that if other publishers force GMG to do the same, GMG will lose all of my business. Pricing is the only weapon GMG has against Steam.
GMG can go do one, lying two faced greedy hypocrites.
ReplyDeleteDear Darren, I would highly appreciate it if you could provide the names of the australian publishers and retailers since this constitutes a breach of Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).I have already reported this practice to the ACCC using your post as proof.
ReplyDeleteYour collaboration to stop this cartel activity would be extremely helpful. Thanks
Stop passing the buck and blaming 2k and or EB, take some responsibility and or show a back bone and fight for your buisness.
ReplyDeleteYes your buisness, this is who will lose in the end - GMG not the consumer and certainly not EB or 2K.
FYI - i will keep my eyes peeled on this news and hope you change the decision, until then i am shopping elsewhere for myself and the other 3 family PC's and recommending to my friends and relatives to do the same.
Whats worse is that NZ customers are getting screwed a lot more.
ReplyDeleteAussie's might think $80 AU is expensive but convert the prices into NZ dollars and thats around $100NZ and NZ people earn far less than Australians.
http://www.facebook.com/AustralianGamersWantFairPrices
ReplyDeleteJust chiming in to say sorry GMG but you just lost a customer. This is one Aussie that will be bargain hunting elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteAs an Australian customer, I'm worried that there won't be any reason to use GMG any more in the future. Using GMG was to avoid such price gauging! I was happy to be able to get XCOM through you when I did, but if this place is just going to be another place that the Australian publishers can rip off the consumers, then there's no incentive to use online shops like this.
ReplyDeleteCan you honestly respect a publisher that's trying to make you a less viable option than a physical store? Can you respect one that's making you a less viable option than other online retailers?
What Amazon is doing is also against the rules.Sooner or later publishers will force amazon to sell only to USA customers.Enjoy while you can.Steam will tell publishers that if Amazon sells to non US customers for US price they will not sell their games and steam rules digital gaming
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to point out that Valve don't set the regional pricing on Steam - publishers do. I don't think Valve would be the ones applying pressure to Amazon, it would be (will be) douchebag publishers like 2K.
DeleteDump 2K and all that are trying to price-gouge us, or they will all hike up their prices....worldwide eventually.
ReplyDeleteMake a stand for once.
Oh well.. GMG is allowing this publisher to break consumer law in Australia.. no more buying from GMG until this is revoked. Steam do it too, so I don't buy from them these days either.. seems there is simply too much pressure from the dishonest publishers to obey the laws in the countries they want to sell to.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of alternatives.. GMG had a good run, with my money, and apart from this issue, I have had no complaints with the service etc