Support NeoGAF

[The Hermit]

Just posting to tell that I recently paid U$84 in Brasil for SSF4 for PS3 and actually found it cheap...




Yeah.


OT: Hey Salsa, we'll meet in the semi-finals!

I love Lugano btw( he played in São Paulo)

 

[MikeE21286]

I'm guessing that piracy is rampant in your country as a result? I can't imagine having to pay those prices....

 

[Salsa]

Also, you may not remember, but way back in the 8/16 bit era, both Nintendo and Sega had official representation in the country, with actual stores, show segments, a shitton of ads everywhere, webpages (nintendo.com.uy!) and actually kinda accesible prices xD

Holy shit, i do not remember this at all.

I only remember some ads from that era.

Actually on an old local television show my brother demoed some SNES/MegaDrive games, and then showed the legitimate packaging, another host named the price and said that it was available at "X" store. Highly doubt these were pirated copies :lol

Fuck man, when did we get off track ?

OT: Hey Salsa, we'll meet in the semi-finals!

I love Lugano btw (he played in São Paulo)

I love Lugano as well, wanting to see more of him on the WC so far though, hopefully he`ll have the chance.

 

[imail]

In my country, piracy had a lot to do with the prices of video games.

It's not as painful of course.

Each game in here costs around 75 - 80$ and prices vary from a store to another. As far as I know there aren't any high taxes on imported stuff here.

So I talked to a friend of mine who worked in a video games store and he told me that because of piracy no one is buying games anymore. They increase the price to make as much as they can from the few legit customers.

I still remember the look on some of my friends faces when I told them that I don't buy pirated games.

 

[X05]

Holy shit, i do not remember this at all.

Now that you mention it do remember some ads from that era.

I remember a few, can't seem to find them right now though. Also, Canal 4 had a segment for Nintendo games, done by Nacho Kliche, which was like a very long ad anyways xD
Also Nintendo had a pretty big structure in Expo Prado 93 & 94 (maybe 95 too) if memory serves, quite a few NES and SNES hooked up to play, plus demo reels of various stuff.

And now we are stuck with expensive crap and no media awareness except for PES D: (Wii gets a bit of exposure though)

 

[Salsa]

I remember a few, can't seem to find them right now though. Also, Canal 4 had a segment for Nintendo games, done by Nacho Kliche, which was like a very long ad anyways xD
Also Nintendo had a pretty big structure in Expo Prado 93 & 94 (maybe 95 too) if memory serves, quite a few NES and SNES hooked up to play, plus demo reels of various stuff.

And now we are stuck with expensive crap and no media awareness except for PES D: (Wii gets a bit of exposure though)

Holy fuck, mindblown @ nintendo in Expo Prado :lol :lol i do remember Nacho Kliche doing something related to videogames now that you mention it. I was only 5 or 6 at the time so yeah, memory is blurry.

 

[lolez2matt]

And I thought that here in chile, games could be a little more cheaper :lol

well, if you want to buy a game here, you must never go to a mall to buy it xD
there are like 2 o 3 little stores in Santiago that sells games to the price that mean to be...

and we also have the piracy thing here (flash your 360 and get 3 games):lol or buy your ds or psp with some downloaded games in the memory xD

 

[Salsa]

And I thought that here in chile, games could be a little more cheaper :lol

well, if you want to buy a game here, you must never go to a mall to buy it xD
there are like 2 o 3 little stores in Santiago that sells games to the price that mean to be...

and we also have the piracy thing here (flash your 360 and get 3 games):lol or buy your ds or psp with some downloaded games in the memory xD

My brother lives in Chile. He`s not as big a gamer as he used to be. Mostly sticking to PES and FIFA games, but he has a PS3 that he bought there, along with all the soccer games he could find. When i told him that he was insane for paying what he payed, he told me he didnt wanted to import to save the trouble. He`s a big musician over there so he could easily afford it, still, screw him for being dumb :lol i really think this is the way that these stores remain open: people wanting to save the trouble :/ since this im a little aware on Chile`s situation. As you say piracy ramping there as well. I remember lots of folks trying to sell me movies/games/whatever on the street when i went to visit.

 

[X05]

Holy fuck, mindblown @ nintendo in Expo Prado :lol :lol i do remember Nacho Kliche doing something related to videogames now that you mention it. I was only 5 or 6 at the time so yeah, memory is blurry.

Oh I see, guess I can't fault you for not remembering way back when Nintendo and Sega loved us and showed the Virtual Boy and SegaCD ads during Power Rangers :lol :lol :lol :lol

Oh well, at the very least we have Steam/WiiWare/XBLA/PSN now <3

 

[Salsa]

Oh I see, guess I can't fault you for not remembering way back when Nintendo and Sega loved us and showed the Virtual Boy and SegaCD ads during Power Rangers :lol :lol :lol :lol

Oh well, at the very least we have Steam/WiiWare/XBLA/PSN now <3

I tried a Virtual Boy at a Macdonalds i was fucking amazed. Really sad afterwards when i never got one, lol.

 

[lolez2matt]

My brother lives in Chile. He`s not as big a gamer as he used to be. Mostly sticking to PES and FIFA games, but he has a PS3 that he bought there, along with all the soccer games he could find. When i told him that he was insane for paying what he payed, he told me he didnt wanted to import to save the trouble. He`s a big musician over there so he could easily afford it, still, screw him for being dumb :lol i really think this is the way that these stores remain open: people wanting to save the trouble :/ since this im a little aware on Chile`s situation. As you say piracy ramping there as well. I remember lots of folks trying to sell me movies/games/whatever on the street when i went to visit.

so, you went to providencia near to the Paris store xDDDD

And like you say, buying things here sealed its being dumb and stupid.

The key here is to wait 2 or 3 weeks to buy the game used to obtain a deal

Like my ps3 that I bought it like at 297 usd and that was cheap :lol

 

[Salsa]

so, you went to providencia

yep

 

[Igo]

If I believed in god i'd be on my knees right now thanking him for being born in the UK. This is some fucked up nonsense you guys have to deal with. I'm still utterly confused over why Brazil banned counter-strike. Ridiculous.

On a separate note, what are your internet speeds like?

 

[dgenx]

Here in Arequipa- Peru I found Age of Empires II I think at $85 lol, and a Wii was like $500 or something

 

[X05]

On a separate note, what are your internet speeds like?

Absolute shit. (in Uruguay)

The one I have is US$60 for "2Mb" down/128kb up, and some really really terrible ping...

Other amazing offers include:
- US$116 for 4Mb/512kb
- US$41 for 1Mb/128kb
- US$27 for 640kb/128kb
- US$23 for 512kb/128kb
- US$18 for 256kb/128kb

 

[Deku]

Some of these problems are self inflicted.

Aus/NZ use PAL, when they can get products more cheaply and earlier by being part of the NA market.

Quebec/Canada passed that language requirement law that raised the cost of release product in Canada, so many publishers, like Atlus, just avoid the Quebec market entirely and ship US products North, which opens us even more to international rate fluctuations.

Europe, is well Europe.

The only place I feel bad for are most of the middle east, south America and east asia. Those countries are often too poor to sustain a large consumer base that plays games, so all their products are shipped in at great expense, going through several middle men, who all add their profit margin on top of the starting price to purchase the product.

 

[ATF487]

Poor Uruguay, I remember sending games to a dude in Montevideo, he probably imported because the local prices were ridiculous...there are a lot of things I don't like about America, but it's really nice to get new games and products at reasonable prices

If it's any consolation, I'm rooting for you guys in the world cup. Suarez may dive but he's the fucking man

 

[trejo]

here in Mexico I remember I used to pay $800 pesos to buy the newest Nintendo games back during my Gamecube-only days. Prior to that my dad used to buy all sorts of pirated games for me save for when we moved to the US for a while, then he'd get me some original ones. I was a kid, so I didn't really know any better.

Then back in college I discovered online shopping and the used games market and haven't looked back since. I buy new and full price every now and then, but the game has to be extra exceptional. Thank god for mercadolibre.

Where we really do get screwed is in console prices. I went through four used ps2s and they all crapped out on me after a while. Fuck buying used consoles. The prices on new, store bought consoles is insane but I like my warranty.

Our internet is also shit.

 

[Salsa]

Absolute shit. (in Uruguay)

yep

The one I have is US$60 for "2Mb" down/128kb up, and some really really terrible ping...

Other amazing offers include:
- US$116 for 4Mb/512kb
- US$41 for 1Mb/128kb
- US$27 for 640kb/128kb
- US$23 for 512kb/128kb
- US$18 for 256kb/128kb

Biggest problem, basically a polite "fuck you" to gamers.


We can only play with acceptable ping (30-50-80) at local or Argentinian servers. And there arent many.

 

[mr_chun]

OP, you'll have to forgive my ignorance as I've never been to Uruguay, but why is that store displaying prices in the form of USD and not your own native currency? That's what's not computing here for me.

 

[GaussTek]

Absolute shit. (in Uruguay)

The one I have is US$60 for "2Mb" down/128kb up, and some really really terrible ping...

Other amazing offers include:
- US$116 for 4Mb/512kb
- US$41 for 1Mb/128kb
- US$27 for 640kb/128kb
- US$23 for 512kb/128kb
- US$18 for 256kb/128kb

Wow, that's close to what we have in Mexico, except that these prices here include phone calls and some other services (at least with Infernitum by Hellmex). Still shit though.

 

[-Eddman-]

here in Mexico I remember I used to pay $800 pesos to buy the newest Nintendo games back during my Gamecube-only days. Prior to that my dad used to buy all sorts of pirated games for me save for when we moved to the US for a while, then he'd get me some original ones. I was a kid, so I didn't really know any better.

Then back in college I discovered online shopping and the used games market and haven't looked back since. I buy new and full price every now and then, but the game has to be extra exceptional. Thank god for mercadolibre.

Where we really do get screwed is in console prices. I went through four used ps2s and they all crapped out on me after a while. Fuck buying used consoles. The prices on new, store bought consoles is insane but I like my warranty.

Our internet is also shit.

Paying $30 or $40 USD for 1.5 Mb broadband FTW!! It's great to have the richest man on earth at charge of our intarwebs.

I also live in Mexico and most (if not all, except for my GBASP) of my console purchases are from relatives shopping at USA. PS3 started at $9000 pesos and DSi at $4000 just ridiculous. Games are not that far from our neighbors luckily, except Nintendo, fuck them with their Wii games at higher prices than 360's. Microsoft seems to be the only one here taking the market seriously.

reggienotmyproblem.jpg

 

[M3d10n]

OP, you'll have to forgive my ignorance as I've never been to Uruguay, but why is that store displaying prices in the form of USD and not your own native currency? That's what's not computing here for me.

Just guessing, but probably their currency exchange rate isn't very stable over the long period of time a game will spent sitting on the shelf and storeowners keep the prices in USD to prevent devaluation of their games over time.

BTW the internet situation improved considerably in my city in the past year (I'm in Brazil). I used to have a 600Kbps connection for which I paid $45. Now I'm paying $35 for a 8MBps due to finally having two internet companies competing with each other.

 

[Salsa]

Just guessing, but probably their currency exchange rate isn't very stable over the long period of time a game will spent sitting on the shelf and storeowners keep the prices in USD to prevent devaluation of their games over time.

Basically

 

[X05]

Wow, that's close to what we have in Mexico, except that these prices here include phone calls and some other services (at least with Infernitum by Hellmex). Still shit though.

Not here!

Also, the worst part is that these are the better alternatives :/

 

[MidnightScott]

Wow hearing about all these prices makes me feel bad about bitching about the prices of games in the US. Yall have it way bad....way way way way way bad >_<;

 

[Salsa]

Wow hearing about all these prices makes me feel bad about bitching about the prices of games in the US. Yall have it way bad....way way way way way bad >_<;

Thread worked. Now you shall be more grateful first world GAF!

 

[Regulus Tera]

I thought 10,000 pesos was like $1, maybe you shold translate it to real money

You're already banned, but there are different coins denominated "pesos" in many different countries.

 

[MidnightScott]

I rarely import games because I find them too expensive. But then I see your prices o-O;

I'm spending about $80 getting Pokemon Black or White from Play-Asia this year so =s

 

[Kandinsky]

Come on, you live in latin america, surely there are ahem shadier places where you can get the same games for a price closer to the one in USA. I live in Peru, normally I pay about $70 for a PS3 game. Sometimes 65. "Tax" included.

Prices at "authorized" stores are complete bullshit and you only end up getting buttfucked there.

Srsly, I can do the same here in Chile, is just a matter of knowing where to buy your shit.

 

[GodfatherX]

I'm moving to uraguay to open a used game shop...assuming tariffs aren't insane, you sale at half the price and still have a 300% mark up

 

[Eccocid]

I'm moving to uraguay to open a used game shop...assuming tariffs aren't insane, you sale at half the price and still have a 300% mark up

I love Uruguay! Colonia is beautiful!

Anyway
New game prices are insane in Turkey Istanbul..
I checked Uncharted 2 which was $100
FFXIII was around $120 !!
Fuck this shit, there is one company called Aral which distributes Ps3 games and puts insane prices. I never buy new games in Istanbul, i just use local ebay and get second hand for the half price.

 

[X05]

Srsly, I can do the same here in Chile, is just a matter of knowing where to buy your shit.

Here it's not that simple.
The only things that one can import that are exempt of taxes are books, movies and music (in any format, everything else has a hefty 60% tax over the sum of the price and S&H), and since games come in cases which are similar to movies and music, customs used to look the other way. The problem is that quite a few MercadoLibre sellers got wind of this and started to abuse it, and with the worst timing ever, given that some nasty corruption in customs went public at about that time; this resulted in that every incoming package is heavily scrutinized, and taxed absurdly accordingly.

That leaves us with very few options, and makes Steam and other digital distribution systems a godsend

 

[Salsa]

I love Uruguay! Colonia is beautiful!

Oh i remember you, never found out what you ended up doing on that trip!



And yeah, most of the time digital distribution is where its at.

 

[Boney]

How are these prices in dollars? Is it somewhere like an airport or just your local store?

Here, prices are bad, but not as bad as yours, and we live practically next door, I don't get it.

Today I got S&P2 for $32.000 pesos, which is something like 70 bucks. The price disparity is really surprising.

 

[Salsa]

How are these prices in dollars? Is it somewhere like an airport or just your local store?

This:

Just guessing, but probably their currency exchange rate isn't very stable over the long period of time a game will spent sitting on the shelf and storeowners keep the prices in USD to prevent devaluation of their games over time.

Oh and its a mall.

 

[lastplayed]

Some of these problems are self inflicted.

Aus/NZ use PAL, when they can get products more cheaply and earlier by being part of the NA market.

I don't think it's all that bad. Sometimes we (NZ) get games before the US, and when a game gets a simultaneous world wide release, we automatically get it first by being ahead of the rest of the world.

And the prices are not universally more expensive. Some stores offer massive discounts on new releases, and even EB Games often slashes prices on recent releases.

 

[NZNova]

I remember paying $NZ139.95 for REmake back in the early Gamecube days. At today's exchange rate that's $USD96. That was pretty hefty but I really wanted that game :lol

 

[X05]

How are these prices in dollars? Is it somewhere like an airport or just your local store?

Here, prices are bad, but not as bad as yours, and we live practically next door, I don't get it.

Today I got S&P2 for $32.000 pesos, which is something like 70 bucks. The price disparity is really surprising.

All the prices in the op ARE in dollars.

 

[Boney]

This:



Oh and its a mall.

Yeah just finished reading the thread, just wanted to ask in advance.
I've gone to Montevideo twice before, for some rugby tours, I think it was 5 years ago, and prices weren't in dollars, so I wasn't sure what was up.

Oh man and I thought here we have it bad, I do most of my shopping either from MercadoLibre (Ebay), or really must have titles in specialized stores. Malls as my fellow compatriots have said are a big no no. And of course it means always selling your games, only keeping the real good ones.

I mean taxes are already included in the price (19%) and shopkeepers must make money too, 70 bucks for a Wii game doesn't sound so bad.

 

[Salsa]

I've gone to Montevideo twice before, for some rugby tours

Werent you scared shitless ? you know what i mean.


MercadoLibre is ussually the best way to get used games at a reasonable price. As far as i know its also your best chance at getting PS3 games.

 

[Why For?]

Australian videogames generally retail for $99 to $115AU which puts them at $86US plus.

We have it almost as bad. But not quite THAT bad.

 

[Boney]

Werent you scared shitless ? you know what i mean.

yes
oh man what a great trip!

 

[Eccocid]

Oh i remember you, never found out what you ended up doing on that trip!

Been there for a week 2 days in Colonia and rest in Montevideo it was too cold for Punta Del Este and Diablo.

 

[Salsa]

Just found a great example of some of the fine console marketing we have around here:

"Better than Playstation 3!!!" :lol


Edit:

@Eccocid: Sounds great hope you had a good time.