Sony Europe prove once again they are incompetent.

[averyblund]

crissindahouse said:

Barozi said:

Euphoria14 said:

KylieDog said:

Euphoria14 said:

I know that for some other nations it is worse, but look at where the OP is from. I am just saying that things aren't as bad as he makes it seem.

What is not simple about it? 

- Sony claimed digital would be cheaper than retail, it is on average 17% more expensive instead.
- On PS3, £40 game in UK is $60 in US.  On Vita £40 is (and it seems US changed numbers since last check) $45. 

On the issue of taxes on the second point, any additional US tax is moot, since it applies to both the $45 and $60 figures, fact is, top end Vita games same price as PS3 games in UK, $15 cheaper in US.  Why is there no price difference in UK?  That $15 is about £10, so top end Vita games should be about £30.

I already said that you are getting screwed on digital prices, as are we, especially on PSP game prices. I have already posted about it in the official thread.

As for the rest of your post, I was referring to your retail prices. There are many times when you pay less and you start paying less a lot sooner than we do in the US. As for you saying tax is moot, if a game costs you $50 Euro, you end up paying ~$66 US. In the US, if a game is $60, I end up paying $65. I was just saying that in the case of retail I don't understand this idea that you are getting screwed.

It wasn't aimed at you per say, it was only to show the fallacy with the idea that people in EU (Notably the UK) pay more for everything when compared to the US.

Well since you use the Euro to make a point, usually HD games within the €-States are either 60€ or 70€ (in rare cases even 72€. Saw LittleBigPlanet for that price in a Media Markt) which translates to $80-95 per game.
When you look at that it is obviously still very profitable to buy games in the UK, even though Rol seems to have his own opinion. Surely the difference isn't as big anymore, but still £40 are "only" 48€ and that's still a lot you can save.
When I imported my PS3 from there 3 years ago, prices for new games were 42€.

But I agree with you that all in all people of the UK shouldn't complain too much about these issues :)

yeah i'm from germany as well and it's horrible if you see the prices here compared to uk shops even with the bad euro atm. it's still profitable to buy in uk from germany lol^^

btw i have a tax question for the us-americans. your prices are always without tax right? so if i buy something in new york as us-american i have to pay the price in the window (for example) + the tax of new york? does this mean you don't really know what to pay if you are from another state until the girl on the checkout is saying the price?

Yes, in my experience all prices are not including tax here. Yup, unless you know the tax rate (usually between 4-9%) you won't know for sure until the item is rung up.

and what if you buy on the internet? do you never have to pay taxes then or how do you calculate the taxes then? and how do you pay them? do you have to care for that or does the internet shop calculate the tax then?

If you buy online you are only charged tax if the item is from a company that has a "presence" in the same state. Presence can mean a store, HQ, or shipping warehouse. HOWEVER, we are supposed to report all online purchises for taxes every year- but most people don't, and despite it being technically tax fraud it is rarely enforced.

and why aren't there the prices with tax included on the price tag? i mean when i have to pay the price included tax why not putting this price on the price tag?

I honestly can't answer this. For years people have been asking to have tax figured into listed prices, but it hasn't gotten much press. Not sure why. I for one prefer the system you and many others have of showing the full price.

sry if i'm talking stupid shit but this confuses me in germany we have the same tax everywhere for products. only two different taxe rates for dofferent products but the same in whole germany (and the price inclusive tax is on the price tags)

Not stupid at all, I'm actually surprised how well you get it. The system here is convoluted, and not optimal for consumers. Even if the prices are (generally) a tad lower.