But you already knew that......just joking.

What I really want to rant about is the pricing of games. An example:

Madden 08 on the Wii. I just checked a few websites advertising this for sale. Converting everything back to US dollars shows just how much Australians are being fleeced.

In the US of A this is selling for 47.99 USD

In the UK it is 29.98 GBP or 59.34 USD

In NZ it is 99.95 NZD or 68.06 USD

but in Australia it is 99.95 AUD or 78.37 USD

That is just ridiculous to my mind. Someone is just creaming a bit extra off the top for no extra value whatsoever. It is the same game, no extra features, nothing else added to it so how can they (the big THEY) justify charging so much extra for this?

If I was Australian (God forbid ) I would be buying my games from a UK or NZ site and paying the shipping cost as a protest, surely it would still work out cheaper? Better yet I would move countries. The wholesaler/retailer in Australia do not deserve your money. I take pity on my Ozzie cousins.

JRI.

I know how you feel. The last game I bought (for full price at a store) was Twilight Princess for the equivalent of 80 US dollars. So many great games coming in the next 6 months makes my wallet hurt. -_-

yes i am Australian also.
you kniow PS3s cost $799 USD here right ? lol

DS games cost shit loads too. like almost 2x the price in US

madden is going for less than £30?... how come its a budget game here in UK, is it because its American football rather than proper football? edit; ooh, eleventy-one posts.

^^ yeah proper football costs and extra £5.

Yeah, it sucks :P

Add the PAL/Europe delay to most Ninty titles (Super Paper Mario... what's that? Maybe in a month!).

At least Wii games are a lot cheaper now - typically $80AU. I'm still refuse to pay $80AU for RE4 (Wii) though - for a title that costs $30US.

To be fair, factor in our 10% GST (tax).

...

Seriously considering buying a Wii from the US:

 - can play online on US servers

 - can buy CHEAP US Wii titles

 - get games months earlier

...

When the N64 come out, I actually picked up a US version - then a Australian one later. The US one launched like 6 months(?) before it did in Australia, and the games where a lot cheaper.

So I ended up with a mix of PAL & NTSC titles which was cool.

(one of my friends is considering chipping his Wii to play NTSC title - but I won't risk it)

America is a great place to be a gamer :D

Oh damn...i feel your guys' pain..us here in the U.S. are spoiled little ho's.

games also sell for 78 dollars or so here in mexico (when you buy them from a "legal" retail)

Thats why I buy them at flea markets that smugle them out of the US, that way we pay som,ething like 55 dollars, and thats the same price i pay for them when I go to texas to buy games, because they tax everything 8%.