Steam does not have to worry about retail retribution. The two cannot be compared. They will most likely never be below what you can get at retail. There are reasons they are priced this way. We just don't know the details. They probably had meetings with retail partners and made deals.

Premium cost does not constitute paying two and a half time the cost of a brand new RRP copy of the same game, thats insane AND stupid. A retail copy of ME can go as low as $30 in Australia and you expect someone to fork out $120 for it? Mark my word that unless the price is reduced to something MUCH more reasonable, the number of downloads that a game like this recieve in Australia can be counted on in one hand.

Don't you think your title is a little misleading? I understand the outrage, but at the same time, the prices are fair and manageable in almost every other country. I would hardly say the "world" is outraged.

If MS has not made a deal with regional retailers or partners, the lack of sales will most likely cause a drop in prices.  What will not cause a drop in prices, is people bitching over the internet, or even less so, internet petitions.

And I am not talking about premium costs.  I am talking about the scenario where Gamestop(or other retailers) says, if you beat my prices, I will stop selling your shit.

I agree with everyone about the ludicrous prices, but just to remind everyone. The minimum, MINIMUM wage in Australia is 14.31/hr and 12.50/hr in New Zealand. People from around there seem to complain a lot about paying roughly $100 per new game, but take a quick look at this.

Australia
100/14.31 = 6.988 aka 7

US
60/7.25 = 8.2
50/7.25 = 6.89

Australia does alright considering what the minimum wage is. 7 hours of work for their $100 games, where the US needs 8 hours for $60 and a little under 7 for a $50 game. Price point really isn't an issue, so there's really no reason for Australians to bitch about the price of games. ;)

And because of this deal they raise the price of the product which retails at $50 to the equivilant of $120?? I mean sure I can understand if they want to tack on $5 to not upset retail chain but $70? Not buying that...

It's $19.99 for plain old Burnout Paradise, or $29.99 for the Ultimate Edition, which is about what they'd retail for at stores.

If you want to get mad about a PSN game's price, it should be NFL Head Coach 09.

Anyway, the US XBL Games on Demand prices are mostly okay. Those other prices, though... WTF?

30€ for games you can find at the bargain bin for 15-20€ is a huge deal.

Considering retail games have a future because even if your console craps out and the corporation behind it goes bankrupt you can be sure down the line there will be an emulator for pc's to play your old discs.

But these DD games are more like long-term rentals TBH yet they are priced higher than the full retail package.

Considering they're saving a truckload of money since they are replacing all logistics with just a bandwith charge pricing DD above retail is insulting.

Anyways let's hope this bombs and they reconsider it.

If it bombs, I am not sure what they are going to do.  They will not upset retail partners.  They have said such, and that is why they are not releasong new games on the system.  If it bombs, they might just not put any more games on the system and just support what is there currently.

I think this should open some people's eyes to the potential problems associated with going to a Digital Distribution Model.

All of the power shifts to the monopolistic seller. This is not a dig on Microsoft, per se, but rather a statement about economics. If you are the sole supplier and there is no substitute, you can charge whatever the market will bear.

Mike from Morgantown