Agreed. I haven't used Steam much because newer games tend to be much more expensive on there than if you buy it on disc. And it's not just you Aussies that get screwed over, we have the same problem in central Europe.
Examples:
- Bioshock 2 (PC): €29.99 on Steam, €19.97 on amazon.de. If I didn't already have it, I'd import it from amazon.co.uk, as it's much cheaper at £9.95 even with extra postage to Austria. (plus I don't risk getting badly translated German voiceovers)
- Anno 1404 a.k.a. Dawn of Discovery: Steam: €49.99, Venice expansion: €29.99; amazon.de: €34.90/€25.59; amazon.co.uk: £11.99/£8.97. Note that this is even a game developed in Germany.
I can't work out who decides that this is a sensible pricing scheme. I paid less than the current steam price for these games when they were still new releases.
Bizarrely, even Valve's own games are cheaper at amazon than on their own distribution channel. (Orange Box: €29.99 vs €19.99/£14.99) As far as I know, the retail versions of Valve games run on Steam anyway, so you're literally paying for the questionable privilege of downloading a couple of gigabytes of data overnight. And Amazon is still cheaper if you opt for next day delivery.
Examples:
- Bioshock 2 (PC): €29.99 on Steam, €19.97 on amazon.de. If I didn't already have it, I'd import it from amazon.co.uk, as it's much cheaper at £9.95 even with extra postage to Austria. (plus I don't risk getting badly translated German voiceovers)
- Anno 1404 a.k.a. Dawn of Discovery: Steam: €49.99, Venice expansion: €29.99; amazon.de: €34.90/€25.59; amazon.co.uk: £11.99/£8.97. Note that this is even a game developed in Germany.
I can't work out who decides that this is a sensible pricing scheme. I paid less than the current steam price for these games when they were still new releases.
Bizarrely, even Valve's own games are cheaper at amazon than on their own distribution channel. (Orange Box: €29.99 vs €19.99/£14.99) As far as I know, the retail versions of Valve games run on Steam anyway, so you're literally paying for the questionable privilege of downloading a couple of gigabytes of data overnight. And Amazon is still cheaper if you opt for next day delivery.