Video Game Prices Really Bother Me

[athenian200]

Maybe America get's their products cheaper because their minimum wage is so low, I know here in Nova Scotia minimum wage is $9 and I think the US makes about $7.30 in 2009 but it would differ by a dollar or two between states. I also hear their cost of living isn't so great. so to balance out the economy products are generally cheaper. I don't envy those low prices when I think about all the people in the states who can't afford to pay bills and support themselves on such a low income. But then again what do I know I'm not even from America, maybe someone could enlighten me? Maybe the low costs completely fix the low income problems..

I've never heard anyone say that before. Most people I've spoken with say that Americans are the most well-off and advanced people in the world.

The common reasons given is that we give people of any ethnicity or gender an opportunity to work, have a lot of cheap undeveloped land, provide public education up through High School, and have government programs like Welfare, Medicare, and Social Security that help the truly disabled, sick, and elderly. Also commonly cited is that we have a lot of purchasing power, a strong military that could theoretically decimate any other country, nuclear weapons, and have good trading relations with many other countries. Our biggest and oldest selling point is usually that we are a democratic republic that strives to guarantee personal freedom (such as speech and religion), human rights, and minimal government interference/invasion of privacy.

Many Americans are convinced that no other nations have these things, but I strongly suspect at least some Western European nations have them.

Needless to say, if Americans are getting video games cheaper because the average citizen is actually poorer than in Canada, and we have a lower standard of living than the other countries mentioned... then we must be in denial. I would be rather shocked to learn that.

 

[blubb]

...The worst example I can think of is good old Twilight Princess. The game is over 3 years old, but if I want to buy it new in a gamestore I still have to pay 54,99 euro which is 72,83 american dollar. And they still have the guts to say 'only 54,99 euro!"...like it is a cheap deal >_> ...

I'm living in Germany and I've just seen Monster Hunter Tri (which has been released some days ago) for 39€ (that'd be 51,73USD ATM) and it didn't look like a special bargain offer to me, so if you live near our border, maybe you should consider buying your games here
But I got the impression that a lot of things are a bit more expensive in NL, my sis was in Amsterdam a few weeks ago and she paid a whopping 8€ for a 0,5l beer, such a price is unimaginable over here (it's usually 3-4€ in restaurants in large cities and 2,30€ in the "pub" of my village which isn't far from the next bigger city)