- cross-posted to:
- technology@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- technology@beehaw.org
“The problem lies in the data Valve uses to make these suggestions.” According to the YouTuber, Valve hasn’t updated its conversion rates since 2022, when it first introduced the regional pricing system. At that point in time, “the Polish currency was near its weakest” – but Steam is still “using this weak old rate” from three years ago.
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Does Valve set the prices? I thought it was the publishers/developers/who ever manages the steam product listing.
it’s the devs/publishers yes
some time ago Palworld devs lowered the regional price for Poland as they noticed it was relatively more expensive for Poles to buy the game, they got a lot of praise for that
I think Poland is just in the crappy position of not being on developers/publishers radars and being lumped in with other nearby countries when it comes to pricing.
I’ve heard similar complaints of polish people for all sorts of platforms, not only steam.
And I think them not having the euro probably adds to the situation since the value of the polish zloty has been going up compared to the euro.
So if publishers set the price to the euro equivalent in 2022, and the Zloty rose by 20% compared to the Euro in the mean time, you end up with the prices that are there now.
The difference to the USD over the same time is even more stark at 36%.
YouTube charges ≈$1.50 USD in some countries and charges $14 USD in the United States. I just thought this was standard. Shitty, but normal.
I think what is talked about is coutries like Poland where the currency is weaker than the $ but they still cave to pay more.
Having to pay less when earning less is good but paying more while earning less is bad.
And the problem with at least poland exists now for a few yearsEdit: i should have first read the article. And ut was indeed about poland where they pay (converted) like 100 for a 70$ game while earning less
Steam pushing Poland towards the eurozone, wasn’t expecting that one tbh
we still wouldn’t get paid more if we converted to Euros, we’d just be paid in smaller looking numbers
Not immediately, anyway.
In theory, this should make games “more accessible to a larger audience.” But, as Water CS2 says, “The problem lies in the data Valve uses to make these suggestions.” According to the YouTuber, Valve hasn’t updated its conversion rates since 2022, when it first introduced the regional pricing system. At that point in time, “the Polish currency was near its weakest” – but Steam is still “using this weak old rate” from three years ago.
Maybe I’m just misunderstanding the quote, but I’m pretty sure regional pricing have been around at least since 2010s.
Maybe I should RTFA
Fun side note: It’s Yannis Varoufakis, who would later become Greece Finance Minister during the turmoils, started the whole Regional Pricing (and the very first item marketplace with TF2) when he was Valve’s CFO.
The Polish price includes 23% VAT, no?
That would mean a $70 game in the US costs $86.10 in Poland. Not $100. The math doesn‘t check out for a lot of games I think.
Yes, and it should probably be cheaper in Poland. But it’s really 17% more expensive in this case, not 44% (or 30% as the article calculates).
Yeah I was curious where the 30% was originating when it looks like 45%
It’s either +44% (from $70) or -31% (from $101). Percentages are weird…
Right. The increase is from ~$69, so it’s +~45% more expensive. If it was a decrease from the $101 it would be ~31% cheaper.
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Useful idiots deserve to be charged as much as they’re willing to pay.
Anything less, and they will legitimately get upset at the business not ripping them off.
Gonna go to GoG. Sucks to be Steam
In the Reddit thread about the rejected NSFW updates, Crimson Delight have only good things to say about Valve’s handling of the situation. “I have to say the reviewer was kind and forthcoming, we didn’t feel threatened or bullied in any way, and we got the feeling they were trying to do their best to help devs navigate the process,” developer Frenzin writes. “But the fact of the matter is that Valve has payment processors breathing down their neck, and the rules keep getting stricter as time goes on.”
“Valve isn’t the problem here,” Frenzin continues. "The big credit card companies are. If anything, Valve has stood up to them and pushed back. They could’ve simply nuked the 18+ section of Steam, but they didn’t, they stuck up for developers. Obviously adult games make Valve money, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of Steam’s catalogue. Silksong itself probably earned Valve more than most NSFW titles put together.
“Given that we’re erogame devs, we’re against any sort of censorship (as long as the content isn’t sexualizing minors or nonconsensual in any way),” the developer comments. “But it’s important to understand where the real problem lies, and it’s not with Valve.”
GoG has regional pricing too…
I mean, definitely use GoG although this isn’t particularly a reason.
Just sail the high sees like a smart person.
If you really want to support the devs, cut out the middle man and send them money directly.
It’s not a difficult concept.
