just fyi steam "sales" prices are still higher than you should pay in most countries and in fact, you can get those "summer sales" for less 9/10 times

yes will they want you to buy game from your countries story. which people should be doing, but at same time if is 50$ in one country it should be 50$ in counties equivalent which it probably isnt

schmidtbag:

I'm confused... I wouldn't be surprised if the increased price in the EU is because of VAT, which is something the government benefits from, not Valve. So, if Valve is trying to prevent people from evading higher prices, why would the EU want to stop that?

Because one of the primary reasons the EU was formed in the first place is to be able to buy something anywhere you want without restrictions. Before the EU, you couldn't buy something in one country and ship it to another country. It had to go through customs and you would have to pay a hefty toll. You'd have to pay a toll again if you them moved to another country. This was a crap state of affairs. The European Union dictates a single market where citizens must be allowed to buy any product in any country without restrictions or fees. So basically Valve is in violation of european law. The other reason the EU exists is to allow people to travel and work in any EU country they want without needing any kind of permission to do so. You don't even need a passport. You could just apply for a job in France for example, rent a house there, hop in an airplane and just go there. No visa or "green card" required. And guess what? Valve is also a troublemaker in that regard. A lot of people work cross-country and every time they travel, they "violate Steam's ToS". I really hope Valve gets an actually crippling fine up the ass here, not just another slap on the wrist.

RealNC:

Because one of the primary reasons the EU was formed in the first place is to be able to buy something anywhere you want without restrictions. Before the EU, you couldn't buy something in one country and ship it to another country. It had to go through customs and you would have to pay a hefty toll. You'd have to pay a toll again if you them moved to another country. This was a crap state of affairs. The European Union dictates a single market where citizens must be allowed to buy any product in any country without restrictions or fees. So basically Valve is in violation of european law. The other reason the EU exists is to allow people to travel and work in any EU country they want without needing any kind of permission to do so. You don't even need a passport. You could just apply for a job in France for example, rent a house there, hop in an airplane and just go there. No visa or "green card" required. And guess what? Valve is also a troublemaker in that regard. A lot of people work cross-country and every time they travel, they "violate Steam's ToS". I really hope Valve gets an actually crippling fine up the ass here, not just another slap on the wrist.

The problem is that things are not that simple. For example try to buy a car from different country than yours and then try to bring it to your won country. You can´t simply do that, because otherwise everyone would buy cars at the cheapest country possible and all the others would be left to die... In this case, what do you think it would happen if tou could choose freely the country to buy games from Steam? Everyone would choose the cheapest country and all the others would be out of the action and lose all the tax money... The same with wages and taxes, they are different in each country. Unfortunately, things are more complicated than just saying that everyone and everything exists without restrictions on the EU space.

H83:

The problem is that things are not that simple. For example try to buy a car from different country than yours and then try to bring it to your won country. You can´t simply do that, because otherwise everyone would buy cars at the cheapest country possible and all the others would be left to die...

You get local license plates and register the car and get insurance in your country. People do buy cars from other EU countries. In general: "As an EU citizen, you are free to buy or sell a car anywhere in the EU."

In this case, what do you think it would happen if tou could choose freely the country to buy games from Steam?

What would happen is that you get to exercise your rights as an EU citizen.

Everyone would choose the cheapest country and all the others would be out of the action and lose all the tax money...

Yes. And many people do exactly that for many other products. Why should video games be considered special?

The same with wages and taxes, they are different in each country.

Sure. Never claimed otherwise.

RealNC:

You get local license plates and register the car and get insurance in your country. People do buy cars from other EU countries. In general: "As an EU citizen, you are free to buy or sell a car anywhere in the EU." What would happen is that you get to exercise your rights as an EU citizen. Yes. And many people do exactly that for many other products. Why should video games be considered special? Sure. Never claimed otherwise.

In the case of cars you have to legalize them on the country you live, paying taxes to that country , so you can´simply buy them the way you like. At least that´s what happens in Portugal otherwise everyone would buy their cars on Spain...:D Games face the same issue, unless you want one or two countries gobbling all the sales because they are cheaper than all the other countries... I don´t like this too much but i understand why things work this way.

H83:

I don´t like this too much but i understand why things work this way.

But the point is that things don't work this way 😛 Read the article again: "Last year Valve already got fined for this behavior in the EU, but apparently, they refuse to listen."

RealNC:

But the point is that things don't work this way 😛 Read the article again: "Last year Valve already got fined for this behavior in the EU, but apparently, they refuse to listen."

Yes but that´s the silliness of this situation, in some cases the EU says we live in an open market and then in other special situations they say the complete opposite... Almost every country of the EU is going to complain if Valve follows the EU in this one...

Valken:

It is LEGAL to allow grey imports if a consumer has purchased it locally and sent it abroad as a gift.

Nope. It's still counterfeit.

Legacy-ZA:

I wait until games are 85% discounted, it takes a while, but I have a huge backlog, I refuse to pay these ridiculously high prices, especially when their DLC isn't even included.

I agree that paying 60€ for a game and 60€ for a DLC pass for content that should be in the game makes no sense. A multiplayer game I'll usually wait 1 year and eye a good discount. Single player games I can wait 2 or 3 years. I've even resorted to playing the pirated copy and buying it later because I loved the damn game. But as the state of the industry is now, looking at cyberpunk 2077 for example, I like to wait for the game to be fully updated and stable before pulling the trigger. By that time it's priced at a biscuit and easy to afford.