I think most gamers understand there isn't the budget to get to the level of Madden but the most disapointing thing is the lack of improvement or worse yet a game is actually worse as AFL managed to do. Even with a small budget you should still continue to improve. All the new PSP titles will be is rehashed PS2 titles and again is why gamers get upset. AFL ruined any confidence gamers had as they shelled out the dollars for that years game only to find virtually no change or decline. You have to ask after the first game was there any effort made or just repackaging the same crap to gouge Aussie consumers.
This is old news and a pathetic attempt to try and provide reasons for it. Plain and simple we get ripped not just on games, on everything you can imagine. I lived in the US for 8 years and on just about anything you can think of we get screwed. How can australian products be shipped to the US and sold for 4 times less (yes after exchange rates). Must be very expensive to ship to Melbourne or Sydney then as apposed to half way round the world. Electrical, food, clothing, phone plans, games etc etc the difference in price is so ridiculous it goes well beyond population size and all the other bogus reasons they would have people beleive. Harvey Norman has the rights to sell Monster Cables in australia and look what they sell them for, hundreds of dollars more than what you can get in US. Even warranty in australia is a joke. Most of the time you have to pay for the priviledge to have an item checked and then you will be told if it will be replaced and in the mean time you won't be provided with a replacement item. Try that in the US for 5 seconds and see how it flies. How big companies like Sony can provide a level of service for a lower price in one country and then provide virtually no service at a much higher price only makes it worse. It just proves how unethical they are and that australia undeniably gets bent over by companies on everything. And yet people will argue against piracy. When I was in the US I wouldn't even consider it but in Australia you definetly have a good reason to consider. While buying overseas helps my pocket I don't know if it will really change anything here dependent on who exactly is setting the price. Often the last guy in the chain is just passing on costs while the main players still get their money no matter where you buy. A consumer in australia might as well be in a turkish prison, at least that way you probably know why you are being treated that way.
Why would you want to make things cheaper for the games industry, just so they can push out more crap for less and pocket the profit. IR Gurus has pushed AFL for long enough and it's still crap and getting worse. I don't know how you could make a bad game worse but they managed too and after all these years making it cheaper for them will somehow change that. That isn't how it works, the only thing sheltering our games industry will do is make it easier for them to make bad games and still survive. If they can't make a quality game that can compete in the market then they shouldn't be there. The money would be better spent getting quality developers to put more Australian content into their games. A Bathurst in Gran Turismo or Forza, have our major cities and country as locales in FPS etc, get EA Tiburon to make an AFL or Rugby game like Madden. Wishful thinking I know but I would rather hold out for that then AFL 2008.
Regardless of the fact whether or not people want backwards compatability the fact is that Sony talked it up and used it as a key factor to try and make people swallow the ridiculous higher price compared to other consoles. Then they turn around and make Australia and Europe wait longer, charge more and provide less. What a recipe for success, hats of the the gurus getting paid millions to think that little strategy up. I know all the talk about true HD gaming and spout off all the numbers and spec's but really when you boil it down all it has is the Blue Ray Player much like the PS2 played DVD's only trouble is the PS2 wasn't priced through the roof compared to other consoles. It seems like Sony's now ficticious long list of reasons they gave to justify the price have slowly turned into one, and you can't tell me they just came up with the fact that they will use software emulation. No these decisions would have been known a long time ago and planned for, I mean how long have they been making the AU and EUR models ready to ship at the very least but even long before production they would know what they were going to put in it. What does this mean? It means Sony has tried to be as sneaky and slimey as possible slowly leaking out one dissapointment after another in the vain hope that people will forget the previous stuff up just as they announce the next one. The only trouble is they have made so many false promises and lies that there just isn't enough time to spread them out over. Australia and Europe may not be the biggest markets but last time I checked you don't help a market grow by sticking it to them, by not shipping product on time and charging such a prohibitive price not only for the console but games as well that only the few people lucky enough to have that sort of money lying around to spend can have one. On top of that you use **** region coding so that even if you are not willing to release a game in my country I can't even order it from yours. Why don't you just say it's your ball and your going home and none of us can play like the babies you are. Why else would Sony put the hammer down on importers. The importers are there because of the ridiculous price they charge in other countries. Sony created them, if they charged a fair price and shipped on time people would be happy to buy the console or game in their home country. No it is much better to use the long arm of the law to really stick it too people and give them absolutely no hope of receiving a reasonable deal. I am lucky enough over time (not at release) to have purchased a Game Cube, XBOX and PS2. I don't have a real preference for one or the other I just like to play games as a hobby and each console has it's share of good games and have been very competitive. My argument isn't about who likes what more or why my console is the best, it is about the principle of treating customers with equal respect and running your business in a fair and equitable manner for all. I know big business isn't always about that because it isn't the most profitable, but there is a measure on the scale and Sony has failed miserably sliding all the way to the bottom. Just becuase there are reports that Sony is losing money on each console, is that supposed to make us all go Orrrr poor Sony heres an extra $20 bucks on that $1000 your charging me and go get yourself something nice you poor thing. I don't care if they are losing $500 a console the fact is they have made a product that isn't living up to all they promised and they have priced it out of reach of the majority of people who want it. They came up with the concept, design and made it and it's their problem. If they are losing money it doesn't change what it is going to cost me and what I am getting for my money. I now have an XBOX 360 and thoroughly enjoy it but it is going to be a very tough pill for anyone to swallow I think to buy the PS3. You never know maybe the PS3 will sell like mad and be the number one console and if that means there are that many people getting enjoyment from it then great but I don't think that alone will make anyone respect Sony again to the same level they were accustomed to since the days of PS1 and PS2 (and I hope it doesn't becuase if it does I can't even imagine how badly we will get screwed on the PS4). You have to continually earn your customers trust and appreciation by raising the bar and providing good service you don't just get on your high horse and take the approach that you will get what your given and like it because we think we are the only show in town, the arrogance is astounding. At the end of the day it seems like the WII and XBOX 360 have still done their best to keep it about gamers, providing fun and value. All I am seeing lately from Sony and the PS3 is a big expensive box of empty promises. Longwinded I know but that is my two cents and if enough people speak out then hopefully things may change for the better for us in AU and EUR.
ratcliffe25's comments