The exchange rate excuse is also bollocks too, otherwise we would have being seeing new PS3 games sell for £30 two years ago when the pound was strong.

I get very annoyed about stuff like this because the UK has always paid over the odds for games, DVDs and electonrics in general. Publishers just milk us for the cash cows we are.

The high price of console games will merely keep me playing mmorgs; I think Wizard 101 cost me £30 for a year’s subscription.

I still remember when games were £30 *grumble grumble wheelie shopping trolly kids on lawn grumble grumble*.

Of course the more they hike game prices, the more MMOs seem like a sound investment. I didn’t play WoW for a long time because I was afraid, well, that I’d lose my entire life to it and also paying out £8 a month to play a game seemed, in some peculiar way, outrageous.

The ironic thing is that WoW actually *saves me money* these days, because I play other games much much less and they are way more expensive to buy.

With a single player game costing £50, that’s half a year of WoW!

Aion pre-order on Amazon UK: £30 (inc. NL postage)

Aion pre-order on EU Steam: €50 (£43)

I have a slightly different take on this as a Brit living in the Netherlands, where a typical PC game RRP is €50 (~£43). Indeed, I can shop on Amazon UK, pay the extra postage, and still come out with a big saving.

I’m sure this kind of cross-channel trade is a big concern for publishers. Not only are they earning less for each UK sale due to the weak pound, but that is also driving down profits in continental territories.

Of course, I’d prefer to see them reduce the Euro RRP for games in order to deter such trade, but let’s be realistic here