Nintendo eShop Rip Off For Irish Customers

Rigardo

I hadn't planned on getting a 3DS originally. I felt the game line up was only so so and although I had a DS Lite it always bugged me that the games never budged in price. Second hand copies commanding nearly new game prices and no equivalent Platinum titles made buying games an expensive hobby. I'd buy more games if they weren't so costly. I'm rambling and getting a little side tracked here but it would be interesting to hear your (as fellow gamers!) opinions.



I went on to the eShop and was pretty amazed to see The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time had been reduced from £39,99 to £19,99. I went in to purchase it before Nintendo realized the mistake they had made only to see the Euro price was €29,99. Now I'm no mathematician but I get the feeling someone's taking the p!$$



The current exchange rate says £19.99 = €23.15



I could swallow €24.99 but come on! Does anyone else find this a blatant rip off or is there someone out there that can explain this extortion?

Deano7788

I don't really know why there's such a difference but the € price is the same throughout the eurozone and not just Ireland. The €29.99 price tag was announced at last weeks Nintendo Direct as a special offer. This (the € price) was shown to the UK as well as the rest of Europe so I'm guessing it's the, for want of a better word, original price and is not exchanged from £ (Nintendo Europe is based in Germany so this also backs this up). If anything it could be the other way around.

As to why there is such a difference, part of it is probably down to tax rates. Another reason is possibly hit consumer price points, i.e. less than £20, less than €30. It's a psychological effect.

Also, it's not exclusive to Nintendo. Most things on xbox or psn are also dearer in € than in £. It just seems to be common practice, even if it is annoying and unfair and I don't agree with it.

Wolverine359

There's always the option to temporarily change your region to the UK and pay for eShop games in sterling.

Nollog

Also worth noting that some games in the UK eShop cost more than here.

abbir

At least the Wii U virtual console games are cheaper here than in the UK 30c vs 30p for F-Zero

Myrddin

I'd never buy something digitally that was available in hard form. Just buy the cart

brianon

abbir wrote: »

At least the Wii U virtual console games are cheaper here than in the UK 30c vs 30p for F-Zero

True but when I bought F-Zero this morning I noticed it's discounted down from €7.99 ! :eek:

8€ for a SNES game ? What were they on the Wii ?

Deano7788

brianon wrote: »

True but when I bought F-Zero this morning I noticed it's discounted down from €7.99 ! :eek:

8€ for a SNES game ? What were they on the Wii ?

800 points for most, so the same.

abbir

EnterNow wrote: »

I'd never buy something digitally that was available in hard form. Just buy the cart

I have the cart for F-Zero but I couldn't say no for 30 cent. Also my SNES is broken Only found out when I wanted to play Super Metroid again.

CastorTroy

Isn't Super Metroid next month's 30cent game?

Deano7788

CastorTroy wrote: »

Isn't Super Metroid next month's 30cent game?

I think it's not till May. Punch Out is next as far as i know

DARK-KNIGHT

raging i missed balloon fight....

30 cent is for fecking nothing.....

picked up trine 2 switch force and fzero today.....

its official im once again a 100% certified ninty head...

ms and ps can suck my balls

nitromaster

Such a mess up when it came to this reduction...

Usual price in pounds: £39.99
Sale price: £19.99 - 50% saving.
Usual price in euro: £44.99
Sale price: £29.99 - 33% saving

Should be 22.50 going by a similar reduction over here, or a nice "round" €24.99 if they must...

If you swap regions to make the purchase you might be able to pay with your card there for it, it'll still be available for re-download/etc after swapping back. But so much nonsense anyway...

COYVB

The eShop is a rip off for customers around the world

DARK-KNIGHT

Trine 2 12.99 excellent value, switch force 4.99 and fzero 30 cent

Yeah the eshop is a rip off for those that buy games full price on it SALES ladies and gents..

Banjo

Speaking of which, Monster Shooter appears to be on sale on the 3DS eShop - 2.99 instead of 7.99
Doesn't look like anything special though. Anyone played it?