For example, take the price of RE9: Requiem (Deluxe) in comparison to major currencies and notice that it costs LESS than from the Western world: (Why is that the case?)
| Country | Local Currency | in USD | in GBP | in EUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | ¥9,990 | $62.85 | £46.80 | 53,75€ |
| South Korea | ₩91,800 | $61.90 | £46.30 | 53,15€ |
| China | ¥398 | $58.30 | £43.30 | 49,70€ |
| India | ₹4799 | $51.70 | £38.50 | 44,20€ |
| Kazakhstan | 29,100₸ | $60.95 | £45.30 | 52,15€ |
| Philippines | ₱3490 | $58.40 | £43.50 | 49,95€ |
| Indonesia | Rp 1039000 | $60.80 | £45.30 | 52,00€ |
| Vietnam | 1690000₫ | $64.40 | £48.00 | 55,10€ |
Now take the exact same game in “Western” money, it costs even MORE :
| US | UK | EU |
|---|---|---|
| $79.99 | £69.99 | 79,99€ |
Like, why is it so expensive? I would say the US one costs more as sales tax isn’t accounted for (until checkout) on their store front while VAT is included on both UK & EU store fronts via steam.
Speaking as a South Asian and former school teacher (a middle-class person here, so to speak), our average salary goes anywhere from ~100$ to ~250$ a month. I could afford about 10=20$ worth of games every year, inflation dependant.
Note that this is in a culture where Piracy is the norm and actually buying games is practically unthinkable. If it weren’t for Steam sales, wanting to support indie devs and not wanting to deal with bugs/cracks and updates for once, I wouldn’t have ever ‘bought’ a game at all.
TLDR: Many South Asians cannot afford, much less think, of buying games. The lower prices mean some sales, instead of none.