South African Rand coming to steam on 10 November

So just got this email from steam

Quote:

---

Valve Software <[email protected]>
6:34 PM (11 minutes ago)

to me
Dear Steam User,
Steam will soon be priced in South African Rand!
If your Steam wallet has any money in it on November 10th, 2015, your U.S. Dollar balance will be converted to Rand, at a conversion rate dictated by market value at the time of conversion.
To view your account balance, simply log into your Steam client or the Steam website at http://www.steampowered.com. Once you have logged in, you will see your balance in the upper-right corner next to your account name.
Thanks,
The Steam Support Team
http://support.steampowered.com

---

Wonder if this is gonna cause problems now with releases and what not

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by _Caboose_

So just got this email from steam



Wonder if this is gonna cause problems now with releases and what not

---

I came here to post this. It's going to be interesting!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Solitude

I came here to post this. It's going to be interesting!

---

Hope it's cheaper, though I wouldn't place any bets.

There's already a thread. "whistling:

Placing my bets that there will be absolutely no difference. We might have to pay that tax that the ANC is talking about, but I don't see the base prices of games getting more expensive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Deceptor

Hope it's cheaper, though I wouldn't place any bets.

---

Hope so too but I wouldn't bet on it. At the very least it will be easier to see how much money I'm wasting now, so I guess that's kind of a plus :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MetalSoup

Hope so too but I wouldn't bet on it. At the very least it will be easier to see how much money I'm wasting now, so I guess that's kind of a plus :p

---

Lol.

They better not use this as an opportunity to region lock us out of more things.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The_Imp_ZA

There's already a thread. "whistling:

Placing my bets that there will be absolutely no difference. We might have to pay that tax that the ANC is talking about, but I don't see the base prices of games getting more expensive.

---

Well given the VAT thing I'd say my money is on 10% more expensive.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HavocXphere

Well given the VAT thing I'd say my money is on 10% more expensive.

---

That's unlikely. Valve absorbs VAT in Europe, I see no reason why they won't do the same for us.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MetalSoup

That's unlikely. Valve absorbs VAT in Europe, I see no reason why they won't do the same for us.

---

Nobody "absorbs" 20%...not without pricing it in. But yes I guess they should at least apply consistent treatment.

I received this email this morning.

Dear Steam User,

Steam will soon be priced in South African Rand!

If your Steam wallet has any money in it on November 10th, 2015, your U.S. Dollar balance will be converted to Rand, at a conversion rate dictated by market value at the time of conversion.

To view your account balance, simply log into your Steam client or the Steam website at http://www.steampowered.com. Once you have logged in, you will see your balance in the upper-right corner next to your account name.

Thanks,

The Steam Support Team

http://support.steampowered.com

meh. Fortunately we have choice, so I shall be playing cards with GOG, local retailers etc..

Also got the email this morning. First time getting a mail from "Valve" so I thought, whoah this will be interesting. Here's also hoping the we get lower prices like the Russians (and Brazillians) do - I mean come on, South Africans are too poor to buy stuff and pirate everything right Valve? We're just like the pirating Russians... (hint hint)

Eish, bad news for us!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Flex

Eish, bad news for us!!!!!

---

Why is everyone saying that? :wtf: I don't understand.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MetalSoup

Why is everyone saying that? :wtf: I don't understand.

---

$ to R exchange as well as the Tax. SA did recently introduce a bill to tax Digital products.
http://ebiz.tax/south-africa-vat-tax...ucts-services/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HavocXphere

Nobody "absorbs" 20%...not without pricing it in. But yes I guess they should at least apply consistent treatment.

---

What they mean is at most you will be paying the same in total, no matter what your tax rate is. But, I would assume they would group us with the likes of Russia and Brazil, which have the cheapest prices on Steam.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Flex

$ to R exchange as well as the Tax. SA did recently introduce a bill to tax Digital products.
http://ebiz.tax/south-africa-vat-tax...ucts-services/

---

I seriously doubt we're going to be paying much more. Guess we'll only know next week for sure. Not that Steam was the cheapest to begin with anyway.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MetalSoup

I seriously doubt we're going to be paying much more. Guess we'll only know next week for sure. Not that Steam was the cheapest to begin with anyway.

---

Paying R700 for a PC is already expensive enough. Add +- 14% on top of that! That is Much more than I am prepared to pay for any digital game!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Flex

Paying R700 for a PC is already expensive enough. Add +- 14% on top of that! That is Much more than I am prepared to pay for any digital game!!!!

---

As far as I know steam absorbs sales tax. If not do you really think stream will make their games more expensive than those available in local stores through VAT? Odds are is that they have a loop to escape through.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ike_009

As far as I know steam absorbs sales tax. If not do you really think stream will make their games more expensive than those available in local stores through VAT? Odds are is that they have a loop to escape through.

---

Mmm... I highly doubt it. Even Apple Online Store or whatever you call it these days included Vat to their pricing. Unfortunately it is not steams choice or idea. It is our lovely government :) Don't think steam even thought of the Tax when deciding to make the Prices in Rand.
Guess we will have to wait and see what the implications will be

I haven't received this e-mail yet - am I the only one?

I'm with [MENTION=17]MetalSoup[/MENTION] that this doesn't necessarily mean prices will increase. Hoping the same thing as [MENTION=1872]Grievous[/MENTION] that this might actually cause prices to drop for us, even with the VAT.

PC games are much cheaper than console games at retail in South Africa, so hopefully Steam brings digital prices in line with retail.

Wonder what that would mean for the likes of BTGames?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jan

I haven't received this e-mail yet - am I the only one?

---

Mine came this morning, so you could still get one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jan

Wonder what that would mean for the likes of BTGames?

---

Sadly I think they will go the way of music stores. Unless they adapt to sell other items. I use to buy everything through BT games, in the last year I purchased a controller from them, that's it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jan

Wonder what that would mean for the likes of BTGames?

---

Surely BTGames make most of their money from console games anyway?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jan

Wonder what that would mean for the likes of BTGames?

---

As far as I know it is on digital products, and not just any online product purchase. I think that is what is confusing people a bit

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MetalSoup

Surely BTGames make most of their money from console games anyway?

---

Not sure - the video game industry in South Africa has always been very cagey about revealing details like that.

It wouldn't surprise me either way...

If our surveys are anything to go by, the people who buy lots of games every year (digital & retail) in South Africa tend to be PC gamers, so BTGames could make most of their money from PC game sales.

However, console games are more expensive, so they could be making more margin on those which means they make more money off console games.

It could also very well be that South Africa might be split ±40% PC, ±35% PlayStation, and ±25% Xbox, and that the money retailers make from PC games might be slightly less than consoles, but still significant.

I don't think this will affect retail gaming stores too much. A lot of the "hardcore" crowd will obviously buy games on steam if the Rand prices are better than the dollar ones (and more in line with retail pricing), but a lot of that same crowd (myself included) still prefer physical copies, even though it goes through steam (or a similar service) anyway.

There are also a lot people that don't have a decent internet connection with which they can download full physical games. I've also come across many, many people who actually hate services like steam, uplay and origin because of the internet requirements, but then they can't really buy physical either and they resort to getting torrents from friends who do have internet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wlad

I don't think this will affect retail gaming stores too much. A lot of the "hardcore" crowd will obviously buy games on steam if the Rand prices are better than the dollar ones (and more in line with retail pricing), but a lot of that same crowd (myself included) still prefer physical copies, even though it goes through steam (or a similar service) anyway. There are also a lot people that don't have a decent internet connection with which they can download full physical games. I've also come across many, many people who actually hate services like steam, uplay and origin because of the internet requirements, but then they can't really buy physical either and they resort to getting torrents from friends who do have internet.

---

Agreed. Will not affect most retails stores at all. Not sure about the Codes that they sell though, bit of a grey area to me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jan

Not sure - the video game industry in South Africa has always been very cagey about revealing details like that.

It wouldn't surprise me either way...

If our surveys are anything to go by, the people who buy lots of games every year (digital & retail) in South Africa tend to be PC gamers, so BTGames could make most of their money from PC game sales.

However, console games are more expensive, so they could be making more margin on those which means they make more money off console games.

It could also very well be that South Africa might be split ±40% PC, ±35% PlayStation, and ±25% Xbox, and that the money retailers make from PC games might be slightly less than consoles, but still significant.

---

The thing is that I'd say 90% of the console gamers in South Africa buy games retail, not many people have the internet for current gen digital downloads, its only really the "hardcore" console gamers that do, the majority of family / casual gamers will go retail.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crableg

The thing is that I'd say 90% of the console gamers in South Africa buy games retail, not many people have the internet for current gen digital downloads, its only really the "hardcore" console gamers that do, the majority of family / casual gamers will go retail.

---

The only reason I like buying physical copies is to put it on display with the rest of my gaming paraphernalia.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crableg

The thing is that I'd say 90% of the console gamers in South Africa buy games retail, not many people have the internet for current gen digital downloads, its only really the "hardcore" console gamers that do, the majority of family / casual gamers will go retail.

---

Sure, but I would argue that many of them only buy a few games a year. Maybe they'll only buy Destiny this year, or they'll only get the new FIFA, Madden, and Call of Duty. Or maybe they'll only maintain

From the stats I've seen there are more PC gamers that spend more on games (retail & digital) per year. So it could be that the amount of money retailers make on PC vs consoles about evens out.

Keep quite, just now the FPB sees that we have a separate market and come spoil the fun....

Seeing that we now properly in our own region I wonder how trading and Key purchases work? Would I still be able to buy games at GreenManGaming or such and enter the code into my SA account.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AlphaJohn

Keep quite, just now the FPB sees that we have a separate market and come spoil the fun....

Seeing that we now properly in our own region I wonder how trading and Key purchases work? Would I still be able to buy games at GreenManGaming or such and enter the code into my SA account.

---

The FPB Ratings have been on Steam for ages, I'm sure they know about it. :p

I got my mail yesterday evening (6pm). This means they care more about letting me know than the rest of you!

MY LOGIC IS INFALLIBLE!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mottamort

I got my mail yesterday evening (6pm). This means they care more about letting me know than the rest of you!

MY LOGIC IS INFALLIBLE!

---

More or less the same as me. 18:36 to be precise...

Anyway, I honestly don't think it will change the way people buy games in ZA. Those who wanted to buy Steam games will continue doing so and those who buy physical copies will also continue doing so. There might be a couple of Rondts difference in the price, but with our wonky currency we're used to prices being cheaper or more expensive sometimes anyway.

Like Euge...uhhh.. [MENTION=17]MetalSoup[/MENTION] said, all it means is we'll know exactly how much games cost based on the sticker price, without having to do currency conversions.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jan

Sure, but I would argue that many of them only buy a few games a year. Maybe they'll only buy Destiny this year, or they'll only get the new FIFA, Madden, and Call of Duty. Or maybe they'll only maintain

From the stats I've seen there are more PC gamers that spend more on games (retail & digital) per year. So it could be that the amount of money retailers make on PC vs consoles about evens out.

---

True, for me i buy almost all my PC games digitally and my Console games retail, I just prefer having console games on disk.

Steam is definitely my biggest platform to buy games digitally, so I'm just hoping that their isn't a radical change.

With us having the rand in steam though, would that not provide some protection of the currency fluctuations ? Right now if we buy off steam the actual price we pay changes depending on the exchange rate, the dollar price however is always the same (E.g $59.99). So i wonder if our prices will now be set at say R650 or R700 per "AAA" game?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AlphaJohn

Keep quite, just now the FPB sees that we have a separate market and come spoil the fun....

Seeing that we now properly in our own region I wonder how trading and Key purchases work? Would I still be able to buy games at GreenManGaming or such and enter the code into my SA account.

---

Codes from GMG, Humble Store etc are not region locked.

I actually had a dream about this last night i wanted to open a cs:go chest but ti was like R500 :p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by InSanity

I actually had a dream about this last night i wanted to open a cs:go chest but ti was like R500 :p

---

I think you mean nightmare. Did you open it, and get anything good?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Grievous

I think you mean nightmare. Did you open it, and get anything good?

---

no i was like fsck that noise and went to bed i think