According to this article in Ars Technica, Canada's burgeoning economy is causing headaches for gamers in the Great White North. Apparently the rise of the Canadian dollar hasn't been matched by the various download services that convert real-money to an arbitrary point system, such as the ones used by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo in their now-generation consoles.
Here's the breakdown: as the Canuck Cash rises in value, the prices necessary to attain X amount of points remains the same. If a loaf of bread that once cost $2CDN now only costs $1.50CDN, obviously their cash is doing well, but when 800 Microsoft points STILL cost $10CDN, when it should have dropped to $7.50 according to my bread analogy, the Canadians are getting shafted. While those figures are a bit of an exaggeration to explain the situation, the reality is basically the same.
Now Microsoft and their ilk are obviously profiting heartily from the ascension of the Canadian dollar, so unfortunately they have no motivation to change their pricing scheme. Hopefully this sort of thing will be handled by the people who authorized the $1 billion USD warranty repair scheme and not the folk who've been notoriously monopoly-happy for the last three decades.
Then again, I've been envious of their socialized healthcare for years now, so between the gamers getting screwed and the rampant Sasquatch attacks, I think this makes us even.
[Again, propers to GoldenDonut]
Contest:
10:01 PM on 10.10.2007
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Of course, they will keep paying the prices, thus rendering their complaints pointless.
Seriously, this is really cutting into my weekly poutine budget.
I would be suprised if they are still loosing money on console after the change difference between the euro and the dollar.
Get Alan Greenspan on this bitch.
Alan?
Way to go senile in the clutch Spannie.
Retail is a different story, but I plan to buy through American retailers and save $10 bucks a game. So I guess that's getting screwed