Store European Currency Beta Available

[jasonr]

We have started a beta to test localized currency in Pound Sterling and Euros on Steam. To join the beta, click http://store.steampowered.com/?localizedcurrency=1.

You will need to use this link each time you wish to purchase in localized currency during the beta. Your having opted into the beta is only saved for the duration of your browser session. Pound Sterling is available only in the United Kingdom; Euros are available only in Europe.

You won't be able to actually purchase if you manually set the store to a country/currency other than that in which you actually live.

[DarkDamo]

Awesome! Even though I am not in the European regions it is good to see that localised currency is being implemented . I shall be eagerly awaiting an Australian localisation beta (if there is going to be one).

A question though, how ofter does the current exchange rate update?

*removed, seems intentional and you know about it*

It seems that the price doesnt change, only the sign changes. eg $19.99USD == E 19.99 (When looking at Defence Grid)

[sciss0rz]

It might just be due me being in Canada, but browsing the UK store doesn't change to Pounds. What I've done to browse the various storefronts:

http://store.steampowered.com/?localizedcurrency=1
then
http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=UK
Still shows USD (or at least the dollar sign and not £)


However it works fine for a country using the Euro
http://store.steampowered.com/?localizedcurrency=1
then
http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=SE

[¦AMMUT¦]

Excellent job. I like that the VAT shows as included now. Fantastic update

[bloodypalace]

Canadian dollar please!

[ClearSky]

Have the prices changed too? wasnt l4d about £33? now its £26

but yeah nice update no more using xe

[Peewi]

I see € signs instead of $ signs, but the numbers are exactly the same. Surely that can't be right.

EDIT: I see that a few games do have differences in the numerical values of their prices. Football Manager 2009 is $49.99 and € 44,95, but for everything else I've looked at, the shown numbers are the same.

[sciss0rz]

Bug:

Darwinia doesn't seem to have a price with localized currency enabled.

GBP: http://store.steampowered.com/app/1500/?cc=GB
Euro: http://store.steampowered.com/app/1500/?cc=DE

Originally Posted by Peewi

I see € signs instead of $ signs, but the numbers are exactly the same. Surely that can't be right.

It is different on some games so if it isn't a bug, that does kinda suck for you guys.

[Enigma776]

Hey if these prices are correct bring on the good times.

[Peewi]

From looking at the Steam store for different countries, it looks like most games use the same numbers for $ and € prices (example: I see Left 4 Dead as $49.99 and € 49,99, depending on whether localized currency is enabled).

Pound, on the other hand, seem to be working better. The UK L4D prices are $49.99 and £26.99.

Are there any plans about what to do with European countries not using Euro or Pound?

[Korazone]

They're just doing this so they can charge the same in each currency regardless of exchange rate. So they'll rake in way more cash now with the way the rates have been changing recently. When I first saw this thread I said: "Yay they're actually trying to improve user-friendliness!" but no they aren't. In fact there's a devious motive behind this feature instead.

Call of Duty 4 was 70 dollars over here and 50 in the USA. A lot of people noticed this discrepancy and it annoyed them. While Valve probably couldn't care less about a few annoyed customers, I'd say such a situation probably alerted them that they really needed to mask these price discrepancies in future. While such price differences would hardly cause a mass boycott or anything extreme, I guess Valve still thinks such little things gnaw away at the reputation Steam has as a friendly alternative to all the other monolithic "evil" distributers/publishers.

So this is just a masking effort to quiet down the hulabuloo regarding regional price differences; quiet it down permanently. People won't by accident notice the differences anymore ever again, unless they purposefully think about it. This is all for appearances sake plain and simple.

[Adradis]

I love the conspiracy theories: If Valve was doing that, you think they would really make it that obvious? EVERYONE WITH A BRAIN knows that Euro != Dollar != Pound != Candian Dollar.

Go blame the government for something. :P

[Korazone]

Originally Posted by Adradis

I love the conspiracy theories: If Valve was doing that, you think they would really make it that obvious? EVERYONE WITH A BRAIN knows that Euro != Dollar != Pound != Candian Dollar.

Go blame the government for something. :P

I realise you're being sarcastic but I still would like to address the opinion you're satiring there, as I'm sure a lot of Steam "Hammer Legion Members" will probably have such a view point.

It is blatantly obvious to me what they're doing. And anyone who thinks about it will come to the same conclusion. My "conspiracy theory" is based on what everyone is reporting here (that the prices are exactly the same regardless of currency) and my experiences with CoD4 earlier in the year (finding out that the plummeting dollar wouldn't lessen the cost of the game in the slightest. It actually made it more expensive.)

I would actually like to hear a sensible response that with these two instances in mind proves me wrong on this: that this is a "ploy" to mask the regional price differences. So I am not saying that I am right necessarily, what I am saying is that if I am to be proven wrong it has to be by a cogent counterargument and not someone screaming "Conspiracy theory!"

There were a few threads I noticed on the forums over the last year talking about the regional price differences. I really think that this is just a ploy to shut up such whiners in future, and to make steam more "localised" so as to make it appear more friendly to europeans (filling us all with a warm fuzzy feeling inside because someone noticed us :-D )

Yeah and Adradis I realise you were joking, but this is just a pre-emptive response against people who actually possess the view point you were mocking; those who will try to scream conspiracy theory at me.

[Adradis]

I'd also like to point out that this is CLEARLY MARKED BETA. Beta means there are bugs, and Valve wants them worked out. They did the same thing with the upgraded store when things like this were happening.

It's REAL easy to miss a single variable when your switching something, so it probably just displayed variable "AMERICAN_DOLLAR" instead of the adjusted "EURO" variable. (Random variable names, you get the idea.)

[Korazone]

Originally Posted by Adradis

I'd also like to point out that this is CLEARLY MARKED BETA. Beta means there are bugs, and Valve wants them worked out. They did the same thing with the upgraded store when things like this were happening.

It's REAL easy to miss a single variable when your switching something, so it probably just displayed variable "AMERICAN_DOLLAR" instead of the adjusted "EURO" variable. (Random variable names, you get the idea.)

Ok. Fair enough. Perhaps you're right. But you must admit it does seem like a fairly large oversight to get the prices wrong when the main focus of this beta IS the prices. Smells fishy to me. If this was just an ancillary feature tucked into the beta carelessly then I guess it would be reasonable to suggest this was a slip up. But the whole beta IS about prices. I'm going on the OP's wording when I say that because he says they "started" the beta for the testing of this specific feature. So while I haven't tried it, it's reasonable to assume that that's all the beta is about. And thus the next question is: if pricing is the whole focus of this beta than how likely is it that they slipped up on the prices?

The answer is: it's very unlikely. This is probably the way its intended to function. And as I said before there is a history of regional pricing differences on Steam. So even if prices weren't the main focus of this beta it still wouldn't be unlikely that the regional price discrepancies people are reporting are on purpose.