Online games taxed
Posted on July 03, 2003 @ 09:49 in Games
Slashdot points to a Gamespot article, noting that "electronically delivered goods and services" in Europe have become subject to a 17.5% VAT levy on the 1st of July, which means that at least all of Sony Online games, such as Starwars Galaxies, are seeing a price hike from $12,95 to $14,99. Everything's taxed, so why not online games? It adds to the total cost of playing games though, and that worries me a bit.
I'm a moderately dedicated gamer myself, but I think that any monthly fee over €10, just for playing the game online, is asking a bit too much. It adds up you know: broadband connection (or per-minute dial-up costs in large parts of the world), a yearly subscription fee for Xbox Live, then add the €60 or so you pay for the game in the shop, and then finally they want you to fork over 10 to 15 euro per month just to be able to play the game. I'd go along with a flexible pricing scheme, where the more you get from a game, the more it can cost, but they're gonna have to be careful that gaming remains fun. That you're not going to worry about not playing during a weekend or a holiday, because you're paying so much for the service already.
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