Actually, I previously said I like it...and I acknowledged everyone's opinions.

However, if we want to play the comparison game, then Eugen provides dlc for Wargame European Escalation for free, and Creative Assembly is recently consistently releasing dlc at low prices.

I'm not disputing the quality of Dawnguard, just its price in relation to the main game, and its content in relation to official Beth press releases and statements...I think that there is valid cause to question both of those things.

If the Aussie $1 buy's $1.04c that's close to parity, so O/K I'll go with that. I did use the word "stronger" on purpose to emphasise the fact Dawnguard is $20 if purchases through Steam in America but is $25 (American) if bought through Steam here in Australia. The selling price for the region is set from ouside of Australia, the shop's have no say in the matter the RRP was pre-set for this region at a vastly higher price which if you think about it a download from Steam costs Steam/Valve/Beth no more for any part of the World. Parity as you called it is exactly what all countries should get, if a game/product is say $60 American it should be the equivelant of that in all the other countries.

America may be more lucrative as you say, but I can only answer that with the same answer, "it costs no more for Steam to download to any part of the World". This is why there is a Governmental Inquiry into the "regional" pricing for this type of thing, it was sparked of by the higher cost for downloading music from one of the larger sites and then it was realised that nearly all Downloaded Digital Media is significantly more expensive here.

BTW: So is furniture made in Asia (which is our backyard for goods) the prices here for the same items which are shipped all the way to America and Europe are between 50 to 100% dearer here???

PS: I'm not after an argument about this as there is really nothing to debate, Australian National Television is investigating these huge variations in global prices for products that in reality just from a transport costs fact alone could be far cheaper here than they are. One extremely well known retailing entrepreneur is openly supporting and is involved in reporting the hiked up prices here from International companies, the belief that we should pay higher prices because Australia is a long way to ship goods is no longer a valid reason as 90% + is made in Asia and we are closer. Luckily more people are beginning to find out buying from say an American Internet Site who then post and package the item to Australia is the cheaper way to buy a lot of stuff, so the main suppliers will have to drop the regional prices as Aussies will begin to circumvent them more and more

How has that game sold in comparison to Skyrim though? Does it have its fanbase in place, or does it need to do something to lure people over to it?

I don't think it's so much a question of 'how well does it sell' as more of a question of 'value for money'. One is related to Beth, the second is related to us as consumers.

As I said in a previous post, it's dependant upon the pricing model Beth etc use, and it concerns me (in relation to the entire games industry) that many dlc are comparitively overpriced in relation to the main games. I've noted that many indie or niche developed games, where the devs are more confined to the one game, have far cheaper or free dlc, and tend to roll it out a lot sooner. On this theme, Beth had already announced they were working on a TES mmo, prior to confirming release dates for Dawnguard...that indicated to me that perhaps they were refocussing their main effort and their main resources, which now makes me consider that perhaps DG took second place to other projects.

Certainly, Beth is a large company these days, but the economy and market being what it is the games companies need to return good profit, rather than proportional profit to cost...as I said previously, I wouldn't like to see a situation where dlc or add-ons are the main money spinners, because I think that would ultimately only hurt us the gamers.

Videogames is a business. Like it or not, the bigger and more established a series, the more its status is seen as 'premium' and 'triple A', more money will inevitably be charged for it. The competitors cannot get away with this as they dont have the status to back up the price tag.

This is a LONG established standard in the entertainment industry. Take Bon Jovi as an example, he has a huge status, and to see him live will cost you a couple of appendages, and maybe your soul to boot. A lesser established band? ￡10-20.

Like it or not, TES is now (quite rightly) a triple A series and will come with a price tag to go with that status. Ergo, my question of how well the game you mentioned sold is very much relevant. Smaller titles have to offer something to help themselves gain a foothold, and sadly being a gem of a game doesn't ensure this will happen. Take Gun as an example, great game, yet still flopped. Move onto the next generation of console and a triple A dev (rockstar) makes RDR which essentially is the next gen Gun and its a smash hit. The lesson there? Unless you have huge rep, you cant just release a great game and expect it to fly off the shelves, a new series needs shoving down peoples throats if you want to ensure its success.

TES Online isn't developed by Bethesda Game Studios but by Zenimax Online. It's a completely different team, so TES Online did not steal development time or resources from Dawnguard.

I wonder how many smokers complain about the price of DLC?

The DLC is definitely overpriced, that's why I'm going to wait for the Steam winter sales before I get Dawnguard.

I don't dispute anyone's views, they are all valid...but I prefer cheaper dlc, and preferably dlc that doesn't have problems.

Hehe... so see you back here in 3-5 years once Skyrim GOTY is down around $30. No use complaining, just wait and it'll come down into your price range (as you said, cheap). Complaining's not going to make it cheaper for you, it's not going to make future DLCs cheaper, and, in fact, all it IS going to do is annoy people. Speaking in terms of the general "you" to all who are whining about this.

Good luck with that.

It's actually a problem for distributors now in Australia...as one of my compatriots said, there is a government review into online pricing of downloads. Added to that, the Australian games media has been giving the industry a bit of a flogging in relation to dlc pricing structures and release habits, so it's not just a bunch of gamers whining about things.

We recently had a review of our games rating system, with the result that we will be having an introduction of a true R18+ rating in the new year...a side effect of that is that it is now realised in political circles that a compartitively large proportion of the advlt population are video gamers, and that we have political voice and power, and that we have been getting ripped off consumer-wise. With added knowledge and increased interest at the parliamentary level, we are seeing a lot more rationale debate and certainly some assistance from government in relation to consumer matters now.

I should also note that in my home state, the online community forced the stepping down of our State's attorney-general, several years ago. The largest single group involved in advocating and activating for that was the State's gamers, and that gave us a bit of a taste for lobbying and organising ourselves. We now have a credible political party which runs candidates at the state level, and there is some talk of broadening that to have a shot at the national level. Gamers can make a difference.