News - UK Apple Store price hike on all games

[HEXUS]

Fluctuating exchange rates spur Apple to raise prices of games in its UK app store.

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[neonplanet40]

I don't use Apple anyway. Nor Do I have anything Apple

Although Apple raising prices does not surprise me. Everything they sell is expensive so meh

[kalniel]

I don't use Apple anyway. Nor Do I have anything Apple

Although Apple raising prices does not surprise me. Everything they sell is expensive so meh

Well it's not so much a price rise, as not a price fall. Our currency is worth less, so prices of goods involving foreign resources go up. Same things been happening with Amazon, Steam, and plenty of non-games goods as well. Unless the providers cut their margins then our prices in GBP will rise.

[scaryjim]

I have never been so amused by anything since my step-son came out with the comment "Angry Birds is FREE on Android, isn't it...?"! He was practically spitting venom.

The bottom line for me is that I simply won't impluse purchase a casual game. I'll get a free trial version, then think about buying the full game, or I simply won't bother. I assume this will eventually hit the Android Market too - although I've never worked out if the £ prices there are a direct conversion from the $ prices then rounded to the nearest 9p, or if they're specific UK prices - I suppose if they're direct conversions then this will already have been happening slowly anyway...

[oolon]

So let me get it right... the pound has been RISING against the dollar for the last year... a year ago we were at 1.50 dollar = 1 pound, now we are at 1.62, so apple as decided to INCREASE the price in pounds they charge. Ok so forecast that the pound will fall (over the next year) however only as far as levels 1 year ago.... it all seems like profiteering to me. I am glad I don't own any apple product.

[crossy]

I have never been so amused by anything since my step-son came out with the comment "Angry Birds is FREE on Android, isn't it...?"! He was practically spitting venom.

So you point out that it's "free" because you have to see the adverts, so the folks generating the ads are paying for it. Gee, aren't they nice?

The bottom line for me is that I simply won't impluse purchase a casual game. I'll get a free trial version, then think about buying the full game, or I simply won't bother. I assume this will eventually hit the Android Market too - although I've never worked out if the £ prices there are a direct conversion from the $ prices then rounded to the nearest 9p, or if they're specific UK prices - I suppose if they're direct conversions then this will already have been happening slowly anyway...

"Trial version then full" has always struck me as the sensible way to do things too - I don't think I'd be comfortable buying a full product without the chance to try it out first (for longer than 15 minutes!). And I don't really mind if the "Trial" version is ad-supported. However, if I then pay for the "full" version I expect to lose the adverts too.

As to the pricing, no GMP is not using 1:1 on USD to GBP. As an example, the last piece of software I bought (last night actually) was quoted by the vendor as US$14.99, but the localised price was £9.45 - which means an exchange rate of US$1.58 = £1. Not bad, considering that the actual exchange rate at the time was about 1.62:1.

[miniyazz]

If you turn off your internet connection when playing a game you often lose the adverts

Not an ideal solution but it's especially handy when the advert blocks a useful part of the screen (occasionally happens).

It would be better if the app permissions were checkboxes instead of 'accept them or do not install', but unfortunately that's unlikely to ever be implemented because of the large amount of ad-revenue that would be lost through people disabling internet access.

Back on topic, I've not bought an app for my ipod Touch in months now. There's just been less and less need since my Android increasingly does everything I want from a portable device. The ipod is now just a media player and occasionally used for Medscape or Dropbox, as Medscape seems more reliable on iOS and I can preload something on Dropbox with more confidence that it'll be there when I want it (without an internet connection).

[amdavies]

This is simply profiteering. As has been mentioned, the GBP v USD graph has been pretty flat over the past 4 months:-

http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/GBP/graph120.html

Certainly nothing there to justify a 16%+ price hike in this country.

[roorooroo]

The hike is a little too high on the higher tier prices..£1.19 is now £1.49, 1.79 now 1.99 etc.
Definitely won't be buying as many apps now.