Home Gaming How a single European digital market could change things

How a single European digital market could change things

1 min read
22

EU flag

The EU has been passing laws that make free movement of people, goods and services way easier. It’s why we’re able to ship the Porra Rangers off to Gamescom without worrying about visas, but it hasn’t helped much on the gaming market. However, the European Commission is pushing to make some changes that might have an impact on everyone else.

At the moment, each European country has its own digital market. However, MCV is reporting that this might change. The European Commission is proposing a single digital market, which means regional pricing would be a thing of the past and services offered to any European country would have to be offered to them all. While some companies might not like this idea, it really does make a whole lot of sense. It simply doesn’t make sense that games that are sold on a Dutch version of the Steam Store aren’t available a few kilometers away in Germany. Similarly, the pricing can vary widely – our Pound to Rand or Euro to Rand exchange rate isn’t always the same, and I still always seek out any pricing options using Polish Zloty because that seems to be the best for us.

If we see the European digital market consolidated, that might also make pricing a bit more manageable for us. Changing the digital market might have a knock-on effect on the retail market and we could see a shift in our import prices. Even if not, at least it will make digital shopping around a bit easier. It will also make countries like Germany face some difficult decisions about gaming, particularly if there are Nazi zombies or whatever the censored element might be.

All I hope is that if services and prices are standardized in the EU that we can get access to the same pie and enjoy more of what everyone else seems to get. It’s still so strange to me that digital products and services are restricted locally – it’s all digital anyway, why can’t you just make it available to anyone who can get online?

Last Updated: August 3, 2015

22 Comments

  1. RinceThis

    August 3, 2015 at 12:13

    How is it easier to get into Europe now? Aren’t there much stricter laws about getting visas? Or is that just the UK?

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Fantasticus

      August 3, 2015 at 12:17

      It’s only strict if you’re coming from a pothole.

      Reply

    • Guild

      August 3, 2015 at 12:27

      They have EU passports (Porra) 😛 So free to roam the EU countries

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        August 3, 2015 at 12:28

        As do I, yet they don’t send me. Something to do with terror activities and being ginger…

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Fantasticus

          August 3, 2015 at 12:28

          They say it’s for your safety, but I’m not so sure.

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            August 3, 2015 at 12:35

            But what about our safety? They should let him go.

          • Captain JJ Fantasticus

            August 3, 2015 at 12:35

            Good point.

          • RinceThis

            August 3, 2015 at 12:39

            🙁

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            August 3, 2015 at 12:45

            Why are you upset? It’s win-win!

          • RinceThis

            August 3, 2015 at 13:54

            WIN!

        • Captain JJ Fantasticus

          August 3, 2015 at 12:28

          They say it’s for your safety, but I’m not so sure.

          Reply

        • Captain JJ Fantasticus

          August 3, 2015 at 12:28

          They say it’s for your safety, but I’m not so sure.

          Reply

      • RinceThis

        August 3, 2015 at 12:28

        As do I, yet they don’t send me. Something to do with terror activities and being ginger…

        Reply

      • RinceThis

        August 3, 2015 at 12:28

        As do I, yet they don’t send me. Something to do with terror activities and being ginger…

        Reply

    • Guild

      August 3, 2015 at 12:27

      They have EU passports (Porra) 😛 So free to roam the EU countries

      Reply

    • Guild

      August 3, 2015 at 12:27

      They have EU passports (Porra) 😛 So free to roam the EU countries

      Reply

  2. Captain JJ Fantasticus

    August 3, 2015 at 12:19

    All I know is that Origin is in Rands and the prices on there compared to Steam is incredible.

    Reply

  3. HvR

    August 3, 2015 at 12:33

    Different regional policies like the absolute block on Nazi emblems in Germany and potential future member states which are predominately Muslim will hamper a proper single consolidated market.

    Also like other consolidated market agreements UK will not be part of it since it doesn’t trade in Euro so do not think it will impact our pricing much.

    One negative impact could create barrier to entry for SA developers if EU originating products are exempt of fees.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

The EU pursuing powers to regulate US tech giants

While the US government is cracking down on big software apps it views as security threats…