European DS Launch and Titles Announced

GamesIndustry.biz has the news that the Nintendo DS has been slated for a March 11th launch in Europe. The launch will carry 15 different titles, and the handheld will be bundled with the Metroid Prime: Hunters demo, as it was in the states. Australian gamers have something to be happy about as well. From the article: "The £99 price point is around the expected mark. Interestingly, Australian fans will pay the equivalent of around £90 for theirs, and although exchange rate fluctuations are believed to be behind that slightly more flattering figure, they can hardly be blamed for the unusual sight of Nintendo hardware making it onto store shelves down under before it does so here; Aussie gamers will be able to pick up a DS from 24th February onward."

They'll have 15 Titles?

[pnice]

At first I was bummed because it doesn't seem like we have many titles out in the US yet...but after looking at release dates we should have closer to 20/21 by that time. I'm glad some software is starting to hit the shelves

Re:They'll have 15 Titles?

[SithMage]

Most of the games for the DS we have in america are dull and not interesting. Wario Ware is a good game though. They are sure to release many interesting and fun games or else they will flop due to the PSP with seems to be much better and cost less.

Again...

[Anonymous Coward]

With the screwing of europe.

Re:Again...

[hinki]

Um I bought the DS from the US. There is no power problem.
I just plug in my Gameboy SP adapter to charge it.

Games? I've noticed that most games that come to Australia have been localized in the US (just changed to support PAL). There are a few games that we get from Europe (not as much).

Call me a whiner, but I don't see why we can't get it at least within a month of Japan/US, especially when most games are already localized to US standards (hmmm a misnomer there...)

For a portable, these should be minor

Re:Again...

[SetupWeasel]

This is probably why you guys are getting the DS earlier than Europe. This is the first time the US has gotten a Nintendo console launch before Japan. The only reason I believe they didn't release it down under at the same time is that they didn't want to spread the units too thin, and they wanted to have a few more titles ready for you. Usually the US doesn't get a new console until a half-year after a Japanese launch, so I think they are trying very hard to please everyone this time.

The DS does have multiple languages in the firmware, but each game still has to be translated into about 5 languages before it can be launched in Europe. The DS won't do that for them.

Re:Again...

[Anonymous Coward]

This all sounds nice, but it's really utter, utter rubbish from start to finish.

First of all, the language issue. This may seem hard for you to believe, but a huge proportion of European games do not get any kind of additional translation work. Moreover, this is not seen as a bad thing. I've spoken to numerous French and German gamers who are annoyed when they are given a release specific to their own language and will import a version from the UK. The reason for this is quite simple... most translations o

Re:Again...

[Jedyte]

When a game is localised it usually gets translated into French, German and Spanish. Well, Europe has more than 4 countries (counting the English version). There has been exactly one game that has been translated in my mother tongue, but I don't mind playing the English version. Actually that's how I learned English when I was young.

Furthermore, I absolutely hate removal of cultural references because we may not understand them. How are supposed to learn and understand other cultures if everything gets co

Re:Again...

[rmccann]

It's a shame. Here in Ireland we have the second highest percentage of PlayStatiosn after Japan. We likes our games!

Re:Again...

[Guppy06]

For the sake of Australia/New Zealand. Trust me, they get screwed far more often and in far worse ways than do Europe when it comes to games. They get Europe's leftovers just as Europe gets ours.

And I have no idea where South/Latin America comes into all this...

Different Prices

[christopherfinke]

Maybe I'm just ignorant, but why do they charge different prices in different countries? They cost the same to make, and shipping can't be that much, right?

Re:Different Prices

[Anonymous Coward]

Basically, different economies can support different prices. The same pricing policy might not work in different countries: in some places a high price will make people assume your product is a rip-off, in others a lower price might cause people to assume your product is poor quality. So you tailor your pricing and advertising for the local market in whatever country you're selling in.

As it happens, the received wisdom is that prices should be a lot higher in the UK (and Australia) than in the USA - typi

Re:Different Prices

[KDR_11k]

VAT is one reason. Without VAT a DS would cost only 129.30 Euro here in Germany, where we have a relatively low VAT of 16%, 25% is said to be the average and would leave the price at 119.99 Euros, which equals 156 USD at the moment. Since I don't think they want to vary prices throughout the EU (except for the UK maybe) they pick one that gives them at least the same profits at all VATs.

Tariffs? Distance? Asian Economy

[Kentsusai]

There may be tariffs which make the Euro one more expensive than the Aussie one.

In addition, Europe is much further away from Japan than Australia is.

Another thing you should keep in mind is that Australia's economy is a part of Asia. Hence, if Japan's Yen is stable, the Australian dollar is generally stable.

Re:Tariffs? Distance? Asian Economy

[AntipodeanJim]

My guess would be something to do with the taxes, after all its only a £9 difference on a £90-odd price tag.
GST/VAT in Australia is 10%, but in the EU it is between 15 and 25% (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAT [wikipedia.org])

24th of February?

[Erik K. Veland]

I've saw the DS and many of its games on the shelves when I was out purchasing games for my PS2 and GameCube yesterday.

Nintendo 'VIP' peeps....

[Fred Or Alive]

Can get a UK DS now, with Mario64, WarioWare and Metroid Demos and a T-shirt, for 1000 stars and £129.99.

I knew there was a reason for signing up for this VIP thing, I'm gonna try and flog a DS on eBay. L@@K RARE IN HAND!