Videogaming in Australia

I've been playing videogames for quite some time now.  I have been to Cookie Mountain.  I've made numerous trips to Silent Hill.  I've fought zombies and unraveled vast government conspiracy theories.  I've fought as a Special Ops super soldier and saved mythical kingdoms.  Videogames have allowed me to live out fantasies and become immersed in unique worlds.  Videogames are not only entertaining, but they are interactive art.  According to the 2010 Entertainment Software Association "Essential Facts", the average gamer in the United States is 34 years old and has been playing videogames for 12 years (check out some more interesting videogame facts here).

As technology advances games are becoming more and more cinematic, interactive movies that offer hours and hours of entertainment.  I wish that I had more time to play videogames, but all I can manage to squeeze in these days are a few rounds of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 online.  That being said, one of the things I have noticed here in Australia is that videogames, both consoles and games, are ridiculously expensive, sometimes being twice the cost of the same game back in the States (if the average Playstation 3 game is $60 new in the U.S., here in Australia you can expect it to be between $109-119)!

So when Call Of Duty: Black Ops, the follow up to the best selling Playstation 3 game of all time, comes out here in Australia on Tuesday, I will not be purchasing.  Instead I will buy it in America for $54.99 and ship it over here, which will cost considerably less than purchasing it here for twice that amount.  Why does Australia jack up the prices of their games so much?  I suppose it's because they can.

While you mull that over, check out the definitive Call Of Duty: Black Ops review below.


And finally, here is the opening theme to what I consider to be some of the best music in videogames courtesy of Akira Yamaoka and the Silent Hill franchise.

Akira Yamaoka - Silent Hill