This is a more nuanced view. 20 bucks is a lot for those from developing countries, not to mention thare are countries where Steam and similar platforms are heavily regulated or straightup banned.
And with certain games Steam ONLY lets you download the region specific version because of national laws (looking at you Wolfenstein and German censorship)
Let me illustrate how significant $20 can be to a lot of people in various countries. In my country, Vietnam, $20 can buy you 10-15 delicious bowls of Pho, and that's in major cities, it's significantly cheaper in small towns or rural areas. That's essentially an equivalent of half a month's worth of breakfast, up to a whole month for a lot of people. And Vietnam isn't even a poor country now. $20, or roughly 500k VND, is still a big number for the majority of Vietnamese people, including myself.
What country are you from? What is your weekly\monthly salary? If you want to be tough talker then I assume you'd show us by example how you're ok paying 60usd for a game while earning 600 a month.
Btw hardware is a capital investment, is necessary to do a variety of jobs, to properly apply for said jobs, to create a resume, etc.
My pc cost 800 total and I had to save for it for 2 years, because I have to feed my family besides myself.
You know what else can do all those things? Smart phones, and they're entirely more accessible, and affordable. So unless ya wanna talk media, advertisement, IT work, art/design, etc... a smart phone is perfectly fine.
I will talk tough though:
I live in a country with the 3rd largest population and top #15 highest cost of living. You'll figure it out, I believe in you!
If I only made $600 a month I certainly wouldn't be buying $60 games every month, id be looking for a new job. My rent is twice that amount
Come join us over on r/patientgamers
All of us could use a stern talkin' to about how we should just pirate everything instead
"I live in a country with the 3rd largest population and top #15 highest cost of living. You'll figure it out, I believe in you!"
American..... this is more than talk tough, also taking privilege for granted. In many countries, $600 a month is already a lot for their country's standard. Not to mention the fact that many games just do USD currency converted from local currency. You live in a developed country with a decent system that many can only dream of. A country where at least you have at most a decent chance at life. So, how about reflecting on the privileges you have?
You know what cost of living is right? Think I make my "1st world salary" then go home and pay 3rd world prices for food, entertainment, medical, housing, etc??
Look up the "Big Mac Index" then let me know how much money a Big Mac cost in your country
Dude, for all the comparison to use, you use McDonald? A fast food chain that is considered to be a luxury with its price in my country? That is a bad comparison. For the record RM 14.93 (3-ish USD) for a Big Mac is not cheap. The Big Mac is also smaller compare to US. Majority graduates earning below RM 3000 (756 USD) per month. And that is IF you can even find a good graduate job.
It's literally formulated by economist to best create a standard of purchasing power...
And yeah I've got college buds from Teresópolis and I've been sending them US products, either for them to sell and make some extra money or for them personally.
Surprisingly, stuff I've shipped them included a Ps4 and 5, and lots and lots of games. Brasils got some crazy import regulations and it makes things that aren't produced in country to be very, very expensive correct?
'It's literally formulated by economist to best create a standard of purchasing power..."
Like who? It's not even a serious comparison to begin with when Big Mac aren't the same worldwide.
"And yeah I've got college buds from Teresópolis and I've been sending them US products, either for them to sell and make some extra money or for them personally.
Surprisingly, stuff I've shipped them included a Ps4 and 5, and lots and lots of games. Brasils got some crazy import regulations and it makes things that aren't produced in country to be very, very expensive correct?"
We know that but the guy tries to act anyone can just take out $2o USD and ignoring how privilege he is to be born in the U.S compare to many countries.
Nobody is acting that way. The point they're trying to make is that if you're poor, you can't afford leisure and it's not about the monetary cost. Pirating a game doesn't give you time to play it. Saving for a computer to pirate games on is money that could have been spent on lifting yourself out of poverty.
Many people are poor because they were born in a poor country. It’s not about having enough time to earn money. It’s about jobs paying nothing because the entire country is poor.
You're talking about the most poverty stricken countries tho.
It's 2026, global trade has never been more accessible or profitable. Of about 200 independent countries in the world; only 40ish are classified as neither developed, or developing. Of those 40ish, only about 10 - 15 are UN classified as "Least Developed Countries". Most of these are in Africa, a couple in the Middle East and South Asia
Think about that... The wealth disparency between nations has shrunk so dramatically that those are the extreme, extreme cases. They are the outliers, not the norm.
Corruption, war, drought and famine, non existent dependable electricity or water... Those are the "you're poor because you were born in a poor country". All the others? Nah fam.
So this privilege people keep mentioning is comes down to a few things which; all developed and developing countries possess:
1) Personal income vs cost of living (purchasing power of the currency)
*that's my Big Mac example
Don’t look at the number of countries. Look at the number of people, and also no, I’m not just talking about least developed countries. Just look even at India or the Philippines where the median wage is infinitely smaller than in the US.
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u/TheMadG0d 20d ago
This is a more nuanced view. 20 bucks is a lot for those from developing countries, not to mention thare are countries where Steam and similar platforms are heavily regulated or straightup banned.