The relatively high price of gaming software and hardware in Australia when compared to territories like the US, Europe, and Asia has long been a sore point for Aussie gamers. Despite the Australian dollar reaching parity with the US dollar late last year, video game prices Down Under continue to remain high, leading more and more local consumers to import games from overseas online distributors.

　　This fact has not gone unnoticed by the Australian Consumers' Association, which this week made an official submission to the Australian government's Productivity Commission, an independent research and advisory body whose role is to help the government make better policies. The Commission is currently in the midst of a public inquiry into the economic structure and performance of the Australian retail industry, a project initiated in December last year by the joint efforts of the Assistant Treasurer; the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy; the Minister for Home Affairs and Justice; and the Minister for Small Business.

　　CHOICE reveals Aussie consumers were able to save 90 percent on the price of Portal 2 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 if they bought the game from online retailer Play-Asia rather than Dick Smith.

　　In a submission lodged to the Commission today, CHOICE magazine--the consumer publication produced by the Australian Consumers' Association--called on importers, distributors, and retailers to pass some of the savings created by the strong Australian dollar to consumers, noting that it is obvious from the rise in Aussie consumers shopping online on overseas sites that this is not already happening. CHOICE also argued that Aussie gamers cannot be blamed for looking elsewhere when an average Xbox 360 or PS3 title costs 91 percent more in Australia than it does from an online retailer in Asia.

　　"The pressure from overseas online competition is a much needed wake-up for Australian retailers to be more competitive. We need to move beyond a complacent culture of high prices, high margins and poor service," CHOICE director of campaigns and communications, Christopher Zinn, said in an article on the magazine's website.

　　Zinn noted that it's not just video game prices that are affected--Aussie consumers are looking for better deals on anything from white goods to motorcycles to TVs. "It's up to those in the supply chain here in Australia to justify why this is the case. Importers and retailers should not cry foul if consumers chase better prices, wherever they may be."

　　Due to conclude in November this year, the Productivity Commission's inquiry into the state of Australia's retail market has been asked to report on what factors are contributing to the increase in online purchasing by Australian consumers.