US Pricing:

Destiny Limited Edition: $99.99
Destiny Ghost Edition: $149.99

UK Pricing:

Destiny Limited Edition: £99.99 (approximately $171)
Destiny Ghost Edition*: £149.99 (approximately $257)

*available exclusively through game.co.uk

This is why I've yet to upgrade my pre-order to anything fancy. I suspect I'll still get it though, unless I deliberate too long and all the copies vanish, haha. It'd be a shame to miss out on a limited edition of something I've been anticipating so heavily!

For some reason these limited editions never seem to have as much demand in the UK as the US; I wouldn't be surprised if you could find a limited edition on the cheap in 6-9 months time (although you'd want the benefits at launch probably). I remember I once found 3 collector's editions of WoW: Wrath of the Lich King in my local HMV for £15 each. I sold them all for a massive profit through Amazon. It was weird to me that they hang around in retailers unsold, but it does seem to happen.

Anyway, £150 for the ghost edition is egregious; the Reach Legendary edition was only £90 iirc. Particularly when you consider that the majority of the perks aren't physical goods but digital, it seems like an unjustifiable exchange rate. Also notable is that they're only selling it through one retailer (the godawful Game), which prevents others from trying to compete on price. Sneaky.

US Pricing:

Destiny Limited Edition: $99.99
Destiny Ghost Edition: $149.99

UK Pricing:

Destiny Limited Edition: £99.99 (approximately $171)
Destiny Ghost Edition*: £149.99 (approximately $257)

*available exclusively through game.co.uk

That US prices DO NOT include sales tax, since that varies from state to state and on the location of buyer and seller.

UK prices ALWAYS include sales Tax (known as VAT here) because it was decided a long time ago here that it was misleading to see one price on the sticker and then then pay a different price at the till.

So it's more like:
Limited: £83.33 (USD $144)
Ghost: £124.99 (USD $214)

Still... it's just worth pointing out.

ALSO! Most places here are charging £5-10 more for 8th gen (PS4/One) games than 7th gen. So I don't want any yanks complaining about how expensive games are when they've been $60 for decades!

ALSO! Most places here are charging £5-10 more for 8th gen (PS4/One) games than 7th gen. So I don't want any yanks complaining about how expensive games are when they've been $60 for decades!

The PS4 is not region locked. Just order the US version and have it mailed to you. With shipping it may or may not come out less. I'm sure you could use a proxy to buy from the US store as well if you get it digitally. As long as you have an HDTV (which is required for a PS4 / XBOX One) it will work just fine.

As long as you have an HDTV (which is required for a PS4 / XBOX One) it will work just fine.

Hopefully there's someone out there reading this who has both an HDTV that doesn't support HDMI, and a 480-line TV which does.

UK prices ALWAYS include sales Tax (known as VAT here) because it was decided a long time ago here that it was misleading to see one price on the sticker and then then pay a different price at the till.

So it's more like:
Limited: £83.33 (USD $144)
Ghost: £124.99 (USD $214)

Yeah, I figured somebody would mention that. Even once you take tax into consideration there's still a massive discrepancy. It's particularly bad when you compare the retail price of the Halo Reach Legendary Edition, which was $149 or £99 (although since it didn't have retailer exclusivity, Amazon eventually dropped the price to £93).

As long as you have an HDTV (which is required for a PS4 / XBOX One) it will work just fine.

Hopefully there's someone out there reading this who has both an HDTV that doesn't support HDMI, and a 480-line TV which does.

That would be nobody, since SDTVs are analog, and HDMI is a digital signal. Part of the HDMI spec was designed around keeping the signal digital for copy protection purposes, so you won't see an SDTV that converts HDMI to analog for display.

If there ARE such TVs, let me know as it would be very fascinating.

US Pricing:

Destiny Limited Edition: $99.99
Destiny Ghost Edition: $149.99

UK Pricing:

Destiny Limited Edition: £99.99 (approximately $171)
Destiny Ghost Edition*: £149.99 (approximately $257)

*available exclusively through game.co.uk

That US prices DO NOT include sales tax, since that varies from state to state and on the location of buyer and seller.

UK prices ALWAYS include sales Tax (known as VAT here) because it was decided a long time ago here that it was misleading to see one price on the sticker and then then pay a different price at the till.

So it's more like:
Limited: £83.33 (USD $144)
Ghost: £124.99 (USD $214)

Still... it's just worth pointing out.

Wow! A 20% tax? I'm SO glad we don't have VATs here. I find it misleading to hide the tax like that.

edit: I meant to mention that the sales tax on $150 in my state is $8.

It makes, for the first time since I got my hands on the beautiful Halo 2 LE [and ODST], think that I should just get the regular edition, because the LE is also absurdly priced here.

It costs me less to get return flights to Brussels from Ireland!

Wow! A 20% tax? I'm SO glad we don't have VATs here. I find it misleading to hide the tax like that.

It's not really misleading because it's always included (or if it isn't, it's usually because it's for business-related sales where the VAT rules are different).

It makes, for the first time since I got my hands on the beautiful Halo 2 LE [and ODST], think that I should just get the regular edition, because the LE is also absurdly priced here.

It costs me less to get return flights to Brussels from Ireland!

What's the price in euros?

Wow! A 20% tax? I'm SO glad we don't have VATs here. I find it misleading to hide the tax like that.

It's not really misleading because it's always included (or if it isn't, it's usually because it's for business-related sales where the VAT rules are different).

I guess what I'm saying is that I'd rather have it explicit than out of sight and (potentially) out of mind. For the same reason, I wish we didn't have automatic payroll withholding here. I think people would be more aware of the fact that the government's money is their money, if they had a visceral experience of paying it out of pocket. Ideally, they'd have to go to a big building and count it out in one-dollar bills every paycheck, but don't mind me, I'm weird, and way off topic now.

I think people would be more aware of the fact that the government's money is their money, if they had a visceral experience of paying it out of pocket. Ideally, they'd have to go to a big building and count it out in one-dollar bills every paycheck, but don't mind me, I'm weird, and way off topic now.

Sort of like how people should buy all their DLC in individual pieces, rather than hide it behind the price of a special edition? :-p

If there ARE such TVs, let me know as it would be very fascinating.

Although rare, there are 480-line TVs with HDMI support out there, like this one; 480p displays are typically referred to as "EDTV"s. Ensuring signal compatibility with 480-line displays is presumably why the PS4 supports forcing 480p output.

Part of the HDMI spec was designed around keeping the signal digital for copy protection purposes, so you won't see an SDTV that converts HDMI to analog for display.

I don't see how a TV's internal processing was ever a huge concern. I guess for CRTs someone might be worried that the world's ultimate jackass would strap an oscilloscope to the electron gun drivers (but like, really?), but it's not like there aren't any HD CRTs with HDMI support.

If there ARE such TVs, let me know as it would be very fascinating.

Although rare, there are 480-line TVs with HDMI support out there, like this one; 480p displays are typically referred to as "EDTV"s. Ensuring signal compatibility with 480-line displays is presumably why the PS4 supports forcing 480p output.

Oh heh. I thought you mean analog 480i TVs.

Gamestop Ireland have the "exclusive rights" here I believe.
LE - €130
GE - €220

Works out at the same price as the Sterling equivalent I think.
Likely an Activision UK decision, but Bungie share the blame for getting in that bed.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'd rather have it explicit than out of sight and (potentially) out of mind.

Some stores list the price both including and excluding VAT. Most just economise on space and only display the including VAT price.

On your receipt it'll sometimes include a breakdown of tax too.

It's not about trying to hide it, it's about 'if I want this, what is it actually going to cost me at the end of the day?'

I would guess that is a similar psychological reason that Amazon-like "FREE SHIPPING" has been so popular - one price with everything included.

Hmm, maybe the opposite of that is why people don't like DLC...

For the same reason, I wish we didn't have automatic payroll withholding here. I think people would be more aware of the fact that the government's money is their money, if they had a visceral experience of paying it out of pocket. Ideally, they'd have to go to a big building and count it out in one-dollar bills every paycheck, but don't mind me, I'm weird, and way off topic now.

People are quite aware of VAT here. Especially if it changes: a few years ago, it went up from 17.5% to the current 20% rate. People could tell instantly that things were more expensive.

People are quite aware of VAT here. Especially if it changes: a few years ago, it went up from 17.5% to the current 20% rate. People could tell instantly that things were more expensive.

Perhaps so. I still think it's better for taxes to be discrete and explicit, for the same reason financial advisers always tell people to use cash if you want to save money and become more aware of your spending habits.

I think people would be more aware of the fact that the government's money is their money, if they had a visceral experience of paying it out of pocket. Ideally, they'd have to go to a big building and count it out in one-dollar bills every paycheck, but don't mind me, I'm weird, and way off topic now.

Sort of like how people should buy all their DLC in individual pieces, rather than hide it behind the price of a special edition? :-p

That's really an excellent comparison. For a variety of reasons, some people don't hold Bungie to a strict account. All it takes is a few screenshots, a few seconds of video, and an evocative description, and they're ready to pre-order. They believe Bungie has good intentions, and have confidence that Bungie will deliver good value. I am probably one of those people.

Some people feel that way about government. I'm not one of those people. ;)