Digital distribution outfit, Green Man Gaming, is offering 30% off vouchers on ANZ games with inflated prices.

If you're a Zero Punctuation fan, chances are you've heard Yahtzee gripe about the price of games in Australia. New Zealand has the same problem; publishers have realized they can squeeze a little extra out of Australasian gamers, and doing so has become the norm.

The practice of inflating ANZ prices even extends to digital sales. Last month, popular digital games retailer, Green Man Gaming, raised its prices for Borderlands 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. When disgruntled customers asked why prices had quite suddenly shot up by a good $20, Green Man responded that they'd increased the price at the behest of publisher, 2K games.

"This was done at the request of the publisher based on local retailer feedback," read an announcement on the retailer's site. "We would rather not have had to do this but we really value the relationship with our publishing partner."

Rather than take part in what is essentially price gouging, Green Man is looking to earn some good will by implementing a solution that will keep both 2K and its customers happy. To counteract the price increase, the site is giving users a reusable voucher for 30% off any ANZ title with an unfairly inflated price. The code is valid for the next ten years, though Green Man does warn that this may be subject to change.

The code:

GMGAU-3J9MF-MUINW

"We have thought long and hard about the ANZ market that has been so good to GMG in the past and what our approach should be," Green Man told its sister site, Games.on.net. "We value our loyal customers in Australia and New Zealand and, as such, GMG are taking the hit so that we can offer the value you have come to expect from us."

Region-based price gouging is an unsightly hold over from the days when games had to be shipped around the world in galleys or zeppelins or what ever it was that made Australian games cost twice as much as their North American counterparts. There's no place for such shenanigans now games are transported via the black magic that powers the internet. Green Man Gaming has already earned itself some serious good will by going toe to toe with the infamous Steam Christmas sales in terms of deals, this is another feather in its increasingly fancy cap.

Source: Games.on.net