(01-14-2017, 11:22 PM)RandomGuy199 Wrote: There are a few reasons.

1- I'm Venezuelan, and the crisis my country has faced for the last four years has made me, and lots of others, slowly slip into poverty. We used to be able to travel abroad, and now we have to use most of our money buying whatever food we can find. Just so you have an idea, a US dollar's real value (the value the government gives has no basis in reality anymore) in Venezuela is about 3,000 bolívares (our currency); the minimum wage is 34,000 bolívares, most of it going towards food (and the prices are so inflated they rise almost every week).

2- Even without that variable, $300 (convert it to my currency if you want. It's depressing, really) is way too much for that type of console (and paying for online play is bullshit).

3- If I had that kind of money, I would buy myself a nice PS4 already. I've been unable to buy a new-gen console due to Reason No.1.

4- Very few people would sell the thing here, as importing stuff has gotten significantly difficult due to, again, Reason No.1. Also, the ones who do sell videogames have to hike the price up in order to turn whatever meager profit they can make (only the ultra-rich can buy that stuff now).

It's a disappointment really (Zelda: Breath of the Wild looks fucking amazing). I have missed three years of this console generation, and will probably have missed it entirely by the time this crisis ends. I'll also have to move in with my aunt in a town near Caracas for university purposes, so... it'll be even harder. Star Wars: Battlefront, Battlefield 1, Uncharted 4... all great games I can't play.

*Drinks whiskey directly from the bottle*

(01-16-2017, 12:53 AM)RandomGuy199 Wrote: Don't worry. I don't consider this to be the developed world's fault. It the fault of my government's failed policies. In his attempts to implement socialism in the country, former president Chávez instituted lots of social programs aimed at helping the poor. So far so good. However, this also put the country heavily in debt; in his attempts to put the private sector under his control, he nationalized numerous businesses and enterprises. Those were put under the control of corrupt officials who profited from them while keeping them paralyzed, destroying the country's ability to make essential goods. The country was forced to import most of what it needed, augmenting the debt.

So, when the high oil profits that Chávez used to pay for his programs dried up, and the prices fell, the country became unable to import essential foodstuffs and other goods, due to it having to use its hard currency to pay the debts. After Chávez's death in 2013 (the situation started to get out of control even before his death), his successor, Nicolás Maduro, in his infinite incompetence, has made the situation worse by increasing his control over business by ridiculous price controls, overregulation, and more restrictions (now the government controls almost all production and distribution of goods). So, yeah, it's pretty much their fault. If anything I envy you; I wish I lived in Germany! I would try to go there, but that would mean learning German (why are the words so long!?), and you guys have enough problems already trying to accommodate all those Syrian migrants to deal with people like me (also the career path I have chosen isn't exactly known for being high-paying)

*takes a big gulp from the bottle*

(01-16-2017, 12:53 AM)RandomGuy199 Wrote: [Venzuelian background story]
If anything I envy you; I wish I lived in Germany! I would try to go there, but that would mean learning German (why are the words so long!?), and you guys have enough problems already trying to accommodate all those Syrian migrants to deal with people like me (also the career path I have chosen isn't exactly known for being high-paying)

*takes a big gulp from the bottle*

RandomGuy199 Wrote:I'll be studying history, and the jobs that one leads to don't have a reputation of being...high paying. Still, history is a subject that I found extremely interesting; I spend my free time reading about historical events in Wikipedia, about the factors that led to said events, the participants... etc. So, I think I chose well Big Grin

(01-16-2017, 06:58 PM)Ausstan Wrote: History isn't that bad. Unless you live in Australia. It is very Australia focused for most of primary school/early high school, and we don't know much about Australia with the aboriginals, so you have about 250 years of history to learn. I have done 3 years of history just about Australia's role in ww1/2 alone. I've dropped history as a subject now, but I have a big interest in history in Europe. Even if I did want to keep on doing it, I am trying to get into a science course so that wouldn't help much.