Beware the dots and commas: They were supposed to sell FIFA 23 in India for Rs 4,800…but they put it at Rs 4,800 and lost a fortune.

It’s a mistake that can happen to anyone, so let’s make it clear: in Argentina, The symbol for thousands is the dot; Decimals are represented by commas. 4,800 is four thousand eight hundred; 4,800 is four point eight. In some countries (notably the US) it’s the other way around: the dot represents decimals, the comma separates thousands; This is often referred to as “two point one million” which means 2.1 million. Some sites (inexplicably, the AFIP site where digital invoices are created) use a dot to represent decimals, but that’s incorrect.

But let’s go India, which country produced this message: where the notation is more complicated, because a comma is used to denote thousands, but from 1000 (ie, 1,000) they are grouped by two decimals. So CA Lakh is referred to as 100,000 in Argentina and 1,00,000 in India., As Wikipedia explains. The way to write ten million is 10,000,000 in Argentina, but in India it is: 1,00,00,000. A conundrum for the uninitiated. This notarial tradition is maintained throughout the Indian sphere of influence (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Burma).

This complexity is compounded by the rush in which the modern world sometimes leads us Electronic Arts put FIFA 23 Ultimate on pre-sale last July (It will be available next September) at its regular price, which is around 60 dollars worldwide, equivalent to 4,800 rupees, India’s official currency.

But someone entered the data incorrectly into the database feeding the company’s store in that country (or the software was poorly programmed and didn’t take into account notary variations between countries), and entered the number with the wrong code: 4,800 changed to 4,800; A subtle difference in perspective, but disastrous in economic terms. 4,800 sold at 4.8. 60 dollars to 6 cents. A bargain for fans who buy the game months before it’s usually available. Also, considering that the purchase is valid for any country: you just need to enter the Epic Store and define the purchase from India to access the huge discount.

The good news is Epic has taken over and will hold the sale at the offered price (Indian law, like Argentina, compels respect of published prices even if they are incorrect): In a statement The savior of the PC gamerEA revealed these days, “A few weeks ago, when we pre-sold FIFA 23 at the wrong price on the Epic Games Store, we made a very cool own goal. The mistake was ours, and we want to let you know that we will honor all purchases made at that price.”

This is not the first time this has happened: a well-remembered case Vegas Pro 18A video editing software, in the middle of the pandemic, appeared on the Steam store in September 2020 at a ridiculous price: 18 cents, usually 2000 cents.

Discipline: You should check and double-check the points and commas when the price is published, and remember that each country chooses which thousands and decimals to divide, and that confusing them can have a significant impact on the price.