Topic: German E-shop prices for retail-games

i just realized today that the prices for the latest games are not 44,99€ anymore.
animal crossing new leaf can be downloaded for 39,99€. exact same price as a boxed version here in germany. interestingly old games like mario kart 7 are still at 44,99€-

the high prices have always been a reason for me to get all my games in boxed versions. now i really have to download ac:new leaf! now i just need the money xD

what are the prices in other countries/regions?
is there a difference between boxed versions and download versions?

In the Netherlands new games like Gates To Infinity and DKC3D are 40,- too. Boxed copies still seem to be around 50,-, tough.

This isn't a trend for the "latest" games. Pokemon Rumble Blast is $34.99, as is PMD: Gates to Infinity, Naruto Powerful Shippunden and DKC. Some games are $39.99, others are $29.99.
It's just an arbitrary price set by the developers based around how much money it costs to produce and how much they think it's worth.