Pachter: Activision MW2 price "is a test"

By Robert Purchese Published 22 July, 2009

Nothing to do with weak pound, he says.

Analyst Michael Pachter reckons Activision's controversial decision to raise the price of Modern Warfare 2 has nothing to do with a weak Great British Pound.

"The price increase is a business decision," he told Eurogamer, noting that the pound is worth more today than when COD5 launched last year.

"Activision knows it has a 'hot' game, knows that the market will pay an additional 10 per cent, and has decided to increase price accordingly."

Pachter thinks the question of whether this is fair is "a difficult one" to answer. Games, he explained, are cheaper to buy today but contain better graphics, gameplay and online functionality. And the latter service, while free to users, costs Activision to provide - although Xbox 360 owners must pay Microsoft for the privilege.

"My guess is that this is a one-time test for Activision, and that they will re-think the strategy after seeing if it angers consumers," offered Pachter. "If there is no consumer backlash, I think we may see higher pricing on other games, regardless of the GBP/USD translation rate."

And, he added: "The repercussions could be significant and lasting. If Activision is successful, we may see increases for other 'hot' games in the future. We see tiered pricing to the downside for more casual games, so why not tiered pricing to the upside for hot games?"

Activision, in case you haven't noticed, raised the suggested retail price of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to £54.99. Retailers may only take this figure as guidance, but the bump will be felt nonetheless.

And it's not just MW2; Pachter suggested keeping in mind the price of the Guitar Hero franchise, which has generally gone up. Band Hero, he adds, will be more expensive than GH World Tour, and Tony Hawk Ride and DJ Hero will cost a considerable £107.99. And on all platforms; no discount for PS2 and Wii any more.

What does Activision have to say? "I'm afraid we don't comment on our product pricing strategies," a spokesperson told us this morning.

"This is the year that Activision raises prices selectively for several games," concludes Pachter, "and the US increases don't have anything to do with foreign currency translation."

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (148) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Dop #1 3 years ago

    "Activision knows it has a 'hot' game, knows that the market will pay an additional 10 per cent, and has decided to increase price accordingly."

    Translated from marketingspeak: "Ha! Gamers are stupid, how much can we rip them off for this time?"

  • Xerx3s #2 3 years ago

    Fuck activision. MW2 for 53 euro/44 quid.

  • DFawkes #3 3 years ago

    I think we'd figured that one out ourselves good sir. I think we're all equally smart enough to figure that one out here at EG, what with the pound not actually being weak and everyone knowing full well we'll probably put up with it. It's a shame, and a tad cheeky, but thankfully most shops aren't going along with this.

  • systems #4 3 years ago

    My pre-order is in with Argos for £36. I'm fine with that.

  • Luckyjim #5 3 years ago

    If this works, and I think it probably will considering how anticipated this game is, watch other publishers jump on the bandwagon. Before we know it it's going to be like the early 90s again. I'm sure you all remember £70 for SF2:T.

    I'm sure there'll be discounts at Argos, Amazon etc, bringing it down to the price of a normal game, but that's not going to bother Activision as it'll be the retailer taking the profit hit.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/09 @ 12:14

  • riz23 #6 3 years ago

    And this is the Year that the consumer selectively does not buy Activision Games

  • Unknown27 #7 3 years ago

    Have actually just played COD4 for the first time and loved it so was looking forward to MW2 but after this they can go fuck themselves!!!

    I hope to christ this doesn't do well cos then, as they say, they will do it more going forward.

  • weejok #8 3 years ago

    Argos for £35.99. A big F.U. to greedy Activision!!!

  • rock27gr #9 3 years ago

    @ Xerx3s

    That doesn't mean anything; if Activision increased the RRP, then it must have increased the cost they sell to the retailiers too.

    Hence, that price is a result of the Retailer getting a hit on their cut, and still counts as a full price sale for all intents and purposes as far as Activision (and Chart trackers) are concerned.

  • bioreit #10 3 years ago

    I table the motion that Michael Pachter be renamed to "Captain Obvious". Anyone care to second?

    On-topic, I'll be buying MW2 on release, but I'll be making sure I find the cheapest price around. Although that won't actually make a difference to Activision - they'll still receive the same percentage and the cut will be solely affecting the retailers' margins.

  • OllyJ #11 3 years ago

    This is a really good time for shops and sites to get crunching the price down, there's no way you should be paying more than £35 for this. As in there will be a price batlle going on nearer the time, hold out for now and pre order nearer the time.

  • phycus #12 3 years ago

    i'll wait until the price drops... even if it takes a year like cod4.

  • Zomoniac #13 3 years ago

    Do any of you realise that buying for £45 from Amazon or £36 from Play isn't saying anything to Activision. They'll still be paying the raised rate for their stock, just not taking the full margin. Whether you buy it for £36 or £55 Activision will still be making exactly the same amount. The only way to protest is to not buy it, pirate it or buy it second hand. I'll just stick it on my Lovefilm list, not really interested in long term multiplayer anyway.

  • PlugMonkey #14 3 years ago

    Hence, that price is a result of the Retailer getting a hit on their cut, and still counts as a full price sale for all intents and purposes as far as Activision (and Chart trackers) are concerned.

    Considering the meaty cut that retail currently take, I'm not going to be shedding too many tears over that. We pay the same price, the devs get more of the money. Is there a hidden downside to this that I'm not seeing?

  • Zomoniac #15 3 years ago

    Is there a hidden downside to this that I'm not seeing?

    Yes. I'll eat my hat if the devs take an extra penny. I'm sure IW weren't even consulted about this. It's an extra fiver straight into the pockets of the publishing execs.

  • booner #16 3 years ago

    Activision price isn't really a test, it's a con.

  • PlugMonkey #17 3 years ago

    Yes. I'll eat my hat if the devs take an extra penny. I'm sure IW weren't even consulted about this. It's an extra fiver straight into the pockets of the publishing execs.

    Would you like that grilled or fried? The devs will most likely get a % royalties on whatever Activision make. Anyhow, Activision stump up the budget to make the games. Game/Gamestation/HMV don't. I'd still rather they got more money than retail taking such a big slice.

  • cyacomini #18 3 years ago

    To those of you who keep saying...

    "fuck you activision - COD for £43.49 here" & "got mine from Argos at £36"

    You do realise this still counts as a sale - whether or not you pay £40 or £55 Activision will still see this as a sale and is more likley to continue this pricing nonsense because of it.

    If you REALLY wanted to show your dismay - you'd boycott the retail release and buy the second hand copies that will appear 2 or 3 weeks later. I for one will be keeping an eye on AVForums.com for that magic £25 price point.

  • SYS64738 #19 3 years ago

    What will be interesting to see is for how long retailers are willing/able to take the hit for the consumers if other publishers follow suit. Eventually we'll have to vote with our wallets if we're not happy with the pricing of games in the future.

    Edit: D'oh - too slow:(
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/09 @ 12:29

  • Farfarer #20 3 years ago

    If that's the case, we should boycott it.

  • corposant #21 3 years ago

    They'll be looking to shift millions of this, which means if no-one buys it for a couple of months it'll start getting heaviliy discounted. We should all do this. Think of it 'as a test'.

  • dadrester #22 3 years ago

    PS3 owners import this instead!

  • Xerx3s #23 3 years ago

    rock27gr: That is their problem tbf. I'm not willing to get ripped off and will only buy from anyone who is willing to sell it to me for a decent price If nobody can do that then I will spend my money elsewhere.

  • sneetch #24 3 years ago

    @Zomoniac
    Is there a hidden downside to this that I'm not seeing?

    Yes. I'll eat my hat if the devs take an extra penny. I'm sure IW weren't even consulted about this. It's an extra fiver straight into the pockets of the publishing execs.

    In fairness that's not quite true, they usually have a money fight before pocketing it. ;)

    I'll be buying this on PC for €40 at most. Until I can get it that price they can feck off. I'm willing to do without until then.

  • Rirekon #25 3 years ago

    Royalties on games are a joke - the payouts usually don't start until certain targets are met and even then it's usually a fixed amount per unit rather than a percentage of profits.
    Activision are the only ones who will be benefiting from this price increase.

  • Nill #26 3 years ago

    @ PlugMonkey

    Well, yes. Retailers are hardly going to continue to take that margin hit for every high-profile release that would follow in this one's footsteps, should it be successful.

    While the scenario you describe sounds good in this case, eventually you (we) are the one that'll be paying more, not retailers. Bet on it.

  • beastmaster #27 3 years ago

    Tell you what Activision. Show us your balls!

    Drop the Call of Duty title as you planned on doing before and sell it at this price (along with the payable 'premium' online service & rumoured new controller for the game).

    If they were to show me their balls, I'd take a good run up and kick-em as hard as I could. Complete with suitable Tom and Jerry sound effects.

  • Jasugun #28 3 years ago

    @PlugMonkey
    Devs do not get anything except big thank yous from Activision. COD Modern Warfare IP is Activision's, not Infinity Ward's, so royalties go straight into Activision shareholder's pockets.

  • Balboa #29 3 years ago

    Pachter might be stating the obvious, but I think it's important that someone within the industry is calling them out on it.

  • curtlikesmeat #30 3 years ago

    The only guy this will hurt is the small retailer. I remember going to buy Assassin´s Creed from a small shop in my local town and they told me they weren´t stocking it because it cost them something ridiculous to buy it in in small quantities (i.e. they´d have to charge like 55 quid to make any profit, and therefore no one would buy it from them).

    As I said before, I don´t buy games that are over 30, exercise some patience!

  • SL33PY #31 3 years ago

    Maybe they'll understand it better in C#

    public bool WillBuyGame(Game game)
    {
        if((game.Price > 39.99 && game.Currency.ToUpper().Equals("GBP";)) || (game.Price > 54.99 && game.Currency.ToUpper().Equals("EUR";)) || !(game.Currency.ToUpper().Equals("GBP";) || game.Currency.ToUpper().Equals("EUR";)))
            return false;
        return true;
    }
    Edited by 3 at 22/07/09 @ 12:46

  • Vanmunt #32 3 years ago

    Another generic shooter, can’t wait to pay 55 quid for that.

  • holloguts #33 3 years ago

    Of course they blame it on the weak £ because they know only in the UK know one will give shit because its allowed in rip off Britain.

    If Activision want to be greedy, they can do it with other people's money. I would buy at the normal £39.99, but there is no way I will pay nearly£60. I can't understand why they decide to 'legally steal' from customers who have made their product a success by buying it in the first place. The reward for these customers is to charge extra for the next version.

    Sorry Activision but your not having my cash. I will buy your game, but it will be a used ccopy. Your profit from me for your greed £0. I'm sure lots of others will do the same. Maybe creating a game without all the rubbish like night vision goggles would help reduce costs.

  • CosmicGypsy #34 3 years ago

    I think the key point which nobody appears to have picked up on is the Online support. Activision spends a lot of money to maintain COD online and when things go wrong (as they did with COD 4 and WaW), people are quick to get onto the forums and complain. COD 4 was the best Xbox LIVE experience I have ever enjoyed and considering the amount of time I spent playing the game, paying a little extra seems fair. As long as they can keep the online element bug free I am more than happy to pay a little extra to fund this. Why are people so annoyed that a game that could easily last them 100+ hours is £10 more expensive than a crappy single-player-only FPS which they could finish in 15 or 16 hours of play?

    I remember paying £60 for Street Fighter 2 on the SNES back in the 90's, so pricing like this is nothing new. People sould either put up or shut up. If you don't like it, go and play BF: 1943, it's a great game and only £10.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/09 @ 12:47

  • Jay-ITFC #35 3 years ago

    Got my pre-order at Game for £34.99 that will do me!

  • AphoticCosmos #36 3 years ago

    "Analyst Michael Pachter reckons Activision's controversial decision to raise the price of Modern Warfare 2 has nothing to do with a weak pound as the publisher has claimed."

    Yes, we know. The pound is very strong against the dollar at the moment, and is gaining some of it's lost strength on the Euro. Activision is certainly not a position to justify ripping off British consumers with a £15 price hike, which is absolutely ridiculous. A £5 hike is something I could fathom, but £15 is pure garbage.

  • Spydy #37 3 years ago

    Rip-off Britain in full effect.
    £55 = $90

  • matrim83 #38 3 years ago

    Dont buy it. Its the only way out.

  • BritishBlue1 #39 3 years ago

    A test?! The only thing they're testing is my patience. Activision's pricing policy is abysmal.

  • b00n #40 3 years ago

    So, a petition then? Every sale of the game in 2009 will support Activision's test. If gamers could get so upset to start a petition versus Left 4 Dead 2, for in my opinion a less valid reason than this one, why can't we do it now?

    Probably because it's a HOT game then? :)

    It'll sell loads, and if Activision was your business, wouldn't you do the same?

  • SFG_Clan #41 3 years ago

    Well yet again the greed driven profit lovers are trying to rip us off, I like MW2 and I am looking forward to it, but this is just pissing me off. Fuck you Activision you merged with Blizzard so its not like you need the money!

  • PlugMonkey #42 3 years ago

    @PlugMonkey
    Devs do not get anything except big thank yous from Activision. COD Modern Warfare IP is Activision's, not Infinity Ward's, so royalties go straight into Activision shareholder's pockets.

    Fairy-do's. But it doesn't all go into shareholder's pockets though, does it? The fact still remain that when IW start talking budgets with Activision for the next COD, how much money Activision made from the last one is going to figure a lot more than strongly than how much money Game made from it.

    I suppose my point really is if you, the consumer, are paying exactly the same amount of money for the game regardless, why on earth do you care about 'sticking it to Activision'? In recent years, the retailers have got so powerful that they have been driving down the price they pay publishers for games. If you refuse, your games aren't given any shelf space until you agree - and retail space will make or break a game as far as the casual consumer is concerned.

    Here you have a game that's so big, it would be suicide for a retailer to not have it in plain view. And suicide to try and sell it at the RRP. So Activision are sticking it out there and seeing what happens.

    If what happens is the price stays the same and retail's cut goes back down a bit, why do you give a shit?

    It's not that I have a big hard-on for Activision or anything. They're a bunch of cocks. I'm just confused as to why everyone is so determined to stick up for the poor little retailers.

  • Anthony_UK #43 3 years ago

    I don't blame them really, annoying for us gamers yes, but at the end of the day Activsion are a business, and if they think they can sell something at a higher price, they will like any other business. I do however think they really are going to shoot themselves in the foot pricing this at £55.00. No matter how amazing the finished game will be, alot of the casual masses that were attracted first and second time round, simply won't pay an extra £15 for a game. Hell telling a few friends of mine who having played the hell out of the last 2 games, who are in a similar situation to me (late 20's, bill's, partner, kid's etc) have just said, ''I'll just get something else'' or '' Stick with the old one, till the it goes down in price''.

    Your average Call of Duty player isn't the same as your average WOW player..... there far more fickle!

  • BritishBlue1 #44 3 years ago

    #4

    I did a currency conversion on what the yanks pay for MW2 and funnily enough it came up as £36 ($60), at least Argos got it right...
    Edited by 2 at 22/07/09 @ 13:02

  • Darren #45 3 years ago

    £15 price hike? The usual RRP for many Xbox 360 and PS3 games in the UK is £49.99 so it's actually a £5 price hike.

    I shall be buying this game for the PC anyway and don't expect to pay more than £25 for it either.

    As for console owners, I've a sneaking feeling that the game might drop down to a more sensible price point following all the bad publicity this price hike is attracting. If it doesn't and you object to paying £54.99 for the game locally then your best course of action would be to shop around online for the best price nearer the release date.

  • beastmaster #46 3 years ago

    When's the multiplayer beta out ;-)

  • Bealsy #47 3 years ago

    They can shove their fucking test up their overpaid rich corporate arseholes.

    To put it bluntly.

  • PlugMonkey #48 3 years ago

    Darren: A fair point, well made, and frequently ignored.

    Anyone douubting it should go here:

    [link url= http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/6-/RegionHome.html
    ]http://ww w.play.com/Games/Xbox360/6-/Reg...[/link]

    Click on any game. Look at the RRP. It's £49.99. I refuse to pay that! Screw you entire games industry! I'm never buying a game again! Etc.. Etc..

  • gandhimaster #49 3 years ago

    its all bollocks, its going to sell millions as everyone knows thus the price can then be considered justified by the industry.

    fuck you activision.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/09 @ 13:07

  • Malek86 #50 3 years ago

    Synopsis: "if it works, they'll do it more often in the future"

    Wow, Pachter, thanks for telling us something we couldn't understand by ourselves.

  • stampax #51 3 years ago

    Sorry most you people are fools, the company are releasing what's likely to be the best game of the year, why on earth shouldn't they charge a measly fiver more for it. Christ, it's five pounds. I spend more than that most mornings when buying a paper and lunch for the day. Is this forum full of 14 year oldsters who are worried about all their spending money going? As an actual adult with a proper job that pays me enough money so the odd five quid here and there doesn't matter, I really couldnt care less.
    Did you all think games would stay the same price forevevr? Do you really think the new Cod gam should be priced the same as the harry potter or ghost busters games?

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #52 3 years ago

    Just don't buy it yet people. Buy Rogue Warrior or Left 4 Dead 2 instead. Or play COD4 or WAW some more. Or just buy something completely different.

    My main focus for buying MW2 is for the multiplayer with people on my friends list. If some of us don't buy it, most of us wont.

    I love COD4 but there has been, and will be, other games that take up my game time. This practice will continue if it sells well and that's a steep price to pay if we all jump and buy this game in the first few months.

    Also Acti don't really do anything above and beyond most of the competition with regards to their online service, especially as the game is Peer 2 Peer and we pay for map packs. Please don't use that in their defence.

  • PlugMonkey #53 3 years ago

    Stampax - I think it's mostly down to shouting "Fuck you Activision!" now being as reflexive as shouting "Fuck you EA!" was a couple of years ago.

    Not entirely undeserved, mind you, but done with the same disproportionate level of vitriol as it ever was.

  • kar #54 3 years ago

    I think all this test will achieve is to encourage people to buy second hand or pirate.

    When a company is so cynical it invariably reaches a tipping point where even if the company back tracks it finds it hard to come back.

    Activision is like the Ryanair of games.

  • makeamazing #55 3 years ago

    Are IW part of Activision? If they arnt I would seriously consider releasing my own IP in a couple of years....

    Also I really hope Sony drop Activision.... Activision are just too expensive :D

    Anyway, people can complain all they like, people will still go and buy it in big numbers, me I will wait for the price decrease, if that doesnt happen before end of play Xmas Eve, guess there will be many other big named games with price cuts that will have longer than 8 hours single player play anyway (not a massive fan of multiplayer).

  • JimWest #56 3 years ago

    "Fuck you ..... (Publishers/Developers)"

    This is one of the most overused phrases on comments section and forums at the moment. It doesn't mean anything, you think it conveys your point whereas really it shows you are unable to talk about a subject sensibly and intelligently.

    I personally shall be buying this game on release, due to the fact i loved Modern Warfare and find Infintiy ward to be excellent Devs. The online support for it was great with new updates for it coming out regularly. Xbox updates cost companies money and the amount Activision have spent on it shows they do care about consumers needs, even if the bottom line for them is profit.

  • darleysam #57 3 years ago

    "Are you excited about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360?"

    No, not any more.

  • christourlord #58 3 years ago

    Don't worry, this non-consensual intercourse is just a test.

  • FortysixterUK #59 3 years ago

    Simply ain't gonna buy it ( until its £20.00 quid second hand in Gamestation, then the dev doesn't get ANY of my cash)
    Meanwhile I bet the pirating guys of this world will have a field day exploiting this price hike.
    I said it before I'll say it again. Make ALL games £19.99 regardless of format. The price drop will ensure far greater sales.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #60 3 years ago

    @stampax & plugmonkey

    This isn't about saying fuck you to activision, its about making sure that this 'experiment' doesn't continue onto all major releases in the future, which it will if MW2 still sells by the bucket loads.

    See it's not 'just' a fiver. It's a potential fiver on top of almost all games you buy from next year onwards. Do you want to be a bit more patronising with regards to being an adult Stampax? I'm 34 with a wife, two young children and a london mortgage. £5 isn't JUST £5 to me, that's why I make my own lunch. Does that make me more of an adult than you??

    I'm not sticking up for the retailers either, if they take the hit, fine, but Acti will continue with the practice and I can't see the retailers still being able to continue to swallow the margin. Eventually that £5 will find its way back to you even it means you paying £35 instead of the £30 we pay now.

    EDIT: It sounded like I was saying we 'should' stick up for the retailers. What I meant was indifference.
    Edited by 2 at 22/07/09 @ 13:50

  • jaxon58 #61 3 years ago

    Ahhh this reminds me of the old 'Fuck you U.S. Gold!' debacle from the 80s.

  • UKBoy #62 3 years ago

    If COD MW2 is as bad online as COD4 has been over the last 2 nights, I wont be buying it whatever the price........... the online has been utter crap for myself and my friends all of whom are in a UK party.

  • Darren #63 3 years ago

    I don't know about anyone else but it's usually local shops that sell new games for the RRP or close to it and it's the reason I've been buying my games almost entirely online for the past five years. Unless I have stuff to trade in I *never* use local shops as they're just too damn expensive. You can already pre-order this game for the 360 for £35.99 and that's a good £19 less, a 35% saving no less, than the RRP. You're only really being ripped off if you buy locally from places like GAME and Gamestation who are more like to charge £45+.

  • mrmonkey1980 #64 3 years ago

    has everyone forgotten that the first Modern Warfare cost more than the regular game? And you all bought it. They are just seeing if they can push it further.

  • owl #65 3 years ago

    oh, you liked our last game? we see you bought quite a lot of them. it was quite the success, and we know it. thanks for that! here, now pay more for this one. why? oh, economies and stuff, you wouldn't understand.

    thanks again for your continued support!!

    sad to say they've put you in the almost blackmail position that if you buy this game you were looking forward to you are supporting their action. boycott is the only answer.

    or blockbusters.

  • kangarootoo #66 3 years ago

    Makes sense I guess. One of the basic rules of sales is that you charge as much as the market will tolerate. Its always been that way.


    "Pachter thinks the question of whether this is fair is "a difficult one" to answer"

    Its difficult to answer because the question has no place in the discussion. You migh as well as him whether yellow curtains are "nice".

    "Fair" doesn't exist in a free market (not in the context it is being used here anyway). It is just a word we apply when the set price is deemed tolerable by the majority of customers. Whoever asked him that question was just looking for a headline answer.

  • CosmicGypsy #67 3 years ago

    If you want to stick it to Activision, buy it pre-owned and they won't get a penny.

    The retailers will make a killing off you and you will fund the people who sell the games rather than the people who MAKE them. If you think this is a good way to sustain the industry that facilitates your hobby then the choice is yours.

    Stampax is spot on SpaceMidget75. He might be a little patronising but it's the only way to get through to most of the idiots on this forum. You say you "can't see the retailers still being able to continue to swallow the margin", but I say the games industry should milk the retailers for everything they can. They might make a smaller margin on this title, but every time they sell a pre-owned version they make more and more money without the Developer or Publisher making another penny. The market is changing, the world is changing, just deal with it.

    I've said it once and I'll say it again, if you don't like it, shut up and play something else.
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/09 @ 13:38

  • Physically_Insane #68 3 years ago

    I so hope this backfires for them.

  • Fab4 #69 3 years ago

    Anyone who says they are spending the extra on online support doesnt realize that they only provide a matchmaking server. None....i repeat NONE of your online games are hosted by them (hence all the frustration of hosts quitting early). The price of such a server, even for the amount of people online at anyone time for the game, plus a big fat pipe to handle any traffic, would be a drop in a very big ocean in terms of game development.

  • attacanteblue #70 3 years ago

    @Jasugun
    Devs do not get anything except big thank yous from Activision. COD Modern Warfare IP is Activision's, not Infinity Ward's, so royalties go straight into Activision shareholder's pockets

    No, the Devs get a share of the profits too, as does any Activision studio that is responsible for a flagship IP. But hey, don't let that get in the way of the Activision Hating™.

  • lunnyt00n #71 3 years ago

    Pre-ordered PC version from Play.com £29.99.

    No way i would pay a penny more

  • Fab4 #72 3 years ago

    IW is owned by Activision, in entirety. They just don't hire them to develop games. IW are, in all intents and purposes, Activision.

  • kangarootoo #73 3 years ago

    "they've put you in the almost blackmail position"

    This is the bit in threads like this where I get all arsey. Because some people don't seem to be able to tell the difference between making a purchase decision and being mugged. I knew it would arrive. It was inevivivitablele. I shall try and remain civil :)


    Its not anyting like blackmail, unless modern blackmailers say "give me £100k to keep quiet, or just don't and I'll keep quiet anyway, whichever suits you best is cool with me... K?".


    "boycott is the only answer"

    Except its not a boycott is it. Its something far less drmatic sounding, called "not buying a product 'cos it costs too much" and it happens every day without any real thought or commitment from anyone. If the price of something is deemed too high, you simply don't buy it. On that basis, I entirely agree, it is indeed the only answer... just like it has been for the last thousand or so years.


    And please don't anyone suggest I think this price hike is ok. I don't, its too much, and I won't be buying the game. But its really no different to switch gas suppliers, car insurance companies, or even supermarkets when their prices go up. I don't shit my knickers in outrage then, so why would anyone do so now? If you don't like the hike, don't buy it, buy something else, enjoy your purchase and be happy.

  • Turrican #74 3 years ago

    What I find odd about this whole situation is that both the publisher and the gaming community are assuming it will be great, hence the decision to up the price / potentially boycott it.

    I don't know about the rest of you, but I will be waiting for the reviews to come in before I purchase, like I do with any game.

    I know it seems like a no-brainer because of who it is and their pedigree, but you never know. If it scores anything under 9 on sites like Eurogamer then that price will look a bit silly. Saying that, they have covered themselves by keeping the Call of Duty name on the box, ensuring people who don't care about review scores buy it regardless.

  • node #75 3 years ago

    Oh look, another analyst stating the bleeding obvious. Given that the other half of their job tends to be making shit up, I'd love to know how I get in on that.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #76 3 years ago

    @CosmicGypsy

    "You say you "can't see the retailers still being able to continue to swallow the margin", but I say the games industry should milk the retailers for everything they can."

    So you quote one question and then answer with something I didn't have an opinion on? I couldn't give a fuck about retailers or publishers in any meaningful sense. What I said was that YOU will eventually pay the £5 on most games. I don't care who takes the hit on this launch! Eventually it will trickle down and the only way to stop it is to hurt Activision profits, not the retailers.

    Now you may dissagree that IF the £5 becomes almost standard that you won't feel it. That's fine, but it's not what you said or what stampax said. He pretty much just ranted that £5 is fuck all to worry about!
    Edited by 2 at 22/07/09 @ 13:47

  • Bitkari #77 3 years ago

    Pachter in talking sense shock

  • kangarootoo #78 3 years ago

    Wow, +2 karma. I was expecting -5 by now. I have a new found confidence in humanity :)

  • owl #79 3 years ago

    kangarootoo, don't be such a pedant and an arse.

    of course it isn't actual blackmail, jesus. but if they up the price for the one product that people are anticipating, you are obliged to pay the price they demand. changing gas suppliers etc. isn't analogous as gas is gas. buying a different game is not buying cod.

    and it is a boycott if you don't buy a product in order to express your distaste to the shift in the way that product is being sold. you are not buying the game because it is too expensive but that the price has been raised for a contestable reason.

  • What_Would_Leon_Do #80 3 years ago

    I really hope fans of the COD/MW franchise don't pay out for this. If they do they'll hurt us all as consumers.

  • donchuffo #81 3 years ago

    What's really strange is that MW2 on PS3 and 360 seems to have disappeared from the Argos website when they have a 20% off all pre-orders offer (unless I am being really obtuse that is) Selling too many? (And the PS3 version is on the banner advertising the promotion. naughty!)

    Retailers will buy the game from the publisher at the same cost price (depending on their turnover) and then set their selling price based on their desired profit margins. So if you don’t want to give a retailer 30-40% of the price you pay, buy online!

  • andywilkie35 #82 3 years ago

    I'm not particularly bothered to be honest. CoD 4 was brilliant but there's so many other games out around that time, as well as the amount I've still got to play, that I can leave it quite happily. As much as Cod4 was great, surely this is essentially just going to be more of the same?

  • kangarootoo #83 3 years ago

    @owl

    Well why say it then? Acting all outraged about normal everyday things seems to be what some gamers do for a living.


    "but if they up the price for the one product that people are anticipating, you are obliged to pay the price they demand"

    No you aren't. You bloody aren't. You ARE NOT.

    This is entirely my point. They aren't "demanding" anyting, you aren't "obliged" to do anything. They are stating their price, and you can utterly completely and entirely say "no thanks" and decline the purchase.

    I dunno, perhaps my dictionary needs updating, and the correct modern definition of the word anticipating is "cannot do without; must have; as if an addiction; beyond the control of the individual".


    This is what I mean when I say people can't tell the difference between a purchase decision and being mugged. You as the customer have ALL the power in this relationship, because if Activision don't do what you say, they don't get your money. If people don't buy this because of the price hike, it won't happen again (and we will probably see a cut on this very title).


    What my angst really boils down to is this. Children, when told something they don't like, find they have no internal emotional regulator, so they flip out and act like it is the worst thing that has ever happened. Then when we grow up we stop acting like that, because we develop a sense of balance. Some things go our way, some don't, that is just life. If we freaked out and screamed every time we got a tiny bit of news we didn't like, we would never get time to breath in.

    Why is it the internet turns half the writing population into grumpy 6 year olds again?


    ...and don't think I don't see the irony in all of this ;)

  • CosmicGypsy #84 3 years ago

    SpaceMidget75, you make a fair point.

    But I understand that Activisions original plan was to make the game a single player game and then charge people around £5 to download the online features. Microsoft and Sony would not allow this which has lead to this price hike. Pre-owned games are destroying sales for a lot of companies and so price rises are inevitable. If you feel the rise is too much, stick with my other suggestion and don't pay it. MS & Sony need to invest in their digital download systems so that pre-owned games are a thing of the past and real gamers can get games at a lower price from launch, publishers can then be secure in the knowledge that a downloaded title will not be traded in.

    If Activision had stuck to their original plan and released the game as a single player experience for the standard price would all this fuss have erupted? I personally think it would have been a good idea to do it this way (particularly if they had issued a redeem code with the retail game so that anyone who buys the game second hand has to hand over some money to the dev/publisher if they want to play online)

    As long as pre-owned sales are shafting the industry, how else can they try to get a return on their substantial investment?

  • mingster #85 3 years ago

    I'll wait for the torrent version instead then.

  • Mongoose #86 3 years ago

    Yeah they've lost a sale from me, and I've got well over 30 hours of play on Modern Warfare and World at War each. There's plenty more FPS games available.

  • beastmaster #87 3 years ago

    @Turrican

    Agreed. Most people here will wait for reviews. But I've got a feeling it'll be scoring 9's (perhaps even the odd 10). I base this purley on the hands-on previews I've read though. That could change.

    In terms of others following, I'm not sure. The only other games I could think of for now which would get away with this are FIFA, Halo or GTA related.

  • Jasugun #88 3 years ago

    @PlugMonkey
    I wans't implying 'fuck you Activions share holder', just saying that IW's part of the apple is a tiny one compared to Activision's as far as profits go.
    You're right about the retail part. I don't know for the UK but it's especially true in France where a few distributions groups are powerful enough to force publishers to lower their selling price, make big money out of back-margins, while the retail price remains a steady 70€.

  • etherfiend #89 3 years ago

    RRP has gone up, that doesn't necessarily mean price to the retailer has so there may not be a rise in retailer prices (apart from the greedy shops that will try it on). The retail prices will only be forcibly raised when the publisher raises the cost of the item to them and they begin to lose precious margin. To my knowledge it is purely presumption that the Activision RRP increase is directly related to the trade cost which may not be the case (don't flame me if some obscure site or another article, etc has info relating to the increase to trade price - I don't care, I have a job, I don't read the entire internet word for word every day).

    Good to see some sensible responses amongst the mad crowd. Yes £49 - £55 isn't a big deal for one game for one purchase, a point a couple of you seem to be missing is that when every game is raised to the same level that adds a significant overhead (depending on the number of games you buy). So by that assumption if the increase is reflected in the price from publisher to retailer then the £39.99 (rrp 49.99) games will go up to £44.99 (rrp 54.99) across the board. Just one game a month will add £60 to your yearly game bills. Not much for a few people, but I have a mortgage, bills, yada yada and with less than £150 disposable income a month 'an extra fiver here and there' adds up pretty damn quickly.

    If the price difference between console and PC games increases much further it'll be cheaper to maintain a PC with middle of the road components and buy games than to buy the console and the same amount of games over a 3 yr period (BTW huge stab in the dark, no real maths involved there, just a gut feel!).

  • Raz76 #90 3 years ago

    To put all this into a bit of perspective, it's still 13% cheaper than the Danish price.

  • XxTotalzxX #91 3 years ago

    It's official, Activision are dirty milking bastards...Guitar Hero 15 :the Greatest Hits Volume 3 anyone?

  • sneetch #92 3 years ago

    @Raz76
    To put all this into a bit of perspective, it's still 13% cheaper than the Danish price.

    Cheaper in what way? If you're talking about the strictest sense that you've converted the currencies the pound versus the krone then yeah, fair enough I'll take your word for it.

    However have you taken into account the cost of living or the amount of disposable income or any of the other factors that determine the relative/real prices in the two countries?

  • owl #93 3 years ago

    kangarootoo,
    based on the thinking behind this little experiment is to test the water over how high they can set their game prices, what i actually wrote is that if you buy this game, as a lot of people will want to do having enjoyed the last one (myself exempted), it will seem like you are supporting their price increase. damned if you do, damned if you don't. if you buy the game you have to pay the price hike. if you don't, you don't get to play the game.

    obviously you have all the choices in the world as to which games you buy.

    obviously if the price is too high, don't buy.

    is doesn't mean people can't be frustrated about being held to ransom (you like that one better?) over buying a game they wanted to buy. i don't even want the game, couldn't care less. but the fact is, if this this is successful, they will roll it out across the board and eventually people will just think oh, that's how things are now i suppose. and that's pretty dangerous, i think, and worth arguing against.


    also, you seem to believe that everyone writing in here is a raging teenage moron having no understanding of the world, crying and stomping their feet when they don't get what they want. it's actually pretty patronising.

  • mikeck #94 3 years ago

    This is entirely my point. They aren't "demanding" anyting, you aren't "obliged" to do anything. They are stating their price, and you can utterly completely and entirely say "no thanks" and decline the purchase.

    How very true. I understand that people will get upset about things like this, you want a product and you're being charged a little more for it, however, just because you are a potential customer does NOT make you right. What it does mean however, is that it is up to the company producing the wanted product to determine if they want to upset these potential buyers with a price 'hike', and with a company like ActiBlizzard there are enough people who will go out and buy this game at whatever price is determined to be best for Acti's pocket. You DO have the right to buy, or not, at your discretion - and yes ideally most companies should listen to the fan-base and try to please everyone, but hey we're all grown up enough to realise this is not going to happen the majority of the time right? It sucks, but that's life.

  • kangarootoo #95 3 years ago

    @owl

    "obviously you have all the choices in the world as to which games you buy.
    obviously if the price is too high, don't buy."

    So we agree :)


    "is doesn't mean people can't be frustrated about being held to ransom (you like that one better?)"

    Well, not really. Why is the hyperbole even necessary? What is wrong with good old "presented with a cost they think is too high"?


    "also, you seem to believe that everyone writing in here is a raging teenage moron having no understanding of the world, crying and stomping their feet when they don't get what they want. it's actually pretty patronising."

    I realise that, I guess I failed at my attempts to be civil. I am on a fence here you see. On the one hand I realise I am being a bit of a dick about this, and on the other I figure "what am I supposed to think, when people act like they have been worked over in the street and robbed?". Even your latest effort to replace one word with "ransom" is still barking up the same tree. There is simply no ransom, no obligation, no demands, no mugging, no robbery. None of it. So why continue to say it? I understand people are annoyed by the price hike, but that is no reason to just start making stuff up surely?

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #96 3 years ago

    @CosmicGypsy

    "If you feel the rise is too much, stick with my other suggestion and don't pay it."

    Well, wasn't that what I said in the place? Looks like we agree! :D

    "If Activision had stuck to their original plan and released the game as a single player experience for the standard price would all this fuss have erupted?"

    YES!! Without a doubt if they also said the MP would be £5 DLC at launch. Given that every COD game has had multiplayer and that COD4 is quite clearly a MP powerhouse, I'm pretty sure the comments section would be full. ;)



  • Raz76 #97 3 years ago

    @ sneetch
    I would claim that it's still relatively more expensive in Denmark, even though I can't prove it. Gaming stuff generally feels very expensive over here (which is why we order most things from the UK, which could be another reason why they're doing this).

  • El-Dev #98 3 years ago

    Games have been at this price range, of roughly £39.99, for a good few years now. A £5 drop from the PS days and the start of the PS2. It is a fair price if you ask me and when you can get any new release for more or less £33 on line it's a good situation to be in.

    Putting the price at £54.99 just because people will still buy it is a bit of a kick in the teeth. Now I know it isn't really a lot of money but it is a 37.5% increase for one game. Fortunately I can see that MW was a good shooter, but as I didn't get involved in the on line part of it I can live without playing MW2 until I can pick it up cheaper.

    If Activision are charging £54.99 as the RRP this means retailers will be paying more for supply of it so they will be the ones who it will hit the hardest if they want to sell it under the RRP, but "fuck them" is what I say to their plight. They decided to charge an extra £10 on PS3 games because they are on Blu Ray discs until Sony announced that the price increase was because of the retailers and not them so they brought the price in line with the 360 version.

  • owl #99 3 years ago

    kangarootoo,

    "is doesn't mean people can't be frustrated about being held to ransom (you like that one better?)"

    Well, not really. Why is the hyperbole even necessary?

    joke btw

    ok, no-ones acting like they've been worked over in the street and robbed. so who's making stuff up now?

    but seriously, seeing as though you are just picking up random sentences and attacking straw men, do you not think that this is a dangerous precedent?

  • VandelayIndustries #100 3 years ago

    The decision to up the price for MW2 will be justified because people want that game and will pay for it, sadly. (I would tell them to shove it, but I know I'll be waiting for the postman to arrive on release day)

    However, If they think they can get away with this shit with their other games then they will be in for a shock, I think. DJ Hero, Band Hero, GH5, Wolfenstien and whatever else they're peddling just doesn't have the same draw as a CoD at an inflated price, they will come a cropper over this, and they will deserve it.

  • Skurmedel #101 3 years ago

    "Games, he explained, are cheaper to buy today but contain better graphics, gameplay and online functionality."

    I can't even play my EA games online at my parents house due to their rubbish EA online stuff (as in no BF 1943 for me.) CoD 4 had an appalling lobby system on the 360 which kicked people out and kept people hanging for minutes. Months later they released a patch that fixed these problems. Not to mention the horrible GameSpy stuff some games use.

    Interestingly enough, I installed Baldur's Gate 2 the other day on two computers and could instantly play multiplayer.

  • jmg123 #102 3 years ago

    Lets all give them thew amazon and play.com 1 star treatment, and if everyone held of buying it for the first 2 or 3 weeks, activision would soon get the message and ppl would still be able to play.

  • patchbox360 #103 3 years ago

    an obvious trick to get pre orders in now.

    'online functionality. And the latter service, while free to users, costs Activision to provide - although Xbox 360 owners must pay Microsoft for the privilege.' haha

  • bluem4gic #104 3 years ago

    PC baby PCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

    Activision and their COD TAX man I feel sorry for you console players out there.

    They are ripping you a new arsehole

  • hiddenranbir #105 3 years ago

    It is just sad that a lot of people will blindly pay what they're told.

  • beastmaster #106 3 years ago

    What’s needed is not so much a boycott or buying of second hard to reduce future price increase, what it needs is a direct competitor. EA should spruce up Medal of Honour and try and make it as good as (if not better) than any COD game. Then release it at the same time and watch Activision promptly shit in their pants!

  • LazyDan #107 3 years ago

    WWWWWWWWWWWWWWANKERS!

  • Nithron #108 3 years ago

    What's the betting that if the sales drop, they blame it on piracy?

  • actionfitz #109 3 years ago

    @ Nithron
    What's the betting that if the sales drop, they blame it on piracy?
    ---
    whats the betting they're right?
    ;)
    (btw im getting an overpriced Pre-owned copy -> just to stick it to 'wallet-rape-ovision')

  • Bloodhunter #110 3 years ago

    I think the best idea is just to vote with your wallet, buy where cheapest even if it means going out of your way to do so, im not paying £55 for fucking fps

  • Canyarion #111 3 years ago

    Guys, it's how the economy works. They try to get more money. If everybody buys the game for that price, it's apparently worth it. If nobody buys it, but waits for the price to drop, they'll know it's not worth it.

    Let them try it. Like somebody already said: answer with your wallet.

  • Stiggy #112 3 years ago

    Grrr. This makes me so angry, I think I am going to have to start a Facebook group. Hear me roar.

  • SniperZoz #113 3 years ago

    Just what the gaming industry needs to combat piracy - a price hike! Are these ppl for real?!
    Edited by 1 at 22/07/09 @ 16:25

  • Bloodhunter #114 3 years ago

    actually, im happy, £30 on amazon for pc, aaah i love pc's lower prices...

  • WinterSnowblind #115 3 years ago

    It's a test that hopefully fails badly. Even if you're excited for the game, please do not pay that price for it..

  • PlugMonkey #116 3 years ago

    Now I know it isn't really a lot of money but it is a 37.5% increase for one game

    Mind showing your working out for that? I get (55-50)/50 x 100 = 10% increase. I think my abacus must be broken. ;)

    Just what the gaming industry needs to combat piracy - a price hike! Are these ppl for real?!

    Is anyone really going to suddenly turn to piracy because of that extra £5? Or to put it another way, if they dropped the price by £5 would that actively reduce piracy? I doubt either is true.

    What would really be interesting to see is what price they will charge if it goes up on the PSN store. High street games retail will be pretty much dead within the next 5-10 years anyway so the implications of this price hike can't be very far reaching unless it jumps across to digital distribution channels, and consumers are generally demanding a reduced price for something they don't get to personally man-handle. Or re-sell.

  • davisorle #117 3 years ago

    Just because it was too obvious on why the high price of MW2, cause they have the balls to admit it, cause they THINK they have the right to rip gamers off LITERALLY for the fact they are making a such known title and because not only they will do it to more titles of thirs but like they also admit more companies might follow their shit if it works not only im denying to buy the game, ill download it and stay awat from any other Activision title. If anything that good ill dl from torrent.

    I think that if they just felt like it and higher the pric, I just feel like getting it from torrents and not give a f*ck about the online part of the game as of now. tvm :) I'm not accepting to play Activisions game into if im a sucker enough to be charged according to how good their game is cause I dont think they would charge any less than the standard price for a game that's not actually bellow average. As simple as that.

  • Fallen_Angel #118 3 years ago

    While sales numbers will factor in heavily, saying that where you buy it from won't affect it at all is a fallacy. If everyone buys it at Argos, Morrisons, Asda and the like who can seriously undercut the RRP and take the loss, places like Game, Grainger, CEX (Possibly HMV too now) won't be happy as they can't take that kind of hit. They can't really up the price anymore, since people will still go to those who can undercut heavily, so their only recourse is to complain to the publisher about the RRP being too high. And not having your big Christmas hit products front and centre of the specialist stores is something I can't see Activision taking the risk on for too long.

    Doesn't matter too much, cos like COD4 I'll either wait for it to drop to around 25 quid, wait till I see it preowned for that price, or just not buy it altogether.

  • FenderMaster #119 3 years ago

    I really hope there is a backlash against this, it's potentially setting a very bad pecident for not just UK, but european consumers

    FIGHT THE POWER!!

  • IronCladChicken #120 3 years ago

    I'm pretty sure this is going to get a few minus clicks - but this vitriol seems reminds me of the UK Rock Band release... Everybody complained about the price at the time, and everyone said they would boycott the software, unfortunately it still sold by the bucket load. I can't see MW2 bucking this trend.

  • sanctusmortis #121 3 years ago

    Activision in "EA circa MD/SNES" tactics shocker.

  • Xeopuppy #122 3 years ago

    Activision can go fuck themselves, I won't be buying anything from them.

    Activision are fucking SHIT.

  • Latster #123 3 years ago

    Very few places will sell the game at the full £55, places like HMV and who buys games from HMV??

    The RRP will mean less profit for the retailers if they decide to sell it for less then £55, so raising the RRP seems like a pointless exercise. If it sells a million copies, but no one paid more then £45, how on Earth could Activision extrapolate that putting the RRP up was a good business move? If anyones getting butt-fucked here it's the shops who will be selling it, as Acti will still get slightly more money regardless of what price they sell the game. I'll be buying the game at £40 or less as it's a price I feel is fair these days and I couldn't give a toss for either Acti or the shop I get it from.

  • mooseman721 #124 3 years ago

    I think i'll buy a 2nd hand copy. Cheaper and sends out the right message to Activision.

  • White_Westie #125 3 years ago

    lets hope they put some destructable environment in this one... BFMC FTW!

    Why in cod can you blow a tank up, plant c4, but you just cant shoot a god dam tree down....
    Beats the hell out of me... 55quid...

    I'll wait.... and wait for the 2nd hand game market to take off even more....

  • IronCladChicken #126 3 years ago

    I'm guessing it's already pretty well known that 'Double Fine claims that Brütal Legend was dropped in the Vivendi/Activision merger after "an effort to convert the game into a Guitar Hero sequel failed."'

  • man.the.king #127 3 years ago

    It appears as if this price increase is not in evidence in the US, because the standard game (not the other versions) is the standard 59.99 USD price.

  • RedSparrows #128 3 years ago

    Good, another reason for me not to buy a CoD title. /bitter

  • Mr_Brown #129 3 years ago

    So basically it's a lose/lose situation for gamers and win/win for activision. Ether we're angry and not playing MW2 or we pay more for 'hot' games from now on. I just wonder why they made these comments, surely it would have been better to stick by the weak pound explanation. This just reveals them as utter c*cks they are! I'm giving this a miss and any other Activision game for that matter.

  • Hawkins #130 3 years ago

    Makes no difference to me, I wouldn't pay more than £30 for a computer game anyway and there are too many excellent titles available for under £10 to keep me occupied. If you haven't even played Final Fantasy VII for example yet, it's still easily available for under £20 and on a qualitative scale of value compared to Call Of Duty's £55, it must be worth a million pounds. Check out other titles you may have missed out on and wait for MW2 to settle down a bit.

  • NBAoz #131 3 years ago

    In Australia they are charging $120 for COD: MW2. That equals £60. Luckily I was able to trade in 1 game at GAME and get the price down to $50 on a preorder :) It is not unusual for games to be priced $120 in Australia, however you can almost always find a retailer selling it for about $20 less than the RRP.

  • Bazfrag #132 3 years ago

    "Pachter thinks the question of whether this is fair is "a difficult one" to answer." I think the millions of mindless sheep would buy it at £80, because its popular. I pity them, and their love of scripted respawning repetition, lag switching and turbo pads.

  • spiny #133 3 years ago

    PC : £28.99 from GAME with code buyat0902 (£1 off)

    I love gamestracker.com
    Edited by 1 at 23/07/09 @ 08:56

  • kangarootoo #134 3 years ago

    "So basically it's a lose/lose situation for gamers and win/win for activision"

    I'm not sure that makes any sense ;)

  • Nephirion #135 3 years ago

    I predict ^^

    Starcraft 2 £39.99
    Bioshock 2 £44.99
    Grandtheft Auto V £59.99

  • ComradePete #136 3 years ago

    I've had nearly 10 days total play from COD4 so I don't see this price as unreasonable.

    I've paid more in the past for titles with a much more limited lifespan - Sonic 3 & Virtua Racing :/

  • Sir_TimAlot #137 3 years ago

    I will certainly not be paying £55 for this!
    I will certainly be paying £120 for the prestige edition. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

  • trooperdx3117 #138 3 years ago

    Personally I think the most depressing part of all this is the fact that Infinity Award are a genuinely brilliant developer and yet despite this price increase they will still only get about 2 pounds out each copy sold which seems blatantly unfair

  • Kyledanutmeg #139 3 years ago

    I'm not willing to pay 10% extra so he's wrong there

  • ozzzy189 #140 3 years ago

    Well as this is a test at a higher price- screw you activision, i'm not buying it. my test is complete.

  • Fab4 #141 3 years ago

    "Personally I think the most depressing part of all this is the fact that Infinity Award are a genuinely brilliant developer and yet despite this price increase they will still only get about 2 pounds out each copy sold which seems blatantly unfair"

    They are owned by Activision. They'll be told what to do and like it. Royalty payments wont come in to it.

  • lunalicrichard #142 3 years ago

    the problem is we are getting it eitherway.if we dont get shafted on retail,we'll get it on the publishers side.further more ;
    because game development is running at 10 to 20 million per game in these times,the dev's want some kind of garantee that the make at least break even.and with the trend going to digital distribution this development is going to increase.
    so we 're f*cked anywich way !! we better get used to higher prices or stop gaming or wait until the prices come down.and let's be real here ; most wil get the game on full price at retail shops.

  • ardamillo #143 3 years ago

    To everyone who wants to play MW2 but not pay Activision: just buy a second hand copy. And make sure you sell it on to someone else when you're done :)

  • Quak #144 3 years ago

    Sony's been at it since the beginning - only makes sense that software houses would catch on eventually.

  • b6_villain #145 3 years ago

    i have always bought my games from the shop and i have never tampered with my x box, but with the price going up on cod 6 and the doorway being opened up for the rest of the game publishers to follow suit and bump their prices up, getting my x box modded to play copied games for £25 and copied games at £5 each is looking more likely than paying £55 for one game, well done activision i'm another honest gamer you've converted to the pirate way of life, the pirates must be loving activision right now, cause they must be raking the money in from moddin and copies.

  • b6_villain #146 3 years ago

    in response to lunalicrichard , it may cost activision and other publishers 10 - 20 million to develop a game , but if you work out that the last cod game sold 7 million copies at £45 that equates to £315,000,000 and if the sold 7 million copies of cod6 at £55 they stand to rake in £385,000,000 and that is not counting any money that online gamers have payed for extra map packs that get released online at £5 per map pack, so 10 - 20 million to develop a game is nothing compared to what they stand to make from it.

  • xST-ANGERx #147 2 years ago

    this is disgusting! was it not long ago that activision threatened to stop supporting the PS3 if sony didnt drop the price? or was i imagining it or something? and here they are, upping the price of their games (that include voice overs from ex-drug dealing rappers being paid fuck knows how much money to do it too). if i was sony id make them cap the price at £45 max, or tell them that they wont get the license to sell it on ps3, thus completely halving their profit margin (potentially). im sure sony would survive.

    all this coming from a company that pays its head $15,000,000 a YEAR! jesus, id be happy with 15 grand a year at this present moment in time due to the recession causing me to be laid off recently. activision, u are a bunch of cunts, i hope operation flashpoint absolutely murders mw2 when its released. cos i for 1, wil be buying it over ur cash-cow any day!

  • SoulAssassin #148 2 years ago

    British kids should not be complaining at all!!!! They bitching cause they need to pay a little more for their games, its because you lousy money has dropped in value, so basically your paying the same that Europe has been paying for the last 9 years... only US is cheap now