ShopTo: MW2 price sets "worrying trend"

By Robert Purchese Published 28 July, 2009

Says Forza 3 and Layton are following suit.

ShopTo has told Eurogamer that publishers are following Activision by increasing the price of their popular franchises.

"Whether planned, or a case of jumping on the popular franchises bandwagon, we have seen Microsoft increase the price of Forza 3 to £49.99 and Nintendo increase the price of Professor Layton [and Pandora's Box] to £34.99," ShopTo boss Igor Cipolletta told us. "I sincerely hope that not all publishers will follow this lead."

"The price increases that some publishers think the market can stand are, to say the least, a worrying trend, and appear to be more than just a result of currency fluctuations."

Nintendo does not set SRP for retailers, and told Eurogamer, "The cost price Nintendo sells products to retailers at is obviously confidential." Microsoft, meanwhile, has yet to respond about Forza 3 pricing.

Cipolletta said Capcom had great results by dropping games to £39.99. Furthermore, he explained, the European Wii price increase hasn't worked out quite as Nintendo expected.

"Subsequent to the price increase and as a result of the European 'free market' the console is in plentiful supply and some chain stores were forced to discount the machine to gain cash back. I think this is a demonstration that the market was either unable or unwilling to stomach the Nintendo hardware price increase," he offered.

Cipolletta, like analyst Michael Pachter, believes the Modern Warfare 2 price increase to £54.99 (a £10 SRP boost) is about securing a better investment/development-cost return. And he's not against the idea.

"I applaud their decision," revealed Cipolletta, "as this will enable [Activision] to preserve the franchise and thus develop it year-on-year.

"We have seen good franchises reduce in quality until they are finally abandoned, and this is not a healthy prospect for the future of the business.

"So to answer your question," he added, "I would like to believe that Activision will seek to keep the SRP at a level sufficient to maintain very high production values."

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 (93) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • rashes #1 3 years ago

    It's basic supply and demand, I guess. Games that have huge demand have the capacity to charge more.
    That said, 1200 ms points for Battlefield 1943 goes in the complete opposite direction.

  • bad09 #2 3 years ago

    / Feels better in just renting now even more.

  • wizlon #3 3 years ago

    I can see a lot of high profile games like Prof Layton and MW2 getting away with this just fine, it may even help the developers make better games. But as soon as smaller studios and publishers start trying to price hike then people will not buy the games, they won't make any money and will have to shut down. The vision of super publishers is almost here, and that makes me sad.

  • AbracadaverAK #4 3 years ago

    Hang on. First of all, we've got "I sincerely hope that not all publishers will follow this lead.", followed by "I applaud their decision, as this will enable [Activision] to preserve the franchise and thus develop it year-on-year."

  • systems #5 3 years ago

    They can set the price to £100 for all I care. I don't need to buy a game the second it comes out and can wait for an inevitable price drop.

  • WinterSnowblind #6 3 years ago

    If prices go up to this kind of level, I'll gladly just wait. Pre-order bonuses and collectors edition vastly increase reason to buy games early, but even that won't help if the prices continue growing like this.

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #7 3 years ago

    All this is going to do in the long term is only going to gemerate sales from the diehard players, the casual gamer is just going to wait about until the pre-owned market gives them a better price (or even rent them instead) - where there is no money for the publisher, which will further increase the price to re-coup on profit further pushing the market into the 'have now' and 'pre-owned/rental' brackets.

    Companies like the article states should look at the reverse of this lowering the price to a more accessable price to all doesn't mean that profit would drop in fact it's more then likly to increase becuase more will be willing to buy on the day then wait until the price drops..

    This is why thanks to XBLA/PSN/Steam the indie market is booming as we're getting the same quality of games as the disk counterparts at a fraction of the price, all this price-hiking is doing is forcing us gamers to look for cheaper alturnitives to our gaming, which atm is looking a lot better.

  • Apostle #8 3 years ago

    Will not be purchasing MW2 straight away. I will wait until January sales to get it a bit cheaper. The good thing is the online community will still be very strong for a long time anyway, so I won't miss much.

  • andywilkie35 #9 3 years ago

    I've got so many games on the shelf waiting to be played already that if anything the price hikes will encourage me to finish these before buying new ones. :)

  • KillerMonkey #10 3 years ago

    Here's an idea: stop pumping millions into fancy graphics and focus on the game.

  • Psychotext #11 3 years ago

    Something very strange about the Forza 3 price. If ShopTo are to be believed, the RRP for the LTD edition is only £5 more than the standard one.

  • Artemus #12 3 years ago

    Yes put prices up. That's the best way to make consumers spend in a recession...

  • spliffhead #13 3 years ago

    /imports from US and plays Ghostbusters on his 360 while waiting for the delivery.

    It's a silly game that's been going on for years, £70 for Turok on the N64 anyone?

    Some new Exec thinks he has this great idea every 10 years or so...

  • kangarootoo #14 3 years ago

    "That said, 1200 ms points for Battlefield 1943 goes in the complete opposite direction."

    That's the truth. I love BF:1943 and would have paid double for it, no doubt.

  • SeesThroughAll #15 3 years ago

    Pay double for BF1943? No.

    Good value for money though? Yes.

    On Topic: And there we go, extortionate software prices again!

  • Whizzo #16 3 years ago

    Well my bank balance will be healthier if games go up in price, I just won't bother buying them until they drop to a level I'm prepared to pay, anything north of forty notes just isn't going to get bought by me.

  • Moonprince #17 3 years ago

    "We have seen good franchises reduce in quality until they are finally abandoned, and this is not a healthy prospect for the future of the business."

    fudge me it's almost sounds like cod had a hard time in sales and prospects of a follow up were damaged due to that...

  • kangarootoo #18 3 years ago

    "Pay double for BF1943? No.
    Good value for money though? Yes."

    I've got as many fun hours out of it as I might expect to get out of a £25 game, and that is as complex as my calculations get. If I'm still playing a couple of 3 hour sessions 3 weeks from now, we could probably consider it better value than some full price titles I've bought in the last year (some of which I enjoyed a lot too).

    Worth mentioning, I don't really play BF style games much, so its simpler squad based fun is more my bag and perhaps more hardened online FPS fans would find it a bit lacking. Works for me though.

  • Collymilad #19 3 years ago

    Gotta love all the idiots who accept this.

    "It'll make better games"

    BLAH.....BLAH....BLAH!!!!! It won't make better games, it'll line a few assholes pockets with more money.

    Doesn't anyone know how the world works?

    I'm not buying MW2 at £55, neither Forza 3 at £50. I haven't paid more than £40 for a game in years and if they are going to continue to try and pull this kind of shit I'll just get the games by "other means" as I'm sure a lot of other people will too.

    Put another bullet in that foot of yours, eh?

  • Toothball #20 3 years ago

    @spliffhead

    Yeah, I remember having to persuade my parents to spend £60 for Street Fighter 2 on the SNES. Most games at the time were £50. I remember Marble Madness on the Gameboy costing £35 at the time too.
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/09 @ 16:36

  • KayJay #21 3 years ago

    Perhpas this is not the place to admit I have preordered the Prestige Edtion of MW2 @ £119.99.

    /feels sick

    /and excited... ;-)
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/09 @ 16:40

  • Darren #22 3 years ago

    Forza 3 is coming on two DVDs is it not? No doubt Microsoft will use that excuse to explain that game's £5 price hike! ;)

  • Byblos1 #23 3 years ago

    If I recall correctly the N64's games were all £60 at launch, which was over 10 years ago now? That was incredible thinking about it.

    I could stomach the price increases if they were global but the US will continue to pay a lot less for their games and in most cases get them sooner as well.

  • actionfitz #24 3 years ago

    last weekend I bought:
    Battlefield 1943
    The Secret of Monkey Island
    Worms 2 Armageddon...
    I'll probably be picking up 'Spolsion Man' too.
    all xbox live arcade games.
    all great wee games.

    and Activi$ion want £55 for COD6?
    'G'away an shite!' - to use the local Belfast colloquialism.

  • beastmaster #25 3 years ago

    Yep. Everyone put their prices. In another crazy Xmas, this plan could ultimately backfire. Doubtful, but it could.

  • actionfitz #26 3 years ago

    @Darren

    "Forza 3 is coming on two DVDs is it not? No doubt Microsoft will use that excuse to explain that game's £5 price hike! ;)"

    Didn't 'Lost Odyssey' have 4 dvds?
    heh.

  • ukdm #27 3 years ago

    The worrying thing about this "trend" is that it will impact the lower prices some of us wait for a few weeks after launch. Currently you see games released for PS3 or Xbox and high street stores push them out at £42.99 or £44.99, online they are £39.99. You know a couple/three weeks later you will be able to pick the same game up for £34.99 or £29.99.

    Now with the prices up at £55 those weeks-old prices will also go up so you'll still be paying £40/45. That can't last and people won't buy because they can't afford it. What we will see is older titles getting a sales boost though. Hopefully that means the situation will end up rectifying itself with lower prices again, but that could take months.
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/09 @ 16:48

  • Anthony_UK #28 3 years ago

    Again this does seems very short sighted, MW2 & Forza will get away with it to a certain extent, the hardcore and keen gamers like myself who would consider both still a good deal for the amount of time they'll be putting into them will still pick it up. There will however be a huge amount of people, core gamers included who will be put off by the price, I do however think they've seriously underestimated the impact these new prices will have on the loyalty of the casual masses especially around the busy Christmas period!

    Myself personally have changed my mind regarding this so called price hike (which it is) I still remember back to saving all my birthday and pocket money to buy Street Fighter 2 on my SNES for £65. So £50 or being honest the more realistic in store/web price of £45 still seems well worth it. So long as the quality stays high and the extra money appears to be put to good use I don't mind.

    As someone said though, smaller titles just arn't going to sell at that price point! A recent example for me was FUEL which I was really undecieded on, but with the £49.99 price point for this one game in both Game & Gamestation I was totally put me off!

  • Raz76 #29 3 years ago

    Hardcore gamers probably already spend as much cash as they can on games. Increasing price just means that more money is spent on fewer games, which is why Activision is doing it on hugely popular games like Call of Duty and not on their lesser titles.

  • MightyMouse #30 3 years ago

    "I applaud their decision," revealed Cipolletta, "as this will enable [Activision] to preserve the franchise and thus develop it year-on-year.

    Care to elaborate on that? Unless you're claiming that only by charging an extra £10 can they be motivated to make a decent game I see no logic behind that statement.

    Whether or not you think MW2 is worth the money, please cut the BS. Activision increased the price purely to make more money (as is entirely their perogative as a company (even though I think it'll backfire)).

  • Optimaximal #31 3 years ago

    I didn't splash out on COD4 until it came down to £25 on the PC - yes, its only £5 off what most people sold it for at launch, but its my upper limit these days.

    I can wait on Modern Warfare 2.

  • Eighthours #32 3 years ago

    Is that £49.99 for Forza 3 for the standard version? Forza 2's limited edition was £49.99, as I recall...

  • Byzanite #33 3 years ago

    It wasnt long ago that publishers were complaining that 2nd hand sales were increasing and they werent seeing profit from those secondary sales. Maybe this is their response which in turn will only drive people to buy 2nd hand/rent/borrow/wait until price drops significantly.
    Some publishers may be able to get away with it but i think inevitably, especially in the current economic climate, they will suffer reduced sales and reduced profit.
    Why oh why do they not look at lowering the price to attract the hesitant buyer. Rather than stitching up their loyal fanbase.
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/09 @ 16:52

  • KDR_11k #34 3 years ago

    The rising pound prices are probably related to the falling currency. The MW2 price hike, if it's really about increasing the returns, means that they don't think they can expand their userbase any further and expect sales stagnation that needs a price hike to increase the revenue anyway.

  • Zander #35 3 years ago

    Only sales will tell if they are doing the right thing. Having said that I rarely pay the full asking price for any game these days.

  • Byblos1 #36 3 years ago

    I don't think it will back fire with MW2, they could sell it at almost any price and it would do well.

    It will hurt them in the long run though, greed breeds more greed and they'll be trying to sell all sorts of crap at £55 before long, which people won't put up with imo.

  • HolyJebus #37 3 years ago

    As far as I can see Acti aren't increasing the price to secure development of further Modern Warfare games. They are doing it to give them income to create other games or make back money on unsuccessful games. If MW2 sold for $15 it would prob still make a profit for them. Assuming the budget isn't over $50 mill and it sells over 10 mill copies.

    Anyway I wouldn't mind paying extra for one or two games a year if I get my money's worth. But shorter, poorer games should be dropping in price. But of course that's not gonna happen.

  • FenderMaster #38 3 years ago

    I would actually understand this alot ore if it was a smaller, more niche publisher/developer, like Atlus, but Activision, and CoD already make huge profits, and sales, of all games, MW 2 needs the price Hike the least.

    make no mistake, this has nothing to do with the relative depreciation of the £ stg

    The US $ depreciated greatly in recent years, but you didn't see Activision rising prices over there...

    It's just the usual shaft the european market B.S.

    I'm not from the UK, but this kind of thing scares me shitless... it's a very unappealing, and dangerous prospect for gamers, and the industry, and as many have mentioned, will only drive further piracy and second hand sales if others follow suit.

    It's all just an experiment, to see whether the market is able, and willing to support a price increase for games, and using MW 2 as a guinea pig, knowing that it will sell regardless, on the back of it's quality.

  • SYS64738 #39 3 years ago

    "Perhpas this is not the place to admit I have preordered the Prestige Edtion of MW2 @ £119.99.

    /feels sick

    /and excited... ;-) "

    Why, do you get a free gun with it?

    http://ww w.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.vie...

  • jaxon58 #40 3 years ago

    The first cookie is always free...

  • hiddenranbir #41 3 years ago

    I imagine PC price will depreciate quicker, will wait on that?

  • ShinigamiRyuk #42 3 years ago

    Couldn't give two fucks MW2 can lick my rim I'll be getting Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising.

  • SEVQA #43 3 years ago

    Well that's just the one game I'll be getting this xmass as opposed to three i got last year!

  • JonFE #44 3 years ago

    Considering that CoD: MW is *still* enjoying healthy sales on full price almost two years from release, it's easy to understand Activision's decision to hike up the sequels price. Whether other publishers will follow suit remains to be seen...

  • paulf #45 3 years ago

    they are just softening us up for the mw3 multiplayer being subscription based

    tbh if I play mw2 half as much as I played cod4 it would be well worth the £55 - its the shite games that they try to pass off at this price that I'd worry about more

  • IronCladChicken #46 3 years ago

    @Toothball
    & I remember having less than half the number of games in my collection than I do now.
    I stuck with the Amiga rather than moving to the SNES because I found the prices for the consoles unreasonable.

    Btw - Weren’t Nintendo fined a few million Euros by the EU for price fixing?

    [edit] Heres something from <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/ 2009/05/01/nintendo-price-fixing-fine-reduced-by-30-million- euros/">Joystiq
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/09 @ 17:14

  • FortysixterUK #47 3 years ago

    If this is the new trend for console games then I can wait until they sell 2nd hand for £20.00 a pop.
    I resent spending £40.00 on a new game , let alone $55.00. I always go with the cheapest online seller or wait until 2nd hand.
    A game at £55.00 ? I say lets the games market collapse and re-invent itself with a grounding in reality.
    All new games, regardless of format should be £20.00 maximum.
    This new price hike is just the money men making the decisions. And frankly, like all upper/senior managers in any organisation, they are all wankers.
    Games piracy will simply go on the increase....meanwhile I'll ignore most of the new releases until their prices drop drastically and carry on enjoying WOW and Age of Conan. Never have 2 games been made so good and at such excellent value for money.

  • carlitoswagon #48 3 years ago

    I'm ok with paying a slight premium for an absolute quality game that I know will be worth the money. None the less, it's a dirty fucking tactic because I know I'm getting humped for my loyalty! Even still, I know MW2 multiplayer will have my 360 gasping like a $2 hooker on pay day.

    It's a shame this has opened the door for a universal price hike, which can't be justified for most releases OR ANY really!!

  • JensonJet #49 3 years ago

    I imagine the higher price will have little impact on the sales of the big titles. But the knock on effect will be smaller, less popular titles will suffer.

    Everyone puts a value on gaming, whether it's how much they're willing to spend a year, or how much they're willing to spend on one game. I think this 'grab as much as you can from the fans' attitude by some developers/publishers will ultimately affect many smaller titles, and probably guarantees a few more developers fall by hard times and are sold, merge, or just disappear. And the knock effect for that will mean online gaming for the lesser titles will get even smaller, with numbers dropping even sooner than they previously had!

    Despite a tougher financial position and the price rises, I will still purchase MW2 and Forza 3 on release, but there are plenty of other games I'm looking forward to that I will do as has been suggested above; either rent, or wait until they're cheap, secondhand. As for DLC, I'll never support such an idea, as that's the path to the loss of the secondhand market and ultimately games costing more.

    Anyone care to guess who the next developer that disappears will be? It's not just about supply and demand, but survival of the fittest (or in gaming terms, survival of the most popular).

  • asphaltcowboy #50 3 years ago

    @Apostle

    Sorry, but if you think it's going to be any cheaper in January (or indeed any time before maybe the middle of next year) you're going to be sorely disappointed!

  • Fur_Cough #51 3 years ago

    They seem to be conveniently forgetting how rubbish CoD5 was.
    I don't buy many games.
    I buy even fewer full price.
    I don't need to have any game on the day of purchase.
    So this is going to put me off buying MW2 for 6 months anyway.

    Particularly as I'm sure I won't play the single player. Why not do a multiplayer-only version on PSN. That would sell like hotcakes.

  • Rtrdo #52 3 years ago

    Looking at Game.co.uk....
    MW2 for the 360 is on preorder at £45
    Preorder for the PC is £30. Bargain! Looks like I will be getting it afterall then :)

  • Rtrdo #53 3 years ago

    Actually, I'm tempted to preorder it now before Game put the price up...

  • robg #54 3 years ago

    @Fur_Cough

    Even a brief bit of research will tell you that the CoD4 developers (Infinity Ward) are:
    a) far superior to the CoD5 devs (Treyarch)
    b) developing MW2

  • jimbo118 #55 3 years ago

    So what does this mean for Ireland? Games to be 70euro?

  • Balboa #56 3 years ago

    @jimbo118 The UK price hike was supposedly because the Pound is weak against the Euro. They'll have to invent a different excuse for Ireland.
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/09 @ 17:57

  • sneetch #57 3 years ago

    @jimbo118
    So what does this mean for Ireland? Games to be 70euro?

    Naw, our RRP remains what it is now, 55-60€ for console games, the UK chains already charge us based on the euro RRP so if they try to overcharge us then we'll simply switch wholesale to Smyths (nice to have one Irish store to choose from in case of dickitry).

  • trooperdx3117 #58 3 years ago

    Bloody hell do these guys not realise there is a recession going on and if Microsoft think Forza 3 has the kind of hype to enable them to release it at a higher price then they have another thing coming.

  • TuftyMcTavish #59 3 years ago

    Cool. That makes the decision to wait for a price drop sooooo much easier for me. As many others surely have, there are plenty of unplayed games on my shelf and I'm not in the mood to be fleeced just to get a game a few weeks early. However, with a lot of Q4 titles pushing back into 2010 now, there may be a bit of space to fill in the release calendar. That said, I'll definitely focus my attention on those games retailing for the typical price.

  • kidmarine #60 3 years ago

    argos were running a pre-order campaign last week - finished now - but i picked up ps3 orders on modern warfare 2 for £36, dirt 2 for £28, ass creed 2 for £34, uncharted 2 for £31. amazon also had uncharted for £32 and lost planet 2 for £28. if you look around there's always an opportunity. amazon and play don't charge until item ships so nail those pre-orders when you see them - can always cancel the order before it ships if reviews / opinions say it sucks!!!

  • geeza2020 #61 3 years ago

    "I applaud their decision," revealed Cipolletta, "as this will enable [Activision] to preserve the franchise and thus develop it year-on-year.

    "We have seen good franchises reduce in quality until they are finally abandoned, and this is not a healthy prospect for the future of the business."

    I was nearly sick reading that.....

  • Fwing #62 3 years ago

    If you're happy to pay the inflated prices for these titles go ahead.

    I think we're being rinsed so they can sod off. I was looking forward to MW2 and Layton2 but I'll spend the cash on something else now.

  • Invisible_Cow #63 3 years ago

    Not much to add to this; already lots of comments I agree with. I would pay up to £55 (or more likely £45 online) for a game, but it would have to be a great game that I desperately wanted. COD5 isn't that game.

    @stopbuggin: Those games are TBS, nor RTS, and the graphics level is usually due to the number of units onscreen at any one time, not the art budget. In any case, if the game isn't very popular in the first place I'm not sure the best way to increase your profit margin is by increasing prices. They'd be better off reducing costs.

  • Cappy #64 3 years ago

    I'm sorry, price hikes don't help niche titles. Higher prices make people buy more conservatively, half the battle with Valkyria Chronicles was getting people to even try it with all the high profile mainstream titles that looked like a safe purchase released at the same time.

    Why take a risk when it's expensive and you can buy another game that's a new version of what you were perfectly happy with before? High prices do niche titles no favours at all, they'll still be stuck with small budgets because they'll sell even less.

  • davymackie #65 3 years ago

    im doing the same as ShinigamiRyuk, going to get op flashpoint dr first and wait for mw2 to drop to atleast £40.

  • Entity #66 3 years ago

    I remember the days of renting films because videos were so damn expensive to buy.

    Looks like there's where the market may go.

  • ForburyLion #67 3 years ago

    Perhaps the way forward is to make cheap basic games like BF1943 and then charge extra for additional maps, cars, levels, characters, weopons etc etc.

  • Amblin #68 3 years ago

    So Activision know they have us over a barrel and intend to squeeze you till there's nothing but copper left in your pocket.

    Bastards are nothing but greedy.

    They know no one will object because the original MW and COD5 have not dropped in price be it retail or resale!

    Shameless profiteering that will only harm the industry in the long run.

  • FenderMaster #69 3 years ago

    i was going to buy professor layton, but if i see this price hike b/s affecting irish stores, its flash cart to the rescue....

  • UncleLou #70 3 years ago

    Here's an idea: stop pumping millions into fancy graphics and focus on the game.

    Is that meant to be an idea for Activision? They're not raising the price because MW sold so badly, and they need the money now because they all wasted it on graphics.

  • Xerx3s #71 3 years ago

    Hmmm, you know what? I've suddenly found a new sense of self-control and wait for all those games to hit the bargain bins. I'm sure that I can find a game that I haven't finished yet.

  • Lawlost #72 3 years ago

    It's a balancing act for the publishers if they know that they have a triple A title they feel that they can charge a premium on release, there will always be a proportion of people who will pay £50 just to be able to get the game on release. Slowly they drop the price and pull in the rest of the gaming community at different price points. I think they will find that the numbers buying at £50 will be considerably less than they anticipate. Sorry guys but even the videogames industry is not immune to the recession.

  • oreillymj #73 3 years ago

    What is Pachter on about? He's claiming that Activision should increase the cost of probably the best selling game of the year ( i'd expect) and the sequel to the massive selling COD4 to ensure the health of the franchise. If Activision/Infinity Ward are not making money on this title, then the whole industry should just pack up and go away, because no one will ever make money.

    This is greed, pure and simple.

    Well, if Activision think they can rip me off, I have 2 words for them. Secondhand copy.

  • JaysonG #74 3 years ago

    I don't buy games for more than £25 this gen and i've got a healthy collection of games. Still haven't got COD4:MW though, I'll have to get it when the sequel comes out from the look of things.

  • actionfitz #75 3 years ago

    "I applaud their decision," revealed Cipolletta, "as this will enable [Activision] to preserve the franchise and thus develop it year-on-year.

    Here's the thing...
    I pay the same price at the Cinema to see a cheaply made but quality indie film as I do to see the big summer blockbuster.
    just because the big film cost about $200 million more to make doesn't mean they get to ask me for £20 a ticket to see the film - just so that they can afford to make the sequels.
    Seeing as I only recently picked up COD5 - £22.50 online after deducting some game reward card points ^^
    I'll have plenty to play while i wait for a reasonably priced pre-owned COD6. :p

  • Gammerz #76 3 years ago

    "Cipolletta, like analyst Michael Pachter, believes the Modern Warfare 2 price increase to £54.99 (a £10 SRP boost) is about securing a better investment/development-cost return. And he's not against the idea."

    Too right it will! Do they think MW2 is not gonna sell and they're not gonna make a decent cost return? It's only gonna be the best selling game ever and they're maximising thier greed (profit) because they know suckers out there will buy it at full price (not to mention the night vision pack lunacy). If we're idiotic enough to fall for this and buy at these prices then others will follow and we'll get what we deserve: sky high prices across the board. Don't buy it at these prices, just be patient. Let the initial sells slump to send them a message, when they see the sales take off when prices drop to a realistic level. Low prices = sell, high prices = no sell.
    Edited by 1 at 29/07/09 @ 01:14

  • bdaggers #77 3 years ago

    @paulf +1
    cod by treyarch will be the only game where I expect to get value for money even with a rennet increase

    I am *still* playing cod4, that must be my most played game this gen. So the value for money equation holds for this franchise.

    But there is no way I would risk that kind of cash on an untested franchise. So the result of this price hike will be to make me more risk averse and less likely to branch out. The big franchises may survive this trend but it will be disastrous for the small untested franchises upon which the industry surely relies for growth. Even cod was an untested and unknown game once - could they have charged this much for the first instalment ?

  • Rodchenko #78 3 years ago

    Even a brief bit of research will tell you that the CoD4 developers (Infinity Ward) are:
    a) far superior to the CoD5 devs (Treyarch)
    b) developing MW2

    Um, tell me again what was so 'far superior' in running around shooting waves of scripted Arabs/Russians from running around shooting waves of scripted Japs/Jerries?

  • metalangel #79 3 years ago

    I really want Forza 3. But not paying that much for it. CoD6 should be good. But not paying that much for it either. And they won't be on my Xmas or birthday lists for December either so no family members will get gouged on my behalf. I bet my parents would really like more Professor Layton but I'm sure they'll balk at the price tag too. Well done, publishers. You've arroganted yourselves out of loads of sales with your greed. I'm sure the fatter, old men on the board will love to hear your excuses.

  • Widge #80 3 years ago

    Is a year on year franchise a good thing? Its why I invested in Killzone rather than CoD:WaW... knowing that the bloody game won't be outmoded in 12 months time.

  • Johnhost #81 3 years ago

    This will only reinforce piracy, exclude many many more people from buying at launch. This will mean that basically developers will LOOSE money because gamers will be paying the likes of GAME or CEX for a used copy of the game instead of buying it on launch. And their massive £120.00 Prestige Edition is nearly as much as a new Xbox 360 console. I know the game will be good, but damn that is too much money for a steel book, copy of an arcade title and some plastic goggles from china.

    An alternative: Release your games day of launch on Xbox Live Games on Demand for £30.00. Continue releasing DLC including single player campaign missions for another year. We don't need year on year CoD at £55.00. I think for a lower cost + DLC revenue they will make far more money.

  • Joel_The_Mole #82 3 years ago

    IW is only charging this much because #1 they deserve too #2 people will pay this much after the sheer quality and amount of time played to money cost ratio of COD4. COD4 is the best value game I've ever bought because I've played it so much. I'd hate for some shittyish game to be that sorta prices when I'll only play it for 10-15 hours. IW has earned the right to charge this much.

  • anomagnus #83 3 years ago

    i remember back in 92/93 when SF2 came out for the snes, and it cost 60 quid.

    i'm honestly surprised games kept their price stable for so long

  • Fwing #84 3 years ago

    "i remember back in 92/93 when SF2 came out for the snes, and it cost 60 quid.

    i'm honestly surprised games kept their price stable for so long "

    yes but that £60 was due to custom hardware and it was significantly more expensive than most games. Quoting one-off outliers does not an argument make.

    Back then games came on solid-state cartridges. Now they come on discs that cost a fraction to manufacture compared to carts and that's kept the prices down.

  • Mooglepies #85 3 years ago

    Will be getting on Steam during the first cheap weekend. Same with L4D.

  • db3 #86 3 years ago

    I quite simply refuse to spend more than £30 on a new game.

    If the publishers wish to flood the market with even more 2nd hand games which they make no money on then feel free to carry on with the ludicrous pricing.
    Edited by 1 at 29/07/09 @ 13:50

  • DugBriderider #87 3 years ago

    If console multi player FPS is a question of whats fashionable at the time, I would love to see Dice or Valve muddy the waters with a some cheap/free DLC at the launch of COD6.

    How about BF1943 European theater maps or the long awaited TF2 update. That way everyone who is happy to wait for COD6 to come down in price will have something to console themselves with.

  • actionfitz #88 3 years ago

    @ Balboa
    "The UK price hike was supposedly because the Pound is weak against the Euro. They'll have to invent a different excuse for Ireland. "

    well if for some reason they neglect to wallet rape the Republic... i forsee a weekend trip to Donegal in the near future and a drop-in to Game, Letterkenny on the way ^^

  • Lotek #89 3 years ago

    And people wonder why there is such thing as piracy and bootlegging.............

  • 3william56 #90 3 years ago

    Anyone (gamesindustry.biz f'rinstance) care/got the time to do a Mars Bar analysis of game costs over the last 20 years? (for the uninitiated, the cost of a Mars Bar has been found to be a consistent cost of living indicator, so if you want to see whether something has increased or decreased in price, in real terms, you work out how many Mars bars you could have bought for the same price at the time). I saw it done on Windsurfing equipment, showing the real cost had dropped by 2/3rds over 20 years.

    My gut feel is that gaming has never been cheaper - even before you factor in the length of the games being hugely greater than in the past, not to mention the resources required to make a modern game. So although no-one likes a price hike, we're getting bl**dy good value for money compared with a few years back.

    Lotek - the cost has f**k all to do with piracy. If it was 3 bob fifty, plenty of pikey b*stards would still want it for free. Just because a Merc costs a lot of cash doesn't make it ok to nick it.

  • Lotek #91 3 years ago

    ^^^^ Utter b*llocks your talking there mate

    If I left my car unlocked doors wide open next to a Merc (as per your example) which was also left in the same way, which car would be more desirable. You telling me that decision won't be based on price??????? and what the f*ck has cars got to do with bootlegging and piracy. Nobody has ever been done for "pirating" a car or "bootlegging" a motorbike so it doesn't make any sense to use that as an example.

    As for the over pricing of Games.....

    500,000 sales @ £45 = £22,500,000 - How many games have that production cost including overheads?

    I'm not justifying piracy or bootleging, but the over pricing of goods does have a part to play in the reasons for it's existence. Piracy and Bootlegging is a direct result of a person being in a situation of "Want it, can't afford it, steal it".




  • Les #92 3 years ago

    Hardly ever buy games at release (MLB The Show is the exception) and never pay more than € 30-35 for a game anyway. If this means I'll have to wait longer, so be it. Gives me some time to clear the PS2 back log.

  • IronCladChicken #93 3 years ago

    @3william56
    I'll take that bet! - I say that the Speccy/C64/CPC464 era games represented the best value for money in the UK.