COD 5 raising the price?

[LowRez]

Ive just seen today that the RRP for COD 5 Modern warfare 2 is a staggering £55 ($90)!!!!

£55 for a game? are they mad, are we the mad ones cause I reckon this will still sell regardless? are they being greedy? or are games currnetly underpriced?

This is a scary trend games prices have been gradually creeping up recently, you cant buy a new release for less than £44.99 these days, when last year I didnt see a new release for more than £39.99. (in retail stores)

Im definatly not going to buy the game on launch now, the first time Ive ever done that for a call of duty game. mainly as I won't pay more than £40 for a game, its the same reason I havent got red faction yet as its £44.99 in uk retail.

Im really dissapointed that a massively marketed game like this is now being used as a test bed its like crack cocaine, they get you hooked for cheap then ramp up the price when your addicted.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/pachter-activisions-modern-warfare-pricing-strategy-is-a-test (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/pachter-activisions-modern-warfare-pricing-strategy-is-a-test)



EDIT and Ive been looking online and it generally looks like the game is being discounted online to £45 ($75) in the US and $60 in america.... how unusual we pay a premium despite having the same language...

[Mogster]

yea the games market has been selling their games at silly prices for far to long, i haven't bout a new game in at least 2 years. bargin bins for me since i refuse to pay their exorbitant pices.

[sinz]

with everyone trying to make "more" profit this will be a never-ending recession...

[Nizza_waaarg]

oh noes, 55 pounds for a game :doh:

just be glad you're not in aus man, games have been $100-120 new release since time began down here, even when our dollar was 1 for 1 with the usd (we're still at like .8 or somthing too, was a good time to buy online tho :inocent: ).

tbh it does sound like a dick move tho. I'm guessing this will impact their sales negativley (it'll still sell like crazy, just not as crazy :P)... can't really understand their motives tho :think:

[Wynn]

Hard to fathom a company actually raising prices in an industry already hit by the recession.. i mean with an industry wide 30% drop in sales compared to this time last year its clear demand isn't high.

ah well i guess we'll see if it works or not. who knows maybe they're right and people will buy a hot game regardless of the price increase.

[Aftermath]

http://www.gamestop.com/browse/ProductMerch.aspx?groupid=445

Your looking at the hardcase edition not the normal game.

[MRico]

Nah, homie...I think us in the States don't get the increase but other countries are fucked...

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/07/16/report-modern-warfare-2-triggering-uk-games-price-hike-ea-not/

[Wynn]

ahh good. the higher price makes sense with the hardcase edition but it looks like the normal game will still get the price hike in the UK.. or am i reading that wrong? anywho.. glad I'm in the U.S then if thats the case..

crazy how the prestige edition costs $149

[Styx]

hm...55£ (60€)?

on the release day crysis cost 50-55€ here in germany.
ok, it was one of the most expensive games i ever see in a store.
but who cares?
in a half year you can get it for 20€ (18£ or 30$).

about the price of the prestige-special-ultra-whatever-edition.
149$ is ok, you get (real) night vision devices, so you can stalk your neighbor in the night without they can see you. ^^

[TheQiwiMan]

This is just my opinion obviously (and take it with a grain of salt, considering the last game I bought was the original Starcraft a few years ago) but I think theres absolutely nothing wrong with Activision, or any company for that matter, raising prices for highly anticipated games. Its a great way to really get a feel for what a game is worth. If their sales take a nose-dive (which I may or may not secretly hope for!) or not will give them, and all other companies something to think about.
If you feel they are taking advantage of you, the solution is simple. Don't buy the game. If you feel strongly enough, encourage others not to buy it. But nowadays, self-restraint is hard to come by, and I'm sure people would still buy this game if the price were doubled.

On a related note, how do you guys feel about the Harry Potter incident? This last movie was completely done, ready to hit theatres last November and they held it back until this month, 8 freaking months later. They would have made an insanly large amount of money in November, but they knew they would make an even MORE insane amount of money releasing it in July, so they basically gave every Potter fan a giant hairy middle finger, knowing people would still pack theatres opening day (which of coarse they did).

Honestly, the buyers really DO have the power in any sales-related matter, but put into practice, people are notoriously child-like in their want-satisfying habits.

...loooong rant. Congrats to anyone who actually read all that mess. :p

[Yozora]

Games are actually really cheap compared to other forms of entertainment when you look at the entertainment/hour value. Decent multiplayer games have an immeasurable amount of gameplay and I'm quite certain MW2 is gonna be one of them. Its great value for money imo, but I'm cheap so if I were a console gamer I'd wait for the price to go down anyway, as long as I have other games to play in the meantime.

On a side note, most brand new pc games only cost around £25 retail so I dont bother waiting for price to go down usually, and I bet I would be able to find a £25 MW2 somewhere online when its out, pc gaming win!

[LowRez]

http://www.gamestop.com/browse/ProductMerch.aspx?groupid=445

Your looking at the hardcase edition not the normal game.

nope the normal edition in the uk has been raised to £55 ($90) I dont think they'd dare raise the price in the US in this economic climate so their using us as a test bed.

[sinz]

Why can't you UKers just purchase outside of UK?! shipping would equal the same cost?! IDK just trying to find a loop hole for you guys. But seriously as most have said I have not purchased a game since Quake 3 Arena came out, I leech off family ;).

[LowRez]

I used to import alot of stuff, then Nintendo and Sony shut down Liksang for "breaking" regional restrictions, because they can make far more money from selling in the UK. Alot of online retailers also wont ship game abroad saying use our european partner etc.

It's a scandelous monopoly the publishers and console makers have enforced on us in this "free market" world. The only people who benefit are the sellers and the pirates, the customers come a distant last

[Elcura]

If you're paying that much for games you're doing it wrong. It's not that big of a deal and if push comes to shove you can just *gasp* wait for the prices to go down or *doublegasp* buy it second hand.

[TheQiwiMan]

If you're paying that much for games you're doing it wrong. It's not that big of a deal and if push comes to shove you can just *gasp* wait for the prices to go down or *doublegasp* buy it second hand.

LOL for reals.

But that would take *triplegasp* self-control. :p

[LowRez]

If you're paying that much for games you're doing it wrong. It's not that big of a deal and if push comes to shove you can just *gasp* wait for the prices to go down or *doublegasp* buy it second hand.



1. I have money and am prepared to spend it on products I like, I dont like being ripped off however on a global product just so a publisher can make a little more margin. £40 for a game is fine if it's great, RES Evil, COD series, Tiger Woods even for me as I'd play it alot and it's a well made polished title, it's where it stops, it's not about waiting for it to go in the bargin bin cause I dont want to wait a year or so for game I want only to then buy it second hand (which is bad for the games industry as it cuts the developers out of the money)

I just dont want Activision a company that makes bags and bags of profit to rip us off cause it knows its a product alot of people want.

Saying its not a big deal ignores the point completely about them just raising the UK price, and the fact it's £10 more expensive than any game released.

And I will likely wait now before buying it, mainly out of principle though rather than not having that money to spend.

[Blenderhead]

Surely its available for much cheaper online. Or on Steam. Just do that.

[LowRez]

Surely its available for much cheaper online. Or on Steam. Just do that.

Steam is a PC version, I play COD with my console friends, (TF2 for the win on PC) And yeah it's £45 online which is what I expected as Onlines usually £10 cheaper, but again thats not the point, a higher RRP cost will send ripples through other games price points if COD 5 sells well. Maybe Im the only one who doesnt want to pay more for games generally cause this is only the begining.

[TheQiwiMan]

Dude LowRez, YOU have the power. You do. No one is forcing you to buy it. If your worried the console friends you play with will be mad you didn't buy the game, tell them to screw off.

I guess I'm a bit confused, you're mad Activision is unfairly raising their prices, yet don't want to buy a game second-hand since it "cuts the developers out of the money". It sounds like thats exactly what you should do. Its what every consumer should do who thinks they are being gouged. If you don't have the self-control to wait, and make Activision pay for their own greediness, by all means, spend a ton of money on the game you want.
I guess I just don't see the point in complaining if you are unwilling to do anything about it. :-/

[LowRez]

I think Im going to back out of this conversation as it's been totally derailed from my origional point. Ive stated several times I dont intend to buy it on launch, I was merely trying to bring it to peoples attentions as I feel a massive price raise on a game thats likly to sell well will have long running repercussions on the price of all games. Its also offensive that it's just England they're testing this theory in. It's also not the point that I can buy it online for cheaper than £55, the RRP is the driving point of all prices and an extremely high one like this is damageing all round for consumers.

[Blenderhead]

a higher RRP cost will send ripples through other games price points if COD 5 sells well. Maybe Im the only one who doesnt want to pay more for games generally cause this is only the begining.

Not going to happen. In fact the opposite is true. Last christmas some publisher dropped their just released AAA title to 30 euros (down from 60) and all of a sudden everyone else with a AAA christmas title had to follow suit. People are far more likely to buy something cheaper than more expensive, obviously. And besides, this game is out ages. If it was brand new and this expensive then yes, that would possibly be cause for worry. But nobody is going to go out and buy COD5 now because its more expensive than what it used to cost.

[Quillisia]

Not going to happen. In fact the opposite is true. Last christmas some publisher dropped their just released AAA title to 30 euros (down from 60) and all of a sudden everyone else with a AAA christmas title had to follow suit. People are far more likely to buy something cheaper than more expensive, obviously. And besides, this game is out ages. If it was brand new and this expensive then yes, that would possibly be cause for worry. But nobody is going to go out and buy COD5 now because its more expensive than what it used to cost.

LowRez is refering to Modern Warfare 2, Blenderhead. He made a mistake in the title by including CoD5.

[Blenderhead]

Oh. Well, to be fair, I think that its no big surpise. MW is a bit of a phenomenon. Took two years for the first ones price to fall it was so popular...I think its premature to worry about MW2's price. There will definitely be places that sell it for a reasonable price.

[LowRez]

Oh. Well, to be fair, I think that its no big surpise. MW is a bit of a phenomenon. Took two years for the first ones price to fall it was so popular...I think its premature to worry about MW2's price. There will definitely be places that sell it for a reasonable price.

Thats just it though, they've actually set the price at £55RRP which is the driving force for a starting price wether in the shops or wether online, one of the reasons Im worried is because Ive spoken to publishers talking about pushing up prices generally before so this is just the begining, if this sells well all the publishers will release games at £55RRP for the 2010 year. It means it will take longer for games to get to a reasonable price and will push more people into the second hand market which damages Developers as well as publishers.

And yes I mean Modern Combat 2, I keep forgetting that very forgetable world at war COD after MW (which was COD4)

[TheQiwiMan]

Ah, sorry LowRez, my mistake. It looks like you are doing exactly what you should, spreading the word.
Its just sad no matter how much we spread the word, my pessimistic view is that there are too many immature people that are just physically incapable of putting off their immediate wants to ever cause a dent in CODs sales, no matter how much Activision is trying to gouge them for. :(

[Blenderhead]

I dunno if all publishers will follow suit mate, considering this is MW, and their game is (most likely) never going to be on that level. I wouldn't put Valve past trying it, though.

Also, MW2 is a christmas title. If what happened last year happens again, MW2 might drop by a tenner or so for that period (but certainly not by half price). Because a lot of the time during this period, its parents/girlfriends etc buying the games...not the gamer themselves. If they have one or two games on a list, they might go for the cheaper one (like for example, if Assasins Creed 2 drops; which it might). So Activision might be aware of that.

[Step]

I just have finished this game and its rly awesome, Its one of five best game ever for me, its little bit better then call of duty 4 modern warfare, the story its like perfect film movie, and soundtrack rly cool, I have rly enjoyed this thx for this game...
And about price of this game in Czech Republic Call of duty modern warfare 2 have about 1000kc so its rly normal price for new game and this game deserve for it. :) sry for bad english

[LowRez]

I just have finished this game and its rly awesome, Its one of five best game ever for me, its little bit better then call of duty 4 modern warfare, the story its like perfect film movie, and soundtrack rly cool, I have rly enjoyed this thx for this game...
And about price of this game in Czech Republic Call of duty modern warfare 2 have about 1000kc so its rly normal price for new game and this game deserve for it. :) sry for bad english

This is where I massively disagree...(actually and the really awesome part, falls in the good not great catagory for me)

The story is average and seems to be written by 12 year olds who've just had an action movie marathon. it was one dodgy set piece after another as far as I was concerned. I was glad it ended eventually.. My biggest gripe is how IW have the ability to make me not give a crap about the character I am as I will likely die.

Add the shite AI where harder levels really means more grenade spam and a little less health makes it a bit annoying from my perspective.

The co-op and after this evenings session the multiplayer are the only things I'd ever play again. I finished CoD4 on regular veteran and had a go on hardened. This I played half way though on veteran and changed down to regular once the enemy AI's grenade spam on the brazil level made me rage quit one time. I was really struggling to enjoy the game by the end of the single player... Im almost regretting buying it on PC cause If I'd bought it on Xbox I could be trading it in this weekend for dragon age...

[crazyfool]

RANT WARNING :D

hey, have you guys read the metacritics score yet, average score of 95% from 59 journalists and 5.6/10 average score from 994 public reviews. Its mostly PC owners really angry that they cant get online on day of release and cruddy servers and silly pricing and over hyped. but it makes an interesting point to me that the public arent really feeling it this time.

I do really enjoy the game, Im probably gonna go through it again on veteran but I did the whole single player in just over 5 hours on regular. That seems a bit of a joke to me, in the reviews they say the levels are shorter but more of them compared to the first game.....? I remember Terminator salvation getting terrible reviews because it was around this length, but it was a very pretty game indeed which is exactly what I would say about MW2. the critics seem to think that having the multiplayer/spec-ops makes up for this but I think there should be more to it.

I completely agree with the character thing, you play through and at the start of your campaign its a nice surprise that you or a big character dies but at the end of the game you expect it on every level and it just loses the impact. I think it was a tall order to put lots of character into military based characters as they all have the same uniform and only being able to differentiate between your squad by looking at their faces. Maybe better camera direction and scripting could of helped, and the boring mission briefings could have been actual cutscenes.

As for the price point I think it was a load of rubbish, retailers saw that its not gonna sell at crazy prices and folded on it. I know here in england the highest retail for it was £45(HMV) and the lowest £26(Sainsburys) from supermarket. we normally pay about £40 so its not been that overpriced. I was really surprised to get my collectors edition for £55 from Blockbuster Games and on play.com they are still advertised at £70. I think it was just another marketing campaign to get people talking about it but then in this time of recession they knew it wasnt gonna work, but it helped in their pre orders.

overall though these are minor minor annoyances and it is a great game and I would recommend it. online is awesome as usual and the single player is great while it lasts. As said in numerous reviews though, nothing really new but slightly evolved and refined from the original. I am really surprised though that this game has been made in about 2 years and the quality on offer is brilliant and they should be commended on a great game (miles above treyarchs attempts) but because of this it just felt like a downloadable update. It seems Call of Dutys are becoming the new Fifa.

[character]

sign of the times. atari and nintendo 8-bit games used to sell for $45 bucks in the 80's. games then jumped to 50 in the 90's. $55 200-2006/7 and now $60. It happens.

I personally wasn't expecting a price hike so soon tho. This must be a reaction to the used game market where publishers don't make a cent.

[LowRez]

Im really dissapointed by MW2, it's a great engine castrated by the fact they want it to be a console game. the story was bollocks and too short. The multiplayer is buggy, laggy and not fun due to the severe lack of people per server. Sitting waiting for 15 minutes to find a playable game is not my idea of fun, shame really as the engines great but I havent touched it in a month at least. Why PC gamers who are used to 30+ games would ever be happy with thishandicapped little brother of a multiplayer is anyones guess. Personally I think it just gives another campany a chance to basically clone it and put in dedicated servers and get a profitable hit. It'll take alot to make me buy the next one after how little Ive played this one. 6/10 is about right for the overall experience, 9/10 if I was marking just the engine and graphics though :(

[xissburg]

Next-gen games are more expensive to make.

[hector campos]

we should get more for that much money. and i refuse to buy if i think it does not deserve the cost and will move the industry to cheaper prices, for as consumers i think we need to ask for more.

that game better come with a digital soundtrack, all of the concept and production art to look at, and a coupon for free posters to order online or something.


either that or cheaper prices