Pachter deems UK's Modern Warfare 2 price hike a 'test'
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Jul 22nd 2009 at 11:00PM } 
The Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst has told Eurogamer that Modern Warfare 2's higher retail price -- allegedly spurred on by the Euro's strength against the British Pound -- stems from a calculated business decision. "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 said, adding that the Pound was worth less last year when Call of Duty: World at War launched. Pachter speculates that should the gamble pay off, consumers can expect other games to similarly prod established price boundaries.
But you guys aren't going to let that happen! And you're certainly not going to spend a fortune on some goggles and a useless plastic head, right?
Hello? Anyone?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
PC Master Race @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:05PM
What about the $10 price hike they did in the US already? $60 for a PC game?!
Sean @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:08PM
That's what I keep pointing out but nobody notices. $60 is unacceptable for a PC game. A few years ago new PC games were going for $40 at launch, now it's going up to PS3/360 prices... very not helpful during a frakking recession.
HitNRun @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:17PM
They're charging $60? Really?
That's, uh...not too smart. You know. On the PC. *clandestine cough*
giantenemycrab @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:28PM
Uh, yeah. The last thing the PC market needs is a price hike.
Brendan H @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:54PM
Some may argue that the pc is more deserving of a premium now. The pc market often caters to the bleeding edge gamer that wants the best experience and is willing to pay for it through hardware upgrades. By comparison, consoles are cheaper and can't matched high end pcs in graphics, sound & controls.
Guinea Rabbit @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:14AM
Sixty dollars for a shitty piece of software loaded with DRM.
I think I'll pass.
If I want it bad enough, I can always wait until it comes to Steam and the price drops.
Cheesus(Crust) @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:32AM
Even MORE reason to Pirate.. Hopefully more people will Pirate so more cracked servers. And if not then I can always buy a USED copy of it for the PS3 that I will be picking up as soon as the slim comes out (Sept- I heard from a rep)
Ballistic H @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:36AM
Dunno for you but I only see $40 for PC games.
(Steam:lennoko) Hai im 12, and what is this PC gaming @ Jul 23rd 2009 1:23AM
You guys are shitting me, right? Dont use the bullshit "LOL DRM, IMA PIRATE IN DEIFIANCE" route, cause no one belives you. Heres a tactic, DONT BUY THE GAME. Protest with your wallet, stealing the shit will just hurt the industry over all, and stop more games from coming to the PC. Sorry if I seem pissy, but this is the train of thought thats really hurting PC gaming as a whole,and why theres more DRM/price bumps/etc. /rant.
jackal @ Jul 23rd 2009 1:55AM
Brendan H.,
We're willing to pay for the hardware to a degree; few people are willing to buy $600 enthusiast class hardware when $300-$400 hardware often offers 90-95% of the same performance (see HD4870 vs. GTX 260 and GTX 280 when they both launched last summer). What we're not willing to do, however, is accept a price hike because a software publisher is being greedy.
PC games, even before piracy became as widespread of a problem as the media reports it as, have traditionally been cheaper than console games because they're cheaper to make. A developer is not forced to pay $10,000 for a proprietary dev kit useful for just one system alone; they could buy contemporary, widely available parts from a site like Newegg and be able to do their job for no more than what you or I would pay for the same kind of hardware. Crysis, for example, was built, tested, and demoed on rigs equipped with Geforce 8800s and Intel Core 2 Duos; while insanely expensive at the time ($3,000+), those computers were still a fraction of the cost of Xbox 360 and PS3 dev kits.
Setting aside the cheaper (yet more powerful and easier to use) equipment used for development, PC games are also cheaper because developers are not required to pay licensing fees. Both Microsoft and Sony (to a lesser degree, Nintendo) charge relative steep licensing fees before someone is even allowed touch their systems; since neither Sony or Microsoft's game divisions are in the black and this is where they make the bulk of their money from (and is, subsequently, the fight each other so much for 3rd party support) those licensing fees went up a fair amount this generation. Since the PC is a completely open platform, there are no licensing fees to be paid. As long as a developer has the money, tools, and talent, they don't need to pay someone else just so they actually have the legal consent to make their game.
Given those two things, I fail to see how Activision can justify its price hike (in Canada, only Activision published PC games went up $10). Their unjustifiable price hikes make them an even more unsavory group of unimaginative, cock knocking, diarrhea guzzling, greedy fucks (you especially Kotick) than previously thought.
Nerdy Desi @ Jul 23rd 2009 10:02AM
$60 for the PC version of MW2? Fuck that, all I'm going to do is play the short SP campaign anyways, I'll have to wait then till its $20. : D
Christian @ Jul 23rd 2009 3:12PM
Wow. Why don't you guys whine a lit bit more. So what activision raises the price. Just don't buy. My guess is that all you are whining about it because you are still going to buy even though it is more money. So that implies that even at the higher price it is still worth buying. Go to college (or back) and learn how capitalism works. Quit thinking everyone is ripping you off. No one has a gun to your head to buy Modern Warfare 2.
Grow a pair either buy the game or shut the hell up.
jackal @ Jul 23rd 2009 1:32PM
Christian,
Actually, numb nuts, the higher MRSP guarantees it'll never see the light of day on my PC; it won't be bought new, used, or even at a reduced price months after release (I don't pirate games, so that isn't even a consideration). For $50, I can buy Crysis: Maximum edition that has the first game, Warhead, and Wars all in one neat little package. For less than $30, I could pick up the Orange Box with 5 of the best games to have ever been created. For $30 I could buy Ghostbusters new, for $40 I can get Overlord II, and for $50 I can get Dawn of War II. For $40 (depending on retailer) I could buy Fallout 3 or I could go the cheap route and picked up Rainbow Six: Las Vegas for a whopping $9 (new). Hell, I could even pick up the original Modern Warfare or the GOTY edition for less than $40 depending on where I shop and it is, again, new. $60 for a new PC game? Fuck...that...shit. There's a reason I didn't buy Prototype and will never buy a single StarCraft II entry (I'm not paying a total sum of $150 just because Blizzard wasn't smart enough to take a page from the first game and roll campaigns from each playable race into a box that wasn't a battlechest).
For a publisher that has less than 10 franchises under its current roster that is has deemed "exploitable" (how many Guitar Hero games do we currently have, now?), Activision's not in any real position to hike the price on any game they're publishing; once people get tired with COD (it's already starting to happen) or upset they're expected to pay $69.99 (CDN) for what is, at best, a small expansion to a previous Guitar Hero, Activision will be reduced to the same two-bit publisher they once were. However, I'd gladly pay $60 to jam a pine cone up Kotick's pompous, smarmy ass without lube or numbing agents; I want that man to feel every painful nook and cranny of that cone tearing his rectum into something that looks remarkably similar to raw hamburger meat for the disdain he routinely demonstrates to his own customers. For you to insinuate we don't know how capitalism works when we have a legitimate complaint against an unjustifiable price hike, I'd pay another $50 to jam a limb torn from a brierpatch up yours.
IannCannon (XBL&Steam: ianncannon. PSN: Iann Cannon) @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:08PM
I wonder how long it will take for them to try that here in the states. I can't imagine paying more than $60 for a game. I still wish it were $50.
Draco @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:27PM
they are $70.00 in Canada for most new games, magically jumped $10 this year.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10125087&catid=24299
dynnnbag @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:40PM
wah wah wah...
Here in australia it's $120 for some games.
Averna @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:41PM
They charge $120 in Australia....
IannCannon (XBL&Steam: ianncannon. PSN: Iann Cannon) @ Jul 23rd 2009 1:16AM
@dynnnbag
You're right. I should just mail activision a check for $60 in addition to buying the game and stop complaining because someone has it worse than me.
dynnnbag @ Jul 23rd 2009 3:20AM
Yes, cause that's exactly what i said....
Or wait, no it wasn't.
Just be aware that you aren't the one getting totally screwed
Ihavepants @ Jul 23rd 2009 5:24AM
In fact, Australia is still selling COD4 for $100+ in retailers like EB Games(GameStop)
PSN: John-Paul-Jones (Led Zeppelin) @ Jul 23rd 2009 5:37AM
That's officially IT. I'm not buying OR supporting any game by Activision until they stop fucking with us, including Modern Warfare 2. I loved Modern Warfare but now that Activision's ass-probing us, the gamers, it's time I took a stand. Even though I'm an insignificant gamer, they can get a big FUCK YOU from me. From this day forward, anyone that has my PSN can check my trophy list daily to see if I own ANY Activision games - a testament to my promise. I also notice that Activision owns Spider-Man rights, and I'm saddened I won't be able to play any future titles anymore, but that's what they get from me
Jake @ Jul 23rd 2009 7:48AM
So he replies to the wrong post.... lol
I'm with you. Screw this noise. Activision can kiss my arse as I go to the store to buy Brutal Legend.
Arcaria @ Jul 23rd 2009 8:41AM
I don't even pay that. I rent it from Gamefly and then buy it a few weeks later off of ebay for around $40. That's if it's even worth owning. Most of the time, the GF rental was enough.
Livi70590 @ Jul 23rd 2009 9:11AM
@Aussies, I hope that's $120AU. If so it's still too expensive.
For those too lazy to check xe.com, $120AU = £60 = €70 = $98US = $107CA
Mr Khan is over 9000 @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:08PM
The early adopters probably will put up with it, i think. At least for a game like this. The question is whether the title can stick it out at that price, but at that point, Activision is in a win-win situation. They can always drop price well in time for the holiday season, get some egg on their collective face, but still make some money
Its a test that Activision can easily weasel its way out of
Sly @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:18PM
oh trust me, it will stick at that price for a while. notice how COD4:GOTY edition is still $60 at most major retailers.
JoeTheBlow @ Jul 23rd 2009 6:26AM
Over here the mega-supermarkets Asda (Walmart owned) and Tesco will absorb the cost and offer the game for £40, mark my words!
I've *never* seen a game in-store for more than that, and last christmas big name new-releases were only £20, in an effort to get the holiday shoppers through the doors.
The big losers here are Game, and other console retailers, who will be forced to absorb some cost too or turn people off. The indie shops, as ever, are fucked, and may not as well bother stocking it.
Naota @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:12PM
seems like a scam to me
oblivian @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:14PM
so....is this why infinity ward is putting up with activision again?
1st publicity, then price jump, money money money money
where is infinity ward saying SCREW THIS, IM NOT PUTTING UP WITH THESE GREEDY BASTARDS, we make quality games for our fans....where is that infinty ward
waynski1457 @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:05AM
It's funny. I thought they left EA for that exact reason. Maybe Activision's just cutting them in on a larger slice.
JXCgunrunna @ Jul 23rd 2009 7:59AM
They did just sign another contract sometime last year. As much as I love IW and their games, this is some bullshit. IW should go work for valve.
MystileArmor @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:15PM
I don't really have an issue with paying a little bit more for a quality product. That said, I don't like putting money in Activisions pocket anymore.
I'm not the biggest fan of first person shooters, so I'll more then likely pass on this completely. With Brutal Legend, GTA DLC, AC2, ME2 and Splinter Cell around the corner, amidst others, I'll be set for a while.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:17PM
Just another butt-reaming by your friends at Activision.
FreekyWiggle @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:17PM
Fuck. That.
I'm reluctant to even pay £40 for a game these days, I atleast wait until I cant get it for £35 at the most!
I remember when £30 used to be DEAR for a game!
There is NO WAY I would pay £55 for a game, no matter what the game is.
max @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:18PM
fuck you activision
sc00by_y00 @ Jul 23rd 2009 5:43AM
A massive fsck you to activision from here too, they can suck it the fsck
Sly @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:18PM
how did you figure that out?
Kill a mans jiro @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:20PM
GTFO!
MystileArmor @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:21PM
Sam Raimi told him so in a blog
*RUNS*
Matt @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:22PM
it's pretty sad, because they pretty much have us by the balls. I want Modern Warfare 2 so bad that I would spend $69 without even blinking and so would millions of other people. Yes, it sucks and it's bull, but it's fact. It's the same thing we see with all these ridiculous concert ticket prices people are paying. If you want something bad enough you'll pay for it.
Jack Spicer PSN: watsuke @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:48AM
I think in your case Activision HAS your balls.
Bubbameister33 @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:22PM
Shit, all I got is a ball point pen.
Twinturbo120 @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:24PM
That's bullshit. Fuck Activison.
Discotheque @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:24PM
He's right. Those assholes at Activision know people are going to buy this rehashed shite game.
Hey has anybody played COD1? That game actually had recoil and un-rechargeable health....how archaic.
This is clearly just wishful thinking but I hope it fails.
Sly @ Jul 22nd 2009 11:43PM
COD4 and COD:WaW both had guns with recoil, i don't know what you're talking about. ever tried using the M14 or M1 garand (depending on which game)? they have some significant recoil. MP44? tons of recoil. AK47 & AK74? lots of recoil.
Discotheque @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:04AM
Run n Gunning with the AK47 was a walk in the park.
COD4 really became the "noobs" game. Why do you think it's so popular? And people whine about Wii being so "casual"? COD4 is of the same ilk. Anybody can get 30 kills at least per game in COD4.
WREturns (www.theseagullweekly.com) @ Jul 23rd 2009 12:16AM
I consider myself a pretty hardcore gamer and I get my ass handed to me on CoD4 on a pretty regular basis. I don't think I've ever gotten 30 kills in one game.
Sly @ Jul 23rd 2009 1:12AM
if you know how to play right, run and gunning with any gun was a walk in the park. all good COD4 players know that any kill from an automatic gun with lots of recoil would be a head shot if you aim at the chest first. and COD4 for noobs? what world are you living in? COD:WaW is the one that has way more noobs. in COD4, a 1.20 K/D ratio is good, and in WaW, a 1.40 K/D ratio is horrible. you obviously don't know what you're talking about if you think COD4 online is for noobs.
Sly @ Jul 23rd 2009 1:13AM
and WRE, are you serious? 30+ kills are pretty standard for your average domination/headquarters match.
WREturns (www.theseagullweekly.com) @ Jul 23rd 2009 1:25AM
Sly,
I guess I mostly play regular ol' deathmatch. But now that I think about it I do get quite a few kills when we play Bomb da Base.