EDIT

[MatTheCat]

Hmm.

For £35 pound, one can purchase a firmware zapper for 360 which will enable your console to play 'back-up' copies of games. (The zapper can incidentaly used as many times as required so if you have 25 consoles or so lying around....)

Furthermore, this is totally legal....its your 360, you can do to it what you want. As for any activision game that is released with extortionately high price tags, I suppose the moral decision lies with the end user whether or not to use a 'back up' version without having physical possession of the original.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

I was gonna buy the new CoD when it's released, guess those plans changed.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

 

[Triprift]

We already pay small fortunes for games here but if we see 20 or 30 bucks more per activision game then theyll seel buggerall.

 

[Frick]

I could pay that much for some games, but far from all games. Lame.

 

[MilkyWay]

Seems like less stores than i though where willing to increase prices to £54.99.

play.com has it on sale on consoles for £44.99 on pc £35

Thats on average £5 increase i guess that while i do not think ill ever touch another activision console game (damn £45 thats to much) but £35 for a pc game i guess is acceptable and i know if its £35 on a major online e-tailer its going to be cheaper on ebay.

The hardened edition not the one with the goggles tho that will be over £100 but this one will be £69.99 which is far to much for a special edition with an art book and the original COD

Every twat in the UK will pay £45 for COD as its only a £5 increase from what the usual average price is so they get an extra £5 profit and it looks like its fair which its not, not that i pay £40 for any game lol.

Argos have an internet only price of £48.99 so i think they actually might be increasing it to £54.99, so my guess is that most stores will increase it a bit maybe £5/£10 but a few stupid ones will go all the way.

Slowly they will increase prices, £45 may be the new standard price which is still a lot for a game.

ITS $59.99 on gamestop and Amazon.com so you Yanks seem to be fine, another EU rape tactic. If you consider $60 a fair price most stores will still be selling it at that.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

if you never got the oppotunity to play CoD1/UO when that was big then you have missed out. I totally loved CoD1 it was one of the best games ive ever played....then BF2 came out & flying jets was a ton of more fun....

CoD was too much like MOHAA. Didn't like it.
CoD2 was good...
CoD3 was virtually the same as CoD2.
CoD4 was alright but didn't offer anything to keep me interested.

Haven't played CoD World at War, Modern Warfare, or Modern Warfare 2. I lost interest in the series after CoD4--goes into the JAFPS (Just Another First Person Shooter) category.

 

[MatTheCat]

Seems like less stores than i though where willing to increase prices to £54.99.

play.com has it on sale on consoles for £44.99 on pc £35

Thats on average £5 increase i guess that while i do not think ill ever touch another activision console game (damn £45 thats to much) but £35 for a pc game i guess is acceptable and i know if its £35 on a major online e-tailer its going to be cheaper on ebay.

The hardened edition not the one with the goggles tho that will be over £100 but this one will be £69.99 which is far to much for a special edition with an art book and the original COD

Every twat in the UK will pay £45 for COD as its only a £5 increase from what the usual average price is so they get an extra £5 profit and it looks like its fair which its not, not that i pay £40 for any game lol.

Argos have an internet only price of £48.99 so i think they actually might be increasing it to £54.99, so my guess is that most stores will increase it a bit maybe £5/£10 but a few stupid ones will go all the way.

Slowly they will increase prices, £45 may be the new standard price which is still a lot for a game.

ITS $59.99 on gamestop and Amazon.com so you Yanks seem to be fine, another EU rape tactic. If you consider $60 a fair price most stores will still be selling it at that.

I have never really cared much for CoD games in the past. CoD4 was admittedly excellent but CoD5 was a return to utter mediocre form. I learned that this has a lot to do with the fact that CoD4 was the only one that Treyarch didn't get thier mits on. Although CoD6 is going to be another purely Inifinity Ward release, as a result of reading these pages, I am now vowing to bootleg this title no matter how good it is or how much I want to play online.

 

[KainXS]

I'm gonna need Jack Sparrow's help when this comes out then.

 

[MilkyWay]

Whats seems to be the case is most shops are putting the price up slightly for a sly profit, others are going the full wack!

You will be able to find the game for the top end of what you used to pay i doubt you will find it cheap tho. Like you could find it in stores for £40 or $60 and that would be the top you could pay, a lot of stores would sell games for £35 or $50 now the top you can expect to pay is £55 and average seems to be £45!


The pc version seems to be cheapest for no apparent reason in the USA tho is the same price as the console versions.

Im not happy at the state of things, its becoming dearer either way sly bumps are obvious to us but might not be to the average customer.

You can get pirated games to work online its hard and i think you need to use special servers on some games. Lets not encourage talk of pricey tho as all i wanted was for people to know about the rising costs thanks to activison! What you choose to do is your business not ours

I might email or send a letter to activison

EDIT: i keep forgetting to add that COD isnt the only game inreasing in price, its the whole activison line up like guitar hero and tony hawks

 

[lemonadesoda]

The danger of high prices is that impulse and on-release buying will end. People will wait for reviews. Anything but a 9.5+ and people wont buy. (And you bet there will be more marketing pressure for reviews to "up" their ratings )

And people will wait until friends have it and they see it up and running for real. Guess what? Net sales will be lower. Multiplayer servers will be empty...

... or another sinister consipracy is that Activision will have high priced "buy", but lower priced "rent, pay per use" software in 2010.

 

[human_error]

The danger of high prices is that impulse and on-release buying will end. People will wait for reviews. Anything but a 9.5+ and people wont buy. (And you bet there will be more marketing pressure for reviews to "up" their ratings )

And people will wait until friends have it and they see it up and running for real. Guess what? Net sales will be lower. Multiplayer servers will be empty...

... or another sinister consipracy is that Activision will have high priced "buy", but lower priced "rent, pay per use" software in 2010.

Worse than that - the dreaded microtransactions business model... :shadedshu I refuse to play a game where the person with the best weapons/armour etc is the guy with the most real-life disposable income - games should be about skill and teamwork and not about how much money people have (it will ruin online gaming as casual players won't afford the best kit and so will lose a lot to those who can afford the best kit and play a lot - making the casuals go to other games).

 

[KainXS]

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT,

sad thing is it has spread to just about every decent mmo game out there and its sad

 

[DaveK]

When there was confusion over the name being CoD: MW2 or just MW2 I wanted them to change publisher, Activision were complaining consoles are too expensive yet release €200 Guitar Hero bundles, same price as the 360 itself.

I hated them when they released WaW because it hurt the CoD4 online community and it's wrong to piggyback it.

Shame they didn't go for Modern Warfare 2 and switched publishers :S Activision are a bunch of retards, they're about as cool as EA now.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

It be funny if they charge for the map packs on the PC...

 

[TheMailMan78]

It be funny if they charge for the map packs on the PC...

Yeah that will be funny. Notice I said "will" and not "would".

 

[entropy13]

Call of Duty Modern Warfare over here costs around $50 (~2000 pesos). To be able to get that amount I'll have to save 1/3 (100 pesos) of my daily allowance (300 pesos, which includes money for food and fare going to uni and going back home) for 20 days. So basically I'll have to eat less, and go home using cheaper public transport for 20 days.

If I went with Jack Sparrow I'll get the game within 5 days or so, and I get to spend most of my money and save a smaller fraction for a different long-term savings target (a new phone).

 

[MilkyWay]

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/10/tony-hawk-ride-comes-to-north-america-nov-17/

According to Joystiq the price for Tony Hawks is only a guess, an estimate so it may be dearer or cheaper. SO with that in mind maybe other games are estimate prices too. This adds to the mystery! Hopefully someone will confirm some prices soon!

Enjoy full control of your limbs while you still have it: There's just one week and two months until you US residents can hop on the Tony Hawk Ride board peripheral and promptly fall off, fracturing a least a few crucial bones in the process.

The question, of course, is how much you'll have to pay for the privilege when the game arrives Nov. 17. Hopefully we'll get something more concrete than GameStop's $120 estimate soon.

 

[erocker]

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/10/tony-hawk-ride-comes-to-north-america-nov-17/

According to Joystiq the price for Tony Hawks is only a guess, an estimate so it may be dearer or cheaper. SO with that in mind maybe other games are estimate prices too. This adds to the mystery! Hopefully someone will confirm some prices soon!

I wonder what the total manufacturing cost is of the entire package, including the skateboard?

 

[Easy Rhino]

maybe they need to raise prices on their products to survive in this recession? maybe so they dont have to fire any of their employees. it doesnt make sense to boycott a company for increasing prices. if it is too expensive then just dont buy it. simple as that.

 

[erocker]

maybe they need to raise prices on their products to survive in this recession? maybe so they dont have to fire any of their employees. it doesnt make sense to boycott a company for increasing prices. if it is too expensive then just dont buy it. simple as that.

Indeed. If their products aren't selling, they'll know they are overcharging thus leading a decrease in prices.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Indeed. If their products aren't selling, they'll know they are overcharging thus leading a decrease in prices.

exactly, erocker. but remember, some people believe they have a right to video games

 

[MilkyWay]

maybe they need to raise prices on their products to survive in this recession? maybe so they dont have to fire any of their employees. it doesnt make sense to boycott a company for increasing prices. if it is too expensive then just dont buy it. simple as that.

That is exactly what a boycott would be us not buying the games becasue they are far to expensive, hell i encourage people to not buy the game at those prices if they can afford it because it is pure greed by the publishers.

Why are you so gladly sticking up for this price rise! in an economic rescission you dont increase prices you either freeze them or decrease them to increase overall sales. What makes them profit is sales so by increasing prices they are only driving customers away, if they want to survive in a recession they need to increase sales to get money to survive.

There is no apparent reason for the price rise they dont want to comment on it, so your only speculating that they want to keep jobs or whatever it is you think. If it was that bad other companies would be doing it too, like EA for example or ubisoft but they arnt at the moment. Film companies would increase the prices too if it was that bad right? ut they havnt.

Even if someone can afford a price rise doesn't mean they should accept it. (not that i can afford games over £40)

Modern Warfare 2 is guaranteed to sell millions on all platforms so a price increase is just greedy, they knew after the last games success they would be able to get a bit more profit on the fly.


If actual prices increase only slightly then that will be the choice of the retailer.

 

[Easy Rhino]

That is exactly what a boycott would be us not buying the games becasue they are far to expensive, hell i encourage people to not buy the game at those prices if they can afford it because it is pure greed by the publishers.

first of all, you don't know why they are raising their prices. second of all, they are a business, they are supposed to make money. it is your right to choose not to buy a game if you think it costs to much and it is the right of activision to charge whatever they want. if you dont like it why dont you start your own gaming company?

Why are you so gladly sticking up for this price rise! in an economic rescission you dont increase prices you either freeze them or decrease them to increase overall sales. What makes them profit is sales so by increasing prices they are only driving customers away, if they want to survive in a recession they need to increase sales to get money to survive.

it is a bit more complicated than that. lowering prices doesnt mean you will sell more and even if you did sell more it doesnt mean you will make more money. by your logic you should sell products for $1 that cost $100 to manufacture and you would be rich. activision may be at a point where they simply have to raise prices to survive.

There is no apparent reason for the price rise they dont want to comment on it, so your only speculating that they want to keep jobs or whatever it is you think. If it was that bad other companies would be doing it too, like EA for example or ubisoft but they arnt at the moment. Film companies would increase the prices too if it was that bad right? ut they havnt.

business isn't one size fits all. competing companies like EA may be better positioned to take on a recession. and you are right they havnt said why they raised their prices and i am speculating. but so you are! you immediately assume greed (as if that is a bad thing when you are in business to make a profit.) if you dont like companies that want to make money then you should boycott everything.

Even if someone can afford a price rise doesn't mean they should accept it. (not that i can afford games over £40)

Modern Warfare 2 is guaranteed to sell millions on all platforms so a price increase is just greedy, they knew after the last games success they would be able to get a bit more profit on the fly.

well boo hoo! they want to make a profit and secure their future in the industry. again, if you dont like companies making profits then perhaps you should boycott from all businesses.

 

[erocker]

maybe they need to raise prices on their products to survive in this recession? maybe so they dont have to fire any of their employees. it doesnt make sense to boycott a company for increasing prices. if it is too expensive then just dont buy it. simple as that.

Why are you so gladly sticking up for this price rise!

How does exploring the reason for the price hike in a seemingly unbiased manner turn into "gladly sticking up for this price rise?"

 

[El_Mayo]

Emulators are your friend! the other day i got a Ps2 emulator working & ive been poking around for PS2 games on torrents.

thats a great idea -

thinking of getting your nephew a PS2 for his birthday? give him a usb stick with a PS2 emulator instead! - total value = £5 for the USB stick. another job well done

really? :O
are there weird PC controls?
and do the emulated games work with pc controllers?

 

[Nick89]

Just to let my American brothers know 55.00 Pounds translates into 91.00 American dollars. This is not good for gamers like myself if this goes through. To be honest I think it will and probably become a standard practice.

If they ever started charging 91$ for games here in the US, I wouldnt buy games anymore. I would still get games but I wouldnt be paying for them.

 

[Wile E]

first of all, you don't know why they are raising their prices. second of all, they are a business, they are supposed to make money. it is your right to choose not to buy a game if you think it costs to much and it is the right of activision to charge whatever they want. if you dont like it why dont you start your own gaming company?



it is a bit more complicated than that. lowering prices doesnt mean you will sell more and even if you did sell more it doesnt mean you will make more money. by your logic you should sell products for $1 that cost $100 to manufacture and you would be rich. activision may be at a point where they simply have to raise prices to survive.



business isn't one size fits all. competing companies like EA may be better positioned to take on a recession. and you are right they havnt said why they raised their prices and i am speculating. but so you are! you immediately assume greed (as if that is a bad thing when you are in business to make a profit.) if you dont like companies that want to make money then you should boycott everything.



well boo hoo! they want to make a profit and secure their future in the industry. again, if you dont like companies making profits then perhaps you should boycott from all businesses.

Also, let us not forget that the movie industry cannot be compared to the gaming industry. They operate on completely different models, and movies WAAAAAAYYYY out pace games in sales volume.

At any rate, if the game does go to $90, I won't be buying it, but I'm willing to bet the price will be 1:1 with the EU, as is usually the case with games in America. So, it will likely be $65 on release, which makes a bit more sense.

 

[MilkyWay]

Dont mock me, all i can do is ask you to stop.

Did you read the article? They dont even have a reason for the price hike. Why would one company increase games prices when every other is not? If increased prices of development was true it would effect the whole industry not just one company.

If Coca Cola decided to charge an extra £1 for a 2litre of Coke lets say the usually charge £1.50 (in reality it depends on what shop you go to and prices fluctuate up and down so it could be cheaper one time dearer the next) im just not going to buy that brand of soft drink, ill buy other brands till it comes back down in price.

Im not adverse to companies making a profit im adverse to overcharging for greeds sake. Do you not understand that even the biggest dunce could assume that COD modern warfare 2 will sell millions and millions on every platform? So why does Activision see fit to increase the price of the game?

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

They think they can take advantage of customers by increasing game prices on games that will sell loads and it dosnt need to increase price on those games.

What about the other game developers and publishers no one expect Activison is increasing its game prices! Not even the budget developers or the less wealthy and large companies which you would expect to do so first. This is an affluent company we are talking about that can afford to keep prices what they (price freeze) are in this economic situation.

You have to sell products at over the manufacturing costs otherwise you make a loss and no one can continue to make products if they dont make any money.

Why treat me like a retard its like your deliberately trying to mock me. If your not doing that dont give the impression of trying to do that.

Im saying that if people cant afford games now or can just afford games how can they afford games that are dearer? If you want to make more money you simply cant increase prices in a time of economic downturn.

Im not buying Activison games at the suggested price of £55 that is unacceptable and i encourage other to simply not buy games at that price either.

Kotick jokes about 'even higher' prices

Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, has taken a shot at critics of the next Call of Duty's higher than standard price point by joking about pushing them up "even further".

The quip came as part of the publisher's Q2 earnings conference call, when Piper Jaffray's Tony Gikas asked about the company's "comfort level regarding pricing of some of your new games".

Mike Griffith, Activision Publishing CEO, replied: "On the pricing, we've had for all of our launch titles in the back half of this year, some of which contain peripherals, as you point out, very strong retailer acceptance and support for all parts of our plan, including our merchandising plans, our marketing programs, and our price points."

To which Kotick then added: "And Tony, you know if it was left to me, I would raise the prices even further."

Those comments, while not to be taken seriously, may however be seen as insensitive at a time when consumers are likely to be feeling the economic pinch.

The publisher reported higher-than-expected revenues of over USD 1 billion for the three months to the end of June this year.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/kotick-jokes-about-even-higher-prices

 

[Wile E]

Dont mock me, all i can do is ask you to stop.

Did you read the article? They dont even have a reason for the price hike. Why would one company increase games prices when every other is not? If increased prices of development was true it would effect the whole industry not just one company.

If Coca Cola decided to charge an extra £1 for a 2litre of Coke lets say the usually charge £1.50 (in reality it depends on what shop you go to and prices fluctuate up and down so it could be cheaper one time dearer the next) im just not going to buy that brand of soft drink, ill buy other brands till it comes back down in price.

Im not adverse to companies making a profit im adverse to overcharging for greeds sake. Do you not understand that even the biggest dunce could assume that COD modern warfare 2 will sell millions and millions on every platform? So why does Activision see fit to increase the price of the game? They think they can take advantage of customers by increasing game prices on games that will sell loads and it dosnt need to increase price on those games.

What about the other game developers and publishers no one expect Activison is increasing its game prices! Not even the budget developers or the less wealthy and large companies which you would expect to do so first. This is an affluent company we are talking about that can afford to keep prices what they (price freeze) are in this economic situation.

You have to sell products at over the manufacturing costs otherwise you make a loss and no one can continue to make products if they dont make any money.

Why treat me like a retard its like your deliberately trying to mock me. If your not doing that dont give the impression of trying to do that.

Im saying that if people cant afford games now or can just afford games how can they afford games that are dearer? If you want to make more money you simply cant increase prices in a time of economic downturn.

Im not buying Activison games at the suggested price of £55 that is unacceptable and i encourage other to simply not buy games at that price either.



http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/kotick-jokes-about-even-higher-prices

Disagreeing with you is not mocking you. Them not listing a reason is not the same as not having a reason.

You need to lighten up and relax.

It is your right not to buy a product if you believe the price unfair, but to say the price hike is nothing more than greed, is pure speculation. While it very well may be the case, you have no evidence to prove as such, so it is merely your opinion (and many others, I'm sure, as you have quoted), and as such, shouldn't be stated as fact.