I’m sure that you have heard about Activision setting the recommended retail price (RRP) for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (MW2) on the consoles at £55 ($83) in the UK. Unless maybe you’re one of those people who have been hiding in a Cold War-era fallout shelter. You know, the ones specifically designed to keep out all contact from the rest of earth for a couple of years.
Remember the outrage over the RRP for MW2 when it first came out, and the subsequent online petition which was full of links to porn sites? If so, then you probably ALSO remember the day MW2 released and the thundering stampede of boycotters rushing out to buy it? Well, it looks like time for round two, because according to various UK game retailers including GAME and Amazon, the RRP for the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops on consoles is £55. Once again, it only seems to affect the UK, and just like the last time, retailers have kindly softened the blow by selling the game at £45. As a UK gamer, I can tell you that this time Activision isn’t going to screw us over as easily.
The first reason this price hike won’t go so smoothly for Activision is that this is their 2nd recent price hike, and as dumb as people are, even they will start to see that this sort of thing is not a one time deal. It’ll be regular ploy from Activision in the future, and if it’s successful, it might even find its way into use by other publishers (I’m looking at you EA). Common sense will kick in for some people, and they will be hesitant to buy the game for £45, especially if that means that the next game they buy may cost them another £45. Others won’t buy the game for £45 simply because of pure hatred of being screwed over twice by Activision.
We also have to consider the recent price drops the UK has enjoyed lately. Major retailers such as Amazon have been selling new games at discounted prices. For example, you can pre-order Red Dead Redemption, a triple-A title for only £35 ($52). So, by increasing the price by £5 above £40 (making it £45) which is a £10 increase over £35, double the increase we saw for MW2. Obviously, this increase in price increase (man, that is so depressing to say) will pull more of those gamers who thought £5 was reasonable onto the “F-U Activision” bandwagon.
The third factor is the fans. Call of Duty: World at War has sold around 11 million copies within six months of release; Modern Warfare 2 had hit 10 million within two weeks. This shows that the Treyarch Call of Duty games simply don’t have the same number of fanatical fans as Modern Warfare does. These are the type of fans who will buy it on launch day no matter what the cost. Fewer people will buy Call of Duty: Black Ops simply because it isn’t in the Modern Warfare series, and even fewer people will buy it because of the extra price.
However, the power of the brand cannot be underestimated; there is no doubt the game will sell well, but I reckon Activision will suffer a painful drop in sales in the UK around November.
So tell me what you think? If you live in the UK, how will this affect your decision to buy Black Ops? If you live elsewhere would this affect you if Activision brought the increases overseas?
Add your comments below, or head over to our forums to talk with the community about it!
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