MW2 price sets "worrying trend"

[Kiwi]

ShopTo: MW2 price sets "worrying trend"

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."

Eurogamer

It'll be interesting to see how this pans out over the next year or so.

Do you think we'll be seeing many more publishers following this trend, or do you think it's something that will die out pretty soon?

[AC!D]

Yeah this is what i was afraid would happen when i made my comments in the COD thread. I Hope the other 3 big dogs Sony, EA and and Ubisoft stick to current prices.

[Segitz]

They can increase the price as much as they want... I already NEVER pay full SRP for ANY game anyways. Either I have to wait longer or I buy used... it IS that simple!

[Kiwi]

They can increase the price as much as they want... I already NEVER pay full SRP for ANY game anyways. Either I have to wait longer or I buy used... it IS that simple!

Usually I'd have no problem with buying games full price, but I'm not going along with it this time. I wouldn't mind as much if Activision were putting the price up by £5, maybe £10 at a stretch. But £15? That's just taking the piss. I'll wait for a used copy to come along, or perhaps buy it on Steam when it's cheaper.

[OG_Monkey]

Never thought that we would see a price increase for games during a console generation but instead always at the start of a new one. If others follow suite then they're in for a load of trouble as no one is gonna pay games with a increased price; paying 60 for games no adays, especially for games that have no reason to be at the prices they do is already a load of hurt for a lot of people.

I do suspect the day when people will be like "ok, this is too much" and we will see alot of people getting OUT of gaming and the industry declining in whole.....ok going too far into the future? lol

[curryking1]

Money? For a game on PC? Quel horreur!

Whatever. Raise prices further, you're obviously going to lose sales. They could make more revenue. They could make less. The profit could also be more or less. That's up to their actuarial scientists to determine the best path for them. They can do whatever they want, it's their product.

Though, just because of this I'm not going to worry about the bomb. I think SCE and EA, among other big publishers, are happy with their current business models.

And besides, when some raise prices for games, it creates a larger void in the market where games can be sold for less. Every rise is going to be accompanied by some fall sooner or later. If Activision wants to blow so much hot air into the MW2 balloon, it's only going to be earlier that the COD franchise pops.

With all the publishers and popular games available, and that none is supremely dominant or manipulates regulatory measures and the products are in the price range of such an inclusive markets, that in itself creates a fine price buffer built around what the market feels comfortable spending.

I'd really only take interest if SCE or Activision/Blizzard raised prices, because it's the games from them I feel I must buy.

[masteratt]

Time to look into PS3 chipping I guess ¬_¬

Wonder how pirating starts? Take notes everyone.

[curryking1]

Wonder how pirating starts? Take notes everyone.

Haha, true say, true say.

[Kiwi]

Money? For a game on PC? Quel horreur!

Hey, I've been "acquiring" them by other means for a while now, I guess it's time I finally pay for ONE of them. Well, that and ArmA 2... and StarCraft 2...

Time to look into PS3 chipping I guess ¬_¬

Wonder how pirating starts? Take notes everyone.

I see rep in your future.

[OG_Monkey]

Wonder how pirating starts? Take notes everyone.

lmfao

[Pro A.]

Inflation is awfully rare. The general price jump from 50 to 60 (Wii exempted) was the major inflation we saw in a couple decades, at least, so I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of things to come. At least not in the States. I can't speak for Europe.

[BahnNZ]

$60 is too much for a game now, I'll be buying my MW2 second hand.

Activision do seem to be right greedy barstools.

[Kiwi]

Inflation is awfully rare. The general price jump from 50 to 60 (Wii exempted) was the major inflation we saw in a couple decades, at least, so I hope this isn't a foreshadowing of things to come. At least not in the States. I can't speak for Europe.

Back in the NES days, games were £60, and they dropped down to £40 kinda near the end of the Mega Drive's life, and that's the way it's been for a long time. There's one retailer here, GAME, who insist on pricing their new 360 and PS3 games at £49.99, despite the fact that GameStation prices them at £39.99. What makes that a bit odd, is that GAME owns GameStation, so I dunno what the hell they're trying to pull with that move.

I can't speak for the rest of Europe, but I do know of one country that has to take it in the arse when it comes to game pricing, and that's Malta. Back when I used to live there, which is about ten years ago now, SNES and Mega Drive games were priced at about 80 Lira. Back then, the exchange rate was roughly 1 Lira = £2, so games were something like £140-170. Despite now being in the EU, I hear it hasn't got much better.

Edit: Just found this, it was included in an article about taxing cosmetic surgery

Lawmakers have discussed slapping a 10 percent excise tax on cosmetic surgeries such as face-lifts, tummy tucks and hair transplants to help foot the bill for health-care reform.

...

Lawmakers were also weighing a tax on video games to discourage a sedentary lifestyle, sources said. "I do know it's been floating around in the ether," a source said.

The Bo-tax proposal first came up during a meeting in mid-July during a meeting between White House officials and the Senate Finance Committee, sources told The Post.

[BahnNZ]

On the subject of NES games, look what arrived on my doorstep 10 minutes ago.



STAR FORCE (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
STAR TROPICS (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
TROJAN (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
AIR FORTRESS (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #2
DRAGON SPIRIT (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #2
SOLSTICE (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #2
MARBLE MADNESS (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
SOLAR JETMAN (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #2
ROBOWARRIOR (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
WRATH OF THE BLACK MANTA (NES) Retro Nintendo 8-bit #1
ADVENTURES OF DINO RIKI (NES) Retro Nintendo 8-bit #1
XEVIOUS (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
SECTION Z (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #3
BIONIC COMMANDO (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
SUPER GAME BOY (SNES) Retro Super Nintendo Classic

Total price: $43.11USD, less than half the price of NW2 in UK pounds.

So for MW2, you can buy yourself 30-40 NES/SNES games. I know what I'd rather have.

[Kiwi]

Solar Jetman = WIN

[woundingchaney]

I dont particularly care either way. They can charge whatever they want for their product (it is their product after all), though championing the theft or questionable acquiring of said product is more than a bit ridiculous. Im willing to pay a reasonable price for a reasonable entertainment experience much like every consumer out there now. If I perceive a game is worth a 100usd then Im willing to pay it. I think that as long as we as consumers are demanding higher profile titles with extremely high production value then we should also rightly expect escalating costs as well. The problem is that a psuedo norm is created in which a standardized price is set for all titles and where some titles may be worth the entry fee most are not (even the higher rated ones). Though given we are mid generation there are more than enough "bargain bin" titles to keep gamers entertained (particularly on the pc) until other titles fall in price.



MW2 is going to sell regardless of the price.

[TimmyJ]

Lawmakers were also weighing a tax on video games to discourage a sedentary lifestyle, sources said. "I do know it's been floating around in the ether," a source said.

You know what else is a really effective way of discouraging a sedentary lifestyle? Amphetamines.

That doesn't make them a good idea.

[SadPanda]

I can't see this hurting initial sales very much if at all.

Like any new product that comes out those who want it bad enough will line up or otherwise buy for day one sales. Then in a few months you might see a price drop for the rest of us once sales slow a bit. (see Apple's pricing playbook for further examples)

[TheGreenElf]

On the subject of NES games, look what arrived on my doorstep 10 minutes ago.



STAR FORCE (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
STAR TROPICS (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
TROJAN (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
AIR FORTRESS (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #2
DRAGON SPIRIT (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #2
SOLSTICE (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #2
MARBLE MADNESS (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
SOLAR JETMAN (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #2
ROBOWARRIOR (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
WRATH OF THE BLACK MANTA (NES) Retro Nintendo 8-bit #1
ADVENTURES OF DINO RIKI (NES) Retro Nintendo 8-bit #1
XEVIOUS (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
SECTION Z (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #3
BIONIC COMMANDO (NES) Retro Nintendo Classic 8-bit #1
SUPER GAME BOY (SNES) Retro Super Nintendo Classic

Total price: $43.11USD, less than half the price of NW2 in UK pounds.

So for MW2, you can buy yourself 30-40 NES/SNES games. I know what I'd rather have.

Thought you meant the dog...

I think the more dangerous trend they are missing here is the $150.00 MW2 bundle...
MW2 is one of the few games I could say $80 would be worth it. But most of the gaming world...those that aren't as hardcore into gaming as I am, wouldn't. I always felt comfortable at a $50 price point though.

[goodfangji]

Activision do seem to be right greedy barstools.