It seems like I don't talk much about the gaming industry these days, but there's no company that irks me more than Activision. Just saying that name makes the vomit rise a little in my throat. So what type of ridiculous BS is Activision up to these days?
No - I am not even going to MENTION that crap about IWNET... ok well, that's a lie because I just did (and whether or not Activision actually has anything to due with that is arguable but I wouldn't put it past them), but this is something completely different.
It's about Activision's absolutely inexcusable behaviour when it comes to the pricing of their video games.
To anyone who doesn't follow PC games very closely you may not understand what the issue is with this image. Modern Warfare 2 is $59.99 USD for the PC. Traditionally PC games are $49.99. Console games - the Xbox 360 and PS3 - retail for the price of $59.99 USD, not PC games. Wii games are the rare exception, also being $49.99 USD in most cases. Now why is this such a big deal? Because it's a completely pointless price hike that has been initiated for one sole reason: greed. Activision is easily the greediest and most shameless video game company in the existence of video game culture and I utterly despise them for it. Don't you dare even start on this "EA is worse" bull**** either if you're thinking it - because I'll get to that later.
These next few images I'm about to show you (also from the Steam store) are here to further exemplify my point.
Here we have Left 4 Dead 2 up for pre-order on Steam. Notice something about the price? It's $49.99 USD. Actually, no; it's $44.99, since Valve is allowing customers to save $5 by pre-ordering the game, a pretty good deal if you consider it's a new release. This is generally a tradition of the steam store and while not necessary of the developer/publisher's behalf to apply to their games, I think it shows a lot about their character. Now with the fact that Activision is not only PRICE hiking their latest game by $10 but also just blatantly refuses to offer a measely $5 pre-order savings, well, it's bull**** really. Here are a few more samples to drive my point home.
Here we have Borderlands. Sure, we aren't getting any little fancy pre-order item bonus, but we're still getting the $5 savings offer. This goes to show you that it doesn't have to be a Valve game on the Steam store, in order to have a discount. Developers/publishers can clearly negotiate with Valve on what type of offer they give to their potential buyers.
Activision's not off the hook yet though, so far we've covered three games.
Modern Warfare 2 - release date: November 10th, 2009, $59.99 USD
Left 4 Dead 2 - release date: November 17th, 2009. $44.99 USD (w/ pre-order)
Borderlands - release date: October 26th, 2009, $44.99 USD (w/ pre-order)
So why am I listing this useless information? Guess what else is on the Steam store:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - release date: November 5th, 2007, $39.99 USD
Wait, what? $39.99 USD? 2007?
That's a $5.00 USD difference between two brand new games and a game that has been out for two years.
Oh but, wait guys. It's Call of Duty - of course it should never drop in price like every other normal game as it ages. That would be sacriledge.
Oh and remember that EA thing I said I'd be covering later? Here's some examples of how much EA has changed recently.
Dead Space - release date: October 20th, 2008, $29.99 USD
That's a release date of nearly one year after Call of Duty 4 and it's still $10.00 USD cheaper.
Mirror's Edge - release date: January 12th, 2009, $19.99 USD
Yes, I am aware of the fact that the console versions of Mirror's Edge were released in 2008. That being said, Mirror's Edge of the PC is less than a year old and is half the price of Call of Duty 4. Sure, it didn't sell nearly half the amount of copies as Call of Duty 4 did, (neither did Dead Space), but it also possesses a much longer single-player campaign, as well a significantly more interesting premise and concept, not to mention the fact that the idea and setting surrounding the entirety of Call of Duty 4 has been done countless times before. Yes, I am aware that Call of Duty 4 has "teh best muiltepleyer evar!11" but keep in mind that not everyone on this earth is so easily amused as to do the exact same thing on the exact same maps with the exact same weapons repeatedly until they are blue in the face and their Xbox 360 RRODs or their harddrive fails. Not to mention the fact that Dead Space and Mirror's Edge are two brand new, unique and interesting IPs that have developed new gaming concepts that don't have 5000 different iterations that have been released incessantly since 2003.
So here I am, giving Activision the proverbial middle finger. I won't deny that I would like to try Call of Duty 4's single-player at some point in time. I've played the multiplayer before, I didn't find it too terribly interesting to justify a then $49.99 USD purchase for a largely uninteresting multiplayer mode and a 5 hours or less single-player campaign. (PC version).
I have no doubt in my mind that Modern Warfare 2 will be nothing short of a massive success, will achieve glorious reviews the world over, and will have millions of players in its first week post-launch. So does one individual boycotting this game out of mere principal accomplish anything? No, not in the slighest. I still get satisfaction out of the fact that I'm not buying into complete and utter inexcusable bull**** though. I'd advise anyone else who has any sense of dignity to do the same unless they would like to inform Activision that they enjoy taking it up the rear by large conglomerate of corporations.
Warning: This blog may or may have not contained a dangerously high amount of italicized writing. (PROTIP: Most likely the former and not the latter).
Comments
There should be either an online petition filed against this (I know this sounds too much
) or PC gamers should boycott MW2,then wait till Activision finds none of their PC games sold and then knock of 10 bucks off it. They deserve something like that,IMO! Would serve them right.I played CoD4's campaign and while it is nice enough,there are loads of shooters that outdo it (for example Crysis). I know multiplayer is the gem and all,but haven't got a chance to try it.
That whole price hike for MW 2 is on consoles also (well here anyway). If you were to go into the store here the day it comes out, you will have to pay £54.99, which is higher than what most games retail at nowadays (most retail at £39.99 with the odd one at £44.99) hence some people are resorting to pre-ordering it online since its £42.99 on there.
You might as well call me one of those ones who are going to take it up the tailpipe
since I am getting MW 2 on 360 since I enjoy the COD series and loved 4 despite the randomness of its MP but it had a great although short campaign.
I never had much interest in Modern Warfare 2 because Call of Duty 4 simply isn't that good (nor was it worth $50 back in 2007, let alone today). However, Modern Warfare 2's price is inexcusable. I hate how people still bash on EA. Do you remember maybe a year and a half ago or so I wrote an editorial for Endsights (when I was still writing for that site) that it's time to stop hating on EA? I got a lot of $--- for that back then, but it's turned out true. EA has changed for the better and drastically at that. They're taking risks, making their games available across multiple platforms for more people to enjoy, giving us fair prices and not abusing DLC as well as giving us new IPs like Mirror's Edge, Dead Space (both of which are FANTASTIC games), Spore, and other quality games. I mean, they've become the new publishers of Valve's games and have the moxie to give us The Orange Box (which is only $20 now and it came out THE SAME TIME as CoD4 and is RIDICULOUSLY BETTER), Left 4 Dead and it's sequel (which they and Valve have gotten crap for but I think it's unwarranted hate). They're publishing Id's Rage.
You know what I say by now. If you don't like something don't support it with your money. If the price drops or you find a deal on it online or something then go for it. But all of this is just nonsense. And don't forget my motto. Just because I haven't had a rant in a long time doesn't mean I don't still follow it: "Hey, f--- you!"
Agreed, and while I do agree that prices for digital distribution should probably be lower since you aren't getting a boxed copy of the game, the issue here is that the money that isn't being spent on manufacturing costs/packaging is probably being used to pay for server space, bandwidth, and the publishing/partnership between Valve. the game developer, and the actual publisher of the game.
Also, I love that "hey, f*** you!" thing, I actually completely forgot about that
Would you mind linking me to your article about not hating on EA? It rings a bell but I don't recall if I ever read it on endsights because I've never really been there before.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to convince people not to purchase Modern Warfare 2, I'm simply just calling Activision out on their BS. I don't blame anyone for wanting to play MW2 it looks like a pretty good game so far with high production values - and IW have created solid titles in the past. I've played the original Call of Duty and it's single player is superb.
What I'm really trying to do though is just to keep people aware, if that they simply remain silent about matters such as these - even as minor as $10 might seem, if this game still sells a billion copies at that price, it shows other developers that we're all willing to pay whatever the hell they want to charge us. Imagine how much it would suck if all games in general went up by $10 or more? Games are already stupidly expensive enough as it is.
I'm willing to predict that Call of Duty 1 on PSN/XBLA will probably be priced at $20. Realistically, it should be $10 at the most, considering it came out in 2003. It's single player component isn't too terribly long either. The last time I played it I believe I beat it in about 6 hours, so... keep that in mind before purchasing. It's definitely a solid title but if you don't think Call of Duty has the best multiplayer in the universe I can't say it would necessarily be worth $20.
Agreed, I would like to see Infinity Ward split from Activision so they can have more creative control over what they do/work on. I think Infinity Ward is an incredibly talented development studio, and they deserve not to have a company like Activision hovering over them. If they're straight up owned by Activision then they've got a bit of a problem though.
AGREED. Crysis is the BEST FPS I have played in years. That game literally blew me away, I loved it so much that I gave it a 10 out of 10. I would say I don't think it's "PERFECT" but it was so incredible and unlike any FPS experience I've ever had before that I thought it deserved it. The attention to detail in that game was amazing, and there were so many absolutely breathtaking moments. I hope they port it to consoles someday so everyone else has a chance to experience it too.
) I know. I'm a muse, a poet, a psychic and an all-around awesome guy.However, writing for games sites was not something I really wanted to do. I barely, BARELY agreed to do it for those guys and then I kinda left once the site entered limbo and they didn't tell me anything. They rebooted and it has the typical game site look to it. But hey, my editorial is still on it.
http://www.endsights.com/editorials/62/its-time-to-stop-hating-on-ea/
Go figure.
Don't believe anyone telling you CoD4's multiplayer is anything special. It's just FPS multiplayer. It all depends on if you like the way the game feels or not. If you thought CoD was good then the multiplayer will be good. But it's not as amazing or as epic as people make it out to be. It could be any other shooter that involves shooting, regenerating health and teabagging.
CoD4 is wickedly overpraised simply for having a different setting from other CoD games, but earns no scrutiny for using the same shooter premise that we've seen used for so long (usually by Tom Clancy). Basically, it's a modern day shooter with the same multiplayer you'll find in any other shooter.
F.E.A.R. is so much more cinematic than CoD4 and it's multiplayer feels even fresher and that game came out in 2005.
I enjoyed your article, however I think I enjoyed the first comment and your response to that guy more than the article itself
I agree though, the EA hate in the current state of gaming is unjustified. I didn't like the way they tried to take over Take Two, but aside from that they've come a long way over the last few years. Hopefully they stay on course. People need to start acknowledging them for what they are doing now, instead of what they did before.
- KnightsofRound
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MadVybz
But, who am I to assume? I'm a console gamer.