Hot off the heels of Left 4 Dead 2, it seems as if another boycott is looming on the horizon, and unlike the last one, this is a bit more justified. Following evil Activision's decision to raise the price of Modern Warfare 2 to £54.99 in the UK, angered British gamers are venting spleen and sharing one common sentiment -- that they will not bend over and let Bobby Kotick's gold-plated cock shaft them with the fury of a thousand Suns.
Backlash over the price hike is being felt across the Internet. Just recently, TotalGamingNetwork found that 68% of its PC using readership has decided not to support the publisher, and our very own Destructoid forums have seen their own movement against Modern Warfare 2. Talk from online British gamers is bitter wherever you look, and it's hardly surprising.
However, in a manner similar to the L4D2 controversy, it's highly doubtful that any official boycott will make a significant impact on MW2's sales. One would assume that Activision has anticipated resentment from fans, and yet believes that the price hike will recoup any potential lost sales, meaning that no harm will be felt.
Frankly, what Activision is doing is disgusting, and I really hope that MW2 meets with as little success as possible in the United Kingdom. However, no boycott will ever decide the game's fate. It's in the hands of the mainstream gaming audience, and I really do have little faith in those guys.
Contest:
9:00 AM on 07.26.2009
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As always the British public will fail again.
It's a pretty despicable experiment for them, and I hope the negative reception is enough to persuade them to back off. However as I dont see this really hurting the sales, I'm not so sure they will. I feel bad for Infinity Ward here though. They make great products which are then spoiled by the greed of their publisher.
This, along with their Brutal Legend dickery gives me more reason to get Modern Warfare 2 from a second hand dealer rather than give them any profit.
I'm worried that a price hike for Modern Warfare 2, followed by big sales will then set a standard of expensive games. I suppose we'll see when Diablo 3 and Star Craft 2 come out.
Not that this excuses Kotick at all. Activision is not only filling the void left by the departure of the old EA, but they're actively trying to top EA's bad practises as well.
I still play MW1 online fairly often, and I expect MW2 to be even better online, DAMN YOU ACTIVISION!
ITS YOUR FAULT!
I dont think Activision has all that much say in to what Blizzard does. It was a merge, Activison didn't buy out Blizzard. So in an indirect way, yes you are in some ways giving money to Activision however in a direct way the game is published by Blizzard only and Blizzard most likely calls the shots and gets the majority of your money in the end.
I'll spend my cash on beer instead, thanks-ever-so-fucking-much.
I'll spend my cash on beer instead, thanks-ever-so-fucking-much.
But I've been paying $100 for games for as long as I can remember.
Cartridge Games, PC Games, Current Gen Console Games.
But Im just used to it now...though you can pick em up cheap at certain places down here, but only if you're lucky enough to have one of the stores near you. Otherwise you're forced to EB or Kmart/Target/Myer etc...and they all charge Full RRP. Which can be anywhere from 99 to 120 for normal games..
Special Editions are another matter entirely....I paid 130 for Fallout 3 SE, 150 for Saints Row 2 SE, 140 for Far Cry 2 SE, 130 for Gears 2 SE.
Dont ever come to Australia. Ever.
What does that say about us?
S@#£ even I can smell some sort of 'Modern World Call of Dutycraft' in the works. probably start of with a t-shirt and jeans and a water pistol and work your way up 90 levels til zenimax is bought by activision and you get a mini nukecannon called the Fatlady. and more perks than you could shake a stick at. Squad raids on Supposed Al-queda caves etc etc.
since when did the customer have the right to set prices?
GTFO of Australia now. Also, why would you spend 120 on the saint rows 2 SE?
@Killboy
Since the customer started having the right to chose whether or not to buy the product. A product is only worth as much as for much we think it is especially in the case of software. If lots of people brought spoons for £4000 we would all see them at that price. If they jack up the price to that much that we start giving a shit they can go fuck themselves.
If I can't find it at a more reasonable price new, I'll bail out on it for a few months, continue playing Batman and Brutal Legend, and maybe buy it in the 2010 new year or easter sales.
Activision are making me hate them, with all their recent dickery dong bs. Sure, many will buy it anyway, but I'm going to stand up and be counted. Like we don't get fleeced on everything we buy in the U.K, enough already.
WTF, Activision? There is a recession on, you know.
I'm not sure the price probably hasn't been jacked up anywhere else(expect in Finland, but nobody cares about that) in Germany price seems to be around 60-65 euros so I'm suspecting it'll be around those numbers around europe.
Only reason I can think of why the price is put up in UK is to stop people from other countries from importing the game and getting it cheaper.
I know they're hypocrites, and I for one stopped caring about them and their products when they emerged with Blizzard.
that's a fair point but just because a person doesn't want to pay a price for something doesn't mean they can demand it cheaper.
I would only have played the single player then get hopelessly beaten online by people that have been playing for years and then sell it again anyway.
What if I pay £45 to pre-order it, like half the retailers I checked on gamestracker are charging, and then obviously pay less if they drop the price as per most of their pre-order agreements? Would that satisfy the boycott?