It seems there is no low to which evil publisher Activision will not sink. Still licking its lips after raising the UK RRP of Modern Warfare 2, Activision has now turned its eyes upon America, singling out PC gamers and deeming that they do not yet pay too much money for computer games. Henceforth, the normal PC game RRP of $50 is being replaced, and Modern Warfare 2 shall cost $60, just like a console game.
One of the major benefits of being an honest PC gamer is the fact that games cost less. Both in the UK and US, one can expect a PC game to cost $10/£10 less than the PS3 or Xbox 360 version. Not so this time. Both GameStop and Amazon have the PC version listed for $60, meaning that Activision is yet again charging extra cash for a game, simply because it feels it can get away with it.
The Call of Duty series has seen plenty of piracy on PC, and I have no idea how Activision thinks this will help the situation. I expect more pirates to rip the game off now, and feel even more justified in doing so. A publisher really shouldn't be justifying piracy, but these rather opportunistic and scummy price hikes garner no sympathy whatsoever.
If anybody involved with the game complains about piracy on the PC version of Modern Warfare 2, I won't be feeling sorry for them. The idea of videogames and consoles raising prices instead of dropping them over time is becoming a very disturbing trend.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
8:00 AM on 10.15.2009
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there was something said about the amount of piracy with the first game, then they go ahead and do this?
Oh well though, nothing we can do
Awmigod where's Sexualchocolate? He and all the other Actihaters are gonna have a field day.
If you have no respect for the publishers, at least have respect for the developers.
Hate makes you do and say crazy ass shit.
If it were anyone else other than Acti, who has a repeated history of pissing people off, the words would be brutal but not so harsh.
Not once did I condone it. I neither support nor condemn piracy on Destructoid. What I said was that Activision has given up the right to expect sympathy for being pirated, and that Activision has allowed pirates to feel justified in what they're doing.
I never said anybody should pirate the game.
So the way to fix it is to make the game more expensive?!?
But like I said, Activision is a publisher, not a developer. You know the difference, right?
Publishers always are the "bad" people in pirates minds. But pirating hurts the developers, the actual people who create the awesome games we enjoy.
Yes there is: Don't buy the game on any platform. This is one of a slew of reasons I'm refusing to buy MW2. Don't "vote" for this arrogant behavior by throwing money at it.
Well, I agree that you never outright condoned it, but your attitude towards pirating seems like a parent smiling while his child steals a bar of candy. You don't condone it, but you're not disapproving either.
I think the price hike is a horrible idea and it will lead to piracy. But I don't think that justifies pirating the game.
They always sell it to you for the lowest price they've listed, so I'm safe from the price hike.
I'm expecting to see the torrent sites fill up with MW2 ISOs from day one.
And I won't weep for Activision.
This is even worse when compared to Gearbox/2K and Valve both offering 10% discounts via pre-orders of Borderlands and Left 4 Dead 2 on top of offering four-packs at just over half the price per person of COD:MW2.
Seriously, if you can get into four-packs of Borderlands and Left 4 Dead 2, you'd be paying (about) the same amount as for COD:MW2.
I fear $60 will now be the standard price for ALL new games in the US.
This is fucking ridiculous. I can get 2 new games for that price.
That's a pretty harsh analogy. Why are you so bent on crucifying Sterling for his words? He's stating facts. People will pirate the game more. Activision will receieve less sympathy because of these tactics. These are all facts, they are not his opinions, and in stating them I dont believe he gives an impression one way or another about how he feels about piracy. You're the one giving him a demonizable opinion.
I never intended to purchase Modern Warfare 2, simply because my money could go to delicious RPGs for my handhelds and be saved for when I import a ton of delicious RPGs for my handhelds. But now that Activison continues to pull shit like this, I'm just not buying any games they're involved with, unless I find them preowned (and even then, I'm not going to buy the COD games).
To be honest, this doesn't surprise me. I personally don't have a PC that will play MW2, or any game more demanding than the original Fallout's, but I will certainly be using a little of my brand new 50mb/s cable broadband to be downloading this bitch.
I will pirate it, i will seed it, i will delete it, i may even pirate it again. Just so that i know I'll have done all I can to stop the rise of game prices.
I mean, if a small publisher, or an indie dev said they NEEDED the extra cash to make a profit on a game i would not hold it against them.
But for the big, plastic perhipheral raping, hand over fist money making corporate giant like Activision to turn around and say (as they chug on cuban cigars and eat baby seals eyeballs) "gufaw gufaw, we could actually set a new president with this game, we could set the bar for other games to reach, we could even fucking set a new price! gufaw gufaw" - makes me sick.
I'm a very anti-capitalist person, i have serious issues with the way capitalism works, how it favours the rich and allows them to set their own rules, and this is a great example of why.
I wish Infinity Ward would use a different publisher, surely they've got their fucking pick after the success of their last games? Although I'm sure Activision are going to give them an extra £1 or £2 from that extra £10 per sale.
Here In Canada the standard is $70 so consider yourself lucky. Sony actually announced though that Canadian prices for any first party Sony game will match US pricing. Uncharted 2 sits in Canada as $60 while Brutal Legend costs us $70. which game do you think Canadians will pick up first?
What I'm worried about is activision setting a bad precedent. As a PC strategy gamer primarily, I won't be buying this game anyway, but I'd hate to see all PC games follow suit.
now they have to sell 5 more copies to make up for mine. i hope many others feel the same.
Be warned activision; eventually even normal consumers are going to realise your logo is a sign of bad quality, a crippled corpse cage where within, the dried up bulks of developers are drained and butchered for every penny, every slab of rotting flesh you can sell to the blind hoards because the festering pus looks shinney.
LOL gtfo.
This is pretty sad indeed, i only hope other publishers dont follow this trend or PC gaming is going to take a pretty big hit. Activision can suck it at the moment, they've done sod all to endear the gaming community to them and yet IW make a damn good game. Time to find a new publisher IW?
Jim's opinion is Jim's opinion, it's not your fucking life guide. If you think Jim is condoning pircay, think less of him, fair do's, his opinion differs from yours.
It's not your place to tell him to remove his post.
He is a fat princess though.
It's not inflation when only one company rises the prices. The MRSP standard would have to go up all at once.
Ace Ventura has nothing against Pirates as far as I know.
Alrighty then.
What the suits at Activision don't seem to realize is that video gamers are some of the most vindictive consumers of any industry. The video game consumer is also one of the most educated consumer groups (educated in terms of knowing what they're buying) of any industry that is also very well connected with ways to get information and spit out hate for a company or product (they're heavy users of the internet). So I think the suits at Activision are being completely ignorant to how things like this will backfire on them. With this type of leadership, if I owned Activision stock, I'd be selling right about now.
@Jackburnt
I can only assume you work for Activision for the type of rhetoric that you're throwing around.
This is rather ridiculous though, since the extra money on consoles goes to licensing and Microsoft's cut. No one on PC takes a cut.
"Why are you so bent on crucifying Sterling for his words?"
You and I differ on the definition of crucifying. Jim's in a sage on a stage position. What he says can affect others. If it seems like pirating isn't a big deal to him, then others (many others in this thread) will not think twice when they pirate it.
@Sexualchocolate
"I will pirate it, i will seed it, i will delete it, i may even pirate it again. Just so that i know I'll have done all I can to stop the rise of game prices. "
You know that's the most asinine argument for pirating ever? What do you think one of the reasons for the price inflation? Pirating. You're only trying to justify your own moral stance on pirating.
Nothing I or anyone else says will stop pirating. That has to be a personal decision (one I made recently since my best friend works in the gaming industry). But the bottomline: Don't try to justify pirating a game. If you don't believe in the price hike, don't pay for the game.
I think it was T Boone Pickens, last year, that said gas would be $3 a gallon so long as people are willing to pay for it, instead of walking or taking public transportation.