Activision: Blockbuster games should be 70 pounds or more.

[QUOTE="SparkyProtocol"][QUOTE="mythrol"]GFY Activision. I hate you for what you've done to Blizzard.mythrol

If anything game prices should be lower, Steam sales have already shown games are highly price elastic.

Link

"In fact, it dramatically increased sales. Illustrating his point, Newell showed the results of a Left 4 Dead promotion Valve ran last weekend, which cut the price of the game in half to $25. The discount (and promise of new content for the game) rocketed sales of the game on Steam by 3,000 percent.

"We sold more in revenue this last weekend than we did when we launched the product," says Newell. "We were driving a huge uptick in revenue and attracting new customers." And while people believe that we're "screwing" retail, Newell showed that brick-and-mortar sales were unaffected by the online discount.

This phenomenon is not limited to Valve games. Over the holidays, Steam discounted third-party titles. Sales increased 300 percent and units-sold increased by 600 percent.

Still skeptical? Newell said that a weekend sale of one third-party title drove that game's sales up by 18,000 percent and units-sold increased 36,000 percent. It energized the user base, says Newell. When the sale ended, baseline sales were double what they were prior to the weekend discount.

Discounting games does not only increase unit sales--it increases actual revenues. During the 16-day sale window over the holidays, third-parties were given a choice as to how severely they would discount their games. Those that discounted their games by 10 percent saw a 35% uptick in sales--that's dollars, not units. A 25 percent discount meant a 245 percent increase in sales. Dropping the price by 50 percent meant a sales increase of 320 percent. And a 75 percent decrease in the price point generated a 1,470 percent increase in sales."

AnnoyedDragon

RAGEEEE hypothetical sitatuation rage!!!

they aren't actually doing it people they are just talking about what they think it would take.

WilliamRLBaker

Just wow, what greed and arrogance. I hope this will be their downfall. That way, EA will not have to worry about the competition, let them dig their own grave. I am loving EA more and more.

So many posts and no one can read. Chris Deering is just a Michael Pachter-like guy, he has nothing to do with Activision. Activision are a bunch of **bleep**s but this time they aren't running their mouth off.DJ_Lae

ok that makes more sense then:)

But it would not surprise me if Activision did indeed say that;)

It's like they WANT to go out of buisness... (no argument here)

Did they really say this? I mean...DID THEY ACTUALLY SAY THIS!?

I'm speechless..

can someone explain to me why PC games using more complicated programming, 2GBs of RAM Quad-Core CPUs and such cost less than console games? This makes no sense, esspecially when something like Crysis can be cutting edge 5 times more than any PS3/360 game, get decent sales (like 3 million or something right) but not GTA kind of sales yet still get a sequel?

It seems PC devs have no problem getting money for these games, why are console devs hurting so much if their games don't take nearly as much work as the PC ones?

Keep digging that grave Activision. I can't wait to be there and urinate all over it.

This company needs to fade away into obscurity. Kotick needs to be working at a car lot.

[QUOTE="DJ_Lae"]So many posts and no one can read. Chris Deering is just a Michael Pachter-like guy, he has nothing to do with Activision. Activision are a bunch of **bleep**s but this time they aren't running their mouth off.samuraiguns

you must be absolutely crazy to buy one game for £70, i could imagine them trying it with cod mod pack 2 from treyarch next year. i doubt people will actually buy it, and if anyone did it just shows how much they fail at life.

edit: ahh it's from some tool not an activision rep, in which case we are safe for now!, but i'm still watching you activision oh yes i am!

[QUOTE="SparkyProtocol"][QUOTE="mythrol"]GFY Activision. I hate you for what you've done to Blizzard.Brownesque

looks like the guys at activision forgot to take their medicine that day.....tsk tsk tsk

can someone explain to me why PC games using more complicated programming, 2GBs of RAM Quad-Core CPUs and such cost less than console games? This makes no sense, esspecially when something like Crysis can be cutting edge 5 times more than any PS3/360 game, get decent sales (like 3 million or something right) but not GTA kind of sales yet still get a sequel?

It seems PC devs have no problem getting money for these games, why are console devs hurting so much if their games don't take nearly as much work as the PC ones?

darth-pyschosis

If anything , not-so-good games should have their prices decreased.What Activision is saying is BS look at that horrible DJ Hero , by their logic it should be 30$ since we know nothin' about , it lacks hype , it's hated , it's milkage of the GH concept.Prototype , no online , hulk-like graphics , 25$ maybe?Oh c'mon.....

Think of their point of view for a second though, imagine all the resources and money it took to make that game, of course they want to earn maximum money off it but imo they shouldn't just raise the price because they think all the fans would buy it, no one in their right mind (maybe not even the fans) would buy 1 game for £70, it would end up with no one buying it and them just losing money instead of earning.

[QUOTE="darth-pyschosis"] because Sony and Microsoft takes fees for making games on their consoles, and i don't really think its harder to develop for the pc than the consoles, but then again i am no developer.

themobilephone

[QUOTE="darth-pyschosis"]

can someone explain to me why PC games using more complicated programming, 2GBs of RAM Quad-Core CPUs and such cost less than console games? This makes no sense, esspecially when something like Crysis can be cutting edge 5 times more than any PS3/360 game, get decent sales (like 3 million or something right) but not GTA kind of sales yet still get a sequel?

It seems PC devs have no problem getting money for these games, why are console devs hurting so much if their games don't take nearly as much work as the PC ones?

themobilephone

what ? are they insane ? No one would ever pay that much for 1 game. Nonstop-Madness

I would for forza 3 :D

That's equivalent to roughly 126 canadian dollars. All I can say is that they are bat **** crazy.

If this were to happen to all console games I would switch to PC gaming.

Wow, with their milkage tactics, Activision are making me madder and madder, just to say the least.

you mean to tell me. they dont make money off of selling 9 to 10 million copies ofcod/guitar hero games each year? damn how much are you paying them geeks to make those games????

That's like $160 here. Not a chance in hell that I would pay that much.

Go ahead activision I support your decision 100%.......

That way you guys will go bankrupt and your dirty hands will be out of the video game market

No they shouldn't and when it's starts to hurt their sales maybe they will get the message. But it's also good for people to be patient and just wait till the price drops if there not happy with how much there paying.

Thats it. Activision can **** me. I will not buy one of their games retail for at least 3 years. Used? Maybe

Do it if they want. Consumers determine pricing, so if they hike it up to 115USD, they'll lose customers. Just because it's a blockbuster title doesn't mean it defy basic economics theory. They might make more money per copy, but they'll sell less overall.

Are these the same guys that used to make all the great Spiderman games on the PS1?

Are they under new management or something, they used to be so nice.

Wow activision...

Thanks TC, now you helped me finalize my decision to not buy this game. And Activision can just go ahead and stop releasing games on the PS3, I want that to happen now.

If anything game prices should be lower, Steam sales have already shown games are highly price elastic.

Link

"In fact, it dramatically increased sales. Illustrating his point, Newell showed the results of a Left 4 Dead promotion Valve ran last weekend, which cut the price of the game in half to $25. The discount (and promise of new content for the game) rocketed sales of the game on Steam by 3,000 percent.

"We sold more in revenue this last weekend than we did when we launched the product," says Newell. "We were driving a huge uptick in revenue and attracting new customers." And while people believe that we're "screwing" retail, Newell showed that brick-and-mortar sales were unaffected by the online discount.

This phenomenon is not limited to Valve games. Over the holidays, Steam discounted third-party titles. Sales increased 300 percent and units-sold increased by 600 percent.

Still skeptical? Newell said that a weekend sale of one third-party title drove that game's sales up by 18,000 percent and units-sold increased 36,000 percent. It energized the user base, says Newell. When the sale ended, baseline sales were double what they were prior to the weekend discount.

Discounting games does not only increase unit sales--it increases actual revenues. During the 16-day sale window over the holidays, third-parties were given a choice as to how severely they would discount their games. Those that discounted their games by 10 percent saw a 35% uptick in sales--that's dollars, not units. A 25 percent discount meant a 245 percent increase in sales. Dropping the price by 50 percent meant a sales increase of 320 percent. And a 75 percent decrease in the price point generated a 1,470 percent increase in sales."

How can a company go from being good to the devil of gaming in just 2 years.

I just don't understand it. They know we can see them, right?

Do they want us to hate them? They seem to be trying damn hard to gain the ire of everyone on Earth.

Anyone wonder if they just said this to make us appreciate the price it is at now. (its high as hell now)

I've been paying 100$for my games already since i live in DK! and that is way too high considering what the rest of the world pays, so if MW2 is going to be about 200$ here in DK, then im simply not buying!:evil:

How can anybody even defend Activision or this ridiculous comment is beyond me. It seems this gen Activision is very determined to piss off every gamer and company they can. I really hope this company gets a wake up call and real soon too. EA got theirs and they started to turn things around. Time for Activision to get their's.

I actually found this at the MW2 boards, but it will be seen more here. Story:

"Modern Warfare 2 and the UK have been strange bedfellows in the media lately, with news that Activision will raise the price of the game to £54.99 (nearly $90). According to game industry mogul (and former Sony Europe boss) Chris Deering, the price hike isn't high enough. Deering tells MCV that blockbuster games simply aren't being produced efficiently enough, saying that the price of such games would actually have to cruise up to £70 ($115!) in order to support the industry as they once did.

That said, Deering realizes that there is "a psychological glass ceiling" for the amount consumers are willing to spend, and notes, "Consumers won't spend more, but to write the game, publishers are having to spend more than ever before. That's the key problem."

Of course, the flipside of this is that game prices could be lower if they were produced more efficiently -- or if the games market grew large enough to support the industry by buying more copies. But $115 games? Ouch."

Link

So what are your thoughts on this? I know how I feel about this :evil:

taj7575

what ? are they insane ? No one would ever pay that much for 1 game. Nonstop-Madness

I WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER BUY A GAME FROM ACTIVISION AGAIN THATS A PROMISE I WILL STILL PLAY THERE GAMES BUT THEY WILL NEVER RECEIVE CASH FOR IT!!!!!!!!!

dawso0n