Modern Warfare 2 Blog

Do gamers regard the Prestige Edition of ‘Modern Warfare 2’ as insane?

This product includes an artbook, an easily downloadable edition of COD1, plus… night vision eyeglasses?

Gamers looking for somewhat “limited” edition of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 can feel benefited considering this edition offers a little more than a game.

Robert Bowling, in charge of Infinity Ward’s gamer community ran teaser on twitter. It was a movie put together off ‘un-boxing’ of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 box. But gamers were little prepared to discover that the “box” he mentioned actually meant “night vision specs.”

Let us take the whole picture calm and simple here. Firstly, they exposed the fact that there is going to be some sort of “Harden Edition” retailed for $80. That edition will include:

• Modern Warfare 2
• A can case
• A token for downloading the original version of Call of Duty
• An artbook

Now, let us take a breakdown on the ‘inside materials’ of the “Prestige Edition.” It however comes with:

Modern Warfare 2 (the Harden Edition)
Fully functional night vision specs with alternating modes, loaded with well set sculpted head stand.
The price of this upcoming Prestige Edition has been kept a secret on purpose. But analysts predict that this is going to be something past $100.

Though it seems like that Activision is doing a bit gambling experimentation with this large and promising game, there are chances that these will prove strategic in near future.

These are much like pilot products. And one of Bowling’s recent interviews affirmed this.

And business and game production/marketing is sort of gambling in some sense. It they’re planning to go for a major move in near future. These special editions and accessories are just pilot approaches. And these might be rational after all.

Activision blows up prices for Modern Warfare 2

Modern Warfare 2 is one of Activision’s largest games this year. And this may be among the top sellers. It’ll cover a RRP level of 54.99 GBP. We’re not sure if this is going to affect the American prices or not.

This reflects an overall price surge of £ 5 over the latest Modern Warfare. That however, carries a RRP level of around 59.98 GBP when launched during the late 2007. This rise was subject to a weaker pound, a significant factor contributing to the inflationary effects on the Wii hardware’s cost and expenses at the start of this year.

But there is grimmer news for gamers in UK. This Christmas, this hike might be expanded throughout the board. “Unfavorable exchange rate gaps between the two major currencies (Euro and pound) make it extremely hard for common publishers to gain a reasonable operating margin… especially around the UK,” commented Ian Curran of THQ on an interview on MCV.

“You won’t be able to keep on trading as usual if a major territory within Europe experiences operating expenses surging by 30% owing to the growth of Euro,” Ian sustained, “Publishers one way or another, need to counterbalance this radical increase in costs. I am not at all surprised seeing Modern Warfare 2’s SRP climb up and I also feel this’ll continue throughout more important titles.”

Pricing details emerged as well for Modern Warfare 2 Prestige edition of this advanced game. Modern Warfare 2 comes packaged with completely functional night vision spectacles and would be available wholly at HMV within the UK, for GBP level of 119.98 approximately.

The way things seem at the moment, the price hike issue will extend beyond January, 2010. Despite the recovery of some economies like Japan or Hong Kong, the overall depression in global economy is quite far from recovery.

Infinity Ward: You’re likely to see a pretty limited Prestige Edition

The original plan of the developer was to include nothing but phony flash bangs or dogtags.

The giant Microsoft undertook fresh retail ground in 2007. That was the time it had released the famous Halo 3 Legendary Edition. However that edition included the currently celebrated Master Chief cat helmet.

So as to that edition of Halo 3 retailed for around $130. But as just 2 years afterward, the massive box created by Bungie Games is still available on game store shelves.

Even the listing of Amazon is as a minimum $3 cheaper compared to the usual Limited edition. You can find that for around 50% of its initial price. It is pretty clear that, gamers were hardly interested in spending an additional $70 to get ‘more plastic’.

So forgive us for the skepticism as Infinity Ward revealed plans to launch a yet more expensive or bizarre version for the Modern Warfare 2, which is called the ‘Prestige Edition’.

Buyers paying up $150 are getting, among additional things, a decent pair of useful, real night-vision goggles. But to what extent is the version “limited”? And what logics encourage Activision to release such a thing in the middle of an economic recession?

Regarding the rational of the developer on launching such a product, IGN had a discussion with Robert Bowling, the Community Manager of Infinity Ward. IGN was inquiring on Infinity’s thoughts/ideas for producing the Prestige Edition. IGN was reassured time and again that this edition is in no way anything that gamers will find in stores for many months following the release.

“Our retailers have already requested to gear up the production volume. This is a clear sign of solid demands. But according to our predefined plans, we readily denied,” Bowling added.

“We have clear cut planning right from the start. And our original and current plan is to provide a limited number of this product to those hardcore fans, along with early adopters,” he said.

Map Packs are vital aspect in Modern Warfare 2

You will buy these maps. There’s no way round to it!

Recently, periodical financial of Activision was chocked with loads of news – mostly because of the franchise of Call of Duty.

There was Mike Griffith, the President-CEO of Activision Publishing. While giving investors a complete look at Activision’s future plans for the outspoken Modern Warfare 2, he described the kind of online materials currently in development phase.

“Our plan is to launch 2 different map packs under this title,” he said. “Quality map packs can turn out to be really helpful in extending your franchise’s shelf life, as evident by the solid catalog sales, along with premium pricing we maintained even after 18 moths following the launch.”

Surely, Mike Griffith has a good point to make there. Sometimes cheap pricing won’t win you the results you wanted. It’s not always the ‘cheapest’ things consumers are always after. Rather, consumers try to buy something on the basis of value proposition and comparison.

To illustrate, buyers will try to asses the value of a product by weighing its fun, benefit and appeal against the cost of acquiring it. That is how they get the perception of value for a product.

If they’re satisfied with the answer, they won’t mind buying the product with the added cost – even after many months! And that is how the franchise of Call of Duty has turned out to be a success.

“Thus far, we’ve enjoyed solid success with our map packs – especially on this particular franchise. We’ve sold over 8 million units of the packs for Xbox 360 as well as Playstation 3, together” he added.

With unit sales as high as 8 million, it’s natural that companies adore DLC.

Modern Warfare 2: Getting 50 Cent to rap!

Rapper creates ‘casual cameo’ for the running year’s largest game.

How does it feel when you hear that 50 Cent will be there for making a great appearance as a guest in the ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’ of Infinity Ward. ‘So how does all that happen’ says an enthused gamer. But when you have the rapper contributing with his vocals, expect great excitement within the already thrill-filled biggest game of this year.

Let’s see how Robert Bowling puts the whole thing. “He’s one of the rare casual cameos the game is going to have,” says the community manager of Infinity Ward. He was keen to clarify the role play of 50 Cent in the forthcoming game.

This rapper is no stranger in gaming universe after his astonishing role in Blood on the Sand. With a grand show down like that, it was natural that the rapper will be contributing among the several multiplayer voices you hear in this game.

And voice does matter! You heard of great performers lending a part of their genius into animated films. You saw how Jim Carry or Nichole Kidman lent their vocal genius to timeless animated movies. And there’s a charisma in legendary voices, it adds sheer thrill and amusement for the audience or gamers.

Sometimes, the voice is nothing too special. But voices have different power to influence minds. Just imagine Jonny Depp putting his voice in a western gun-fighting game! Or imagine Jon Bon Jovi putting in his hard rock vocal in a commando game! Infinity is just using that idea with the 50 Cent rapper.

The remaining ‘casual cameos’ are yet to be labeled – although selecting celebrity voiceovers has every chance of providing interesting diversions in the middle of those hectic multiplayer as the hits the market this November.