4,5 MCV546_FINAL:4-5 MCV515
14/7/09
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4 MCV 17/07/09
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NEWS
[LEADER] THE PRICE IS RIGHT WITHOUT QUESTION, Modern Warfare 2 is set to be one of the biggest games of the year. And now, following news that Activision has raised the trade price of the game, it’s set to be one of the most expensive as well. (Outside of the music peripheral games sector, that is). Is that a crime? In the eyes of some, yes. Activision played the poker face and said it doesn’t publicly discuss pricing when asked about the issue. But EA, for one, has emphatically denied it will raise prices this year. The last games company to do this – Nintendo, when it pushed up the price of the Wii hardware – blamed currency conversions for the squeeze on its costs. But will that excuse wash here? Whatever the grumbles, the fact is, Modern Warfare 2 is set to be one of the biggest games of the year – and its price now reflects that. It’s safe to assume that behind closed doors Activision staff know there are only two or three games out there for which a publisher could get away with raising the price – and it happens to own one of them. Millions of people want Modern Warfare 2. Millions upon millions of pounds have been spent on its production. And the game is said to offer an experience as gripping as its predecessor. Ergo: It’s worth more to Activision, whether or not anyone else agrees.
THE PRICE IS WRONG The problem for retail over the MW2 price isn’t just the wash of ill feeling that comes with each unit carrying a higher cost price but generating no extra revenue. (Which is a bit rich – you’re already bound to sell hundreds of thousands of units for the biggest game of the year, and you want more profit?). No, the real issue is how this could upset the perceived value of the games around MW2. If that game is £54.99, does that mean the games priced at £39.99 are worse? Of course not, but you’d forgive less discerning punters from thinking that. Tensions around pricing aren’t new in the games industry, and now the prospect of telling cashconscious punters that the year’s most wanted title will actually cost a few more quid in what’s supposed to be the tail-end of a recession isn’t going to be particularly welcome at retail. Then again, consumers swallowed the slight price increases that came with each new Harry Potter books – even when the page counts fell, meaning consumers got less content per penny. So maybe the boundaries of what consumers will tolerate on price haven’t been toyed with enough in games? Luckily, we won’t have to see such experiments play out that often. There are only a handful of games out there that a publisher could do this with, so it’s far from something that will become the norm. So while pricing is still the ultimate sensitive issue for publishers and retail – as long as no one tries their luck and thinks of trying to hike the price of secondtier games – this could just be a blip. Fingers crossed. Michael.French@intentmedia.co.uk
Phil Harrison crowned Plus Media Molecule picks up five wins at this year’s Develop Awards FIFTEEN DIFFERENT companies or individuals walked home with Develop Awards at a packed ceremony in Brighton earlier this week. Media Molecule took home five prizes – for Best New IP, Visual Arts, Technical Achievement, Best New Studio and Best Independent Developer. Phil Harrison, who signed the studio’s LittleBigPlanet
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whose Leeds team won Best Handheld Studio while its North studio took home Best In-House Studio. Retired agent Jacqui Lyons was also given a special Lifetime Achievement Award for representing top developers since the 1980s via her company Marjacq. Meanwhile, Codemasters, secured the Grand Prix in
Other big winners included Rockstar, Playfish, Audiodesk, Lionhead and retired agent Jacqui Lyons.
during his long tenure at Sony Computer Entertainment, received the Development Legend prize in acknowledgement of his contributions to the industry through a career of 20 years and counting. Other big winners on the night included GTAdeveloper Rockstar,
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celebration of almost 25 years at the heart of British games development and its major growth in recent years. Over 500 video games development execs attended to see the winners – which also included Playfish, Autodesk and Lionhead – collect their prizes. “This year’s
Develop Awards were fiercely contested, illustrating the rude health of the creative industry at the moment,” said Develop
MARIO & SONIC MOUNT LONDON ASSAULT
SEGA IS PLANNING to take over Trafalgar Square this October to promote the long-awaited Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games in time for the Christmas gifting period, MCV understands. It is believed that the title, due out on October 16th, will benefit from a high-profile showcase during the busy London Games Festival – which kicks off on Saturday, October 24th.