In the last few weeks there has been strive among the gaming community about the “so-close, you can smell the napalm” release of Call of Duty: Mighty Fart 2, mainly the PC people at large to be honest, after being told the beloved multi-player mode would not have dedicated servers, no modding of the game at all, 18 players maximum on a peer-to-peer basis with the only difference between the console versions and this would be you can use a keyboard and mouse to play, and can turn the resolution up a bit more.

Add the insult of being charged more for it anyway for very little extra and also even if you have the disks now, you still cannot activate on Steam yet till release day while the Xbox and PS3 people happily lark about online as I type this, even to the point where the Xbox 360 version was the first one to be pirated and out for all to test with, and to be honest, even the old saying “All publicity is good publicity” seems to be getting stretched a fair bit.

What’s more silly was this sight today as i walked back from the local supermarket, carrying 30 packets of super noodles and a dirty mag;

That’s right, already, even before the proper street date of Tuesday 10th, (12th for PC thanks to Timezone differences on Steam) there are second hand copies of the game to be had, at the bargain price from this particular chain of Computer Exchange for £75. That’s just the standard version as well kids, not the fancy ones with a baked bean tin or Night Vision goggles you’d struggle to get the NHS to help pay for (Even if they are prescription).

There you have it, it was pretty much more than enough proof that the cash cow has reached the slaughterhouse. I even balked at £34.99 for the PC versions pricing as being too much for really, not a lot we actually do have any knowledge about bar a couple of videos and here were the console versions for £40 more in a shop window.

That is the problem we as gamers now may have to face. The industry is now competing with the films, music and other activities on an even playing field, and is where the money is there to be made, as people have been going out less, staying at home and investing in home entertainment, rather than spending every weekend at the local Yates, standing in the “Dirty Old Man” corner with their tongues hanging out at the teenagers pretending to be women….oh dear, I’ve said too much.

Activision know this from their money spinning of the Guitar Hero and COD series before, and have gotten to the point where enough actually isn’t enough, They now require your first born child too.

They know people want their products, even if it’s the same thing over and over again. Now they are raising the prices, and now starting to hold back more so you will end up paying for more in the future. DLC is a great way to keep the cash flowing way after the initial release of a product on the market, and that is what all this stinks of. Hell I’d be amazed if the next Call of Duty in 2010 doesn’t come with a £120 plastic gun controller with £50 optional sight to stick on top and other things to be purchased for “the ultimate experience” such as handle-bar mustache.

There’s profiting as a business and then, there’s taking the piss.

My PC will not see COD: MW2 for some time until there is a sale on Steam, or something else which convinces me this actually is a must buy like Call of Duty 4 and World at War (which to be fair was getting a bit long in the tooth Single Player wise until you got to the Nazi Zombies). Sorry, but even I have limits as to how much to pay for things, and right now Left 4 Dead 2 offers more value, something which is important now when we are still struggling to keep our jobs and keep other things going instead as well as having to just stay in as a result of not having the cash to do otherwise.

On that note, I bid you all good day, and will keep the money for MW2 reserved for a few dances from eastern Europeans down at the local bar. See, already looking for value! 🙂