Analyst: 'MW2 price is simply business'

Analyst Michael Pachter has said that the price increase for Modern Warfare 2 is purely a business decision.

Last week, Activision pushed the RRP of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to £54.99 as a result of growing cost pressures, which Pachter has since debunked.

"The price increase is a business decision," he told Eurogamer, stating that the pound was weaker when World At War was launched.

"Activision knows it has a 'hot' game, knows that the market will pay an additional 10%, and has decided to increase [the] price accordingly," he said.

Pachter explained that because of rises in development costs and online functionality, it was "difficult" to answer whether or not the move was fair. He also said that if the consumer goes along with the increase, other games could follow suit.

"My guess is that this is a one-time test for Activision, and that they will rethink the strategy after seeing if it angers consumers. If there is no consumer backlash, I think we may see higher pricing on other games, regardless of the translation rate," he added.

"The repercussions could be significant and lasting. If Activision is successful, we may see increases for other 'hot' games in the future. We see tiered pricing to the downside for more casual games, so why not tiered pricing to the upside for hot games?"