Retailers Using Call of Duty 4 Costs to Lure Gamers?

Shiva Stella — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:55:25 -0600

Some of you might be wondering why retailers have been offering Activision and Infinity Ward's stellar hit, Call of Duty 4, at such reduced rates (with some prices as low as a mere $38 for this "game of the year" title). It almost appears as though this incredible game isn't selling as well as it should be (which you know is an automatic farce if you've spent any time bouncing between matches on Infinity's servers).

Newsweek has tackled the question head-on, turning to analyst Michael Pachter for comment on what's going on with CoD4's low pricing. Pachter summarizes neatly:

COD4 is selling very well, so much so that I think it's been positioned as a loss leader to drive store traffic, particularly at Circuit City. I've seen the same ads, and it is a retailer price cut, not a publisher price cut. There are differences in terminology between how the two cuts are advertised (long story). So the answer is that holiday software sales were great (more from GameStop on Jan 10), and retailers know that they can offer discounts to drive customers to their stores. COD4 has been holding its own at $60...

So retailers are apparently luring customers in with great deals on CoD4 in the hopes of selling them $500+ Wiis and games they don't want. At least it means a great deal for you.

Gears of War Franchise Heading to PlayStation 3?

Shiva Stella — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:20:42 -0600

According to industry analyst Michael Pachter, Epic's widely popular Gears of War franchise (currently an Xbox 360 exclusive, with allowed PC ports) is probably headed to the PlayStation 3... eventually.

Pachter recently stated to Game Trailers that "we ('we' apparently meaning Patcher and his analyst pals) pretty much know that Gears of War 3 is probably gonna' come out on PS3." Pretty much, eh? Sounds scientific.

Pachter assumes that Microsoft has a two-game deal with Epic Games and that, barring any extension of that deal, afterward Epic is free to release GoW games on any platform it chooses. Considering the PS3's current lackluster offering of online titles (with the exception of Call of Duty 4 and Resistance: Fall of Man), a Gears of War game on Sony's catch-up console might definitely get some units sold - especially if it were a PS3 exclusive.

Meanwhile the rest of us anxiously await Gears of War 2.

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Retailers Using Call of Duty 4 Costs to Lure Gamers?

Gears of War Franchise Heading to PlayStation 3?