Just called my local Sains in Brighton and asked if they'd be selling the game at midnight and was told to phone back on weds and talk to Jasmina lol.

I am gobsmacked by this really. I do not understand why activision
have vilified the HUT for early selling yet will more than likely stand by and say nothing about the supermarkets selling at a 55% discount. I think publishers need to get their priorities right.

Okay so the price war has begun and all for market share - my question to the MCV community is...

How does this back up Activisions claim that the consumer has to pay top price for premuim quality, and more so how does this affect consumers perception of price for new releases moving forward?

I am gobsmacked by this really. I do not understand why activision
have vilified the HUT for early selling yet will more than likely stand by and say nothing about the supermarkets selling at a 55% discount. I think publishers need to get their priorities right......

How many Nectar points is that?

*sniggers*

That was wierd; I had Paul R's comments already filled in when I opened up the story via a link in my webmail account. His email addy was there too. - Hmmmm security issue perhaps with MCV?

Now that is very strange - we're looking into it now.

So they (and all other supermarkets I assume) will take a £10 loss per unit? Seems retarded to me. I know I am going to try and grab some stock but I won't be doing my shopping as well...nor will anyone else who's there to get the game.

May I remind you it is illegal to sell BELOW cost. So what price are they buying at? 55% (Wholesale) less 5% invoice discount maybe?

This is a kick in the teeth to anyone that pre-ordered elsewhere.
My pre-order is at HMV, I was lucky that I had a £20 voucher at hand but I feel sorry for anyone else that has it pre-ordered at the usual stores/indies.
Taking this kind of a loss is pointless, they only have a limited stock on top of this which means some customers will be walking away empty handed until the next shipment whenever that may be.

How is it illegal to sell below cost?
can you back it up with evidence?
If thats the case, how have supermarkets been able to sell alcohol below cost for so long?

I think selling so cheap is good for the consumer short term, but bad in the long run. In the end, the indies cant survive, and that means less choice for all, and increased prices eventually.

Dave - we've been through this time and time again. Where on earth does this idea that its illegal to sell below cost come from? of course its not. shops can sell goods for exactly whatever price they damn well want.

Awesome, what a great "up yours" to that Activision executive nob. I'll be picking this up for my bro's christmas present.

@ Paul R, Activision don't care if the stores don't make a profit. As long as they sell units they'll be happy. As for the Hut, they broke the embargo. They had that to stop pirates (pointless) so they should have slapped wrists.

Does anybody know if this is national or just in certain stores?

Between one-off stunts like this and the many cases where games are heavily discounted literally weeks after release, what's the point of pre-ordering any more? Can't publishers and retailers agree a reasonable and attractive price say £30-£35 and be done with it?

"This is a kick in the teeth to anyone that pre-ordered elsewhere."

Good. Pre-ordering is retarded and deserves all the kicks in the teeth possible.

supermarkets will run out of stock no doubt at midnight tonight and then the price will be bumped up as usual.

most customers i guess would rather have there stock guaranteed than wait hours in the cold to be disapointed after an hours wait.

just foned my local sainsbury their not allowed to reserve copies reckon is hould get there well before 7 which is there opening time as lady said shed had hundreds of calls today about ppl asin about the game reckons theyre be a big que but £26 is confirmed .thats in everys tore in the GB for the person who ask

wat yur all forgettin is that not only can we get this cheap from sainsbury asda and makro but we're LEGALLY allowed to sell the game to anyone who wants it. dont why bbfc bothered to put the 18 sticker on as its not a legal requirement and before you all get up on me remembr that most of the adults who buy this game are getting it for their kids FACT just ask people they all admit it

I know there was the issue with the European Courts that ment the BBFC age ratings where not inforaceable - but they were tryign to push that though as soon as they could - so it might be now! Also, I do not know of any legitment retailer that would sell the game to an under 18 (knowingly) - you would come under too much flack and it is not as if you are going to have problems moving stock of this title!

As for the price, there is no law saying you can not sell below cost - infact it is quite the oppersite - if Activision, or any other publisher called a retailer and said "you are selling this too low - put your pricing up" - that is called price fixing and can get you in a hell of a lot of trouble! It is called a RECOMENDED retail price for a reason!

As far as retailers selling this game to anyone regardless of age, I'd like to point out that there will be several groups trying to get underage kids to buy this on purpose, like Trading Standards, newspaper journalists and parental groups so they can villify the whole industry. Any monkeys that sell this to a 9 year old (for example) will play right into their hands. Lets just hope that people fighting for market share don't shame the industry

That's a bugger, I just got mine for £120 from HMV. >.>

yeah but who cares if tradin standards buy one cos its isnt illegal now its absolutely fine so they cud nt do anithing anyway! look get real the fact is tht kids play 18 games all the time there normally brought by there parents so why does it mattr if we sell them in the shop anyway at least it more honest to b honest and jsut admit yur doin it rather than hide behind the law but noing that parents are giving them to the kids anyway anyway i wudnt sell to like reallly yung kids like 5 or somthig but if there a bit older like 12 or 15 as long as they seem there heads on strsaight then whats the harm ?i played 18 films wen i was 12 and ihavbent killed any1 yet!!!!!!

You may not have killed anyone but it certainly hasn't helped your spelling or grammar dear boy! You should have been studying rather than watching the Exorcist!

1. Its not illegal to sell below cost. Thats ridiculous. Its illegal to deliberately run a business at a loss. The supermarkets aren't doing this, they are just loss leading on a certain product.

2. This is national, all Sainsbury's will be offering this price for as long as they have stock.

3. Asda & Tesco are also cheap, so if your Sainsbury's has run out go to one of their competitors.

4. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING ELSE in store. I am a games indie and it makes me laugh how this ploy "gets extra other sales" when it doesn't...people go in for the game and leave. I understand customers want the cheapest price and if some stupid retailers want to sell at a loss then you might as well buy from them. Just don't buy anything else to help them recover it lolz.

Nice one. The goggles are pretty mint though!

"DO NOT BUY ANYTHING ELSE in store"

I'll buy whatever the hell I like, pal. Who are you to tell people what to do? And why should I be angry at Sainsbury's for selling something for £26 when you want to rip me off for £55?

Those who bought: Modern Warfare 2

Also purchased: Jaffa cakes

Add to basket?

thats brilliant - jaffa cakes, the best snack to munch on whilst slaughtering

Floyd - your mum's calling, your dinner is ready.

This is becoming a very worrying trend. Only supermarkets and monsterous online retailers such as Amazon have the power to engage in these games. Whilst it is of course a fantastic deal for the consumer, it is effectively manipulation of the consumer. If consumer perception of price changes so that they believe cost prices of new releases is £25, then we are going to have a real issue on our hands. This price cutting is brutal and totally unneccersary. If retailers want to rak up £ms in losses that is their choice. Its totally unfair to suggest an Indie retailer or Game is "ripping you off" for retailing at £44.99 or £49.99, and i think you'd be very surprised as to just how tight those margins are.

It'll be a really boring world when ASDA or Tesco is all that's left.

Gotta love those supermarkets, I refuse to spend more than £30 on a new game. Activision are very fortunate to avoid RRP backlash and prevent thousands of trade-ins.

If the industry got game prices down to Blu-ray levels and encouraged punters to start collecting again rather than trading-in, then a few quid saved here or there wouldn't matter so much.

I'm shocked about Paul R Wat sort of an idiot would rather pay 55 pounds than 26 for a quality game. i hope u preordered it at full price so that Ur idiocy is proven P.S GOOD ON U SAINSBURYS HAYES

Well I must say that Sainsbury's Warrington have managed this better than any other supermarket in my experience. 3 till points open meant I was queueing for no more than 10 mins. Well done. I noticed several other shoppers getting around the 1 per customer issue by buying a copy in each format.

Paul R is more than likely an independent retailer trying to make a living yes who would pay £55 when you can pay £26 but it is very frustrating for us independents when people are getting the impression that we are ripping people off it not only affects the sales of this massive title but gives the overall image that everything is going to be more exspensive to your casual shopper which is not the case. I thought this site was for the games industry to air there views not for you to tell us how much youv'e saved we know that already.

Hope all those who cannot understand why £26 is bad for the industry long term WILL understand why the game will be worth about £10 to trade in in about two weeks time...

Ultimately, COD is always a long term seller, the supermarkets cannot maintain this, and I wonder how long they can continue to sell such items below cost. If anything it shows a certain level of desperation on their part. Within a week it will be right back up to around £40 - it is telling that Tesco chose to go with £39.70 in it's press ads - you would think that an intelligent consumer would begin to question that price.

Simple answer; In many towns, as in mine, Tesco is the only supermarket left, the only store selling DVD/CD, and usually one of very few even selling games. They've driven the rest out of business and they know that a good percentage of the local people cannot access other competitors as easily. If you live in a town, then at this rate one day Tesco, Sainsburys, or whoever, will BE your town.

£25.99 at Morrisons today...the price war intensifies!

We have seen this behavoiur across all the Home Ents sectors over the recent years. Face reality fellas. The grocers are after your blood! Until the Games Industry takes control of its own destiny its doomed to follow DVD and Music into the Jan Sale Dump bin at the front of the store. You've been warned

we have had so many people cancel pre orderd games not only modern warfare but many upcomming titles, thinking we are ripping them off !,,,,so we wont be paying centresoft!!!!as ripping us off!!!!

After ordering 100 copies of MW2 from CSoft (i had about 85 preorders) i am still sat here with about 60% of them going nowhere.

Long before the Supermarkets jumped into this price war i made the decision to sell the game at a slight loss (£39.99) so that my customers would see that you can get value for money at an indie (39.99 is cheaper than amazons original price), however with the huge drop that the supermarkets have done, iv had nothing but abuse today.

Iv had customers accusing me of ripping them off, because if Morrisons are selling it for £25, then i should sell it for the same and "not be greedy wanting an extra £15"

Iv had customers who came at midnight, now trying to return the game because iv ripped them off over the price...

i could go on, but i wont. I know a lot of people on here hate Indies, accusing us of being ripoffs, but we aren't, we just want to make a living, but with whats happening with the Supermarkets, wont be long before we are all made bankrupt.

Yes becasue us Indys like to sell again and make a living we are the rip off merchants..

We are selling at £44.99, i wont sell at a loss. and thats a fair price considering the price we paid for it.

This industy is becoming a JOKE, and Publishers really need to get things under control before it destroys itself.

EA has just laid off 500 people, how long till Tescos start telling the publishers the price they will pay, like they do farmers...

How will have job cuts next?

As for consumer comments, i do understand why they are happy to get there games cheap, I would sell the games Cheap if I could do so!

all indies must stand up and make a offical complaint to centresoft

As a consumer who pre-ordered at £43 this weeks antics will certainly make me think twice about pre-ordering in future.

Not sure what any of you guys can do about the actions of the supermarkets, but from the consumers perspective it certainly pays to wait.

It's not just confined to big titles like MW2, there are many cases where titles are heavily discounted within days/weeks of release. How about the industry (from publisher to retailer) becomes a little more honest with itself and relealizes that £40 price tag won't fly; you are simply alienating those who toke you up on it without the support of a trade-in.

Supermarkets sell these promotions at a loss. They do not make any money... They only sell them for a week at the low price and then just put the price back-up.

Ok it's probably not much of a loss, but no money is made by the supermarket. The only thing they gain by this is the consumers perception that supermarkets are looking out for there customers, bringing them good deals in all areas.

The independent game stores are trying to make slightly too much profit overall. And they REALLY do need to take note on this point. They have only got themselves to blame that it has come to this.

Play recently did a pre-sale on uncharted 2 allowing customers to play the game before anyone else on the multi-player. This is a great idea and is a move in the right direction, though all retailers reducing game costs will definitely help their survival 'before it's too late'.

Sorry Bob I wasn't going to comment on anything but your comment here -

"The independent game stores are trying to make slightly too much profit overall. And they REALLY do need to take note on this point. They have only got themselves to blame that it has come to this." -

really is quite ignorant and naive. The price indies have to pay for the goods means that even when you sell at the RRP, the profit margins are not very high. Things are made even worse when a customer pays by credit card as the banks then take a big cut.

Supermarkets are probably making a big loss on this item but supermarkets are in a very luxury position. They probably have fantastic credit accounts with the suppliers too and can take the consumers money, stick in in the bank, invest the cash in something that makes them more money, and then in 2 -3 months time finally get around to paying the supplier for the goods - by which time any losses are more than covered.

Indies on the other hand may find themselves with rubbish credit terms or even have to pay for stock up front, then they can't shift it as they rightly refuse to sell it for a loss, so it sits on their shelves for ages and they don't make a penny back. And it's not like they can make their money on anything else because a lot of indies are games specialists - meaning they don't have the luxury of being able to sell a can of beans at the same time as a game.

This is one of the reasons I got out selling games and DVDs because supermarkets started taking all my customers and I couldn't get the stock cheap enough or good enough credit terms. People like me are (were) trying to make a honest living and to earn a decent wage by providing a decent customer service. I would love to sell everything to customers at fair prices as I like to get a bargain as much as the next person, but you can't go around accusing people of trying to make too much profit when if you actually think about how many games one store needs to sell in order for one person to earn a average wage, you'll soon understand how difficult situations like this one can be.

I'm an indie and for me just to break even on the wholesale price of this game id have to sell it at around £43. so the comments about us all being money grabbers is a bit ignorant. 45 was about the average online price uptill a few days ago. these giant chains can sell this at a loss and often do just for the publicity.
and as for activision/infinity ward stepping in and saying hey dont do that well unfortunatly they cant under the current law in the uk, but that is being reviewed and hopefully we'll get some where and actually have a thrieving games culture again and the lay offs at EA which is just down the road from me are the only loss of this battle

Dave, I can understand your argument and frustration. But to enter into a business with such a small mark-up in the first place? Why do it?

Surely the one off stores that everyone sees in a local parade or shopping centre are not really thinking they can take on major chains are they? isn't that in itself being a bit naive?

Most I go into normally only have a few new games in, the rest are all second hand titles at reasonable prices.

Price cutting is not just something in the games industry, its happening in every single industry? The more units you buy, the lower the unit cost will be. Which then determines the amount you sell it at?

This is basic stuff! and normally most industries deal with it, accept it and get on with it.

RRP 55 selling for 26 and still making a profit. How much are they buying the stock for?

They'll be losing money - the question is how much.

On the whole, few things that affect what price a retailer will go at for a game...

Trade Cost = What the cost to buy would be for a retailer undiscounted.

Retailer's Actual Cost = What a specific retailer pays, based on their trading terms with the publisher. There'll be some discount there, but how much will depend on the size of the retailer and a lot of other things.

Trade Marketing = If a retailer has sufficient footfall / presence to promote the brand and title, they may get trade marketing money from the publisher for promotion. Sometimes this marketing is strictly not for pricing activity, sometimes it's against bundling the title, sometimes it's not specified.

This, along with not being able to buy in bulk and get discounts are the problems that any indy will always face.

I think it was a very clever move on the par of Sainsburys. Not only where they still aparantley making money on the game but they got people into the supermarkets where they will more than likely buy other things too, and they'll come back to see what the next offers are.

If sainsburys are making a profit at £26 i would like to know what centresoft buy them for? because i get the feeling sainsburys get them with no mark up then they make there money ripping off indies.

Sainsbury wont be making a profit on it. Asda admitted to selling FIFA 10 at a loss for like £27 or soemthing so with Modern Warfare having a £55 rrp there definitely losing money on it. but thats there choice - loss leaders are an valid strategy

all indies should cancel there pre orders with centresoft on upcomming titles to get the message home that we wont take this we can all buy else where cheaper anyhow !!!!!

It's sad to say this, being an indie store that sells DVDs, Blu-ray and preowned games, things are really going from bad to worse out there. I mean, a good 10 to 15 years ago indie stores were busy but now what with the buying power these supermarkets chuck centresofts way they just cannot refuse the business.
The mark up on Modern Warfare 2 in supermarkets was unbelievable, but, Im sure we all saw this one coming!

A reliable source has told us that Modern Warfare 2 sold way over the million mark on the first day of release...would that have been the same case if the supermarkets didn't stock it??

@bill

Do you seriously think you can have a smidgen of an impact on the industry. Sorry mate RIP indies.

Over a million units sold - how many sold by Indies? At this rate probably less then 10k hardly going to cause C'soft a problem you not pre-ordering this or new releases. Also remember Centresoft owned by Activision, what does that tell you?

Yeah, because centersoft are going to have many sleepless nights worrying about the 20 indies who r left dropping their accounts! thats like what? 200 unit sales lost?

im being sarcastic. i know its harsh for you guys but come on - there's a reason why youre being marginalised in this industry. do you seriously expect sainsburys to buy 50,000 copies for the same price each unit as an indie byuing 20? wake up get real.

theres nothing you can do about supermarkets selling at a loss. the thing is the indies are the only ones not happy. centersoft? happy as they've sold shit loads. activision? happy as they've sold shit loads. infinity ward? happy as they've sold shit loads. gamers? delighted as they saved £30 on the game.

indies? the only ones who moan and complain.

just to put you in the picture i took 500plus from centresoft. and 400 from other places .what iam saying is dont buy from centresoft as we can all get from unofficial places at 1.50 a unit cheaper or more on all releases why support them when there not supporting us ! i dont think supermarkets should be paying same price as me iam not saying that ,but when centersoft are calling you a before release trying to get more numbers from you saying rrp off 55 to justify us paying over 40 a unit ..and supermarkets are selling for as low as 20 !! is this right ?

i'll admit that sounds a bit shit

OK so here's one for you.. Game are at £44.99, price is not the ONLY factor for most consumers. Game would not survive and be number 1 if it was...

Stop the griping, start thinking guys because if you want to compete on price you are already bankrupt...

Supermarkets are killing the games industry, they have already made local butchers, fruit & veg and other business stop trading.
When will goverment Lern that this has become a big problem for indepentant local shops that have closed due to supermarkets forcing trade priceses down.
In my area shops have been empty for years and small local towns are
dead. Supermarkets are out of control but have to much power to be stopped!

This is a feisty thread. It is an impossible situation. I was horrified when they announced the RRP on this - I can never really get my head around why a new movie on DVD can cost £15 say and a game costs £45 say. Both products may have involved a substantial budget to develop, and both are, in physical terms, a similar item that comes off the same plastic-disc spewing conveyor belts.

£55 or whatever is just too much for a piece of leisure software, even if you do get a year's fun out of it. It's nuts. No wonder consumers are seizing the chance to buy from Sainsbury's.

On the other hand, I'm not a fan of the big business destroying independent businesses, so as a consumer, what can should I do?

As someone said earlier, some agreement on reasonable, standardised prices is in order, not RRPs inflated by the publishers, which them prompt daffy price-wars.

55 quid + a year's Xbox Live sub (which you need to get the most out of this game and justify the large price tag) is the best part of £100...which admittedly is expensive (but bloody marvelous) entertainment. But if you can't afford it laddy, don't buy it. You don't hear too many people moaning about the price of Ferraris do you? And MW2 is the Ferrari of gaming...

Indies have been shooting themselves in the foot for years, by constantly trying to prop up high prices that leave huge scope for exactly this kind of exploitation by supermarkets, by wimping out over grey imports and suchlike that gave them a USP over High Street chains, and by constantly slashing the prices they paid for preowned games.

There's literally no reason for them to exist any more, because absolutely everything they do is done better elsewhere. I can get any game on any format cheaper on the day of release without getting out of bed. I've got no sympathy whatsoever.

"i dont think supermarkets should be paying same price as me iam not saying that ,but when centersoft are calling you a before release trying to get more numbers from you saying rrp off 55 to justify us paying over 40 a unit ..and supermarkets are selling for as low as 20 !! is this right ?"

Fair point. I mean, it's not like you could have seen it coming, because supermarkets never do this sort of thing with monster releases.

Wait, the other one.

Indies have NO CHANCE of competing with supermarkets on these massive AAA games - wake up and smell the own-brand coffee. So either don't bother stocking them at all until at least the second or third week, or just spend that time buying up as many cheapo supermarket copies as you can to sell on later.

Sorry, but anyone dumb enough not to know this was going to happen with MW2 really shouldn't be running a business. And similarly, anyone stupid enough to pre-order a game like this at £40+ shouldn't be allowed to be in charge of money.

bill
is talking alot of sense,i am in the same boat.
a retailer who has been screwed by the industry

ALL INDIES OUT THERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,DO NOT USE CENTRESOFT ANYMORE
WE HAVE BEEN SHAFTED

Fair point. I mean, it's not like you could have seen it coming, because supermarkets never do this sort of thing with monster releases.
RevStu:
if you no what will be the next release to discounted please feel free us let me !they nether did it to ay other cod or gta the last real big seller did they ! or do you think supermarkets mite do it to assassian creed 2 please shed some light for all us indies ! as your such a game guru

i wish it was as easy as you seem to think!!!!!

if you no what will be the next discounted release ,please feel free to let us all no!!

Simon you taling crap mate. We ordered (indie store) 200 copies on 360 and 150 on PS3 and sold all on the 10th @ £44.99. Most customers did not care about the price discounting as they knew they would not get any stock as supermarkets never stock enough.
Who are you Simon? you are always having a go at indies. You must be a crap developer as you spend more time on here than your work. Get a life mate.

How many games come out with a £55 rrp?

@ SpungoMcGee
And can you return faulty items from your bed too mate? You must stink chap lol

@RevStu:
if you no what will be the next release to be discounted please feel free to let us no!!!!!

as you seem to be able to see in to the future please answer!!!!!

and i think you find all and every indie game shop pre orderd at 40+ what sort of game shop would we be if we never had the best and biggest game ever not on the shelf!

Ok supermarkets do get heavy discounts from the likes of activision because of bulk buying which is fair enough. But when it gets to the point where theyre selling games to the general public £15 cheaper than what we pay centresoft for its a joke.

be nice if centresoft could anwser as i no many off the staff are reading this as have told me on the phone ....so hears your chance big fat centresoft we are waiting !!!

I wonder how many reorders CS are actually getting?

Zero?!

Maybe the reason they haven't commented regarding the supermarkets price of this game compared to them, is as they're too busy going down to Sainsburys to buy stock to sell on at a healthy £15 profit!

@RevStu

still waiting for the RevStu supermarket discount chart!!!

@centresoft

still waiting for the offical activision supplyiers coments!!!!