Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is not just the biggest games release of the year – it’s one of the biggest events.
Originally revealed in an Activision Blizzard company earnings call back in December 2008, Modern Warfare 2 was officially announced to universal acclaim at this year’s Games Developer Conference in March – and has dominated the headlines since.
The entire industry has been waiting for it. From gamers to retailers, everyone has been pouring over every trailer and every screenshot – and now the game is mere weeks away. No pressure, Activision.
Obviously, the publisher is confident about Modern Warfare 2, assuring fans that the game’s quality will more than live up to the anticipation that has been steadily building since the original Modern Warfare debuted two years ago.
“Expectations are extremely high and rightly so,” says Activision’s UK marketing director David Tyler. “The calibre of the team at Infinity Ward and the sheer quality of the game fuels a very positive acknowledgement throughout the marketplace of everything we do in relation to Modern Warfare 2.
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“We work very closely with our Global Brand Team in the US and sometimes with the studio directly to construct marketing, trade and PR programmes that are as hard-hitting as we can make them.”
The game is, naturally, the direct sequel to the critically acclaimed, award-winning and multi-milion selling Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Like its predecessor, it shuns the franchise’s traditional World War II setting in favour of today’s grittier, more dangerous battlefields.
Once again, players join the likes of Captain ‘Soap’ MacTavish as they progress through an intense single-player campaign that picks up where the original Modern Warfare left off.
As the global conflict escalates, players will find themselves fighting for survival all over the world, from the politically troubled developing countries of South America to the blizzard-stricken icy Russian wastes.
In terms of marketing, Activision has been running an extensive high-profile PR campaign to raise awareness of the game’s arrival since May, encompassing all forms of media including print, TV and online. Central to this campaign’s message is the game’s release date, which was revealed surprisingly early in March – which has helped to build momentum for demand.
“It really helps from a retail perspective,” says UK senior sales director Roy Stackhouse. “One of the biggest criticisms form retail is that a date can come so late that it’s difficult – unless you’re a games specialist – to react.
“To have a date set so far out and to know what the strategy is great for everybody involved – from building the product, to getting the in-store right, to talking to the consumer.”
RETAIL REINFORCEMENTS
Not only has the game established itself as an event in terms of the public mindset, it will also have phenomenal in-store presence with multiple SKUs making it a significant occasion for retail.
Perhaps the most notable MW2 offering is the Prestige Edition, which is exclusive to HMV. The package includes a copy of the game, a collector’s bust of MacTavish, a special edition Steelbook, an art book, a code to download the original Call Of Duty and – most impressively – a fully-functional pair of Night Vision Goggles.
The Prestige Edition sold out a month after its unveiling, forcing HMV to seek additional stock. Activision is particularly pleased with demand for this SKU, pointing to how its contents had been tailored to appeal to the series hardcore fans.
“That edition is for people who are really fans of a franchise and spend a lot of time playing it,” says UK MD Andrew Brown. “Modern Warfare is their pastime, it’s their hobby, so there is a demand for something a bit unique and different – be it more content or something they can put beside them while playing. If you’ve got a hobby, you enhance that by buying something you enjoy.”
Elsewhere, consumers can pick up the Hardened Edition, which features a copy of the game, a Steelbook case, an artbook and the downloadable version of the first Call Of Duty. The GAME-exclusive Veteran Edition not only comes with all this, but also features a unique gift box and a statue of the popular MacTavish in full snow camo gear.
There will even be plenty of MW2-branded hardware on the shelves, not the least of which is a special 250GB Elite Xbox 360 console. Exclusive to GAME and GameStation, this machine boasts a warzone design, two wireless controllers, an Xbox 360 headset and, of course, a copy of Modern Warfare 2. A standard 250GB Elite is also available bundled with the game.
Finally, Mad Catz has a range of officially licensed Modern Warfare 2 accessories that cater for gamers on
all formats, with consumers able to pick up everything from controllers and mice to headsets.
