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Buy Pepsi products, receive advantages on MW3 (no, it's not a joke)
Crynswind
Member Posts: 290
Modern Warfare 3's Pepsi Cross Promotion Steps Over the Line
I can understand a studio and a brand attempting to work together to figure out some sort of reasonable ad campaign for an upcoming game, as there’s nothing inherently wrong with that concept. Product placement or cross promotion is nothing new in the industry, but this new collaboration between Pepsi and Activision is nothing short of unholy.
The promotion is called “Rank Up XP,” and the long and short of it is that by buying certain Pepsi products, namely Mountain Dew and Doritos, players can redeem codes in the packaging for Double XP time in Modern Warfare 3. A 20 oz gets you 15 minutes, a 12 pack gets you 45, and so on.
Why is this a problem? Because XP is currency in these games, and whoever has more of it first is at a distinct advantage. More XP, especially when the game is new, means more weapons, more perks, more attachments, more killstreaks, and subsequently, usually more wins. Offering Double XP to someone who purchases Pepsi products is selling out about as much as you can, and for a franchise that’s already been accused of pushing the limits with “Elite” monthly membership and overpriced map packs, it goes to show that Activision will exploit its fans in any way they can.
I though the line was being drawn with pre-order bonuses promising weapons and attachments that couldn’t be found in the actual game, but to me, this is a new low for an industry that wants to keep digging. Many companies are guilty of trying to squeeze blood out of the stone, but Activision in particular appears to be more than OK with abusing its customer base for the sake of some quick advertising cash. I understand you want to maximize on a popular game’s appeal, but when your last title sells $360M worth of copies in 24 hours, and this new title is looking to beat that record haul, it seems more greedy than usual to roll out a tacky ad campaign like this.
Now when players fire up the game next month, there’s no telling if those at higher levels have been playing twice as long and hard as you, or if they simply bought a ton of Mountain Dew and Doritos. I’m going to choose to ignore the whole childhood obesity epidemic factors that accompany such an ad campaign, but it’s worth noting that kids are now being bribed with more XP (in a game that keeps them sedentary for long hours) to get them to buy completely unhealthy junk food.
It’s not that this XP is SO valuable where this is the end of the world, but it’s definitely a slippery slope, one we seem to be sliding down at a record pace. Above all, I think it says that Activision is getting complacent, and is willing to see how far they can push their fans before they rebel and abandon the franchise which is largely content with churning out almost identical products year after year, and now piling on bonus promotions to net them even more cash.
This is a bad path to walk down, and hopefully it ends up biting Activision to a degree where they actually course correct. That day may still be a long ways off, however.
Mountain Dew and Doritos?
LOL they know their target audience very well! hahaha, but the extra extra extra large CoD T-Shirts are missing 
Also i'm just gonna leave this here:
Comments
TLDR all of it anyway. That type choice is pretty obnoxicious as well.
Still... I see your point, and I don't agree at all since it's Battlefield. At best drinking all that corn syruped crap will get you to doulbe ammo crates a little quicker than someone else.
I think it's good to see the Battlefield series try and put it's name out as openly as everyone talks about the Call of Duty games. That's the only real 'evil' behind any of this for gamers. They need a main stream marketing campaign, and they chose to partner with the most consumed foods in our modern culture.
Good job I say.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
Double XP is meaningless in a game like that. Most real CoD gamers are easily max level within the first week. They also have double XP weekends all the time, etc.
I actually find it way more objectionable when they have versions of games that are different depending on if you buy from Gamestop, Best Buy, etc. or if you pre-order versus not pre-order. I remember when buying Red Dead Redemption actually having to think if I wanted the epic mount or the cool hat LOL
MANY games do this, not just MW3.
GW2 "built from the ground up with microtransactions in mind"
1) Cash->Gems->Gold->Influence->WvWvWBoosts = PAY2WIN
2) Mystic Chests = Crass in-game cash shop advertisements
Also, CoD is a game where most players voluntarily reset their experience to zero multiple times just to get a little prestige icon by their name. Experience points is next to meaningless in a shooter. In fact, most if not all MMOs it is meaningless as well. Getting to max level is trivial these days.
GW2 "built from the ground up with microtransactions in mind"
1) Cash->Gems->Gold->Influence->WvWvWBoosts = PAY2WIN
2) Mystic Chests = Crass in-game cash shop advertisements
This thread is very misleading. They are only giving something that is completely achieveable for free just like in LoL which has pretty much the best cash shop ever.
Remember Old School Ultima Online
LoL perks on Pepsi products would mean I'd have to hit the black market looking for kidneys in short order.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
It's Call of Duty doing this, not Battlefield.
At this point, I would be shocked if ActiBlizzion didn't pull crap like this.
No moral's these day's. Nothing is more important then the almighty $
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
Bound to happen with companies as evil as Activision I'd think they would partner with Al-Quaida just to make more $ no moral, no integrity, no quality just almighty $.
Anyway still having fun playing CoD 4 the game went downhill from it.
We need a MMORPG Cataclysm asap, finish the dark age of MMORPGS now!
"Everything you're bitching about is wrong. People don't have the time to invest in corpse runs, impossible zones, or long winded quests. Sometimes, they just want to pop on and play."
"Then maybe MMORPGs aren't for you."
This is one of the reasons that I don't play FPS games online anymore. Between the cash-grabbing (expansion packs, cash shops, etc), crap like this, and the incorporation of MMO aspects.....they just aren't the same.
Used to be you loaded up gamespy, found a server, grabbed a gun and blasted some fools. It was a nice even playing field, and SKILL was all that really mattered (well....ping....but that's a constant in any internet game).
Oooh, well gatdamn Activision knows how to try and push their shares above 12 dollars.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
Hahahaha
Oh gamers are getting screwed over and over.
Well if they throw money at game companies , never minding what those companies do (p2w , dlc's , cash shops, etc)
guess they do deserve it.
Well there is less and less products in gaming industry that don't have this kind of cr*p , and I as consumer refuse to be treated like that.
Guess it is time to find another hobby for myself and just play those very few games that don't have tons of paid DLC's / nickle & diming cash shops / double xp on real life products / rmah / pricing expansions as full priced products (Starcraft II anyone?).
PS. after you read this post don't forget to go buy some DLC's for 15$ that has 1 new map / few game items/ content that don't cost much to produce , then spend some money in cash shops and finally buy soem MD for double XP for your pre-ordered Modern Warfare. You cannot fall behind in internetz !!
I was watching the beta streams of BF3 and it boggles the mind how COD has imprinted itself on the console kiddie crowed, they can't think beyond it and just kept to try make a point how BF3 sucks and MW3 going to be better, yet you can clearly see BF3 stands shoulders above what MW3 will be. Then you had the Halo kiddies trying to say Planetside 2 is copying the Halo IP, when Planetside 2 looks in every way the same style from PS1 which was released 2 years before the first xbox console hit the market! The way the COD series has gone, and the type of hardcore followers its got, I'm not surprised they're trying this idea on the COD fanbois console kiddies. I bet they'll take up the offer thinking what a great idea such is the mindset of the hardcore COD player now days if what I was reading from them is anything to go by.
Must ... gain ... more .... weight ... for more XP!
My brand new bloggity blog.
So true.
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
LOL they know their target audience very well! hahaha, but the extra extra extra large CoD T-Shirts are missing
ROFL, must have 5x :P
Oh don't worry sooner or later they will put double xp or similar c**p on some popular diet bars/ flakes or similar stuff as well.
As long as people fall for that kind of things and buy games that offer this kind of stuff they will add it.
Yeah I made a post about this on my blog. I think it is ridiculous.. Talking about Activision trying to get every penny they possibly can.
I thought all gamers just sat back and chugged Mountain Dew and ate Doritos all night while they played. You mean I was wrong?
If anything, love the pic. Feels so true in most games now.
How about a pack of Marlboros for 5 hours of double experience.
Absolutely fits the bill.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
Great image and sadly so true. Next will be Moahawk haircutters giving your 3 times XP in an Activision MMOG.
We need a MMORPG Cataclysm asap, finish the dark age of MMORPGS now!
"Everything you're bitching about is wrong. People don't have the time to invest in corpse runs, impossible zones, or long winded quests. Sometimes, they just want to pop on and play."
"Then maybe MMORPGs aren't for you."
Not suprised in the slightlest.. I mean MW is the most commercial played out game in existence, I know people that ONLY own a console and 1 CoD game.. you ask them to beat the first level on Mario and they cant.. Its like.. Eat at mcdonalds get a shotgun, buy some old navy clothes get an outfit for your avatar, actually pay someone to do your taxes for you (lmao) at walmart none the less get some moniez ingame..
Soda and games collaborations are nothing new... too bad pepsi makes me want to slice my throat open to avoid it actually going into my stomach..