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UK retailers have criticised Activision over the “complicated” launch of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s Day Zero Edition.
Speaking in the latest issue of MCV, an unnamed senior buyer at a major games retailer said that the game’s launch “was one of, if not the, most complicated launches I have ever seen.”
“It confused customers, store staff and in the end we just had to sell all versions of the game on Monday.”
The Day Zero promotion had initially been designed to let pre-order customers purchase their copy on Monday, November 3, 24 hours ahead of the game’s general release.
However, according to MCV, some retailers “refused to sell the title at all on the Monday, even to those who had pre-ordered”.
“The launch was a complete balls-up,” added Chips managing director Don McCabe. “We’re in the industry and we’re not sure what was going on – the consumers certainly didn’t have a clue what was happening”
Some players, of course, managed to obtain an early copy, with many playing Advanced Warfare throughout the weekend prior to release. We were one of them.
The confused launch didn’t appear to hurt overall sales, however.
Advanced Warfare became the fifth fastest-selling Call of Duty in the UK of all-time following its launch last week, with opening week sales beating Titanfall, Destiny and Wolfenstein: The New Order combined.
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Source: MCV | Issue 813
