There's a new way to massively boost your XP in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Simply guzzle bottles of Pepsi and chomp on bagfuls of Doritos.
A new promo cooked up by Activision and Pepsi offers consumers the chance to double their XP through specific play-times - IF they buy promoted cans of soda and bags of tasty corn chips.
No doubt, this seems like a great idea to the marketing whizzkids at these two august corporations. But not everyone agrees.
Writing in Forbes, Paul Tassi called the promo, "a new low for an industry that wants to keep digging." His argument? Very few people would say that the products offered under this promotion are healthy; therefore offering them to gamers in exchange for valuable in-game currency is leading them to eat poorly and increasingly damaging their health.
Some might say that this promo is no different than offering a child a toy, along with her cheeseburger. But even if you approve of the questionable marketing tactics of fast food empires, the comparison is weak. A toy is a thing that you either own, or do not own. XP is cumulative. Players want as much of it, as quickly as they can get.
Supporters of the promo point out that MW3 is an adult game, and therefore the promo is only targeted at adults, who are free to choose their diets as they see fit. This sophistry ignores the fact that many adult games are played by minors, who are also a key target demographic for soda companies.
The promo works as follows. The more of this junk food you buy, the faster you can access better weapons in the game, the more kudos and skill you accrue.
There is a limit on the promo. Consumers can only gain two hours worth of double-time. 1.5 hours, according to the promo, will cost a 20-pack of soda. Based on a 12-fluid oz can of Pepsi carrying an estimated 150 calories, that's a whole day's worth of calories for an adult male.
All this is unfolding in a culture of increasing concern about obesity, particularly in the young.
Activision is not alone in cozying up to fast-food companies and soda giants. For example, Pepsi and Mountain Dew have a long history of association with games, including a Mass Effect 2 promo that placed codes for in-game enhancements and DLC under Dr. Pepper caps.
Gamers may also feel that there's something wrong about giving players with cash to splash on junk food an in-game advantage. Surely XP is something you earn. It's called "experience" for a reason, right?
Topic: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Series (Read 49801 times)