User blog comment:Damac1214/Black Ops II - Rank Progression details revealed/@comment-124.189.181.177-20120908154736/@comment-124.189.181.177-20120909034232

I can certainly understand why the prestige system exists, replay value and all, but this might be taking the notion a step too far. I was quite comfortable with MW3's system: you had a choice not to prestige and if you didn't, it would not come at great sacrifice. The prestige shop granted items that were nice, but not gamebreaking. If you make poor item choices in BO2 then you'll be stuck with them permanently unless you prestige, clearly favouring highly dedicated players.

The way it should work in light of the above info: unlock all items by prestige 2-3, unlock rare/highly sought after aesthetics at higher prestiges (i.e. Gold camo for guns, badass emblems/titles).