The Death of Good Gaming

[Keystone Gray]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's release is tomorrow, for most people. Building its success upon the frame of its predecessor, it's set to become the best-selling game of 2009. Already breaking records for pre-orders at GameStop and other gaming venues, MW2 has been hailed already as the "greatest game of all time" by many of its fans. Gaming units, clans, and guilds looked forward to it in absolute reverence, and as the promotional trailers and advertisements rolled out of the woodwork, the game looked poised to obliterate MW1 entirely.

However, recent events point away from this initial standpoint. Many facts have been released about the game and its 'features' since it was initially announced, ones that have swayed the opinions of a very 'small' sales demographic. These features include the removal of not only dedicated server support (the most famous of complaints), but also the server browser, leaning (a CoD staple), demo recording support, full field-of-view widescreen support, and mod support.

Instead, they have replaced all of these features with an experimental PC version of X-Box Live, one that has had almost no testing outside of the IW office LAN. Joining a game will require entering the game, searching for a game lobby, waiting for people to join the lobby, waiting for the game to choose a player's computer to host off of, and then being forced to endure a game limited to 9v9 engagements that is being hosted on a listen server from someone's PC. With a cap of 18 players, there will be no more massive battles like you'd find in CoD4. What the fuck? In CoD4 I can boot the game, flip to my favorites, double click my favorite server, and be on the ground and shooting people in 15 seconds. Are we really being forced to sit for five minutes to even get into a game?

Infinity Ward has essentially 'consolized' their gaming franchise with the interest of putting as little work into making a competent server system as humanly possible. They instead borrowed the X-Box Live framework and pasted it onto their own server, completely dodging the 'let's make a good server browser' bullet. Their rationale is simple, but it is also a thin veil: "Let's stop pirated servers." But, when has a system like this stopped pirates before? Surely somewhere, someone is sitting in their living room playing a $5 copy of Halo 3 online on a white disc with "Halo lol" scrawled upon it in black marker. And pirated servers only account for 1~% of current CoD4 servers. So what gives?

It's maximum profit, minimum effort. Unfortunately, those most affected by these changes aren't the ones dropping the most money into Activision's coffers. All over the Internet, X-Box fanboys and children worldwide have made it their personal mission to invalidate the opinions of PC gamers with a massive, shadow-casting, intimidating "So what?" Their experience isn't changing in the slightest, and won't be for some time. Console games have traditionally been less sophisticated than their PC counterparts, and that is no insult to console gamers. PC games have always been a cut above console games merely due to the customization ability.

By standardizing MW2's general operation, Infinity Ward can essentially make one game for one system, write a different control set for PC, and kick back to enjoy profits. By doing so, they are destroying the online gaming community. Clans can no longer play together in their own servers, the mod community is being flipped the bird (and are returning that bird in kind), and most importantly, casual players are getting more spotlight now than hardcore gamers.

The answer to why is fairly simple: hardcore gamers don't make as much money. Infinity Ward knew that what they were doing would have them lose a lot of customers, but not enough to hurt their wallet. A plan was devised, and they made preorders available before announcing what they knew was going to drive the PC community absolutely mad.

Not only was Modern Warfare 2 going to have a load of PC-related features removed, but it will also force everyone to utilize the Steam service for multiplayer. No exceptions. Everyone will need to create a Steam account and run Steam in the background to play MW2. While this may not be an issue for me, as I do use Steam for 99% of my gaming, I still find it to be complete bullshit to force people to use a marketing platform to play this game.

Most PC gamers turned in their preorders overnight when the news hit, and understandably so. Unfortunately, anyone who preordered the game on Steam may not turn in their preorder under any circumstances. But this story wouldn't be as good without icing on the cake. Insult to injury? You bet your sweet ass.

Steam preorder purchasers will not be permitted to play the game until November 12, two days after the game's official PC release on November 10. Steam users saved five dollars but got fucked over hardcore.

Has Infinity Ward and Activision lost their fucking minds?

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I've named this article "The Fall of Good Gaming" because these issues are not pertaining solely to the CoD franchise. Most games have gone down this same road, in which the game was developed for the console gaming community and then half-assedly passed off to the PC crowd. Maximum profit, minimum effort. Examples of which include the port of Resident Evil 5, Deus Ex 2, Fallout 3, Borderlands, GTA4, the recent Rainbow Six Vegas games, Red Faction's sequels, and all of Splinter Cell's PC games.

While any one of these games may be a good game in their own right, they all have one single thing in common: They were lazy ports. Borderlands, as a more specific example, is a beautiful game. However, the developers decided that they didn't want to work on the most highly advertised feature of the game - the multiplayer - and passed it off to GameSpy to code. That effort ended in failure, as 95% of everyone who played it on the PC could not play multiplayer in the first few nights. Even still then, the terrible server browser makes playing with friends on a pub server almost impossible. Hacking Borderlands is also extremely easy, because player profiles are stored locally. A little over half of PC Borderlands multiplayer users are at level 1337 or 9001 and one-shot-killing everything. The level cap is 50.

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Good gaming is dead. I have no choice but to begrudgingly play Modern Warfare 2 and can only pray that the single player redeems the 50 dollars I paid, because half of that price is going to a multiplayer that I won't even be able to play in a favorite server anymore.

Hell, I have more faith in the PC gaming and modding community than Infinity Ward. I'm certain someone will hack a good server browser into MW2 and we can all start playing unofficial patches, because as with all Console-to-PC ports, you can be sure that IW will patch the console version at least 20 to 30 times before they even give PC gamers a single one.

[Tokeli Zabelin]

Holy shit, they mutilated it worse than I thought! <_> They even took out leaning!? ;.; Now I can't even enjoy my pirated single-player version. Either it'll flop horribly.. or thus PC gaming falls..

And how dare you call Fallout 3 a ported game. |:< And a poorly one at that.

[Kellervo]

And this is why I'm glad developers like Tripwire are around. Killing Floor cost $20, yet as of the last DLC it has more weapons, more enemies, and far more re playability then its closest comparison (L4D).

And Tripwire did all that DLC for free, barring two inconsequential character packs. I bet for the cost of KF, a MW2 player will probably have 2 maps worth of DLC - and that's pushing it, if Halo 3's DLC is any indication.

[Cygna]

Good gaming ended after Super Mario Bros. 3 on NES.

I don't agree with what Infinity Ward is doing, though, with multiplayer. It's like how the Wii connects, lul.

[Tsume Xiao]

I disagree with Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 Being a copy of the prior ones. It had a whole new physics, damage, and unlock system, much more replay value, and high customizeability. And its made of win in my opinion. I have considered buying an XBox 360 just to play it. c.c

[Cyphre Iredell]

Wow, and I thought the loss of dedicated servers were bad, but now there isn't even a server browser like all traditional multiplayer shooting games?? Guess I'll wait for the eventual update to that craptacular system.

[Scientific Waffle]

While all of this sucks, and the lack of key features is a really shitty move by IW...

PC Gaming != All of Gaming

Also, hate the developer, not the consoles themselves.

[Jason Backer]

Vote with your wallets.

They did all this just so they could sell a few DLC maps. Hopefully the amount of people turned off by the lack of dedicated servers will outweigh the amount of DLC maps they sell.

[Zero Itamae]

I'm actually trying to get a refund from steam for my copy of MWF2, which should be possible since it's not released yet and I preordered. I bought the game expecting it to be like it's predecessors, and improve on everything they were. Instead we get half assed multiplayer and have to pay $10 more than usual. I'm done with it.

[Jayce Iredell]

I am a console gamer, this is an unfortunate fact, we know my computing setup is utter shit. I feel like I ought to sound off here, it does really feel like an attack on console gamers; even though by no means did they do anything wrong.

You're absolutely right Keystone when you get down to the bottom line. Infinity Ward, or Activision as a whole (I would blame Activision, IW is the only good part of their company) is just doing this to save a few bucks.

Developement is cheaper, more effecient, and alot less work. Its painful to see, as there are alot of creative modders out there that have made some incredible, and in some cases outrageous content. I don't want to start a war here at any rate, xboxlive has its selling points. However one of the things that would attract me to PC gaming if I had the hardware, would be all the features you described.

They say money talks, and bullshit walks; unfortunately Activision I see alot of both at work here, shame on you. Even if I get my Xbox360 repaired, I will not buy your MW2. Gamers have one thing in common, they like to have fun, for some its casual, for others its hardcore. Though its the -HARDCORE- gamers that make you famous.

Let me prove my point, I have two younger brothers that are World of Warcraft junkies, figurines, posters, you name it. Do they touch their consoles? Fuck no they don't, I saw Modern Warfare, and World at War both for PS3 and both still in the packaging laying around here. I would have played the shit out of those, and got my monies worth.

Casual gamers don't make up your fanbase, stick to your roots Infinity Ward, don't slap away the hand that feeds you, or eventually the food won't come anymore.

[Keystone Gray]

Vote with your wallets.

Unfortunately, the brainless masses will buy it up anyway. Same with L4D2. So this tactic won't work, and we need a new one. The petition method won't work either, as Infinity Ward has been claiming that all of the votes on the current petition are fake.

[Cyphre Iredell]

Voting with wallets is irrelevant if all they are after are the same micro-payment DLC systems so many are employing now a days. Saving a few bucks? Only to the extent that we need yet another system in our computers to control whether or not we have a legitimate copy of the game we have purchased. Not that previous methods have been less effective, and nothing will stop piracy, but there comes a point where people are not going to like these companies anymore regardless of content if there are too many extra bits one has to install.

Take Fallout 3 for instance. If you didn't already use Games for Windows Live like myself, it not only requires registration and usage for it, but to even use their systems ALSO requires Silverlight to properly view the applets within their windows themselves (like downloading DLCs). So in order to get any of the DLCs for FO3 required about a day's worth of setting up and downloading their BS. At which point I would be more inclined to do something like drive down to the store and purchase a physical copy or download location to get Downloadable Content. ...Or wait a year and simply buy the game for less that includes all 5 DLCs. XD

This of course also follows the same strand with the Battlefield franchise. Hooray for setting up an EA account, and depending on the reliability of their servers to use my character on a game that isn't an MMO! Not that disagree with their format to prevent cheating, but some of us are in it to just play with others. Back when we could simply open up a Join browser or locate where our friends are currently playing. There is a limit to how much you can 'console-ize' a PC, and no that is not an attack on the console, but merely the premise that companies can shoulder the average PC user with yet another completely proprietary system in order to play their game.

This particular game, Modern Warfare 2, while have yet to play it myself, if in fact there is a departure from the traditional format of browsing servers and other features present ever since the early advent of first person shooters, then there is a serious problem amongst all FPS enthusiasts. Unless you have always played games on a console, using whatever matchmaking systems employed for the given game, you probably wouldn't have any problem with any system used on a PC. Many haven't a clue as to the significance of dedicated servers and why they are highly necessary in first person shooting environments in the online arena.

[Jason Backer]

Not purchasing the game is the only thing you can do.

Instead of thinking of the vote as a vote to get Activision to stop doing this, think of it as a vote of your own self respect.

[Endra Ashbourne]

S'okay. The money I was going to spend on Modern Warfare 2 was spent on L4D2. Not only did I get the game for nearly half the price ($35 for my part of a 4 pack instead of $60), but I'm getting a game that will be a fun multiplayer experience. If IW decides to cave and patch in the features that PC gamers expect, maybe, just MAYBE I will consider purchasing the game again.

[Inoue Katsu]

I always have this measuring scale for buying pc games:

It needs to have a higher entertainment value per buck then a cheap hooker ..

I have bought too many games which just flat-out don't work or turn out to be such huge disappointments that it wasn't even worth waiting for the patch.

I always try to download a game and try it before buying it, I'll even buy it after I've already finished the pirate copy if it provided enough fun. This saves lots of money which can be spent on good games and hardware to run said good games :-)

At one point I had Silent Hunter 4 and after a few minutes playing it started doing weird things like making your crew vanish, so I looked on the official forums for anyone else having that problem and you'd see the occasional post about it followed by a whole horde of people screaming along the lines of 'ZOMFG P1RAT3!!!11' but nobody gave a confirming answer that this was actually the case.

Then i just started a new post with 'I'm seeing this and this and is this really because of the copy protection because I'm holding off buying it because of this' and I've actually had a dev tell me that it was the case, so I just bought the game and confirmed it, and I'm still playing SH4 ever now and then :-)