Friday, November 20, 2009

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 -more controversy

-or "PC Gamer Vs. Console Gamer"

I can't help to comment on the endless flamming battles [heated disccusions] between console gamers and PC gamers. And congrats Activision/InfinityWard, you've ignited yet another one with your latest big money release!

Issue: PC gamers are upset that another AAA title has been ported to the PC with the same pricetag as the usually 10 dollars-more-expensive console version, but with functions that we have come to feel the norm strikingly ommited. Notably a buggy, un-efficient peer-to-peer style server match-making system instead of the PC proven and flexible dedicated server option. Another complaint is the locking of the game down from modding or customizing in any way-effectively cutting the shelf life of this game by years!

Here is my point-of-view:

To all those that complain that all of us PC gamer 'whiners' have a sense of  "Entitlement" to expecting all of the stripped out/PC friendly features in AAA FPS (First Person Shooters for you noobs) titles, and that the price for these dumbed down quick-and-dirty console-ports shouldn't be even MORE expensive than a typical 'made-for-PC first' game is.

They are missing the point. It's not entitlement, that we pc gamers feel like this. It’s a sense of what is possible/capable, what we’re USED to and what has been for many many years now in most AAA titles. Is it entitlement for you to feel you want your left arm back, after it was taken from you??

The ability to mod, as well as run player-owned servers etc, choose the type of game, the map, the amount of players, and the lowest ping by OUR choice is as necessary to playing online shooters as a bag of Doritos is to a console gamer.

To use the analogy from a similar discussion at WIRED here, It's not entitlement, when historically certain Mercedes models HAVE come with these features, at Corrola prices, but now to be sold a Corrola, at a Mercede’s Price. I’m sorry, but no matter how pretty and engaging, I’m not spending 59.99 on this game, when I can play Battlefield 2142 or 2/Left4Dead/Counter-Strike/ArmaII/TeamFortress2 etc. for a THIRD of the cost -by highly RESPECTED developers.

It's not that Infinity Ward itself is necessarily the ones to blame, as i've said before, it's often the bean-counting publishers that force a product out the door unfinished, or in a handicapped and buggy state. Its just that developers that survey, read feedback [and sometimes, <gasp> solicit feedback] like Valve or Creative Assembly have a fiecely strong, loyal, as well as vocal fanbase. There are always exceptions...(Ahem...Left4dead 2).

It boils down to catering to the fans, the gamers. This is a clear case of an unfortunately growing trend of publishers/developers mixing and matching their products intended platforms, not deciding for which they are programming for, or worse, making a one-size pisses-off-all product. As far as I’ve seen, it’s because of the inane console gamers’ acceptance of spending 60 dollars on a dumbed down game, that us PC gamers get the shoveled over P.O.S. that’s left over...sometimes months later! They (PS3/XBOX owners) are so much more PROFITABLE to them!!

...Just sayin'

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I honestly couldn't agree more. I've recently written on the same subject, and while I've focused more from the money/buisness side of the same topic, our opinions run along the same lines.