[Official] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

[Ligan]

I wonder how much of this is actually IW's idea, and how much of it is "The Douche". I'm betting it's 99% "The Douche".

The Douche?

[Manson_AAN]

I think he's talking bout Activision's CEO, Robert Kotwick

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kotick

his wiki article lol

[LOC Veteran]

Yes Mr. Kotick who himself said they wouldn't pursue franchises unless they could pump out new versions every year (literally)...

That's why Activision-Blizzard dropped sooooo many games when they merged. Kotick just didn't see "milking" opportunities. That's why we see a new CoD game every year, that's why PC players are getting shafted because Kotick doesn't care about PC players or the PC platform one bit.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Guys, I really hate to say this at is may destroy the great image if IW, but I have a feeling they had an equal part in this decision. I cannot help but think if it truly matteedr that much to them (dedicated servers), they really could have pushed for it to happen. Nowhere has it been confirmed yet it was Activisions decision solely, and I think there has not been anything said from IW yet since all of this because they know if they come out and say the truth people will think less of them, so they are sitting back and figuring out the best way to spin it all.

[g~man]

Guys, I really hate to say this at is may destroy the great image if IW, but I have a feeling they had an equal part in this decision. I cannot help but think if it truly matteedr that much to them (dedicated servers), they really could have pushed for it to happen. Nowhere has it been confirmed yet it was Activisions decision solely, and I think there has not been anything said from IW yet since all of this because they know if they come out and say the truth people will think less of them, so they are sitting back and figuring out the best way to spin it all.

i agree

[s1k3sT]

I just canceled my pre-order. Left 4 Dead 2 is starting to look better... Bad Company 2 devs said "Dedicated servers FTW" so that will be my next multiplayer game without co-op.

[Lamp0]

Wait, so there is no split-screen in MW2 on the PS3 either?

There is typical 4player splitscreen. and then 2 player splitscreen for spec-ops. But there is no splitscreen online.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Just posted this in the other thread as it seems two conversations are being had about the topic, but as I said a bit earlier I did not think Activision forced IW to do this, and I would say this confirms that statement.

Infinity War Has Made An Official Response

Predictably, nerds across world took to the Internet with a wailing and a gnashing of teeth that would make the Left 4 Dead community proud. An online petition to bring back dedicated servers at the time of this writing stands at 100,000+ signatures. However -- and this may shock some gamers with advanced persecution complexes -- this move was not made to tweak the noses of the PC community. Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella explain the decision as a conscious effort to improve their game for the vast majority of their players.

"We're just prioritizing the player experience above the modders and the tuners," says West. He points toward the mounting feedback IW has received from PC fans of Modern Warfare who couldn't find a decent server to play on between all of the cheaters, the insular communities, and huge skill level disparities that the original game's community fractured into. "We thought maybe it would be cool if the fans could play the game," he laughs.

IW says that gameplay concerns for the majority of MW2 players are the overriding reasons for the decision. Zampella downplays the obvious piracy prevention angle (IW has cited numbers of people online playing illegal copies of Modern Warfare up to 60 percent). "The Steam stuff helps with the piracy. I don't know that the matchmaking stuff does," he notes. West takes a shot at the motives behind some of the outrage, noting that there's money to made by selling dedicates servers and adspace on them: "It's a little dubious. Some of the people complaining are complaining with their pocketbook."

Again and again during our conversation, West and Zampella hammer the point that hardcore PC players lose very little to this change relative to the returns that casual to moderate fans will see. Clans can set up private matches to do their training or what have you; all they lose is the ability to customize the game on a deeper level with mods and such. Infinity Ward sees the addition of solid matchmaking and community support like IW-run tournaments to the PC as a huge win, and not something that could be done under the old system.

Why not have both? West does not want to include dedicated servers alongside the custom-built backend, stating that it would just "bifurcate the community."

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/200...r-response.aspx

I bolded out the parts I thought were most interesting.

[jonhapimp]

Just posted this in the other thread as it seems two conversations are being had about the topic, but as I said a bit earlier I did not think Activision forced IW to do this, and I would say this confirms that statement.

Infinity War Has Made An Official Response

http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/200...r-response.aspx

I bolded out the parts I thought were most interesting.

so if it worked before try something totally new, ******

well i guess i have to restart my MW2 saving up fund

[Jbenisek]

No kidding right, the hardcore gamers built COD over the years just like we built Ubisoft's Rainbow Six, we've paid them to create us this content for years on end. Yet they continue to screw us in Xbox360 and PC games. Counter strike was a mod but mod's are only for hardcore gamers. WTF, You're telling the gaming community(your customers) their to f'ing stupid to understand a game with some more options and maturity. Maybe your management staff is the f'ing stupid ones, can they play the game? maybe you should have an advanced settings option just like a well programmed and mature game should. This isn't f'ing spongebob for your 6 year old!

I've been so ****ed off about how poorly 360 game options are. I want mods, dedicated server options and map editors on 360 too.

so if it worked before try something totally new, ******

well i guess i have to restart my MW2 saving up fund

[SMELTN]

It's just sad, as soon as Activision Merged with Blizzard, the first thing they do is do the same thing to MW2 that they did to WoW, worry more about the "casual gamer" than the hardcore player, who actually pays for the servers, etc. I know Activision, doesn't make money off of server hosting, etc, and as he said in the article, we are thinking more in our pocketbooks, than we are anything.. But you know what... screw them, more people will be cheating now because we all know VAC doesn't work worth a damn, and it will be worse for the casual player, because they will be on a server with those cheaters, with no "admins" to kick them or ban them from being on that server..

It just sucks. But yeah I agree IW is as much at fault for this as is Activision

[Sethos]

There's more money in casual players than hardcore players, because casual players compose of much larger segment. So marketing 101, dummy edition tells you the casual segment is the preferred audience.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

There's more money in casual players than hardcore players, because casual players compose of much larger segment. So marketing 101, dummy edition tells you the casual segment is the preferred audience.

Not on the PC for a game of this scope there isn't, marketing 101, PC is fuelled largely by a hardcore audience, casual gamers tend to invest in a cheaper console as opposed to spending hundreds of $/? in a gaming PC.

The PC casuals play things like Popcap games and The Sims, not Call of Duty.

Casual gamers won't have a scooby what dedicated servers and everything else is, these changes won't make people flock to the PC MW2, it just annoys the buyers that were planning on buying.

[Sethos]

Yeah but the Hardcore PC crowd can't keep up sales numbers, roughly 500k copies of MW sold on the PC? That is pathetic.

[SMELTN]

I know Sethos, also the casual gamer is "cheaper" to develop for. Due to the fact that it takes them 2-3 times as long to go through all the current content, so they are content on not needing new content once a month like the hardcore gamer demands.

Wow thats a whole lot of contents.

But I agree with you Sethos, it just makes me mad as a hardcore gamer

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Yeah but the Hardcore PC crowd can't keep up sales numbers, roughly 500k copies of MW sold on the PC? That is pathetic.

I probably added my last bit before you replied,

Casual gamers won't have a scooby what dedicated servers and everything else is, these changes won't make people flock to the PC MW2, it just annoys the buyers that were planning on buying.

You have a petition with over 100,000 signatures, if IW are worried about 500k in sales, that's 1/5th of the amount... To sell well on the PC you have to cater for your audience and go the extra mile, if there's a whiff of a cheap port/delays/content being cut or dumbed down, say goodbye to that precious audience that were going to legitimately buy and not download.

Edited October 20, 2009 by Audioboxer

[Sethos]

Nothing will make people flock to the PC, so what's the point in pampering the PC crowd anymore. What was the latest "Official" number for sold copies of MW, 13 Million? So with 500k on the PC, that makes the last known official figure for console sit at 12,5 Million. That means PC gamers have no say, they have no influence and stop thinking they "built" the games because they bought them 8 years ago when PC was the only real viable platform.

I'm a hardcore PC gamer myself but I learned a long time ago to just settle in and stop fighting it.

PC gamers feel like they are entitled to something these days ...

[jonhapimp]

I probably added my last bit before you replied,

You have a petition with over 100,000 signatures, if IW are worried about 500k in sales, that's 1/5th of the amount...

if they all paid the full amount that's 5 million dollars IW lost because they're being stupid

also can y'all keep the arguing to one thread

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Nothing will make people flock to the PC, so what's the point in pampering the PC crowd anymore. What was the latest "Official" number for sold copies of MW, 13 Million? So with 500k on the PC, that makes the last known official figure for console sit at 12,5 Million. That means PC gamers have no say, they have no influence and stop thinking they "built" the games because they bought them 8 years ago when PC was the only real viable platform.

I'm a hardcore PC gamer myself but I learned a long time ago to just settle in and stop fighting it.

PC gamers feel like they are entitled to something these days ...

If that's the attitude why even make the game?

Cater to your audience and maximize the sales you can, or don't make the game at all.

You don't see Valve, Bioware, 2K, Bethesda, or any other respected PC devs come out with that BS, they do their hardest to make the best PC game they can for the audience and maximize their sales off the back of people on the PC who do still pay for quality titles and not just download.

MW2 is still based on the IW 4.0 engine that COD4 was made on, even with 1 million sales I'd say the PC version would easily still turn a nice profit. Chances are they'd of gotten even higher this time around though as MW2 comes out an even better game than COD4 - And from some of the console gamers opting to go with the PC instead of the overpriced console version.

[Sethos]

If that's the attitude why even make the game?

Cater to your audience and maximize the sales you can, or don't make the game at all.

You don't see Valve, Bioware, 2K, or any other respected PC devs come out with that BS, they do their hardest to make the best PC game they can for the audience and maximize their sales off the back of people on the PC who do still pay for quality titles and not just download.

Because they can squeeze a bit of money and that's about it, piracy and stuck up PC gamers are killing the PC scene and the PC scene is like demanding a revolution of the ages each time a new game comes along, else it won't see any worthwhile sales numbers.

Consoles are the new bearing points in the gaming world, that's just how it is.

[protocol7]

And wasn't that MW sales figure only for physical media, and not Steam or other digital sales? A lot of people pick up games from Steam nowadays.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Because they can squeeze a bit of money and that's about it, piracy and stuck up PC gamers are killing the PC scene and the PC scene is like demanding a revolution of the ages each time a new game comes along, else it won't see any worthwhile sales numbers.

Consoles are the new bearing points in the gaming world, that's just how it is.

But then if they want to squeeze some money out of it what has the lax attitude to pleasing the PC gamers that will buy have to do with anything? That's just being dickish for no reason.

Cater to your audience, it's the simplest concept ever, but potentially the most lucrative. You can't drive decent PC sales nowadays ****ting on the people that are left that will actually give you their hard earned money, and not boot up uTorrent.

[jelli]

Nothing will make people flock to the PC, so what's the point in pampering the PC crowd anymore. What was the latest "Official" number for sold copies of MW, 13 Million? So with 500k on the PC, that makes the last known official figure for console sit at 12,5 Million. That means PC gamers have no say, they have no influence and stop thinking they "built" the games because they bought them 8 years ago when PC was the only real viable platform.

I'm a hardcore PC gamer myself but I learned a long time ago to just settle in and stop fighting it.

PC gamers feel like they are entitled to something these days ...

Where the hell is this 500k figure coming from?

[Spookie]

And wasn't that MW sales figure only for physical media, and not Steam or other digital sales? A lot of people pick up games from Steam nowadays.

Aye, I grabbed MW on steam.

[Ligan]

I think he's talking bout Activision's CEO, Robert Kotwick

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kotick

his wiki article lol

Yes Mr. Kotick who himself said they wouldn't pursue franchises unless they could pump out new versions every year (literally)...

That's why Activision-Blizzard dropped sooooo many games when they merged. Kotick just didn't see "milking" opportunities. That's why we see a new CoD game every year, that's why PC players are getting shafted because Kotick doesn't care about PC players or the PC platform one bit.

I knew it. Incidentally I posted a thread regarding that $#@!bag last week, seeing if I had a unique perspective on him.

Apparently not.