Recently developer Infinity Ward announced that the PC version of the newest Call of Duty installment would not support traditional dedicated servers–instead favoring its own custom backbone for internet matchmaking. In no time flat, nerd rage ensued in the form of an internet petition demanding that dedicated server support be added to the game. As of this writing nearly 178,000 have typed in their digital John Hancock in the hopes that Infinity Ward might abandon their custom solution in favor of the archaic dedicated servers we have come to know and love. It’s much harder to abuse a system when not in control, and it seems many server admins are lamenting this revelation.
Infinity Ward held the announcement until gold masters were being shipped to manufacturing, knowing that the PC audience would be resistant to change and that the only way to get this over with would be a good old fashioned force feeding. Matchmaking over an Infinity Ward-supplied backbone is coming, whether you like it or not.
With all due respect, may we suggest that perhaps all 178,000 of our nerd friends are raging about the wrong thing, though?
As any avid PC gamer will tell you, one of the perks of the platform is that the software is generally priced better. Logically, the extra $10-$20 premium demanded for console games makes sense because the hardware is a massive loss leader, generally costing the manufacturer quite a bit more than they sell it for in hopes that the high profit margins of the games and accessories will pay off the hardware—ultimately turning that loss leader into a profit generator. One only needs to examine the current prices on an e-tail site like Amazon to see that even at the same retailer, with all other things being equal, the PC version nearly always has a price advantage.
Many PC gamers have come to expect this knowing that they provided their own unsubsidized hardware. Even moreso, many users bypass the packaging and handling of typical physical product in favor of a digital distribution service like Steam. Using your own internet bandwidth to deliver content should have a price advantage, right?
Apparently Activision and Infinity Ward aim to challenge this model with Modern Warfare 2, by pricing it at the console rate of $59.99 for all PC versions—brick and mortar or digital.
It seems easy to understand why Activision has set the price so high. Infinity Ward’s track record with this franchise is nothing short of stellar. Infinity Ward plus Call of Duty equals alot of sales and many happy gamers. We can’t begrudge a company for demanding a fair market value for its product. Modern Warfare 2 will likely reek of quality; the presentation will be top notch, the shooting action will be frenetic as it always has been, and the new multiplayer game modes look stellar. We’ll go out on a limb and guess the new matchmaking feature is going to turn out really nicely as well.
So why gripe about the $10 console tax? It may be cliché to say, but it’s just the principle of the matter. The global economy is shrinking, our entertainment dollars are being stretched entirely too thin, and now on top of that, we must endure another nickel-and-diming from Activision?
What’s a PC first person shooter fan to do? Well, as it turns out, there is something you can do. If you are outraged by Activision’s gouging of the PC market, you can do something far more valuable than signing a petition or threatening to boycott a title that is going to make money hand over fist. What you can do is take that $59.99 and go support Infinity Ward’s competitors. For example, if you hook up with three other buddies on Steam you can obtain Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2 for around $34 a person, and if you’re looking for something new, 3DMark developer Futuremark has released their first effort, Shattered Horizon for a paltry fee of $19.99. How’s that for around $54? Load your orders for those titles and let Activision know who got their Call of Duty money. Also, be sure to let developers like Valve and Futuremark know that you appreciate the fair shake as a PC gamer.
You don’t have to stand for the console tax. You can always vote with your wallet.
Articles RSS