A View From the Road: Unreasonably Dedicated

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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A View From the Road: Unreasonably Dedicated

PC gamers, it?s time we got the hell over ourselves.

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Nimbus

Token Irish Guy
Oct 22, 2008
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Y'know, I wouldn't really mind it if IW had spent LESS effort in making MW2 for the PC. I mean, we are the smallest group, and therefore deserve the least amount of effort. However, it seems to me they have gone out of their way to create a system (IW.net) which will be detrimental to the experience of most players.
 

Frank_Sinatra_

Digs Giant Robots
Dec 30, 2008
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Great article Funk.
The attitude of PC gamers reminds me of the children in Wal-Mart crying to their parents as loud as they can until they get what they want. They must have everything and they won't admit that they aren't the center of the Universe.

While my PC usually has a massive crashing problem that is being addressed right now, I am actually a pretty big PC gamer, and the attitude of other PC gamers makes me ashamed to say it.
The PC has it's high points and it's low points, some games work better on a PC and some don't it's just a fact that PC gamers are going to have to get use to.

CantFaketheFunk said:
Now, by all means, return to your regularly scheduled protests, but remember that the most powerful protest tool at your disposal is your wallet. If it infuriates you so much, don't buy the game. Don't be a tool and pirate it - that just gives developers more reason to flee the PC platform entirely - but a refusal to purchase will speak louder than angry internet rants ever could.

But whatever you do, just ... lose the attitude. You're making the rest of us look bad.
Great way to end the article right there.
 

sgtshock

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Feb 11, 2009
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So he's basically saying "Yeah, it sucks that MW2 won't have dedicated servers or other features, just don't be so pretentious about it?" I guess I agree, although I understand why people are getting so angry. Like he said, PC gaming isn't a dominant market, so the outnumbered PC gamers feel like they need to be loud to be heard, even if it comes off as whiny.

And like Nimbus said, it's not like they're paying less attention to a smaller market. They are specifically changing the PC multiplayer system from what it used to be to something almost universally considered inferior. Infinity Ward and Activision are two video game giants. Many feel that they will open the gateway for more developers dropping dedicated servers, perhaps changing the face of PC gaming as we know it.
 

Jandau

Smug Platypus
Dec 19, 2008
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Yaaaay! Broad generalizing statements piling an entire group of gamers into the same insulting label! Great work! [/sarcasm]

There are douchebags and idiots on all gaming platforms and PC is no exception. Singling out PC gamers and saying they should "get over themselves" and such is just plain hypocritical. Also, just stating "PC gamers" implies all of them. This in turn likely means that the person who is using the term in such a broad sense is likely the one who needs to "get over himself".
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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I can see where the sense of entitlement comes from: a good gaming pc costs about twice as much as the new consoles at their launch prices. That's even if you build it yourself. So I can see, after spending that much money, how you would want to get better treatment just like someone who pays more to get into the vip section. Unfortunately that extra money spent on hardware doesn't go to the developers so the sense is misplaced.

However, I think pc gamers in this case are losing sight of what's important. Is the experience really going to change (be any lesser) because it wont have dedicated servers? They aren't depriving the game of content like some other companies do to their pc versions.
 

oneplus999

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Oct 4, 2007
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As much as I like the sentiment, I don't know why you'd bother writing a two page article on it.
[http://xkcd.com/386/]
 

jebussaves88

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May 4, 2008
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On the contrary, I believe comapnies SHOULD be working with PC gamers, as opposed to taking things in a way that displeases the masses. Sure it may be simpler for those perhaps unfamilier with multiplayer, but whats wrong with offering both?
PC gamers do feel a certain sense of superiority, because whilst there may be immature rants going on at the moment, they have given a lot back. Valve sees this, which is why it offers it mod tools and DLC for free, and works with gamers to make the most of its product. By somewhat rudely dismissing the opinions of its perhaps most devoted audience (as seen in some of the recent interviews) Infinity is not following suit. It's early days yet for the company, and perhaps in a few months, rights will be wronged, or maybe everyone will shut up about the whole thing, but too much snubbing of PC owners could lead to concequences, and that is very unlikely to be increased console sales.
 

ddq5

I wonder what the character limi
Jun 18, 2009
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This article basically addressed my feeling with logic and well-constructed arguments when I would have just called the PC gamers in question "dicks."
 

Baron Khaine

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Jun 24, 2009
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Just to play Devil's Advocate here, we (that is PC Gamer's) helped create the CoD Franchise, in a way, we bought the first 2, the amazing games that they were (and they were amazing), they weren't even out for the console, we supported Infinity Ward in those year's, our platform alone, I don't have exact number's for CoD 4, but i'd presume that more PC copies were sold that Console copies. Why do I make this assumption? Because by this time, CoD was an established franchise on the PC, whereas it had one game out on the console, which was Treyarch if I remember correctly, so we'll leave them out of the equation.

So, when the sequel to CoD 4 comes out, a series that i've been playing for longer than the 360 and PS3 have been available, and Infinity Ward decide to pander to the console brigade, and take away the thing's that make PC Gamer's unique. Thats the main problem here, not a sense of entitlement, but the fact that after everything that we as a collective put into making the CoD brand what it is, they try to change the way that we play the game's. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Dedicated Server system that most PC Game's use, any issue's with connection's will be there for P2P, probably moreso because now we cannot pick the best ping server for us.

Just to go back to my original point in this, the problem is not a sense of entitlement, its the fact that the PC Community feel's that Infinity Ward has turned there back on us, after everything we did for them in the early day's, they've run off with there new hip friend's, the 360 gang. It's exactly the same as happened and is still happening with the Wii, it's pandering to casual gamer's, and the "hardcore gamer's", if such a term can be used for the Wii, feel left out, and dejected, by a company that they helped support by buying the Gamecube, Mario series etc.

Infinity Ward turned there back on PC Gaming, on the thing's that made us unique from the console's, and people won't just forget that.
 

LazerFX

Driver
Sep 10, 2008
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I'd just like to say thanks for this article. I'm a PC gamer, and have been for all of nearly 20 years now. Sure, I've got a PS3 with a few (<15) games, and a Wii with very few (2) games; but it's the PC that's my home. From World of Warcraft, with over 67 1/2 days played time across my characters, to the 183 games [http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197967681439/games] in my Steam list, to the dozens of games I have from D2D, EA Store, all the way to the dark ages when I used to buy games in boxes (3 5' shelves stacked full)...

And nothing annoys me more than people thinking that because PC gaming 'started' all this, it should be the key brand. Did you hear that about the Amiga? The Commodore? The Spectrum? The Atari? What about the Arcades?

Sure, it's annoying when a half-baked port is developed, and you just know that with a little care and attention, something great could have flourished; but still, there is no need for the elitist attitude. So thanks for coming out and saying what I've been feeling for a while - sure, there are (many) reasons to say that taking away dedicated servers is a bad thing, but let's not get sidetracked by the whole PC-vs-Consoles issue...
 

Cherry Cola

Your daddy, your Rock'n'Rolla
Jun 26, 2009
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It seems like already people are flaming this article. Strange, because it touches on a very real issue that people really can't deny, and it's very well constructed and true.

For those of you who can't understand, he is not saying all pc gamers are like this, just that there are many, and I mean MANY, that act like this. Don't argue against him, because there is a lot of truth in his words. He is one of the most intelligent writers I've seen in a long time and he deserves respect.

Sucking-up over.
 

Woodsey

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Aug 9, 2009
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The main problem is that now everyone else will follow suit.

Whilst the smugness you mentioned is (naturally) present in some PC gamers, I feel that most of us want the game to have the features that should be standard. Customisable key-binding, graphics options, higher resolutions are pretty much standard for a PC port (and CoD is a port nowadays), but is it really that hard to include something that's been present in all the previous games?

The L4D2 match-making is a pain in the arse, and that's just with the demo at peak times, nevermind what it's going to be like when people have gone out and bought it. The only reason I feel its used in L4D2 is because it's the only real way to sought it out, but it's a co op game, not a multiplayer.

At the end of the day, a system that works better and has been incorporated with no complaints before should be left in when the other option is worse.

It's not a mis-placed sense of entitlement (for the most of us), because we're the ones buying the game. Just because we have the smallest sales of each platform is irrelevant. They're still sales.

Good article though, great read.
 

Andy_Panthro

Man of Science
May 3, 2009
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I get that PC gamers should vote with their wallets. I don't want to see the piracy excuses rolled out by anyone (on either side).

However, if people want to be vocal, let them be vocal about it. We shouldn't necessarily be expected to just sit back and shrug when things like this occur.

And for the record, I'm not a COD fan, never played any of them and won't be buying MW2 either.

I just feel that the best way to change things is to act both vocally and financially. If you just withhold money, the company knows it hasn't appealed to you in some way. With added explanation, it helps show why.
 

TMAN10112

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Jul 4, 2008
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I'm not buying the game at this point, so I don't really care anymore.

But just to clarify:
GonzoGamer said:
They aren't depriving the game of content like some other companies do to their pc versions.
Yes, they are.

They've gotten rid of the ability to use mods (Not to mention that the max player count is 9v9 now), removing dozens of hours worth of play time and free content. As a matter of fact, the Nazi-Zombies mode in COD:WAW was inspired by a zombie mod for Modern Warfare.
 

Baron Khaine

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Jun 24, 2009
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Just thought i'd post this, for people who still think this is "just about the dedicated servers"
 

kibayasu

New member
Jan 3, 2008
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Only one problem here, they spent more money developing IW Net then they would have simply putting in a listen server for dedicated's. They hope to recupe that (and then some) in what most likely will turn out to be map pack sales on IW Net.
 

Swaki

New member
Apr 15, 2009
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huh, is that what all those people are pissed about, there are better things to get your knickers in a twist over, here i thought it was the 60 euro price tag, i have never really liked CoD's multiplayer, i may have played 10 matches on each game, but i love the single player campaign, and thus im a little ticked off that i now have to pay 20% more than i did for the other games because the multiplayer should make up for it*, which is a lame argument since Dragon Age cost 50 euro for 100+ hours and so do any other game out there.

*this is not something i got from any kind of reliable source but rather from the Internet in form of various blogs and threads.
 

MGlBlaze

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Oct 28, 2009
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Woodsey said:
The L4D2 match-making is a pain in the arse, and that's just with the demo at peak times, nevermind what it's going to be like when people have gone out and bought it. The only reason I feel its used in L4D2 is because it's the only real way to sought it out, but it's a co op game, not a multiplayer.
Actually, I felt the L4D and L4D2 system was awesome. You had the benefit of just being able to click maybe twice and join a game right away (a few more clicks if you wanted something more specific), yet it still had all the benefits of dedicated servers, and if you had the IP then you could still access that server whenever you liked.

A fantastic article, although I would like to think of myself as one of the far more reasonable PC gamers. I still think IW is screwing us over, but I also believe everyone is screwing over the console gamers. After all, consoles are becoming more and more sophisticated and feature Hard-drive storage in the case of the PS3 and 360; as well as the ability to store and play various media files on them. There is less and less reason why consoles shouldn't be allowed to have dedicated servers too. There's little reason why they shouldn't have mods too. Not to mention, if someone was greifing, hacking or whatever, the players would be able to kick the person off the server or ban them rather than having to either put up with it, or leave and find another game entirely.

Why not make a system where you could get a plug-in and you now have access to dedicated servers? Why not allow mods for games? It's fairly trivial to transfer files between a PC and a games console, and consoles are becoming more and more capable. I'm all for equality across all platforms, but IW and iD are going in the wrong direction.

This might be because current-gen consoles aren't quite capable of it, but I'd hope that next-gen would be able to have the flexibility needed for this.

And Microsoft, you are ripping your customers off with this Gold Account subscription bullshit. The Wii, PS3 and PC are all free. Paying for DLC is fine, but paying to access something already right there in the game is a load of bull if you ask me.

Anyway, my point;
I don't believe that PC gamers are entitled to things over people who play on consoles. I think more effort should be done to allow people similar flexibility on the consoles. For those intimidated by it, they can just play the game as is. For those who endeavour for something more, they'd have all those benefits.

Of course, this is all probably just a pipe dream...