Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

[CptainCrunch]

I am sure this is a big surprise to you all and hopefully are sitting down (and chances are that you are) for this news from G4tv:

<a href="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/codheli.jpg"><img src="http://images.totalgamingnetwork.com/images/thumb_codheli.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>

The response to Infinity Ward's decision to remove support for player-run dedicated servers from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and embrace console-style matchmaking has been near-universally negative from hardcore PC users. Activision has allowed Infinity Ward to respond directly to players since the news broke, but on an Activision quarterly results call, an analyst asked the publisher if the reaction would have a notable impact on the sales of the PC version of Modern Warfare 2. <!--more-->

In short: Activision's not worried.

"We're of course watching this very carefully and paying attention it it, but we're not overly concerned about it," said Activision Publishing head Michael Griffith. "One of the problems of our PC [versions] on this title in the past is that it has not been as friendly a consumer experience in terms of matchmaking and online play as the consoles have allowed it to be. Our solution here improves that consumer experience overall by a significant margin, so we we think the benefits that we will see are gonna far outweigh any negatives that seem to be surfacing."

Of course, we won't know the real-world impact until Modern Warfare 2 goes on sale next week, where gamers will be forced to put their money where their mouth is. Just a few days now...

So do think Activision isn't worried or is this posturing in hopes PC players are going to race out and buy?

Source

[[Expletive Deleted]]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

"improves"

Still don't think that word means what you think it means.

[ebevan_91]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

Well they say "We're of course watching this very carefully and paying attention it (should be to instead of it) it, but we're not overly concerned about it,"

At least they are watching it, and could possibly take action if it gets too bad.

[TheEn|gma]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

"improves"

Still don't think that word means what you think it means.

Yep.

TBH all they needed was a big button on the main menu of the game getting people straight into a low pinged server instead of spending all of this time and money on IW.net

[[Expletive Deleted]]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

They could have put in a button like the Quick Match in UT3 or Play Now in BF2. Well, maybe BF2 is a bad example because it sucked in that game, but you get the idea. It's nothing new, other people have implemented it in games with dedicated servers. But Epic is so mod-friendly they even released their tools to allow people to make their own freaking games for free. IW is no Epic when it comes to PC-friendliness.

[DeadlyMACD]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

I hope they've misidentified the multiplayer, dedicated server experience on the pc as being responsible for poor sales. After the success of COD4, they probably realized they could take this gamble in the hope that it pays off for them in the long run.

[Immortal_Joker]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

I'm sorry but WHAT!?!? They are NOT concerned? what have they been smoking? Has Kotick spiked their cuban cigars with cocaine?

[CptainCrunch]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

This is my take on it;

PC sales are the lowest of all the platforms and even if NO ONE bought the PC version, they are still going to rake in millions. However, they wouldnt be watching it close if they were not concerned. This is a big gamble and even though MW2 will be a huge hit because of the sales, MW3 will not. If the game falls apart and people drop it, they won't be fooled again for the next one.

Crunch

[[Expletive Deleted]]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

they won't be fooled again for the next one.

After listening to/reading the interviews, IW and Activision all think we're complete moron lemmings that will buy anything they deign to foist upon us. They even mock us openly.
This strategy just doesn't make sense if they really ever planned on having people think about buying this game or the next one.
So they must not plan on making another one for the PC.

[DeadlyMACD]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

So they must not plan on making another one for the PC.

I doubt they are willing to drop pc development altogether.

[CptainCrunch]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

I doubt they are willing to drop pc development altogether.

They will if the return is not there, which if they already lost 50% of the presales (based on amazon assumptions) of a 16% overall market anyway, thats not much margin.

I know overall its a lot, but considering all the money to market and produce and so on and so forth, it could be too much and they dump it.

Crunch

[[Expletive Deleted]]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

You don't court future and return customers by mocking them and calling them idiots in an oblique way.
Telling them they aren't smart enough to click a browser, while they read it online after navigating a browser? :shakehead:
Then telling them they aren't smart enough to know how their system works, after we've seen it a hundred times before? :shakehead:
Telling them they aren't smart enough to know what they want while denying them exactly what it is they want? :shakehead:

There is no way this is an accident.

[KeMiKill]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

One of the problems of our PC [versions] on this title in the past is that it has not been as friendly a consumer experience in terms of matchmaking and online play as the consoles have allowed it to be.

So taking away the consumers options and forcing them to use matchmaking is "friendlier?"... I never had any "problems" with past cod titles on pc... and I dont like how they are basicly saying their consumers are to stupid to use a server browser and so they have to simplify it for us by dumbing it down to a console's level and forcing us to use matchmaking... thanks, but NO thanks!!!... if I wanted some crappy P2P matchmaking I'd waste my money on a console... but I don't want either... so I play on a PC... I'd perfer not to take a step backwards in time by playing with P2P again... dedicated servers and server browsers are the way forward... there are even some console games that are starting to use dedicated servers and server browsers now...

It's really not that hard to find a server to play on with a server browser... 1. Double click the multiplayer icon on your desktop, 2. Click "Join Game" tab on your game's main menu, 3. Double click the server you'd like to join in the server browser... 4. Play the game... how is that hard and unfriendly for the consumer? Seriously!!!..... how... is... that... hard? Unless you're a human vegetable... the current system was fine and was so easy to use even a caveman could do it...

[DHoff]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

I hope this excuse of a game will crash and burn, Fu** this ****.

[The_Eliminator]

Re: Activision Not Overly Concerned About Dedicated Servers

This is something i never thought i would hear, a publisher basically pushing aside a potential cutomer and claim they are not worried.