No Hardened Edition or Discount on DLC for PC platform on CoD:Elite
RangerXML posted up an interview with One of Swords and Beachhead Studio head Chacko Sonny and product director Noah Heller. The interview discusses what will be seen in CoD:Elite and what options are available for PC.
Dan: Back in August, at GamesCom, you mentioned that you were working on customizing the PC platform for Elite. Back then I wondered if dedicated servers might be causing some of the concern — since there’s no central server hub to maintain data security, I thought that might make it hard to run competitions if you can’t guarantee how the servers are run. Is that part of it?
Chacko: Correct. We’re as committed as ever to the PC, but the need to ensure a safe PC environment is greater than ever. It’s really extensive. We need more time to get there, so Elite on PC will not launch on Day 1. We’re working our butts off to make it happen, but we won’t release it until we know that PC gamers can enjoy Elite as it’s meant to be.
The issue here is that the PC is an insecure platform. Without a central, trusted resource for stats, a lot of our competition features become unfair. We can’t give away prizes when people can easily cheat their stats. Leaderboards are less fun when a lot of the users are there unfairly.
Dan: A year’s premium membership to Elite is one of the most prominent elements of MW3′s Hardened Edition, but there is no PC version of HE available for preorder. Does that mean there is no paid PC membership to Elite?
Noah: As Chacko mentioned, not being able to trust stats is a big problem for our design. Because of this, we had to re-imagine Elite for PC. Elite for PC will be about access to your own stats, or those of your friends. Basically establishing a circle of trust. And because it will have some reduced functionality, it will be free for everyone.
Dan: The ability to subscribe to discounted DLC through an Elite membership is a very popular aspect of the service. If there’s no paid PC element to Elite, will PC gamers still have the option to do that, or are they on the existing a la carte system for MW3?
Noah: PC guys will be able to purchase their DLC content a la carte, just like it has worked before.
Dan: What elements do you feel confident will appear in the PC implementation of Elite? Do you have a timetable for when it will debut?
Chacko: We’re working on it, but it is not going to come out until we’ve done a lot more work. At this point I need to say, “It will be ready when it is ready.” I’m a PC gamer myself and I don’t want to ship something to this community that doesn’t have the polish that they deserve.
So for PC there is no public leader boards (which that part doesn't bother me personally), no competitive prizes, no Hardened Edition, and PC fans can purchase the DLC of Modern Warfare 3 at regular price, while console gets a discount good enough to pay for the subscription to CoD:Elite. The good news though is that the PC edition of CoD:Elite is now free, which so was the standard edition of CoD:Elite. So, thats a great deal, right?
Click the source to read the entire interview:
Source
Dan: Back in August, at GamesCom, you mentioned that you were working on customizing the PC platform for Elite. Back then I wondered if dedicated servers might be causing some of the concern — since there’s no central server hub to maintain data security, I thought that might make it hard to run competitions if you can’t guarantee how the servers are run. Is that part of it?
Chacko: Correct. We’re as committed as ever to the PC, but the need to ensure a safe PC environment is greater than ever. It’s really extensive. We need more time to get there, so Elite on PC will not launch on Day 1. We’re working our butts off to make it happen, but we won’t release it until we know that PC gamers can enjoy Elite as it’s meant to be.
The issue here is that the PC is an insecure platform. Without a central, trusted resource for stats, a lot of our competition features become unfair. We can’t give away prizes when people can easily cheat their stats. Leaderboards are less fun when a lot of the users are there unfairly.
Dan: A year’s premium membership to Elite is one of the most prominent elements of MW3′s Hardened Edition, but there is no PC version of HE available for preorder. Does that mean there is no paid PC membership to Elite?
Noah: As Chacko mentioned, not being able to trust stats is a big problem for our design. Because of this, we had to re-imagine Elite for PC. Elite for PC will be about access to your own stats, or those of your friends. Basically establishing a circle of trust. And because it will have some reduced functionality, it will be free for everyone.
Dan: The ability to subscribe to discounted DLC through an Elite membership is a very popular aspect of the service. If there’s no paid PC element to Elite, will PC gamers still have the option to do that, or are they on the existing a la carte system for MW3?
Noah: PC guys will be able to purchase their DLC content a la carte, just like it has worked before.
Dan: What elements do you feel confident will appear in the PC implementation of Elite? Do you have a timetable for when it will debut?
Chacko: We’re working on it, but it is not going to come out until we’ve done a lot more work. At this point I need to say, “It will be ready when it is ready.” I’m a PC gamer myself and I don’t want to ship something to this community that doesn’t have the polish that they deserve.
So for PC there is no public leader boards (which that part doesn't bother me personally), no competitive prizes, no Hardened Edition, and PC fans can purchase the DLC of Modern Warfare 3 at regular price, while console gets a discount good enough to pay for the subscription to CoD:Elite. The good news though is that the PC edition of CoD:Elite is now free, which so was the standard edition of CoD:Elite. So, thats a great deal, right?
Click the source to read the entire interview:
Source
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