Why I'm not buying Modern Warfare 2

I've been on the fence about Call of Duty "version 6" for a long time. As I said in greater detail here, for all the bells and whistles that have have been tacked-on over the years, the multiplayer hasn't really evolved. Most of what Infinity Ward calls innovation seems to me to be a series of "expansion pack" offerings that have amounted to little more than bits of new flesh affixed to the same decaying bones. The one thing that has forced me to revisit the buying decision from time to time is the fact that some members of my online gaming crew are (or were) pumped to play MW2. When you have a group of people that you enjoy gaming with night after night, you should never take them for granted.

Once the dedicated server bomb dropped, I started thinking beyond the immediate and obvious consequences of MW2's various amputations. There's a good deal of subtext to the introduction of IWNET, and I think we have enough information at this point to draw a few conclusions about Activision's and Infinity Ward's vision for the future of PC gaming. The reasons I'm giving MW2 a pass are listed below, and that list will be the foundation of my broader argument.

1. The console tax - Considering the absence of (A) a proper server browser, (B) a dedicated server app, and (C) modding/mapping tools, MW2 offers much less for $60 than CoD4 offered for $50. Instead of adding functionality to the console SKU's, Infinity Ward expects PC players to pay for a net decrease in functionality, all in the name of making the various platforms "more equal."

2. Multiplayer stagnation - CoD5's multiplayer looked a lot like CoD4's. MW2's multiplayer will follow suit. Where any of those games looked different from 2004's United Offensive, the new additions were largely derived from things modders did with previous releases. Infinity Ward isn't just offering yet another retread with MW2; they're also shitting on their best creative resource. The next game in the series will suffer for it.

3. Multiplayer longevity - It's hard enough to build a community around a game when the next game is only a year away. When you're forced to run a listen server to make use of any of the (meager) match-customization options - which in turn severely limits the number of players that can join a game - community building becomes impossible. IWNET's consolized matchmaking system not only deprives clans of the opportunity to have "home" servers; it also fundamentally eliminates the potential for larger-scale organization between players within the game. That kind of system is fine for a co-op game like Left 4 Dead, where the games are all 4v4. For a game that can theoretically accommodate a much larger number of players, forcing everyone to join stock pubs via a "friends" list is a kick in the balls that few PC guys will tolerate for very long.

4. Contempt for the gamer - Infinity Ward's PR offensive has been nothing short of inept. They've touted IWNET over the traditional server browser - for the supposed benefit of the apocryphal "casual player" - hoping that no one will notice that CoD4 still has over 200,000 players that make effective use of the latter. They've marginalized all the modders, mappers and "tuners" that have invested hundreds of hours in producing original content for the (real) benefit of other players. And they've intimated that the people upset about the lack of a dedicated server are mostly cheaters, or "insular" elitists, or shills for game server providers. I don't want to hand money to an organization that seems so fit to insult my intelligence, and then openly insults the community that supported the franchise all these years.

Over the course of two or three releases (including MW2), Infinity Ward has made it abundantly clear that the consoles are its priority, and that PC development has become an afterthought (at best, and most likely an annoyance). Between piracy, hardware costs, a lower price point, and free DLC, they're just not making enough money on us. It seems to me that the IWNET strategy is part of a longer-term effort to push PC players to migrate to one console or the other, and it's not enough to simply discontinue the PC SKU. Instead, Infinity Ward is apparently trying to leverage the loyalty of the PC fanbase overall against the people that want to hold PC gaming to the higher standard that it has always enjoyed vis-a-vis the consoles. If they can convince enough players to lower their expectations of what a PC game should be, it might reduce the incentive to build a gaming rig in the first place.

It's not just about Call of Duty. The real danger is that other PC developers will follow Infinity Ward's lead, raising prices while diminishing the quality of the online multiplayer experience. I don't begrudge any game developer's desire to make money, but I do oppose this anti-PC gaming movement Infinity Ward has started. So, I'm voting with my wallet. Buying Modern Warfare 2 would be a tacit endorsement of creeping-consolization, and the ultimate cost would a hell of a lot more than $60. If I don't join the boycott, I'm helping to screw the very people that made gaming enjoyable for me, night after night, for the last five years.

And besides, spending $60 for six to eight hours of singleplayer would just be stupid.