Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 10 November 2009 05:39
Opinion and Analysis
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has hit the shelves worldwide, but the battle lines are drawn beyond the video-game screen.
iTWire colleague Matthew Lentini has posted
his first impressions of the newly released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 . And a it very much looks like a game that lives up to original games scope and poignancy.
That will be great for some, and the game is sure to sell well into the millions, boosted by building hype and a multiplatform release across PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.
MW2 is an extremely important release, not only for developer Infinity Ward and publisher Activision but also for the interactive entertainment sector as a whole. Activision
expect MW2 to sell 5 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale. To put that in perspective, the World of Warcraft Burning Crusade expansion sold 2.4 million in its first day, breaking sales records everywhere, and then pipped by the sale of GTA IV in April last year. As far as revenue is concerned, dwarfing any Hollywood blockbuster’s cinema intakes.
Even before the game hits the shelves however, there are division emerging. Much of this derived from the Modern Warfare fan base, who have been encouraged to pre-order the sequel, either through stores or the online service Steam. Since pre-orders opened a number of the games details have been revealed, many of which have angered these hardcore fans.
In particular, Infinity Ward is building a whole new online server infrastructure to cater for multiplayer games. IWNet will provide a stage for players to login and battle with friends and unknown foes, but not quite as Call of Duty fans have been able to do in the past.
Core players, especially on the PC platform point to the lack of dedicated servers, where they can set the rules, modify the game play and provide robust networking to Clans and friends alike as the ruining of their hobby, and a move that will fragment the COD online community.
There are many other changes that players of the previous game say are a step backwards for the franchise. No player “lean’ ability, no ability to record gaming sessions, a multiplayer cap of 18 instead of the formers 64 players and ping times to the iWNet servers versus dedicated hosts are some of the reasons core fans are not happy.
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