After reading another Jim Sterling Post on the Infinity Ward MW2 debacle, I really wanted to pipe up and bash it. But I couldn't. It definitely had an anti-PC tone to it, but the information (albeit limited and short) was pretty much accurate.

http://www.destructoid.com/iw-responds-to-mw2-petition-servers-capped-at-9v9-154091.phtml&mainnav=PC&mainnav=PC

But then after reading this in the comments posted below posted by Jim Sterling, "Or perhaps Infinity Ward know most PC gamers would pirate it anyway, so don't feel the need to win their loyalty?", I become somewhat angry.

After all this person is representing the PC community on this site, and yet is continuing to spew unedumicated (ie. ignorant) comments.

Before I go on there are two articles which need to be read more or less completely. This is your edumication.

http://insomnia.ac/commentary/pc_game_piracy/

http://www.tweakguides.com/Piracy_1.html

Now while both of these articles offer a different tone and a different position, they are both accurate. To talk about piracy without a base understanding is bad form to present to this community. How can I agree with both when they take somewhat different positions? Here is why...

Piracy exists and it is bad. It does not help the gaming industry and it frustrated developers. However, it is impossible to know the impact of piracy on the gaming industry. Developers often use the piracy excuse to why they are leaving the PC industry and leaving their old school fan base and their legacy in the dust. IW had to spend money to create a matchmaking system that PC players don't want. That doesn't seem like good business right? And then why were they so excited to announce the traditional PC options for COD4. That's pretty hardcore hypocrisy right there. Looks like they are not trying to make MW2 a great game as they are "holding back".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMfTR8PBrsE&feature=related

The fact is that PC games have always been pirated and yet people clamored to become gaming professionals. But people always developed games. You knew when you were developing that the game was gonna get pirated. Yet, in fact, companies like Infinity Ward and Bio Ware flourished. How can this be? How can anyone make money when all PC players do is pirate games. This fact proves that the industry is NOT being sucked dry by pirates.

Even more schools across the world opened game development programs to teach people to make games. Why? The console allowed a mainstream transition for the population to play games. As soon as the newer generation consoles could handle games that only a PC could traditionally, the opportunity exploded for the console industry.

Right now most console games exist in PC form dumbed down for middle America. They are easy and have become popular. PC gaming has NEVER been popular. Fred gets a console and so does Bob then Jim. And its just that simple. Just like CBS television with 4 versions of CSI, the console market caters to middle America. People who don't have the time, energy, or knowledge to game on a PC have bought into the craze. That's what it is. Console gaming is a fad. Its hugely popular, like those foam shoes were a few years ago. And that's where the money is.

The industry also has been driven up. The gaming professionals demand more money and the IP and lawyer fees multiply in. Studios call themselves studios but they really aren't. Creativity has been sucked dry. Due to the nature of the business they need to charge more and have more of a mass marked product. (Don't worry soon most games will be developed in Thailand and India. That should help some costs.)

The console is a prime target. The middle America is being mass marketed to. For a while it was mostly mediocre single player games, but PC developers took notice. They can't build a game for the same cost so they have to direct their focus toward the console market and in turn dumb the games down so they can be handled by the hardware and the control limitations.

So you have the PC market getting set aside while the console market gets catered too. Piracy for the PC is just a scape goat since the console market sees ever increasing piracy and the developers seem to shun that fact. They really just don't want to own up.

But in the end nothing can be proven. Just because someone pirates the game doesn't mean they ever intended to buy it. Since game companies refuse to do any proper studies on piracy, their cries are just a ruse and the critics of the PC platform are just proving their ignorance.