PrkchpsNaplsaws

Infinity Ward
v.s.
Blizzard

Both are owned by Activision...and for those who don't know, Activision is currently CEO'd by idiot lunatic Bobby Kotick...why do i call him an idiot? Well, we'll get to that near the end.

But seriously - Infinity Ward has shown us all their infinite "don't give a damn" attitude through Modern Warfare 2.

Do you all remember how excited we were before this games release? Hell, i could hardly stand still in the line at gamestop on the midnight release.

I get the game, and im left with glitchers left and right.

Before you go on the "there will always be cheaters" rant....allow me to elaborate.

Yes. I understand, there will ALWAYS be people out there with no desire to explore their video game prowess, and instead choose to cheat, either out of lack of skill, or lack of caring. Either way, both are repulsive and pitiful.

But where i find major fault in IW is their unwillingness to address the issue. Its much akin to another genre: MMORPGs

In MMORPGs, what you have more than "cheaters" is "gold spammers"


World of Warcarft (The most successful MMO, ever) has their fair share. NO doubt.

But if you've ever played AION Online....you'll notice an amazing difference between the two. Gold spammers are allowed to run amuck, unchecked, in Aions online community, but are hunted down with a vengeance in WoW.

Same concept applies here.

Glitchers? Proof in the pudding is the fact that PS3 chose not to ban any Javelin Glitchers....i mean, COME ON! What better way to say "Screw the gamers, we don't care if they cheat"

GET A CLUE


And no, i won't "walk away" from the game either. Its not fair, or right, that i should have to set down my controller so some 14 year old, no talent ass clown, can have his or her fun with a care package/crouch running glitch session.

What SHOULD be happening is that IW addresses the issue, publicly, and does everything in their power to fix and resolve it immediately.

Before you detractors chime in and say "stop playing then", allow me to say:

I will stop playing. When something better comes along. As it is, EVERYONE is playing this game. All of my friends IRL, and online. So that mean,s i must play this game, if i want to be "online social". While i do love this game, and think that with a little TLC, it could be brought back to life, i do HATE the administration at IW for allowing things to get this bad.

This game has been out over 2 months, and we've had 1 baby step in the direction of rectification. But that baby step produced more glitches than it fixed, however minor or different they might be.

SO how does this compare to Blizzard? And why is it important?

Well, first and foremost: Blizzard is owned by the same company, Activision, as i pointed out earlier. So basically, one must ask "If Blizzard can do it, why can't IW?"

Blizzard NEVER releases a game without rigorous testing, and never releases it until they're proud to put their name on it.

Starcraft
Warcraft
Warcraft 2
World of Warcraft

I mean...these are the most popular games of our life times, regardless of MW2's unfair advantage in the race for the title of "Most successful release of all time" (unfair in the fact that this game costs $60. A Dark Knight movie ticket was $10. Since this competition is measured in dollar amounts, i think you can see the hilarity in the title)

But, as IW said themselves, they opted not to have a beta. They opted not to test their game prior to release, instead, they hired "professional glitch testers"

HAHAHAH

As if such a job were lucrative enough to be taken seriously.

But what we're left with is a huge disappointment, the likes of which we've all seen time and time again....leaving IW tons of room for improvement, but still demanding zero responsibility (mainly due to the appeasers in the marketplace that say "well, making a video game is hard")

Yes, it is.

But making a vehicle is hard too.
Making tires are hard.
Making blenders is hard.

But that doesn't stop us from going after Ford, GM, Firestone, or whoever makes crappy blenders....does it?

It is your job to make video games, IW. It is what you die. I don't fault you for missing the amazing amount of glitches...but i do fault you for not acting properly to fix them. I do fault you for giving your community (the ones who made you who you are) the big proverbial thumb up the ass.

And i do fault idiot lunatic Bobby Kotick for putting the community last. Why is he a lunatic? If you develop a loyal following because you're known for quality, then your releases will always net you enormous profits.

Just ask Blizzard.

Im sure they'r ejust down the hall from your over-priced desk that we, the MW2 community, helped pay for.

Asshole.

Take notes from Blizzard.

Blizzard, for christ sake, hired the former head of customer releations from Virgin Airlines. I mean .. omfg...the guy who looked after pissed off airline patrons who lost thier baggage because some former-burger-flipping moron with no high-school education was entrusted with his suitcase.

Do something. That tool, 402, that you have right now, is too busy living up the celebrity status to actually give a rip about the community. All the proof you could ever need is abundantly apparent on the infinity ward website forums.

Don't believe me? Check them out for yourself.

Infinity Ward has done themselves in. I'm not saying people will never play their games again, but they're pretty much sealed their fate as the "here today, gone tomorrow" game developer.

Its only a matter time before main stream agree's with me after they, too, get sick of hearing the same old "beating a dead horse" arguments.


Screw you IW.

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If you're repeatedly killed by the same camper...maybe it's your rushing strategy (and not the game) that needs polished?

Se7en SiN

Warcarft?

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TheLighterDark

Holy fuck don't quote a post that damn big.

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System: Playstation 3 Slim | PSN: TheLighterDark | Internet: Wireless AT&T U-Verse | Prestige 1 Level 70


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"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind." -John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy

PrkchpsNaplsaws

Umm, yes.

Warcraft. The RTS game that literally put Blizzard on the map?

Blizzard may have been quasi-successful with "the Lost Vikings" but Warcraft made them loved & adored by millions.

"Zug Zug"
"STOP POKING ME!!"

Icons of modern gaming.

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If you're repeatedly killed by the same camper...maybe it's your rushing strategy (and not the game) that needs polished?

Se7en SiN

No, you said WarcaRft.

Not Warcraft.

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Bawbag

obvious nazi is obvious.

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fenny

Ok well to ruin part of ur plan activison DOESNT own IW. IW works for activison, in the same way a shop hiring a plumber to do some work for them

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Nibbles

I've played WoW and read the official forums over the past 2 and a half years, and run / lead a successful raiding guild for the majority of that.

I agree that IW should take notes from Blizzard but only in regards to communication with the players. IW's bug / glitch / hack fix time is roughly the same as Blizzard's - but their communication sucks.

When I came to MW2, it was my first big game that took much of my attention away from WoW, and one I thought was worth reading more about on the web. So I was incredibly surprised to see how absolutely shit IW's community response and official forums are. The forums are redundant and their spokesperson is some numpty with a twitter account posting stuff like "oh, I heard from the devs a patch is comin soon that fixes some of those glitches - cool". Is that their official form of communication for a game that cost many millions to develop and has several million players?? Why do they even bother?

At first I didn't even think to look for unofficial MW boards such as this one because with WoW - you either went to a news site, blizzard's WoW forums, or your guild forums - there wasn't really a need for a 3rd party web board!

It goes to show that Blizzard have become damn good at communicating with the WoW community (yeah there's whingers who don't know how good they got it, but still) - even the lead game designer posts frequently on their forums, discussing game mechanics - sometimes in a fair bit of depth.

Baring in mind, MW2 is obviously in a totally different league, it's a different genre - it doesn't even scrape the surface of the level of complexity WoW has, in terms of gameplay and game mechanics so there's really not a lot for a designer or dev to talk about in comparison - but a response, and the occasional news / patch update from a game designer would be nice.

Just wanted to comment on this:
Assuming you meant PSN when you said PS3, I disagree. I hate the bugs / glitching too but I like that PSN leaves things alone. I like that it's free and I totally believe that it should be up to the developers to ensure their games are bug free, fixed quickly and are responsible for blocking glitchers. Let PSN provide the network and leave it at that.

Hrrmmm, Offtopic but a question I have: I wonder if Sony allows game developers who use PSN to actually block accounts.... Anyone know of any other game devs who have banned users from their multiplayer games on PSN?

Activision acquired IW about 7 years ago... Your analogy is correct if the plumber doesn't work for anyone else.

PrkchpsNaplsaws

you really, really, really should do your homework before you open your mouth.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/457/457289p1.html

or

from their wiki page....

You see, acquired doesn't mean "hired" or "partnered with" it means "owned by"

-The Dictionary

In this manner, it would be like a plumber's small company getting bought out by a much larger company & that plumber now takes his orders from someone else, instead of himself.

LOL sometimes people absolutely amaze me. I guess common sense really isn't all that common?

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If you're repeatedly killed by the same camper...maybe it's your rushing strategy (and not the game) that needs polished?

fenny

ok i got something wrong there is no need to be a dick about it

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PrkchpsNaplsaws

You're right. I apologize for going over the top there.


But my point still remains...the two companies are owned by the same entity...maybe thats part of the game plan? Use one subsidiary to drive up sales of another?

Infinity Ward tanks, someone else takes the cake?

Seems very masochist to me, however.

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If you're repeatedly killed by the same camper...maybe it's your rushing strategy (and not the game) that needs polished?

Platy

People have to pay to play WoW, so of course their communication is going to be better. Just because IW aren't running around naked shouting about making patches, doesn't mean they aren't. Sure it'd be nice to hear more from them, but that's more because of the mentality of this generation of people with internet access. They want stuff fixed the same second they complain about it.

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PrkchpsNaplsaws

Yah, because it costs so much money to say "Hey, 402, use your dumb ass twitter account, or the forums, or the one of many other communication resources we have, and let the players know that we are working on ______ glitch, or ______ bug, or that we just plain don't give a shit because we're working on DLC so we can make more money"

Please. And

NO offense, but that is quite literally the stupidest thing i'll hear all day long. I bought the game, i expect service.

Lets say you buy a new car from Honda...and 1 year after the car was released, the manufacturer finds out that there's something wrong with a huge safety aspect of the car, lets say the drivers side airbag, and there must be a recall. Wouldn't you appreciate that recall so that the manufacturer could make it better? Dont you think that this is something that should be demanded?

Same thing here - minus the 'life or death' part. Don't sell me a busted ass game and expect me to scream 'thank you sir, may i have another'


P.S. As far as blizzard goes - what say you for their impeccable communication on FREE games like Starcraft, Warcraft, & Diablo???

15 years later, those games still get better support than we do for modern warfare 2.

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If you're repeatedly killed by the same camper...maybe it's your rushing strategy (and not the game) that needs polished?

JoLo

Moved.

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Downside

Not to mention the fact they completely screwed over the PC community who helped make them great.

At least Blizzard knows that customers are king and it quality over quantity which is why they dont release a new game every year (updates and add ones maybe but not full games). I would rather wait for a quality finished product than a rushed out broken one.

IW almost appear to be in denial about how glitched this game can be so are refusing to acknowledge anything thats wrong with it in the hope that it goes away.

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chaR

Are you serious?
Blizzard failed terribly on balancing WoW & adressing the concerns of the community.

Ive played WoW for like 5 years, seen most of naxx at 60, most of SWP at 70, Brutal Glad in S4 & competed in the ESL EU qualifiers.

Let me tell you that there is no game on this planet that I ever played that has a more fucked up balance than WoW.
Sure there were PTR's for every patch, beta's for every expansion, yet Blizzard NEVER listened to the serious issue's that the community adressed.
As much as I hate IW, they atleast fix broken stuff relativly quick (1887's, CPA).
It took months for fixes like this in WoW, sometimes even years.
And when they were adressed, almost always they were "fix'd" and broke something else because of it, or simply didnt adress the core issue.
This only got worse over the years, rather than better.

Just look at how long it took to fix deathknights as the most recent example.
Or how the community been begging for almost a year now to fix or remove Ring of Valor.
(I mainly list pvp examples because it's the easiest to compare with)

If there is one developer IW definatly should NOT take notes from it'd be Blizzard.
If you think they should you honestly have never played the game any serious and I cannot but call you utterly clueless on the matter.

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Nibbles

I don't think the OP was referring to balance - that's something else. The fact that they have open channels for communication, proper notes and discussions is nice and would be great if IW could at least try the same.

Damn eh.. just can't help yourself can you? Well I was quite keen to discuss balance as you seemed smart but seeings as you're that closed minded there's really no need for it.

You don't like Blizzard because you believe they don't listen and think they're 100% right all the time? Look in the mirror dude.

PrkchpsNaplsaws

Yeah...thats why more than 5 years later, it still has the largest subscriber list of any video game in the world? As well as the fact that Blizzard is known, more than anything, for the quality of their games as well as their undying love for the community. If you ever REALLY played a game by Blizzard, you'd realize this.


I actually played WoW since the first day it was released. I quit playing WoW with MW2. It was my WoW killer.

My WoW experiences aside, there are obvious flaws in IWs communication process.

If you fail to see, or recognize that, then i feel sorry for you.

__________________
If you're repeatedly killed by the same camper...maybe it's your rushing strategy (and not the game) that needs polished?

chaR

Ever realized that it is because it's the most addictive game that has ever been released?
I remember I "quit" for like 5 times myself. I fucking hated the game, yet I started again because it's an addiction.

Quite laughable you tell me that I never really played a Blizzard game, as I just said I played WoW for 5 years, since the beta of vanilla WoW.
While doing so, I seen almost all end game PVE content in vanilla WoW & TBC & seen plenty of the WotLK PVE content (which is a joke compared to vanilla wow/TBC). I was top ranked in arena in every single season that I competed in, was Brutal Gladiator in S4 & competed in the ESL EU 3v3 qualifiers.

I'd really love to hear what you accomplished in WoW, that makes my experience pale compared to yours. Considering this isn't real enough, I assume you must've done alot better. If not, you pretty much have no right to speak out against me at all.

You seriously need to learn to read: I never said there aren't any flaws in IW's communication. Far from. I despise everything IW has done with this game in every way. The only good thing about MW2 is the rough concept. Anything else is pretty terrible.


I also quit WoW with MW2, I played since the beta of vanilla WoW.
I repeat:

There is no game with a more fucked up balance than WoW.
There is an illusion of communication, telling people "we'll look into it", "it has been noted", etc... yet they NEVER listen to what people actually suggest.

One of the best examples would be frost DK's back in S6. They could rock 4 back to back frost strikes for ~7k or more each, literally instagibbing a target within <2 seconds.
The problem was the Frost Strike sigil from Ulduar.
Basicly everybody told Blizzard to simply change the sigil, since it was by far the most logical option & they'd be pretty fine if the sigil was changed.
What does Blizzard decide to do?
They nerf Frost spec for Deathknights, rendering it completly useless for any PVP purpose & leave the sigil untouched.


This is one example, the first that comes to mind.
There are countless examples like this, I already gave you some in my previous post to.

At one point, there were even top players in contact with the Blizzard staff, to directly suggest fixes. Blizzard gave them the idea they listened to them, since it was Blizzard who contacted them, not visa versa.
Never was a single suggestion implemented any of them made.


Even simply bugs took ages to be fixed.
The most horribly imbalanced classes after certain patches were always able to reign atleast till the end of the season.


That aside, do I even need to begin adressing the terribly poor communication GM's gave? Or illustrate how GM's were more clueless than 90% of the player population?


If you believe Blizzard has good communication with their players, listens to the community, you either played VERY casual (and never noticed any flaws) or are utterly clueless.
The Blizzard staff is the worst I've ever come across communication wise.
They never listen, don't learn from their own mistakes & always do what they think is best (resulting in them fucking up the game more each patch).

Oh and just incase you cram it into your brain again:
Just because I despise Blizzard, it doesn't mean I like IW.

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