Dice, the developers of the Battlefield series, couldn’t be happier about Infinity Ward modernly war-fucking the PC gaming community by not including dedicated server support in Modern Warfare 2. In an attempt to show how they would never betray us as long as we continue to buy their video games, Dice posted a “Dedicated server FAQ” for Battlefield Bad Company 2 that includes a bunch of “frequently” asked questions about dedicated servers. Personally, I was surprised that the first question wasn’t “isn’t this shit a little transparent?”
I have to hand it to whomever controls the marketing over there at Dice as this was a brilliant move. Naming the FAQ page “Dedicated to our PC players!” may have been a little much, what with the play on “dedicated” and the drilling home that the FAQ is for PC gamers who may suddenly have sixty free dollars sitting around.
It’s interesting to see the day where the inclusion of dedicated servers in your game is now a marketing tool. Sure, it might seem like a gamble to focus so much energy on spreading the news that your game includes dedicated servers. Some might argue that this time could be better spent showing off your game’s graphics, gameplay, story, and unique gameplay features, but what’s the point of that? Dice wants PC gamers to know that even if Battlefield Bad Company 2 is the gameplay equivalent to Eskimo kissing the head of a penis, everyone will be able to Eskimo kiss that penis fairly instead of some privileged host taking the penis into the downstairs closest with a tub of Vaseline and a neck brace.
Will this stunt help Battlefield Bad Company 2′s sales? Probably. Will it stop Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 from crushing the fuck out of sale’s records? I doubt it. Infinity Ward has passed the point where they need the support of hardcore PC gamers to sell games. Modern Warfare 2 will sell to people who bought that last Madden game. What number are we up to now? Madden 10? I look forward to Madden 13: the superstitious edition. It better blind people and explode ovaries.
Battlefield Bad Company 2 hits stores in March. Modern Warfare 2 comes out next month, but fuck it because it doesn’t have dedicated server support, costs sixty dollars on PC, and is one step away from buying a Madden game.
