PC players spared Modern Warfare 2 bundles, difficult decision
by JC Fletcher 
{ Jul 30th 2009 at 12:31PM } 
It's a relief, then, for PC gamers that neither the Hardened Edition nor the all-out Prestige Edition will be available for PC. You're forced to buy just the game, like a normal person. If you're really into Prestige, though, you can always roll your own version of it.
[Via Big Download]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Or Is It Alton Brown? (Loyal MW2 Sweatshop Employee) @ Jul 30th 2009 12:35PM
Well, at least I don't have to make any lead filled boxes for the PC version.
Wiizer (MW2 Sweatshop Entrepreneur) @ Jul 30th 2009 12:47PM
Wait, there's a PC VERSION???
Start the production line.
Moptimus Slime (Leader of Princess Griffins Royal Guard) @ Jul 30th 2009 12:50PM
If theres no official version, that means less competition for us
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jul 30th 2009 12:55PM
Even better there isn't a version of Trauma Center for PC.
Grab some cheap copies of Grey's anatomy and put them into a box filled with medical waste.
80$ each.
The version with gloves 120$.
Ka-ching.
Wiizer (MW2 Sweatshop Entrepreneur) @ Jul 30th 2009 12:59PM
Added 'peripherals'... I like it.
We can tell the consumers that the gloves add 1:1 motion control, and they should 'upgrade' for the 'best experience' while playing the game...
These ideas just sell themselves!
nelson @ Jul 30th 2009 12:36PM
wouldn't it make more sense to have the collectable editions for PC so that the players on PC who wanted the cool collectables would be forced to buy the game thus making no need for them to download it illegally? I can't wait until I hear the rationale behind this dumb decision.....
jynxycat @ Jul 30th 2009 1:18PM
No ? Cause it has online play.
Ch0ppa @ Jul 30th 2009 1:20PM
too bad the best part of the CoD series is the multiplayer, and good luck gettin multiplayer to work without any problems with a pirated copy. not going through the hassle of trying it is worth the price of the game itself.
Big Jim @ Jul 30th 2009 6:49PM
There is probably a much lower adoption rate for PC in general and a much higher risk for entering the PC market with costly peripherals. Add in all the overhead (shipping, packaging, etc...) and likely eventual discounts due to a low take up rate and you're left with a fairly unappetizing prospective for a distributor/publisher.
What would probably help and what will probably end up happening eventually is lowered pricing and digital distribution through a source that (at least mostly) protects against piracy and yet adds the value of convenience to the consumer. Like Steam for example.
Ubercharged @ Jul 30th 2009 1:42PM
From the perspective of a PC player such as myself, I think all those extra things are a ridiculous waste of space that will be cool for about three hours. Most people will just buy it on steam anyway.
coolbho3000 @ Jul 30th 2009 2:01PM
Cracked servers + keygen. For CoD4/WaW you can go into an online server browser, search for "cracked," and you get hundreds of IPs you can then connect to using console commands. It's a little more hassle but it works. There's no way I'm paying $60 for a PC game.
XGM @ Jul 30th 2009 2:11PM
Us PC gamers never buy this stuff anyways. Also we typically pay 10$ less per game, our DLC is free and we usually end up with a map editor on top of that. I fail to see how anybody wants all that crap, if I really wanted the NVG's id go and buy some real ones for 150$ or so (unlike these which rely on IR light, and sell for like 30$)
Nevadarain72 @ Jul 31st 2009 6:49PM
I'd also like to hear the rationale. It can't be piracy, because then they'd just skip the PC altogether.
Personally, I'll pass on the uber-crazy special edition versions of games (Halo 3, Fallout 3, MW2), but if a limited-edition version is within $20 or so of the standard box, then I'll spring for that (such as C&C3 and Fallout 3)
I'm becoming increasingly depressed as more and more games are either shoddy ports (GTA4, Ghostbusters), delayed (Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect), or just skipped entirely (GoW2, Fable II)
Shagittarius @ Jul 30th 2009 12:36PM
An obsolete version of night vision goggles isn't something I'd spend extra money on anyways. I would however like a tinfoil...er...i mean steel case.
Markez @ Jul 30th 2009 12:40PM
It's hardened.
Moptimus Slime (Leader of Princess Griffins Royal Guard) @ Jul 30th 2009 12:46PM
http://www.halolz.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/harden.gif
Ballistic H @ Jul 30th 2009 2:31PM
"Obsolete" means old and useless. These ones are not "old" and not necessarily "useless". Old NVG drained battery juice like crazy.
Emophia @ Jul 31st 2009 2:19PM
To people like you, me, and everyone else here, they are useless.
Kevin @ Jul 30th 2009 12:39PM
Apparently there will be a fancy edition that comes in on a plastic disc, which is held in a cardboard box. It costs about $10 more and requires you to leave the house, though, so I don't think I'll be getting it.
b trumpet @ Jul 30th 2009 12:45PM
I guess if you really wanted the Night Vision, you could buy the 360/PS3 version, sell the hardened case as if you bought the hardend edition, and get the PC version.
Freak Mojo @ Jul 30th 2009 12:45PM
I' d like to see what EA does to make Battlefield bundles more awesome than this.
Plus.. I think my "ultimate" edition nerd dollars would go to Batman's collector's edition. Batarang FTW! Those punk ass squirrels don't stand a chance!
Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 30th 2009 12:53PM
Why is Joystiq hating on the Prestige Edition so much? $150 for the Prestige Edition for you what you get is pretty reasonable, especially since the majority of people who are going to buy it are going to play the game for another 2 straight years just like they've been doing with COD4. It certainly beats the Legendary Edition of Halo....at least these goggles fit on a human head.
Ubercharged @ Jul 30th 2009 1:43PM
Activision cant rape the willing i guess...
BananaBoat @ Jul 30th 2009 2:17PM
It's basically those toy night vision goggles they sell at Toys R Us, bundled with the steel box version of the game. For less, you could buy the goggles at the toy store, and the steel box version of the game. Night vision goggles are a cool gimmick, but the price makes it pointless.
As for why people are hating on the pricing of MW2 in general, the PC version of the game is going to be 60 dollars. 60 dollars is a console price point, designed to reflect 50 dollars plus the tax game publishers have to pay to get their games onto a console (rumored at around 10 bucks). There is no such "tax" on the PC, yet Activision is going to sell the game at 60 dollars on the PC anyway, which is a complete ripoff. Activision is also hiking the price in the UK to an insane level, as a test of whether or not the pricepoint would work.
I don't buy into the Activision hate in general (I don't think EA is any better, morally speaking, as a company) but raising the price on some of the most die hard fans (PC gamers) right as PC gaming seems to be shifting completely to MMO's, is sad.
I'll be getting the regular edition of the game for the 360. I'll let a less frugal friend buy the prestige edition so that I can dick around with his NVG's.
Storm Eagle @ Jul 30th 2009 2:21PM
I can certainly sympathize with that BananaBoat. I don't think it's fair to condemn consumers interested in the package as not "normal" though.
At any rate, it is ridiculous that they're upping the price for the PC version for no reason at all, and the UK I always feel for when it comes to the pricing of games over there.
As for the NVG's, I hope they're of at least slightly better quality than something I can buy at the local toy shop. Be forewarned though, they are not certified to be warn on the genitals.
BananaBoat @ Jul 30th 2009 4:52PM
How will my little soldier navigate to the fox hole without using night vision goggles?
kizzeo @ Jul 30th 2009 12:54PM
Well, I doubt the torrent would come with the crappy night-vision goggles anyway.
Hyams @ Jul 30th 2009 12:59PM
My cat needs night-vision goggles too!
Nerdy Desi @ Jul 30th 2009 12:57PM
Didn't the PC version get a Special Edition of COD5: World At War like the console versions yet we don't get the special editions for this game? Same has been with the PC missing special editions of other games like Mass Effect, GTA4, etc.
I guess the PC should be lucky assholic Activision is even making a PC version in the first place. This is a console world now. : (
Nerdy Desi @ Jul 30th 2009 1:01PM
And adding insult to injury, these fuckers are charging $59.99 for the PC version, same price as the console versions when PC versions have always been $10 lower. These are the same bastards who ruined the Soldier of Fortune franchise with the horrible "Payback" game.
deaftly @ Jul 30th 2009 1:03PM
Weren't you all about consoles before? Now its PC? Next month you'll be a Mac fanboy
knightsray @ Jul 30th 2009 1:26PM
well even though the box version is 60..i'm sure steam will sell it for 50..that's where i got COD4 so if the box version really is 10 bucks more than eff that..i'll be getting mine on steam to save money..cause the extra 10 bucks,plus i gotta go outta town to go to a game store so that's like 10 for gas right there lol that extra 20 bucks isn't worth it! STEAM FTW!!!!
Nerdy Desi @ Jul 30th 2009 1:26PM
I absolutely despise Macs, although the Iphone/Ipod Touch look tempting but their made by Apple, ugh. Now I know how Sprinkles feels. : )
The PC was my first "console" and then it was PS1/PS2/PSP and PS3 for two weeks before it fucking died and I've been turned off Sony for its other blunders too. Damn you Sony, fix your broken PS3s for free, is that too much to ask?
Though the PS3 is starting to look tempting again. I bought a 360 to replace the PS3 just for GTA4 and now its collecting dust. I always wanted to build my own PC and finally did it in January and am currently a PC gamer.
But with the way PC gaming seems to be "dying" and everyone going towards consoles, maybe I'll be a console guy again when the next consoles come out.
Ubercharged @ Jul 30th 2009 1:44PM
At my local best buy there are at least 20 copies of the world at war special edition for pc, i doubt they sold more than 5 since it came out.
jackal @ Jul 30th 2009 3:50PM
Nerdy Desi,
"...maybe I'll be a console guy again when the next consoles come out." Oh, you'll get all of the next gen consoles at some point but make no matter what you say or how much you might try...there is no escaping our platform. ::cackles::
Nerdy Desi @ Jul 30th 2009 8:48PM
You are right jackal, I will never completely give up PC gaming. : )
Spike @ Jul 30th 2009 12:59PM
i wanted this game, oh well, i guess my 360 is getting some love, and i'm getting night vision goggles
Sean @ Jul 30th 2009 1:09PM
We're forced to buy the PC version for the low, low price of $60.
Horse shit, Activision. Looks like I'll be downloading the single player only TRIAL version until it hits a reasonable price. Say, $30.
Ryan @ Jul 30th 2009 1:10PM
Sweet effing Effness. I always thought the Prestige Pack was a joke about the uselessness/over-the-top nature of these Collector's Editions...
nelson @ Jul 30th 2009 1:26PM
having online play has never stopped games being cracked
specially on PC where the servers can be hosted anywhere
the collectable editions probably weren't created just to avoid the legal issues with CoD1 being packaged/shipped with MW2. that is just begging to be shared over the internet if they did add it in. they wouldn't make the hardened edition for this reason (who would just want a hard box and a picture book for 20bucks more?) and the prestige...well just because there are already so many preorders from the console that they can't possibly produce more of the goggles and plus with the direct2drive downloads...you don't even need to waste money packaging it because d2d is so popular now
Ch0ppa @ Jul 30th 2009 1:27PM
How would you possibly think it was a joke? Didnt you see the official unboxing video? Look like a joke to you? Ridiculous, maybe, but a joke? - dont know how anyone could have interpreted it as that.....
Tank @ Jul 30th 2009 1:28PM
Well, that's unfortunate...I was hoping to get the Prestige Edition, I guess I'll have no choice but to get the regular boring old standard edition.
Thanks for saving me a bunch of money Activision.
Faceman @ Jul 30th 2009 1:35PM
I friggin heart Joystiq's unbridled opinions.
sleepypersons @ Jul 30th 2009 1:39PM
Well at least gives me a reason to pirate it, YArrr Harr ye mateties.
Looks like I'm gonna have to get the PS3 version now, They are assholes seeing as COD started on pc.
Nerdy Desi @ Jul 30th 2009 2:11PM
A lot of devs that started on PC are abandoning it and going towards consoles, like ID and Epic Games. They don't care that their roots are in PC gaming, that PC gamers brought them to what they are today. There's more console gamers and they don't pirate their games.
Damn you fucking PC gaming pirates, hurting the most powerful, flexible and customizable gaming platform in existence.
Ch0ppa @ Jul 30th 2009 2:12PM
yeah but you think the average CoD player could figure that out? Plus if you're playing on cracked servers, no telling WHAT those people on those servers are doing (glitching, cheating, whatever). I'm no stranger to pirated games, but with games with a online community as massive as CoD, I'd rather spend the money and be able to play where I know its gonna be fair. I'm most likely just gettin this game on 360 tho so my opinion doesnt really matter.
Andy @ Jul 30th 2009 3:42PM
The legit servers have some pretty serious cheating problems too though...
Ch0ppa @ Jul 30th 2009 2:13PM
wow,...soo much reply fail in one day its unbelievable
zaglis @ Jul 30th 2009 2:37PM
60$ huh? Thank god for piracy, yo.
Video Games Blog @ Jul 30th 2009 2:43PM
Infinity ward alienating their PC fanbase (THEIR ORIGINAL FANS) is nothing new. No PC beta, no prestige mode for MW1 multiplayer, map packs launched for the 360 version first, etc.
It's obvious where IW's loyalty lies. I still love them though...somehow.