My Gaming news and reviews about XBox 360, PS3, PC, Games, Graphics Cards and Hardware: 10 reasons 2009 was bad for PC gamers

10 reasons 2009 was bad for PC gamers
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Nic Simmonds on 20/10/2009 19:46:00
 
For years predictions of the death of PC gaming have made headlines. This is
largely due to piracy, as well as the rise in popularity of console gaming.
Despite this, recent years have not been all bad for PC gamers, largely thanks
to a number of very important PC exclusive games, such as Crysis, World of
Warcraft and The Sims.
Having said that, this year seems to have been particularly bad for PC gamers
for a number of reasons.
Top ten low points of PC gaming in 2009
1.    StarCraft 2 delay
StarCraft 2 was the most anticipated PC exclusive game scheduled for release
this year. Unfortunately, Activision Blizzard announced in August that the game
will now only be released next year.
2.    No dedicated servers for Modern Warfare 2 PC
Recent news has emerged that the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 will not
feature dedicated online servers, as did its predecessor.  This has led to a
public outcry around the world, and it affects South Africa particularly badly
as the IW.net server, which will now host the online multiplayer component of
the game, is located overseas.
3.    No LAN for StarCraft 2
Activision Blizzard again upset PC gamers back in August when it announced that
StarCraft 2 would not feature LAN support.
4.    Alan Wake PC cancelled
PC gamers around the world lamented at the announcement that this hugely
anticipated game from Microsoft was canceled for PC.
5.    Empire: Total War
While at its heart, Empire: Total War was a great game, it represented
everything that is wrong with PC gaming.  A badly optimized engine and a number
of game-wrecking bugs made what was one of the year’s most anticipated PC
exclusives an utter disappointment to many.
6.    Battlefield 1943 delayed
While the console versions of this game were released back in July, the PC
version was pushed back until 2010.
7.    Modern Warfare 2 price hike
Activision Blizzard announced earlier this month that the PC version of Modern
Warfare 2 will cost R499, instead of R399 as previously announced.
8.    Operation Flashpoint 2 lacking dedicated servers
This highly anticipated military sim shipped without supporting dedicated
server hosting, despite featuring print on the box which reads "Dedicated host
server recommended". This means that the game does not support online
multiplayer.
9.    No Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition
PC gamers will not receive the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2, although
this matters less now that the price has increased and dedicated server support
was removed.
10.    No competition in the graphics card market
While AMD released the first DX 11, 40nm graphics card, it would have been nice
if Nvidia had also come to the party. Unfortunately, with word that Nvidia’s
new GPU –Fermi – will not even target gaming, it remains to be seen when
another offering in this market from the once dominant company.
Furthermore, Nvidia has officially stopped selling its GTX 200 series, which
makes AMD the only real option for graphics card buyers going into the Christmas
season. This is bad news even for AMD fans, as competition in any industry is
needed to keep prices in check.
Discuss PC gaming in 09 in the forums