GamingIndustry: "Valve has said that digital distributors who boycott PC games because they ship with Steamworks services are missing out on potentially lucrative sales."
YourEMGN Writes: "Remember the PC communities hate against the PC version of Modern Warfare 2? Remember the boycotts and complaining? the offering of cake and money to the (almost) rival game Battlefield bad company 2?
Well I guess you would be interested in this. In this screenshot I took it shows a small sample of the 915 members of the ‘Boycott Modern Warfare 2 (WE WANT DEDICATED SERVERS)’ steam group however it doesn’t seem like many are doing so."
Gamespot interviews Gabe Newell, President and Co-Founder of Valve. It’s the extended version of the one that appeared on the Halloween 2009 episode of Today on the Spot.
Important points:
Left 4 Dead 3 is not coming next year.
Very high pre-order rate among members of the L4D2 Boycott Steam group.
Left 4 Dead will continue to get DLC. Possible special DLC for people that have both L4D and L4D2.
GN writes, "Infinity Ward must not have Hardcore mode on, because they’ve taken a hell of a lot of fire. We’ve been reporting news like never before, keeping everyone updated to the minute on Modern Warfare 2’s lack of dedicated servers. After reading several hundred comments across multiple collaborative news sites (like N4G.com), I’ve come to the conclusion that reporting it in an unbiased manner is not the way to help the community – it’s time to take action. We have a strong petition, but that only gets us so far. No one has organized an OFFICIAL boycott yet. Yes, we’ve all canceled our pre-orders, but let’s make it as clear as day. Here are the rules to the Infinity Ward Lockout:"
The leaders of the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott appear to be satisfied with how Valve will be continuing their support of Left 4 Dead and the direction they are taking Left 4 Dead 2. The Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott Steam Community group will be closed on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Gamer Limit writes "Gabe has agreed to pay for himself and a colleague to fly to Sydney, rather then the original Brisbane, and to donate the raised cash to Penny Arcade’s Childs Play Charity."
The two founding members of the Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott group were flown out to Valve to give the sequel a spin. Does their hate-hate relationship with the game continue on after their visit, or will there be cries of "He likes it! Hey Mikey!" uttered throughout the halls of the boycott group? Let’s find out.
Popmatters writes:
"A look at the controversy surrounding Shadow Complex and Orson Scott Card.
When Shadow Complex came out last week, it was met with an unusual controversy, which Christian Nutt explored in an article on Gamasutra. The controversy centered around some gamers’ decision to boycott Shadow Complex because of its connection to Orson Scott Card, an outspoken opponent of gay rights. Card wrote Empire, a novel about a leftist army taking over the capital, and Shadow Complex is a prequel to that story."
TheGameReviews: "It’s said that no press is bad press, something that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick would probably agree with. As the outspoken head of the world’s most profitable third-party video game publisher, Kotick has built up a brand with an amazing roster of titles and some of the most talented designers in the industry. Yet, despite all of this, all is not well in the eyes of many. Amidst growing concern over expensive peripherals, rehashed sequels and extravagant packaging, some of the company’s most ardent followers have now turned a corner. A boycott has been called pertaining to Modern Warfare 2’s pricing in the UK, and worries over Guitar Hero 5’s impending launch have resulted in drastic measures to entice potential buyers. At the center of this all has been Kotick, with an unending string of controversial statements and an apparent disdain for the consumer’s happiness. Public opinion has swayed against the mighty giant, comparable to the way EA was looked upon several years back. Is Activision really the corporate monster that some of their actions have seemingly made them out to be? Is Kotick the real-life manifestation of Flintheart Glomgold? In short, is Activision evil?"