A couple weeks ago a random British site claimed the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 was going to be delayed for 2 weeks. The source listed was a link to another page on the same site showing an allegedly legitimate release schedule scheme from Activision-Blizzard. It was hard to call this proof as the trail stopped there, since the scheme couldn't be found elsewhere on the net. Most likely another one of those attention-seeking sites spreading lies, and that probably was all it was, but Activision and Infinity Ward remained suspiciously quiet. For days and days the rumour grew bigger and bigger. Other sites picked up the news and claimed it to be true, but nevertheless their source always went back to that initial British site. After repeatedly trying to contact the developers and publishers there was still no official confirmation or denial. Big online shops such as BestBuy.com started to change the release date, notifying all the pre-orders of the change of date. Still no official word. Normally these types of rumours are quickly squashed the same day or the day after the rumour appears. Unless the rumour is true.

Since until this day we still don't know whether the PC version will be delayed or not. Activision remains unavailable for comment. Any attempt to get a response out of them results in a formal "We are not at liberty to comment on allegations or rumours." Infinity Ward community managers say they don't know.

Strangely enough, a couple days after the first PC rumour, there was a similar rumour concerning the console versions. It was a conversation between Robert Bowling - Creative Strategist for Infinity Ward - and a close friend of his, discussing the fact that the console versions would also get delayed. However, the day after this story hit the net, Bowling quickly denied it was true. All this while the PC gamers were still waiting for answers on their version of the game.

In Call of Duty 4 the DLC map pack wasn't available for PC gamers, but only for consoles. After a month or two ATI decided to be the good guys and paid Activision to port the map pack to the PC. If it wasn't for ATI, the PC gamers would never have had the pleasure of playing those extra maps.

When Modern Warfare 2 was announced, gamers could drool over a special collectors edition with night vision goggles. Guess what? Not for PC. Luckily we still had a hardened version with extra artwork and stuff like that, but surprisingly enough this version was cancelled for the PC after a while too.

One might argue that two weeks really aren't such a big deal. And who needs those NVG's and map packs anyway? PC gamers will still buy the game even if it's a fortnight overdue. However, the game has been hyped and a lot of enthusiasts are looking forward to playing the game. If all your friends are talking about the game and what awesome missions they just finished, now that will quickly spoil it for you. Also a lot of servers have been pre-rented for this game, making them useless for the first two weeks, resulting in a serious waste of money.

But that isn't the point I'm making. It's the disregard of Infinity Ward and Activision for PC users. It really goes without saying that the consoles are more profitable than the PC market. The immense amount of piracy has really stabbed the PC gamers in the back. If you're not selling a multiplayer-only game, then consoles are the way to go. Also, PC games drive the developers to keep growing and not become stagnant. Consoles are limited platforms due to hardware limitations. After years and years we haven't really seen a lot of improvement - for example the PS3 games compared to PC games regarding technology. It is hard for consumers and developers to keep up with the PC market since it is an unlimited platform with so many variations. A gamer with a small budget won't be buying a new game if he has to upgrade his whole PC at the same time. That's why most developers see the PC as a non-essential platform. A quick port to PC is some easy money but the PC should never be the first priority. It's just the logical solution of companies who strive for profit. How long before we are all forced to buy gaming consoles because the good games just don't get released on the PC anymore?

Infinity Ward always wanted to be on consoles. Activision however didn't want to change a winning horse and forced them to develop for the PC also. Not because they like the PC community, but because it meant direct success. They even wanted to keep the World War II setting for Call of Duty 4, but that's an entirely different story. The point is that Infinity Ward doesn't want to develop for the PC for the obvious reasons explained in the previous paragraph. How many other games will PC gamers get to play from Infinity Ward - which is still the second best developer studio in the world?

There is also another phenomenon explaining the lack of respect to the PC community. It's called Microsoft and their quest to control the whole gaming market. The xbox360 is completely under their control. That means they will do whatever it takes to gain market share, and a preferred tactic is exclusive rights on games such as the new Call of Duty instalment. It's possible that Activision made a deal with Microsoft that the game could be released two weeks prior to the PC in order to win over gamers who have both systems. Whether this is true or not, it still remains a fact that this kind of competition is clearly not beneficial for the PC, which has no major company backing it up buying deals and what not.

So is the PC game market dying a slow death?
I beg to disagree. Without the PC community Call of Duty would never have gotten this big. Infinity Ward might have stopped caring, but other companies can see this uprising as a way to get themselves settled in. There is still a big amount of PC gamers out there who actually buy games of the shelves. And if the game is genuinely good and renewing, it will sell on whatever platform. The PC community probably accounts for about a third of the Call of Duty sales. That's enough money to get any firm on its feet.
Also the multiplayer is what drives a game and gives it longevity, not the single player. Major League Gaming is the only true competitive arena for consoles and look, it is based off of Microsoft games (Halo, Gears of War). Microsoft controls consoles and the people on it, and can therefore charge them for whatever they want. For computers there are tons of leagues and venues to play from TWL, ESL, Clanbase, Cevo, TGL and so on, free of charge.

Update: Robert Bowling has confirmed that the PC version of MW2 will not be delayed, but seems like IW have now totally disregarded the PC community. More info: http://www.crossfire.nu/?x=news&mode=item&id=4795