No I'm not missing the point. It has very little to do with console vs PC.
What these companies are doing is sacrificing a high quality of customer service in exchange for gaining profits and\or cutting loses. The same thing every other company out there attempts to do. However, this doesn't always work with the entertainment industry, because they should be listening to their largest and most dedicated customer base. Which isn't console gamers.
The PC FPS market is bigger than the console FPS market. 6 of the top 10 xbox live games for 2008 were FPS games. There combined online population is HALF of how many people are on just steam FPS games right now. That's just steam. That doesn't include the 100's of other FPS games on the PC that are still actively played because of dedicated server support. On the Xbox 360, if the FPS game isn't on the top 20. Good luck finding a match with less than 10 minutes of idle waiting.
The most dedicated customers, the ones who play online every day, and the ones who play competitively in clans. They are the voice for the rest of the gaming world. What game lives or dies is decided by them. Casual gamers don't normally go into the store and pick something off the shelf randomly and make that company profit by random chance. The games that get the shelves are decided upon by the most dedicated of gamers (Why walmart shows up to conventions like E3).
If they don't listen to their most dedicated fan base they will take a loss in the long run. Maybe not now, but maybe when CoD5 or 6 comes along. Why would I want to support a business that is willing to make a quick financial gain this quarter while risking future financial stability. That will likely effect only the employees that we care about, the guys that actually make the game badass behind the scenes. MW2 itself is badass.
BTW lex. I bet if MW3 comes out that they re release dedicated server support and they market it as the holy grail of what will make the next game so great. Since every CoD is exactly the same but 1 slight change, my guess is that will be the surprise for the next release.
If they don't? Then Battlefield Bad Company 2 promises dedicated server support, mod support, and says the game won't be a straight port because the PC version requires features that console players don't take advantage of.
