'Modern Warfare 3' players planning protest

2 hrs.

Matthew Hawkins

Are you a fan of "Call of Duty: Modern?Warfare?3" who is angry and annoyed with a game that has yet to stack up? Well, save the date: April 20. That's when some players are organizing a blackout protest, aimed at Infinity Ward and Activision, the game's developer and publisher?respectively.

The following video, which surfaced last week and has been gathering steam ever since, illustrates the reasons why some "Modern Warfare 3" players are so angry, and why they are being asked to not touch the game for 24 hours later this month:

The list of grievances includes long-standing bugs that have yet to be fixed and features that have either been promised but not yet delivered, or are glaring omissions when compared with other first-person shooters on the market.

One major source of frustration has been the frequency in which Infinity Ward and Activision provides downloadable content for "Modern Warfare 3," along with its aggressive price structure, the?controversial?subscription based service known as "Call of Duty ELITE."

"ELITE" provides a wealth of DLC in a bundle for a discounted price of $50, but it's still considered steep, and practically the price of a new game. It also provides features that are only available for paid member, some of which is offered for free in other titles.

The core complaints stem from the contant updates, and thus the constant need to nickel and dime its customers,?while still ignoring issues with the core experience since day one.

As expected, many are wondering how effective such a protest will be. Other have also noticed the date itself, 4/20, which is often associated by some as the time of day they use marijuana. That's another reason some question if such an initiative should be taken seriously in the first place.

Matthew Hawkins is an NYC-based game journalist who has also written for EGM, GameSetWatch, Gamasutra, Giant Robot and numerous others. He also self-publishes his own game culture zine, is part of?Attract Mode, and co-hosts?The Fangamer Podcast. You can keep tabs on him via?Twitter,?or his personal home-base,?FORT90.com.

black friday news gamestop albert haynesworth banana republic apple store academy barnes and noble nook