Editor's note: Daniel sees the Modern Warfare 2 dedicated servers controversy as a symptom of a larger problem -- console gamers may be settling for less than they deserve. Do you agree? -Demian

Developer Infinity Ward's decision to drop dedicated server support for the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 is one of the most serious issues in gaming right now, for multiple reasons. It’s not just about the feature set of one blockbuster title -- rather, this controversy highlights how some gamers are being taken advantage of.

This is about the intrinsic differences in content distribution across various platforms. Regardless of the cost disparity between PC and console hardware, in many ways PC gamers get a significantly better deal on software, and console-only gamers don’t seem to care.

A lot of console gamers are responding with hostility towards PC gamers who are upset about Modern Warfare's lack of dedicated server support. Some are calling PC gamers spoiled, and don’t see a problem with them getting the same experience as console gamers.

But that is a problem. If the multiplayer in the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 is basically identical to that of the console versions, then the PC platform is losing functionality that has been standard in online PC gaming since years before Xbox Live hit the scene.

The question a lot of people are asking is, “Why should PC gamers have it better?” The question they should be asking is, “Why should console gamers have it worse?”

Left 4 Dead’s “Crash Course” DLC is another example of this disparity -- it was free on PC, but $7 for Xbox players. That prompted a previous blog post of mine on 1UP.com, about how for years now console gamers have been paying for what PC gamers have been getting for free.

Just recently, I chose to purchase the PC version of Red Faction: Guerrilla, and compared to the console version I probably saved enough money for a whole additional game. When the game came out on consoles it was $60, and now there are three DLC packs at $10 each. The PC version launched at $40 (the current price of the console versions) with all the DLC included.

I can tell you right now, however, that the situation with Modern Warfare 2 goes far beyond mods, clans, and downloadable content. It hits at another side of the disparity between what gamers on PC have access to and what console-only gamers do not.

Dedicated servers can offer a higher quality experience than console-style matchmaking, in terms of connections, the games themselves, and the social aspect.

When playing Call of Duty or Uncharted 2 via console online matchmaking, 15 users are matched with one host playing on a consumer-level Internet connection, based who knows where. If some players are being stupid, they can be muted or even kicked from a game.

On the PC version of Call of Duty 4, I have found and bookmarked a server that is always there for me to come back to. It is run on a privately owned (or rented) webmaster-level machine set up solely for online gaming. It has moderators and admins who have established rules for 32 players to play nice, and who will ban griefers, cheaters, and screaming 13-year-olds. Basically, it’s a bar or a message board, but in a game. 1UP even had its own Team Fortress 2 server for a while.

I understand that the PC's open platform, which allows for player-made mods and free DLC, is at odds with the consoles' walled gardens. Still, Epic proved with Unreal Tournament 3 that it's possible to get PC-made mods running on consoles.

Even dedicated server support has shown up occasionally on consoles. Several PS3 games have what are essentially dedicated servers. Technically, Sony allows developers to do this kind of thing, along with free DLC and even mouse support. Publishers, however, don’t do it often because most of their consumers aren’t aware of those possibilities and thus don’t expect them. I almost want to see Sony pushing for this kind of thing just to have a leg up over Microsoft in consumers’ eyes.

Some critics of the Wii, and the “casual” games it's inspiring, accuse Nintendo of taking advantage of a less-sophisticated audience with different/lower quality expectations. I’m starting to think that’s kind of what’s happening to PS3 and Xbox 360 gamers in some ways as well.

This blog also appears at http://redswirl.1up.com.