On Games for Windows [Dec 19, 2006, 11:24 am ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Games for Windows Vista how the new brand & OS will change PC gaming on Joystiq
offers an updated preview of the new Games for Windows initiative, attempting,
with limited success, to sort out what GFW represents besides a marketing
slogan. Based on a tour of the program by Marketing Director Kevin Unangst and
PR Manager Michael Wolf, they describe interoperability with Xbox 360 games via
"Live Anywhere," how PCs will get numerical ratings to gauge how well they can
play games, and what qualifies a game for the GFW logo. The conclusion they
draw, however, is that it is difficult to draw conclusions about all
this:
It's a risk. The Games for Windows strategy is on the verge of being schizophrenic. Can the cumbersome PC gaming experience really be simplified down to a console scheme? There are just too many freedoms and variations that exist in the PC universe to accurately interpret the PC as "the console that everybody already owns." It's not that simple. So is GFW a trick? Is Microsoft trying to lure back some of the consumers that were lost when Xbox was launched (an initiative that cannibalized PC gaming sales by design)?
The answer, like the Games For Windows vision, is not so clear. But there is most certainly the opportunity for Microsoft to create something very special. A cross-platform community where you and I can jump from Xbox to PC to our cell phones seamlessly. Anywhere.
What I love about the PC is that I have control over the software and hardware. If a piece of hardware breaks or I want to replace it with something better, I can do it myself. It's the same thing with software, it's up to me if I want to apply a patch or not.
Consoles are great until something breaks, or you find a show stopping bug in one of your games. I'm not a huge console game player, but even my small library has 2 glitchy games, Morrowind and Thief: Deadly Shadows for the original XBOX. The AI bug in Thief was especially annoying, easily patched but Microsoft refuses to do anything about it.
Consoles are great until something breaks, or you find a show stopping bug in one of your games. I'm not a huge console game player, but even my small library has 2 glitchy games, Morrowind and Thief: Deadly Shadows for the original XBOX. The AI bug in Thief was especially annoying, easily patched but Microsoft refuses to do anything about it.
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