Sorry about the lack of updates, I've been working 16 hours a day, and on top of that I'm finishing my diving certification. This is my latest installment for CPU Magazine. It's an article featuring more information on Microsoft Games for Windows.
This may come as a shock to some but Windows happens to be the most popular gaming platform on the planet. Technically this includes all types of games, including the largest segment of the market, casual games – but semantics aside, PC gaming is absolutely huge and growing.
One of the reasons people don’t think about games when they look at a computer is because there has never been a unified go to market approach on the content side, similar to consoles. Walking into a retail store you’ll see dedicated spaces for console games in an orderly, organized, branded fashion, whereas PC games are placed in a general PC software section with no common branding. To make things worse, most people don’t know if a particular PC game is compatible with their system.
It’s also more attractive for developers to develop on the consoles – even with the exorbitant cost of entry. Think about it, Nintendo has sold more WII’s then most PC game titles will sell in total, and game developers are taking notice.
From a developer standpoint the beauty of Windows is the open platform approach to development, level of realism offered, low cost for entry, and the seemingly limitless performance ceilings. Of course online games like World of Warcraft have created an enviable recurring revenue business model which is attracting more developers our way. Back in the day the ugly side of Windows gaming was piracy, but things have changed and piracy has declined significantly. Now the endless hardware combinations, insane compatibility tests, and user experience seems to be contributing to the ugly side.
There are many more pros & cons of developing games for personal computers, but luckily the pros far outweigh the cons and more developers are jumping on board.
So, what’s Games for Windows (GfW)? According to Microsoft it’s a 4 tier promise of quality, compatibility, safety, and ease of use.
Quality: GfW titles undergo extensive testing by both Microsoft and the publisher.
Compatibility: GfW titles work on XP and Vista, both 32 bit and 64 bit editions. One of the biggest problems with PC games is the extensive configuration required to make a joystick work, and GfW promises to eliminate this complexity by ensuring that titles are compatible with the Microsoft Xbox 360 controller out of the box. GfW titles also support native widescreen resolutions.
Safety: GfW titles will support new parental controls and unique family settings.
Ease of use: GfW titles are easy to install find and remove, especially in Windows Vista. In fact, rumour has it that the next generation Halo is drop & play from the disc, very much like the Xbox 360.
On paper it sounds great, but I’ve spoken with many developers who are still on the fence. To be honest I’ve met with the GfW team, and I truly believe they are sincere in their efforts, but there are two things that really bug me.
Microsoft is working to create a community experience similar to Xbox Live called Windows Live, where people can chat, set up games, and play. In the future, PC and Xbox 360 gamers will even be able to play with and against each other, a cross-platform experience that sounds really cool to me. My concern is that Microsoft will charge a membership fee to those who want to be part of this. So long the fee is $50 per year or less, it’ll probably be a good deal for users, but game developers that support the GFW cause may have to give up their recurring revenues to Microsoft.
Another thing that bugs me is the branding. If I were a game developer I’m not sure that I would want a huge-ass Microsoft banner on all my games, because it’s not like Microsoft published it. I DO like the concept, and agree that consistent branding is important, but Microsoft needs to lighten up on the requirements to attract some of the big guys.
The thought of going home and plopping NHL 2K7 into my PC with an easy to use controller experience is awesome. I can’t imagine a console being able to keep up with the level of detail that a high end PC offers - there’s nothing like playing games on a PC.
I would encourage all developers to take a good long look at GfW and let them know your concerns. I applaud Microsoft for taking the first step to standardization, now it’s your turn to make it work.
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3 blogger comments:
Your point about branding is spot on, I think, but Bioware, Bungee, E.A., et. al. don't seem to have a problem slapping a huge-ass "Sony" or "Nintendo" banner on their console games.
Jeremy there is a difference between the word PC and the word WINDOWS. A game made for a sony/nintendo is comparable to a game for a PC. The question is does the game support other OS softwares. If it did not say it was sony you might accidentally buy it and stick it in your 360! Thanks to companies like blizzard that issue does not exist as their games are mac/pc. The problem here is whether or not Bill Gates should be taking credit for games he did not produce as a software company. All your games already have pc/mac compatible notice somewhere on the packaging, do you want it to say in big letters microsoft game as well?
"Games For Windows" is another attempt at MS to control the world. I'm really sick of Microsoft. They throw a piece of garbage out there like Vista (which they charge an unreasonable sum of money for AND it performs WORSE than XP), now they will charge game designers more money to stick their moronic logo on the box, which in turn costs the consumer more money.
Now we're supposed to strip down to our undies and dance around in the rain celebrating that GFW has arrived to save us all and make PC games more popular again? What the f*ck is wrong with Microsoft?
Wasn't DirectX supposed to deliver performance, compatibility, and stability in the first place? Microsoft has proven itself time and time again to be a poor brand, yet they feel that putting their name on more products will be a good thing? No wonder everyone is buying a console.
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