Former Steam Boss Joins Microsoft Games Division

[Steven Bogos]

Former Steam Boss Joins Microsoft Games Division

The man who made Steam into the amazing gaming platform it is today is hoping to do the same for Windows.

Games For Windows [http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/pc/games] is kind of a running joke in the gaming community, and Microsoft has decided that it doesn't like being the butt of the joke anymore. It has brought on none other than Jason Holtman, who spearheaded Valve's Steam platform for eight years, to work his magic with Games For Windows. "Yes, I have joined Microsoft where I will be focusing on making Windows a great platform for gaming and interactive entertainment," said Holtman in an official statement.

"I think there is a lot of opportunity for Microsoft to deliver the games and entertainment customers want and to work with developers to make that happen, so I'm excited to be here," he added. Holtman could be the very man Microsoft needs to kick start its gaming platform, which was riddled with bad decisions right from the start. when it shockingly believed PC gamers would be willing to pay for online play like their console brethren.

Holtman initially left Valve back in February, after an eight-year stint at the company. His departure wasn't very publicized, as it happened to be around the same time a bunch of Valve employees were laid off [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122094-Update-Valve-Fires-Hardware-Guru].

Holtman's position at Valve was specifically to be the primary point of contact for developers that distributed games on Steam, and as Steam is only as good as the games it has on it, it made Holtman the service's driving force. A huge proponent of digital distribution, Holtman is also credited with steering Steam through the DRM controversies it encountered and calming publisher fears that the annual Steam Summer and holiday sales would devalue their intellectual properties.

With the Xbox One looming on the horizon, it almost seemed as if Microsoft was abandoning the PC platform all together, but this news shows that they are still determined to try and make things work.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-08-14-former-steam-boss-lands-at-microsoft]

Permalink

 

[Roxas1359]

If any person can possibly even attempt to revive MS' gaming sector at this point, it would probably be this guy. Let's hope they actually listen to what Holtman says instead of just going okay yeah and then continuing with the same practices as before.

 

[RicoADF]

If any person can possibly even attempt to revive MS' gaming sector at this point, it would probably be this guy. Let's hope they actually listen to what Holtman says instead of just going okay yeah and then continuing with the same practices as before.

Honestly I hope they don't listen and GFWL will finally die. Unless they can somehow magically rebuild the whole system, which I doubt. The windows 8 store is probably the closest thing to a GFWL reboot.

 

[Baresark]

This is an interesting turn of events. We'll see if this guy can prevent them from shooting themselves in the foot for the umpteenth time. Though, part of me thinks he was so successful with Steam and Microsoft has such a shit poor reputation that this won't be that successful. I mean, ultimately, Microshit hurts itself by not allowing their products to be sold on multiple distribution platforms, that is actually what killed their whole PC gaming division. Exclusives are fine on consoles, but on an open platform where the competition is actually fierce, it doesn't really fly.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

This is an interesting turn of events. We'll see if this guy can prevent them from shooting themselves in the foot for the umpteenth time. Though, part of me thinks he was so successful with Steam and Microsoft has such a shit poor reputation that this won't be that successful. I mean, ultimately, Microshit hurts itself by not allowing their products to be sold on multiple distribution platforms, that is actually what killed their whole PC gaming division. Exclusives are fine on consoles, but on an open platform where the competition is actually fierce, it doesn't really fly.

I always thought it was the fact that GFWL was nothing more than a port of Xbox Live dash (360 controls and all) for awhile after its launch.

The need for Gold accounts for online play did the rest.

I don't know how effective he will be, calling the MS gaming division a pack of retarded monkeys is a gross insult to monkeys.

 

[Steven Bogos]

This is an interesting turn of events. We'll see if this guy can prevent them from shooting themselves in the foot for the umpteenth time. Though, part of me thinks he was so successful with Steam and Microsoft has such a shit poor reputation that this won't be that successful. I mean, ultimately, Microshit hurts itself by not allowing their products to be sold on multiple distribution platforms, that is actually what killed their whole PC gaming division. Exclusives are fine on consoles, but on an open platform where the competition is actually fierce, it doesn't really fly.

People are quick to forget that when Steam first started, EVERYONE hated it. Like, people hated Steam just as much (if not more) than they hate origin or GFWL now. It had a VERY rocky start and people like Holtman managed to turn it around so much that now valve is this magicial company that can "do no wrong" in the eyes of the gaming community.

 

[Baresark]

This is an interesting turn of events. We'll see if this guy can prevent them from shooting themselves in the foot for the umpteenth time. Though, part of me thinks he was so successful with Steam and Microsoft has such a shit poor reputation that this won't be that successful. I mean, ultimately, Microshit hurts itself by not allowing their products to be sold on multiple distribution platforms, that is actually what killed their whole PC gaming division. Exclusives are fine on consoles, but on an open platform where the competition is actually fierce, it doesn't really fly.

People are quick to forget that when Steam first started, EVERYONE hated it. Like, people hated Steam just as much (if not more) than they hate origin or GFWL now. It had a VERY rocky start and people like Holtman managed to turn it around so much that now valve is this magicial company that can "do no wrong" in the eyes of the gaming community.

I completely understand that. I'll never forget what it was like the first time I installed Halflife 2 and discovered that I had to be online to play it, I was infuriated. And then it worked like shit anyway. I was simply pointing out that Microsoft's reputation is so bad, and this fella was obviously instrumental in Steam becoming the success it is today, that it will be hard for them to even be relevant, let alone be successful because Steam is the undisputed king at this point and everyone already actively hates MS.

I always thets ought it was the fact that GFWL was nothing more than a port of Xbox Live dash (360 controls and all) for awhile after its launch.

The need for Gold accounts for online play did the rest.

I don't know how effective he will be, calling the MS gameing division a pack of retarded monkeys is a gross insult to monkeys.

Well, GFWL is the DRM they use. But they are more talking about the Microsoft "app store"(god I hate that in reference to the PC gaming). Don't get me wrong, the folks who like GFWL can be counted on a single hand. But their market is actually what this guy would be working on, not the DRM aspect. I figure that it's all about getting more than first party games on your platform, and success I would also argue relies on them also widening their user base by selling on other platforms.

 

[Evil Smurf]

If this guy can get GFWL all right, I can finally install my batman games.

 

[Araksardet]

And in a few years we'll have yet another storefront and yet another publisher who refuses to publish games on any other storefront.

I know that isn't what was said, but still. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I wish all publishers published all their games on all PC sales platforms. Only then would the platforms themselves truly get to compete to offer the best service.

 

[lacktheknack]

And in a few years we'll have yet another storefront and yet another publisher who refuses to publish games on any other storefront.

I know that isn't what was said, but still. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I wish all publishers published all their games on all PC sales platforms. Only then would the platforms themselves truly get to compete to offer the best service.

Already happened and already happened (briefly). Nothing is new under the sun.

Look, GFWL is already required to use some truly great games. The best possible option is "fix it so it doesn't suck". If that means that Windows will be reserving the right to sell all two or three upcoming PC games they're making, so be it.

 

[Stevepinto3]

It would be neat to see GFWL being turned into a respectable service. It's been said before but I'll say it again; Steam is great, but there needs to be more competition. Really GFWL and Origin seem like the only two platforms with enough support to compete, but they both fail miserably when compared to Steam.

Still, Origin has slowly improved over the past year or two. It seems EA finally realized "HOLY CRAP, when we lower our prices for a while and give consumers good deal they give us MORE MONEY!" Imagine that. Maybe GFWL can learn to do that, as well as not force me to download 50 updates every time I want to play Dark Souls, then fail to log me in for whatever reason, then force me to quit and restart the game, then wait through more crap, then download MORE updates, then have me hurl my keyboard through my computer screen in frustration.

 

[Erttheking]

Huh. It's an IRL "You are the only one who can do this" thing. Here's hoping he really CAN do this.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

I always thought it was the fact that GFWL was nothing more than a port of Xbox Live dash (360 controls and all) for awhile after its launch.

The need for Gold accounts for online play did the rest.

I don't know how effective he will be, calling the MS gaming division a pack of retarded monkeys is a gross insult to monkeys.

Well, GFWL is the DRM they use. But they are more talking about the Microsoft "app store"(god I hate that in reference to the PC gaming). Don't get me wrong, the folks who like GFWL can be counted on a single hand. But their market is actually what this guy would be working on, not the DRM aspect. I figure that it's all about getting more than first party games on your platform, and success I would also argue relies on them also widening their user base by selling on other platforms.

Then he has his work cut out for him, the app store is in really crappy shape.

Can you even get games that aren't time-wasters or Skinners boxes from it at this point? Because I remember reading that mature rated games were banned from it for some reason.

 

[Teoes]

Well, GFAIL can only get better and that could be a good thing. Hopefully it can become more than some tiresome clunky mess that I'm forced to log into to play certain games.

It would be neat to see GFWL being turned into a respectable service. It's been said before but I'll say it again; Steam is great, but there needs to be more competition. Really GFWL and Origin seem like the only two platforms with enough support to compete, but they both fail miserably when compared to Steam.

Still, Origin has slowly improved over the past year or two. It seems EA finally realized "HOLY CRAP, when we lower our prices for a while and give consumers good deal they give us MORE MONEY!" Imagine that. Maybe GFWL can learn to do that, as well as not force me to download 50 updates every time I want to play Dark Souls, then fail to log me in for whatever reason, then force me to quit and restart the game, then wait through more crap, then download MORE updates, then have me hurl my keyboard through my computer screen in frustration.

GOG's influence is not something to be sniffed at and it's only getting bigger. It may be wishful thinking but I'd like to see them as having a better shot at being the big bad alternative to Steam, rather than Origin. By rights Origin should always be hamstrung by its restricted games library whereas GOG sells from all over the place.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Good. Microsoft can use this guy well, and a little bit of focus on PC gaming from Microsoft isn't a bad thing.

 

[Yopaz]

If this guy can get GFWL all right, I can finally install my batman games.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with GFWL! The only recent issue I've had with it was the it stopped recognizing my almost complete save file of Batman Arkham City for no good reason (I could find it, Steam could find it, Steam had it synchronized in a cloud) and that it makes it harder to launch and play games...

Yeah, I am hoping this might fix GFWL too. The announcement that Batman: Arkham Origins wouldn't use it was reason enough for me to pre-order it on PC rather than console since that was the one advantage the PS3 version of Arkham City had over the PC version.

 

[Brother Pain]

GFWL, oh the many problems I've had with it.

- Installing games in obscure, hidden folders on the system drive with no option to change drive or location.
- Controls freezing every three seconds because GFWL was looking to see if player 2 had put in a controller.
- Not working when offline.
- Having an overpriced, crappy store, that requires that you launch a seperate application to run.
- Many, many crashes due to the instability of the thing.
- Home being the dashboard-button, and of course being unable to rebind it (a problem for my left handed friend).

I'm sure there are more annoyances that I've forgotten, but really, I've had no good experiences with that piece of crud.

I hope this guy can fix it, and fix all the problems of the service retroactively as well. I sort of doubt it, but I do remember how much I hated Steam the first couple of years.

 

[Saulkar]

I am OK with this however something that from the beginning that has had me worried with multiple online distributers, despite the good that comes with competition, are the companies that tie their physical games to them, thus forcing you to use 3-5 separate online services just to get your game collection to function.

 

[Doom972]

While I don't see myself abandoning Steam in favor of it, I think that some serious competition will improve the experience on all digital distribution platforms. Hopefully this guy can deliver.

If any person can possibly even attempt to revive MS' gaming sector at this point, it would probably be this guy. Let's hope they actually listen to what Holtman says instead of just going okay yeah and then continuing with the same practices as before.

Honestly I hope they don't listen and GFWL will finally die. Unless they can somehow magically rebuild the whole system, which I doubt. The windows 8 store is probably the closest thing to a GFWL reboot.

Why would you want it to die? It's not like it's impossible to make it a good platform. I hope that they rebuild it and apply the changes to games that already use GFWL. They definitely have the resources to make that happen. They just needed the right mind for the job, which Holtman might have. I doubt that they hired him just so he can be a trophy.