Former Steam Boss Joins Microsoft Games Division

[Jumwa]

Uh... Microsoft has relatively few exclusives compared to the other consoles is often more likely to have a console exclusive that is also available on pc.

Also, if they are more motivated to have this service, we may see a future where the pc games on that account are also playable on the Microsoft consoles. A sort of de facto steam on a console like we wanted.

The biggest point is this, it isn't EA's Origen.

I have not had one tenth the problems with Origin as I have with GFWL, and I'd take Origin over it any day of the week.

And Microsoft pays companies like Bethesda or Activision to delay the release of DLCs on PC in favour of the Xbox. They took on the makers of Alan Wake, who were originally making a PC game, then made them refocus it as a console title. It only made its way to PC years later. Not to mention they pretty much got rid of their own PC game studio, and those few titles they do publish themselves rarely make it to PC.

I won't be counting on Microsoft getting their act together any time soon. This is, afterall, the company that literally owned the PC gaming market, and right as it was poised to become huge, cast it off in favour of chasing a costly console endeavour, while not linking or synergizing the two of them at all in the process.

They've actively chose to favour their Xbox over PC gaming, and they'd be the last company I'd care to look to for PC gaming support.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

They've actively chose to favour their Xbox over PC gaming, and they'd be the last company I'd care to look to for PC gaming support.

This in a nutshell. Granted, I still do avoid Origin like the plague (GoG ftw!); but between a PC digital distribution platform from EA or Microsoft, I'd take EA's any day of the week and the above is why.

Microsoft has too much invested into the Xbox to want to support PC gaming seriously. A sale on PC is a sale not on an Xbox, and as such supporting PC would be counter productive as they'd be competing with themselves. EA, on the other hand, doesn't have to concern themselves with self-competition and thus has far more to gain from proper support of PC gaming. As an extreme example - if every console gamer jumped to PC, Microsoft's console would sink and die (costing them a lot of money); whereas the likes of EA or even Ubisoft would only benefit from such. Things like this are why Nintendo doesn't do PC ports for their first-party titles, and as long as Microsoft is a player in the console market I don't expect them to sufficiently support PC either.

 

[5mj7R7yf4Dwr3gdZyyu9PeGNwYjlNrjzuh3iTXQG]

To the people that like to say 'nay' about a potential MS online store, or EA's origin store not allowing their games on steam or other platforms, let me ask you this: can I buy valve games on origin? can I buy left 4 dead 2 on greenmangaming? Can I buy half life 2 on gamersgate?

The difference is that Origin and GFWL are spyware. Like CompuServe of old, they send enough data about your directory structures and what you're doing on your non-game time back to their boss networks without permission or respect for the privacy of your own life, so if you like furry porn they know.[footnote]Not that there's anything wrong with furry porn, mind you. Seriously, some of it is really good and celebratory of healthy human sexuality, or involves rather well considered and thought-provoking stories, and some of them consider the natural consequences of a world of anthropomorphized animals... okay, perhaps I've said too much...[/footnote]

Frankly, I don't want EA or MS in my system tracking my non-gaming behaviors or watching me on my computer's camera when I'm... working... hard. And so I will not buy an EA game that requires Origin and I won't buy the external GFWL client (or upgrade to Windows 8 which also has the MS spyware features). Generally, I remove GFWL from games when I can (there are utilities for such things).

And yeah, I'm left handed, so there's the HOME problem. Thanks MS.

238U

 

[Lunar Templar]

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

I hear ya there, and Dark Souls, I'll finally be able to play that as well T-T

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Huh. I kind of assumed Microsoft was abandoning GFWL altogether, given that all the Windows games they've published in the last year (nearly all Xbox Live Arcade ports) have been Steam exclusives, and some games (like the Batman: Arkham series) have updates in development that look like they're designed to patch it out in favor of Steamworks. Not that there's been evidence of any changes ahead for the many other games on the service, so unless Microsoft was planning to shut it down and force publishers to patch it out, I welcome whatever this guy plans to do to improve it.

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

See above.

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.

The problem with that is that platforms like Steam usually double as multiplayer services, with the user's account doubling as their online ID. So any existing game wouldn't be able to do that even if they wanted to, and publishers that want everyone to check in with a valid ID that can be banned if they're caught hacking (which is piss-easy on PCs in particular) would be forced to use some sort of third-party DRM in that case anyway.

The difference is that Origin and GFWL are spyware. Like CompuServe of old, they send enough data about your directory structures and what you're doing on your non-game time back to their boss networks without permission or respect for the privacy of your own life, so if you like furry porn they know.

I know Origin does this, but as far as I know Live only boots up when you start a game and closes when you quit. That was the one good thing about it; not only do you not have to keep it running in the background all the time, wasting resources, you literally can't. But even that has a drawback -- you can't monitor whether or not anyone else is playing your favorite multiplayer game without starting it.

Besides, if Microsoft wanted to spy on you like that, they could have built some sort of spyware right into Windows. Maybe they already have! Maybe you should switch to Linux, just to be on the safe side...

 

[Strazdas]

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.

Indeed. When stema launched in 2003, it was a horrible mess that not only failed to work properly but destroyed your system in the process. I never forgave it for that and still refuse to use steam even to such level that i would buy a retail game legally and then crack it just to avoid installing steam.
Thing is, even i admit that steam did went a very long way and is now probably the best platform of this sort. Games for Windows Live, which launched in 2007 - that is 6 years ago however have remained to be completely shitty platform that does not learn from its mistakes. And while yes, it is 4 years younger, a 6 year old steam was miles ahead of a 6 year old GFWL.

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...

The only personal experience i had with GFWL was GTA 4. One day when launching it has decided that it knows better than me and deleted all my save files. This happened TWICE. Yet another service i refuse to use. And if that means having to stay out of games like Batman, then so be it.

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.

DRM. Let me use a strawman to explain:
Famine. Why do you want it to go away? im sure we can rebuild the famine, make it more appealing and with enough investment some people may even starve voluntarily (anorexia). Yeah that so so great an idea!