Windows 8 Will Be a "Real New Push Into PC Gaming"

[Sovereignty]

I hope -SNIP-
I spent like 350 dollars on this rig and it easily outperforms consoles. Framerate and texture quality are not opinions, they're facts.

Like isn't the proper term used to describe how much you spent. Especially when you're trying to validate a cheap PC out performs a console.

My 360 cost me 227.76 Including tax. It out performs my PC which isn't made specifically for gaming and cost me 486.94 Including tax.

Especially when hooked up to my Flat screen. So prove it please...


I'd seriously like hard evidence that all these game companies are being idiotic in making a system specifically for something, and are somehow falling short of outperforming your cheap computer... Especially when said company probably makes both your computer and the console you're judging or some parts contained within...


FACT.

 

[samsonguy920]

I think that you are mistaking Microsoft for a rational individual that acts on one long term play. If you give people control of a relatively small and unsuccessful part of the business like xbox and tell them to make it work then they are going to take this sort of decision. They almost act like a competing company inside Microsoft, some even say that Microsoft should be split up because of this sort of thing.

You're quite right in that Microsoft is not functioning as a cohesive entity on this. However, overall they've sunk a great deal of investment to hammer the Xbox to "success" at pretty much any cost. It wasn't just their games division that could allow such heavy (and until very recently) unprofitable investment. So their actions were at least tacitly approved, if by mere fact of their being allowed to continue for years.

And stacked against the very real actions and investment of their Xbox division, all Microsoft has done to help PC gaming in recent years has been to promise to "revive" PC gaming time and again. The only material act they've taken is the universally hated Games for Windows Live platform (I am not judging GFWL personally, but we can at least agree that most gamers think it a blight at least, I think).

So stacked against their very real actions against PC gaming, we have some PR talk and a buggy, disliked games platform. So yes, you are likely right in that in the depths of Microsoft's massive corporate bureaucracy there is a desire to see PC gaming do better, and to their advantage of course. However, the extent of that desire, or the weight it carries within their corporate framework, obviously pales in comparison to the desires to keep it down to benefit the Xbox.

That was very well said.
Recent history has shown Microsoft having tunnel vision on the 360, which I can't blame them for but there is so much more going on that Microsoft has been missing out on, like the current portable craze between iPhone, iPad, Droid, Google, etc. And then Microsoft showing so little apparent interest in keeping up their PC side of things short of their baby OS. This announcement leaves me feeling skeptical that it is legit because of these reasons. But if it does turn out to be the real deal then I have to feel it will be too little, too late. Valve is quickly becoming a behemoth with their own gaming service which strikes me as two steps shy of becoming a working OS in its own right. Google has already announced its own intentions of creating its own OS. Given their reputation for services thus far (Chrome is actually a pretty solid IS), I would have to think they will do well out of the gates.
What could Microsoft do to keep up? Just show some frikkin interest. They have plenty of resources already.
It doesn't give me comfort or joy though in the prospect either way. This could get ugly.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

*Snore* Huh? Oh this again? Alright. *Snore*

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Fuck off Microsoft. The only way PC gaming will ever grow is if freeloading asshole corporations like yourself stay away from PC gaming without you guys shitting on it more than what you have already done with Games For Windows Live.

 

[Roxor]

I'll believe Microsoft cares about PC gaming when they do the following:

1. Release every PC game (both Windows and DOS) they have the rights to on Steam. DOS games are not out of the question, given there's a nice little emulator called DOSBox around which is already used for some Steam releases (Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D and Doom among them).

2. Port every single Xbox and Xbox 360 game which doesn't yet have a Windows version to Windows and make it available on Steam.

3. Discontinue all support for GFWL and deny that it was ever made.

 

[Jumwa]

That was very well said.
Recent history has shown Microsoft having tunnel vision on the 360, which I can't blame them for but there is so much more going on that Microsoft has been missing out on, like the current portable craze between iPhone, iPad, Droid, Google, etc. And then Microsoft showing so little apparent interest in keeping up their PC side of things short of their baby OS. This announcement leaves me feeling skeptical that it is legit because of these reasons. But if it does turn out to be the real deal then I have to feel it will be too little, too late. Valve is quickly becoming a behemoth with their own gaming service which strikes me as two steps shy of becoming a working OS in its own right. Google has already announced its own intentions of creating its own OS. Given their reputation for services thus far (Chrome is actually a pretty solid IS), I would have to think they will do well out of the gates.
What could Microsoft do to keep up? Just show some frikkin interest. They have plenty of resources already.
It doesn't give me comfort or joy though in the prospect either way. This could get ugly.

Firstly, thank you. A sharing of ideas like this helps hammer out a better final statement. : )

Secondly, yes, I think you're quite right. In the years ahead Microsoft will be kicking itself for not getting involved sooner as a digital games distribution vendor.

Comments about PC gaming dying aside, the PC games market has only been becoming more diverse. And I suspect in the future--with the rise of portable devices which also serve to play games, and heck, let's throw in cloud gaming--focusing almost exclusively on their one console will bite them in the end.

It's likely that console gaming will remain the most profitable for them on a per-game basis for quite some time. However, I suspect the digital games market will only keep exploding in many new and unforeseen ways, with greater consequences, including the many insightful ways you pointed out where this will matter to them indirectly.

 

[Delusibeta]

What's everyone's beef with GFWL? I've used it for Fallout 3 and haven't had any problems with it. I just use it to keep track of my achievements.

It's prone to not working. Also, the shopping interface is notoriously rubbish. Did you know that there's an Achievement Remover mod for Fallout 3?

I think the biggest problem is people just like to complain. People always complain about Windows Internet Explorer too. I've always used Internet Explorer and to this day have had no problems. Why would anyone want a mod that removes achievements?

Because some people think that the achievements increase the instability in the game and generally not work. Bit like Internet Explorer, which I find runs at a snail's speed, even compared to Firefox, never mind Chrome or Opera.

 

[binvjoh]

Have they heard of Steam?

Just integrate their stuff with it, and we'll be fine. We do not need another "hub" for our games, thank you very much.

 

[mad825]

What's everyone's beef with GFWL? I've used it for Fallout 3 and haven't had any problems with it. I just use it to keep track of my achievements.

It's prone to not working. Also, the shopping interface is notoriously rubbish. Did you know that there's an Achievement Remover mod for Fallout 3?

I think the biggest problem is people just like to complain. People always complain about Windows Internet Explorer too. I've always used Internet Explorer and to this day have had no problems.

IE8 has a very poor ACID3 score, meaning that the performance and rendering is not very good although IE9 is a big improvement.

In any case, I'm looking forward to what MS has to offer to further the experience as I'm no bigot. I cannot wait to see what they've done GFWL or not, it would be very interesting how they will optimise the Operating System for gaming alone instead of this fancy GUI shit. Perhaps there will be an Gaming edition?

I would also like to say even Steam has problems but I will give them credit on the fact they do regular updates to fix the bugs unlike GFWL.....and Steam doesn't punish retail buyers such as I which is a big bonus for me in a way.

 

[(LK)]

One might also mention that while the Windows OS division may well want to revitalize PC gaming, the Xbox division will do everything it can to compromise the success of that goal:
*paying for exclusives to be released months earlier on console than PC
*paying for exclusives that aren't released on PC
*insisting that titles must be developed for console and then ported to PC
*worming their incompetent fingers into the functioning of GFWL and sh**ing all over every surface to which it will stick.

 

[Balobo]

I hope -SNIP-
I spent like 350 dollars on this rig and it easily outperforms consoles. Framerate and texture quality are not opinions, they're facts.

Like isn't the proper term used to describe how much you spent. Especially when you're trying to validate a cheap PC out performs a console.

My 360 cost me 227.76 Including tax. It out performs my PC which isn't made specifically for gaming and cost me 486.94 Including tax.

Especially when hooked up to my Flat screen. So prove it please...


I'd seriously like hard evidence that all these game companies are being idiotic in making a system specifically for something, and are somehow falling short of outperforming your cheap computer... Especially when said company probably makes both your computer and the console you're judging or some parts contained within...


FACT.

Yes, my cheap computer does out perform a console, so let's just get that one out of the way.

Also, I'm sorry that you over paid for a weak computer. What else am I supposed to say?

It's not that they're being idiots, it's more like the consoles are as old as hell and are severaly outdated at this point, even having low range computers beat them out performance wise.

 

[LightOfDarkness]

Color me uninformed, but what exactly is all this hate towards Games for Windows Live stemming from?

To me the Games for Windows client is just a crappy digital download service, but the GFWL elements implemented in the games is actually a good thing to me.

I would LOVE to have this being part of the entire gaming environment on PC, a-la Xbox Live, rather than the way it is now (game dependant).

Am I alone on this?

GFWL is quite the buggy platform. Fixed most of my Fallout 3/New Vegas crashes by downloading a mod that disables GFWL.

OT: Microsoft is just as misinformed as the majority of 360 players about PC gaming (namely, the state of PC gaming).

 

[LoganN]

Color me uninformed, but what exactly is all this hate towards Games for Windows Live stemming from?

To me the Games for Windows client is just a crappy digital download service, but the GFWL elements implemented in the games is actually a good thing to me.

I would LOVE to have this being part of the entire gaming environment on PC, a-la Xbox Live, rather than the way it is now (game dependant).

Am I alone on this?

GFWL is quite the buggy platform. Fixed most of my Fallout 3/New Vegas crashes by downloading a mod that disables GFWL.

OT: Microsoft is just as misinformed as the majority of 360 players about PC gaming (namely, the state of PC gaming).

New Vegas uses Steamworks.

Ever thing that it was Bethesda's incompetence that cause the game to crash?

 

[Void(null)]

Can you complete the following word puzzle?

Windows 95 = Bad
Windows 98 = Good
Windows ME = Bad
Windows XP = Good
Windows Vista = Bad
Windows 7 = Good
Windows 8 = ???

 

[[.redacted]]

You know, it took bloody long enough for them to work out that people use PCs for games...

...And I still think they'll fail.

 

[Pinguin]

Haha. Nice on Microsoft! You almost had me going for a minute.

Games will still run better on XP, I reckon.

 

[black-magic]

If they follow through this will be a great boon to the already best gaming system out there.

 

[ninja555]

Wait, didn't Windows 7 come out about a year ago? I know why they rushed out but already annoucing Windows 8? Christ, won't you let Windows 7 have some time out before saying that everyone now needs to change over to 8.

 

[GodKlown]

Sounds like they have good intentions towards the future, but even the best of intentions often never make their full impact. With the minor problems I've had with Vista over XP, I've been reluctant to attempt an update to Win7. Now the Win7 has been on the market nearly a year, they already want to start to discuss what they want to do with Win8?

I'm glad they have ambition and desire to continue to produce a product with even fundamental upgrades, but perhaps they should still consider on improving past releases in order to maintain their hold on the market as it stands today. There are quite a few people with bad memories of the brand, and releasing a new OS every couple of years instead of simply fixing the problems in previous versions doesn't sit well with me, at least. Sure, they come out with patches and updates on a regular basis, but have they even released a second (or third if I am behind) service pack for Vista? XP was a fairly solid platform that ran well, ran stable (for the most part), and was reliable. While Vista doesn't constantly screw up, there are still some glaring flaws (such as horrible compatibility with games, being a resource hog, overall system lag). I've thought about Win7, but I just can't find a reason to want to shell out $200 and format my HDD to replace something that still works (when it doesn't have the occasional hissy fit).

As a corporation, I understand MS has the same bottom line as any other company: make money. And I agree with the other arguments about exclusive Xbox titles that seem to take literally years to cross over to PC gaming (such as Halo and Fable). When you are the creator and publisher of a title that has access to both console and PC, wouldn't it make more sense to have a reasonable turn-around time for titles to come out on both platforms? I'm sure there are issues I do not understand in regards to this problem, but it is one I also have wondered about over the years.