Windows Store Won't Sell Adult-Rated Games

[nodlimax]

Ahh, you see, I have, and still do. It's only a £25 upgrade, and it runs much better than Win7. There'll be a fair more programs becoming Metro apps because it's easier to get your program promoted and out to users.

1. The information about performance is contradicting. Some people say it runs fast, some say only the boot runs faster, some say it's about the same. For me speed while working in windows 7 isn't an issue. If you mean something else wiht "it runs much better", please elaborate.

2. I don't like the metro interface. I neither have a tablet PC nor do I have a touchscreen and as far as I'm concerned big icons aren't an advantage while working and playing with M+K. And I'm not very fond of that MS store because as previously stated by other users as well this could go into a very bad direction if this is supported enough (third party not allowed on windows anymore for example).

So I'm still not impressed...

 

[Megacherv]

Ahh, you see, I have, and still do. It's only a £25 upgrade, and it runs much better than Win7. There'll be a fair more programs becoming Metro apps because it's easier to get your program promoted and out to users.

1. The information about performance is contradicting. Some people say it runs fast, some say only the boot runs faster, some say it's about the same. For me speed while working in windows 7 isn't an issue. If you mean something else wiht "it runs much better", please elaborate.

2. I don't like the metro interface. I neither have a tablet PC nor do I have a touchscreen and as far as I'm concerned big icons aren't an advantage while working and playing with M+K. And I'm not very fond of that MS store because as previously stated by other users as well this could go into a very bad direction if this is supported enough (third party not allowed on windows anymore for example).

So I'm still not impressed...

1) It boots much faster than Win7, and I've had no issues when using Win8 (e.g. hanging), whilst I still did with Win7.

2) This is something that really pisses me off.

Spoiler: This is an example of what I normally see on my Win8 system

Win8 is not Metro based. It has a Metro 'overlay', as it were, that effectively runs 'on top of' the desktop UI. Windows will never be closed-off, they would be fucking idiots to do that and lose all their users to Linux. They're clever people, that's why they're worth billions of dollars.

The start menu is much more intuitive once you actually learn that you can organise it freely and only pin what programs you want to it.

Spoiler: This is what my start menu looks like

I never really even use it, I pin stuff that I need to the taskbar just like I did in Win7.

If you think that Win8 is going to be irrelevant, just take a look at all the devices that are being made for Win8, and you'll see that hardware manufacturers are taking it very seriously.

 

[nodlimax]

Seriously, the first time I saw this menu I had to throw up and even now I find it disgusting...

That alone is a reason not to buy it....

 

[RicoADF]

Havw you used Windows 8 yourself yet?

Why should I? I usually inform myself about software (What's new? What has been enhanced? and so on). Up until now I have seen one or two minor enhancements related to the task manager. The only thing that got me excited was that the hardware sound was supposed to be back. But this stuff isn't enough to make me pay 100? for this.

So you're asking me if I have used Win8. Have you used it? If yes, then tell what's so "awesome" about this OS compared to Win7 that I need to buy this?

I just want to state again that I only switched from WinXP to Win7 for practical reasons (see previous posts). I don't buy stuff just so I have new stuff. If there isn't a practical reason I won't buy (yeah I know that makes me a bad "consumer" - but i'd rather consider myself a thinking customer).

No I haven't used it, and I'm reserving judgement until I do. Considering its avaliable for free atm you might as well have a look (customer preview version), I plan to do so when I can be bothered to set it up on a spare PC. I'm just saying don't pass judement until you've actually used the software, everyone has their own views and just because some reviewers hate it and others like it doesn't mean you'll have the same views as them either way. I've read articles in both for and against, most of the against is the cosmetic Metro/whatever they change it to next.

EDIT: Oh and it's not $100 (well your currency), its $15-20 if you upgrade from XP/Vista/7.

 

[Matthi205]

They're clever people, that's why they're worth billions of dollars.

If memory serves, they're worth billions of dollars because IBM-PCs came bundled with MS-DOS. That's not what made them so big, though. It was the fact that you could buy an IBM-compatible clone and install MS-DOS on it (off of which Microsoft made 100 or so dollars).

The start menu is much more intuitive once you actually learn that you can organise it freely and only pin what programs you want to it.

Spoiler: This is what my start menu looks like

Not a very intuitive UI if you have a PC with a mouse and keyboard.

If you think that Win8 is going to be irrelevant, just take a look at all the devices that are being made for Win8, and you'll see that hardware manufacturers are taking it very seriously.

They took Vista seriously, so that's no real indicator if it's going to be relevant (seeing as how many people used that "downgrade to XP" option for Vista bundled products).

 

[Korzack]

Aah, Microsoft: Violating standards faster than they can lower them.

 

[Greni]

Well there's this, and then there's:

Spoiler

The Start menu has been removed in favor of a full screen interface called the Start screen.
The Aero Glass theme, which has been featured in Windows Vista and Windows 7 has been removed from Windows 8 in favor of a Metro-style theme.
Microsoft Gadgets which has been featured in Windows Vista and Windows 7 has been removed from Windows 8.
The command bar is no longer present, and has been replaced by a new ribbon.
Windows Media Center will no longer be included by default in any version of Windows 8, but will be available as an add-on for some SKUs.
The Blue Screen of Death no longer shows as much technical information about the error that caused the computer to stop.
The Parental Controls feature present in earlier versions of Windows has been removed and replaced by the Family Safety feature.

read more [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_8]

Not that it's all bad, mind you. Just enough so the whole thing is starting to smell rotten. Boy was I glad when they announced that Windows 7 would get a DirectX 11.1 update when W8 is released.

Then there's also Internet Explorer 10. Woohoo.

 

[Olrod]

I hope the Windows Store crashes and burns as a result of this. It's the only way Microsoft will learn anything.

 

[Dense_Electric]

Eh, I couldn't care less. It's Microsoft's loss - if they choose to not sell certain games, they're the only ones who are going to suffer for it. Steam will continue to rule the PC market for the foreseeable future.

 

[Lugbzurg]

Ok, I'm still going to get a Windows 7, later. In fact, I just might buy two! Nothing's changed.

They're clever people, that's why they're worth billions of dollars.

If memory serves, they're worth billions of dollars because IBM-PCs came bundled with MS-DOS. That's not what made them so big, though. It was the fact that you could buy an IBM-compatible clone and install MS-DOS on it (off of which Microsoft made 100 or so dollars).

The start menu is much more intuitive once you actually learn that you can organise it freely and only pin what programs you want to it.

Spoiler: This is what my start menu looks like

Not a very intuitive UI if you have a PC with a mouse and keyboard.

If you think that Win8 is going to be irrelevant, just take a look at all the devices that are being made for Win8, and you'll see that hardware manufacturers are taking it very seriously.

They took Vista seriously, so that's no real indicator if it's going to be relevant (seeing as how many people used that "downgrade to XP" option for Vista bundled products).

I just take one look at that and think "What the heck is that!?" That interface defies all logic.

 

[Andrew_C]

GAH! All the Windows 8 ignorance is driving me mental! The Marketplace will be for 'app-style' games, because it's simply an app store, it's not a competitor to Steam or Origin or whatever.

GAH!

You are wrong. The Windows Marketplace will be the only way to install software on Windows RT (unless you have an MSDN subscription and explicit permission from Microsoft to sideload apps). People who buy devices with Windows RT are also going to want to play games. Do you really forsee Microsoft approving a Steam, Origin or D2D app?

 

[Evil Smurf]

Gaming: a hobby for kids. An outlook now supported fully by Microsoft.

Makes me sad.

Yeah, I needed to explain to my mum that gaming is a legitimate hobby, same as reading or watching Pride and Predjudice.

6000th Post!

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

So what the OP is saying is that Microsoft are shooting themselves in the foot, by limiting what they offer relative to already established competitors (ie. Steam)?

It's very rare that a corporation will doom themselves so predictably or this far in advance (I think last time was Sony with the PSVita), and while I have no ill-will for M$, the store, at least as far as games go, is going to get no support from developers. It'll have like two Zynga games max.

This feature, along with "Apps" are really geared toward tablets anyway. Windows Desktop users will just use normal applications like normal humans.

 

[Megacherv]

GAH! All the Windows 8 ignorance is driving me mental! The Marketplace will be for 'app-style' games, because it's simply an app store, it's not a competitor to Steam or Origin or whatever.

GAH!

You are wrong. The Windows Marketplace will be the only way to install software on Windows RT (unless you have an MSDN subscription and explicit permission from Microsoft to sideload apps). People who buy devices with Windows RT are also going to want to play games. Do you really forsee Microsoft approving a Steam, Origin or D2D app?

Yes, WindowsRT which is only supported on ARM devices which won't support anything on Steam in the first place, which makes it irrelevant in the whole 'Steam/Origin/etc. app' argument.

 

[Korzack]

*WARNING: Cynical/Conspiracy hat on* Well Games for Windows Live showed perfectly clearly that Microsoft would much rather people gamed on an x-Box than on a PC (As every copy sold, they get a cut of, not sure they do with GfWL), and yet, the PC market's growing in spite of their efforts. Maybe this is them going "Oh, so you still won't buy an x-Box? Fine, let's make it more awkward for you to game on PC", but then I'm wildly speculating here.

 

[Matthi205]

*WARNING: Cynical/Conspiracy hat on* Well Games for Windows Live showed perfectly clearly that Microsoft would much rather people gamed on an x-Box than on a PC (As every copy sold, they get a cut of, not sure they do with GfWL), and yet, the PC market's growing in spite of their efforts. Maybe this is them going "Oh, so you still won't buy an x-Box? Fine, let's make it more awkward for you to game on PC", but then I'm wildly speculating here.

If that really is true - and knowing Microsoft that could perfectly well be the case - Most Gamers will at some point switch to Linux. Biggest reason for this is that MS OS's from Win8 on (if Ballmer is in charge) will get even worse than Win95 in terms of stability and worse than Win8 in terms of User Interface (if it's more convenient to just use xterm/bash[the Linux command line] then something is clearly wrong with it). Second to that reason is this: WINE's performance is actually pretty good. Most games only ask for moderately better hardware than you'd need on a Windows system (2X2.6GHz instead of 2X2.3GHz or an ATi HD5550 instead of an HD5450). Provided you can get the DirectX .dlls copied over to the WINE folder from your previous windows installation, games without OpenGL support run quite well (but with reduced performance).

GfWL? Whoever programmed that should go to jail for it. Also, XBOX360 controller restricted games: who came up with that bad an idea (the same guy that did GfWL?)?

 

[Andrew_C]

Yes, WindowsRT which is only supported on ARM devices which won't support anything on Steam in the first place, which makes it irrelevant in the whole 'Steam/Origin/etc. app' argument.

Well, Valve have ported Steam and their games to OSX and are porting to Linux, so they are quite capable of porting to ARM. Just because no WinRT ARM builds of any major game exist now, doesn't mean the couldn't exist.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

"We at Microsoft would like to announce we plan to refuse to carry the majority of our own library of games in the Windows Store"

good job, dumbasses

 

[Megacherv]

Yes, WindowsRT which is only supported on ARM devices which won't support anything on Steam in the first place, which makes it irrelevant in the whole 'Steam/Origin/etc. app' argument.

Well, Valve have ported Steam and their games to OSX and are porting to Linux, so they are quite capable of porting to ARM. Just because no WinRT ARM builds of any major game exist now, doesn't mean the couldn't exist.

ARM isn't just a different OS it's an entire different CPU architecture, which would require an entire re-compilation and likely large re-write of a lot of games. Epic have UE3 working on WinRT but that's about it. WinRT is made to be a portable tablet OS, not as a proper desktop-style machine. That's like using your phone as a server.

 

[Andrew_C]

Yes, WindowsRT which is only supported on ARM devices which won't support anything on Steam in the first place, which makes it irrelevant in the whole 'Steam/Origin/etc. app' argument.

Well, Valve have ported Steam and their games to OSX and are porting to Linux, so they are quite capable of porting to ARM. Just because no WinRT ARM builds of any major game exist now, doesn't mean the couldn't exist.

ARM isn't just a different OS it's an entire different CPU architecture, which would require an entire re-compilation and likely large re-write of a lot of games. Epic have UE3 working on WinRT but that's about it. WinRT is made to be a portable tablet OS, not as a proper desktop-style machine. That's like using your phone as a server.

I know that. There is no reason why Windows on ARM would require more effort than porting to OSX, WinRT has DirectX so you don't have to worry about adding OpenGL support.

And Unreal already supports officially supports ARM with IOS and Android. As does Unity. And both have announced support for Windows RT.

And I will repeat myself. Just because MS would prefer Windows RT to be used on Tablet devices does not mean it is crippled (other than being limited to Windows Store apps). You appear to be confusing Windows RT with Windows Phone 8. They are seperate OS's

As to your comment about servers, there are already several companies marketing ARM based low cost low power servers. While Windows Server 2012 doesn't support ARM, If the market grows Microsoft WILL jump on the bandwagon