Games for Windows Live - Now Free
According to this recent 1up report Games for Windows Live Gold is now totally and utterly free. That means that for all those games that have utilised the Games for Windows Live in the past (The Club, Shadowgrounds anyone?) and future Games for Windows Live games (Dawn of War II) will incorporate the full Games for Windows Live Gold service for free.
So multiplayer achievements, matchmaking, Games for Windows voice chat and even cross-platform gaming are now all free! There are also plans for a Games for Windows Marketplace which will match the Xbox version with demos and downloadable content amongst the other crap available.
Really isn’t this all a bit too little too late? The way I see it Microsoft have realised that the Games for Windows Live Gold service was terribly unpopular and confusing. It left many people thinking they had to pay for a Gold account to play the game or to play multiplayer, it was just horrendous. So now they back track on themselves and make it free in the aim to get a stronger grip on the PC market.
In an interview with Shacknews the Games for Windows global director Kevin Unangst reveals that they are also changing the Games for Windows interface.
Shack: Can you elaborate on how the interfaces are being changed to be more PC-friendly?
Kevin Unangst: Let me give you a couple examples on the in-game experience: things like control key shortcuts, and accelerators, those kinds of things. Having the windows drop down from the top rather than pop out of the middle as they did on the console, that’s one example. We aren’t showing the Marketplace design yet, but it will be different than the 360 for good reason, because we’re designing it for different audiences. Users should expect to see a Marketplace that is optimized specifically for the PC or the Xbox.
Did it really take them so long to decide to optimise the Games for Windows Live service for the PC? This just smacks of Microsoft realising their earlier mistakes way too late and deciding to try and change things for the better.
The Marketplace can be seen as an extension of what is currently present on the 360 or, what is more likely, an attempt to cut in on the success that distribution methods such as Steam and Impulse are having.
My problem really is that Microsoft have promised so often that they are keen to look after and nourish the PC as a gaming platform and yet most of their initial attempts at doing such have been horribly wrong. I view this news decidedly skeptically, though I must admit that this is a good sign if developers will start to use the elements of Games for Windows Live Gold and we get to see more, better games come out and make use of their new options.
Lets wait and see how this goes over the next few months, right now I am on the glass half-empty side of things.
Tags: 360, Games for Windows Live, Gold