You really think that Windows 7 is ready for launch? It still has some crashing issues (minor though they may be), it doesn't have all the features Microsoft's planned for it yet, and the documentation and help files are extremely buggy and unfinished.Posted at 3:33PM on Feb 6th 2009 by Covarr

FC2 AI is one of the best, and most annoying. Posted at 4:48PM on Feb 6th 2009 by Game_playa

This is the first list of yours I somewhat disagree with. All the points are valid I suppose, but most of them are minor compared to the two main things driving people away from PC gaming: console exclusive software and hardware ignorance.

Win7 will be good, but Vista was very stable and not nearly as bad as people say. I haven't had a BSOD yet on Vista, the first OS I can say that about. Crysis was actually a really fun shooter, no matter what people say, and graphics improvements are very crucial to sales, make no mistake... DLC? Whatever... I can take it or leave it. DRM? I prefer no limits on activations, but other than that I'm not sweating it too much. Download prices? We've all long agreed that $50 is a reasonable price for a new game, and downloading offers convienence.

Critical to getting PC gaming back in the mainstream is actually showing what it can do. Not less Crysis, MORE Crysis, and advanced games like it in other genres. Most PC games barely take advantage of PC strengths. We need more amazing looking games with more mod capability and we need publishers to flaunt that, rather than hide it. Console exclusive software has driven people over to consoles, we can bring them back with PC exclusive software and advanced games that show what the PC can do, with developers not ashamed to talk about it.

The other things is hardware ignorance, something unfortunately not easy to solve given the lack of patience, intelligence or dilligence in the common consumer. Your idea about no on-board graphics cards would be a large step, but no computer company like Gateway is going to ever agree to that. We need free, mainstream teaching tools that do what they can, and a larger emphasis on how simple it really is, but in the end we have to accept that PC gaming might never be mainstream until the prices on gaming comps comes down in the pre-built area.Posted at 6:03PM on Feb 6th 2009 by StingingVelvet

Im sorry, vista may have been shaky at launch, but in its current state, is a very solid, Memory hog aside, Platform.Posted at 6:37PM on Feb 6th 2009 by Lennoko

One of your arguments is "more pre-release demos." How about just "more demos," period? I think the big problem is that a lot of games just don't have demos to begin with. The "try it out" excuse in pirating actually holds weight because of this: How else are we supposed to determine if it's good if we can't play at least some of it without paying? You can't trust reviewers these days, and word of mouth is weak in the gaming community at large. I think a lot more people would be more hesitant to pirate if they could legitmately get a demo of certain games. The first games that come to mind are the sandbox games (FO3, GTA4, Spore), which you could legitmately place demo restrictions on just as much as you could other games. Certain developers are guilty of this as well, particularly Bethesda Soft and BioWare, both of which have not released demos for ANY of the games they've put out in recent years (and BioWare in particular has no excuses).

As per this: "Not less Crysis, MORE Crysis, and advanced games like it in other genres." That is so boneheaded, I'm surprised you have brains inside. You completely fail to take into account the economics: At the time of Crysis's release, in order for the graphics to be actually considered decent quality at 60 fps, you had to have a computer that was at MOST 6 months old mid-line (1 year top of the line/gaming rigs), which in most cases is a $1500 minimum in terms of desktops. Most people aren't willing to spend that much on desktops, especially now. The reason consoles evolve graphically over time is that eventually, developers discover new ways of pushing the limitations of what they have. In PCs, this maximization is never bothered: If you hit even a soft wall on graphics, you can simply move up on the graphic card scale. What needs to happen (as argued) is that games should be able to work AND look good on a WIDE array of computers, from mid-line desktops from 3-5 years ago to top of the line gaming laptops bought last year to low end PCs bought last month. Advancements should not be made at the bleeding edge, it should be made at the mid-line.Posted at 11:52PM on Feb 6th 2009 by ???

Which is why it's rage worthy that they put down Left 4 Dead, and raised FarCry 2 as the game messiah. Left4Dead was probably the most scalable on the list(and Far Cry 2 never has clipping issues right guys?)

Not to mention that the actual Gameplay in Crysis IS a step above most Fps's. How else do you think about the suit and weapon functions? Posted at 1:23AM on Feb 7th 2009 by Ihavepants

When it comes to Crysis, it just came out too soon. I ran it just fine when it came out with a rather standard video card, but I also played it on medium/low, which most PC gamers will NOT do, because of their mindset.

Still, we're now 3+ years since the 360 came out and most games are still designed around its limitations, then ported to PC. I would rather see more cutting edge software that actually looks like it was made in 2009, then they can port that to the 360 on lower settings. That's called taking advanatage of the platform.

If they're going to keep developing for the 7800GT, I might as well get a console and be done with it.Posted at 3:05AM on Feb 7th 2009 by StingingVelvet

I really can't believe how misinformed much of this feature really is...

1. Eliminate on board video. Good one, check!

2. Launch Windows 7 now: Well, I recall Microsoft releasing another OS before it was ready, and before it was widely supported. It went badly. Vista is very good now, but due to a rushed launch, it wan't very good then. Windows 7 is good now, but I'd rather stick with Vista for now, and get 7 when it's completely ready.

3. Demos early or not at all? What!? Are you saying that if you don't get a demo when you want it, there's no usefulness at all? What about those people who are on the fence about buying a game? Demos aren't all about the hype machine.

4. Stop charging for DLC. I'm with you, check!

5. Same DLC as consoles: OK, I'm with you on the "same DLC" front, but then you go on to suggest that if we don't get the DLC, why bother giving us the game in the first place. So not playing a great game at all is better then playing it without DLC? Surely you must be joking.

6. Real money on GFWL: Yes, yes. Check.

7. More sports games: Why? They work better on consoles, they are played mostly by console gamers. I mean, fine, you want more sports games, but is it really on the top 10 things that can help PC gaming? I say NO.

8. More music games: It would be nice to see cross platform releases of these. Check!

9. Little to no DRM: Yeah. Check!

10. Well, I'm miffed about this one because you list 4 of my favorite games of the year, and then compare them infavorably to a game I was meh about, but I see your point.

Bonus: Lower digital prices: well, yeah, it'd be nice. But publishers would pull out of DD if suddenly they weren't making the same cut as retail. I'd just like to see DD and retail match prices. I can't count the number of times I ended up buying retail, just because I could get a better deal. Make sure the prices match, but upsetting publishers isn't a good thing for DD.

So, 5 out of 11 valid points. Posted at 1:16AM on Feb 9th 2009 by Joe

The one thing that would actually improve PC gaming is missing from that list - if people actually paid for the games they played.Posted at 12:08PM on Feb 9th 2009 by Gene Starwind