games-for-windows posts

Microsoft says it's fully behind PC gaming now after relaunching the Games For Windows web site last year and planning to release at least two PC games this year (the PC port of Fable 3 and Age of Empires Online). Now an internal Microsoft video has been leaked that shows some possible future plans for PC gaming via Windows.

The video was discovered by ZDNet which states that was first made back in May 2010 which means that some, if not all, of the things in the video may have been changed or dumped since then. The video from the Windows Gaming Experience team shows Xbox 360-like avatars doing things like purchasing more avatar outfits via Microsoft points, playing games on Facebook, finding new games to play and getting invites from friends to join online games. It's all pretty tame stuff, actually, and nothing that isn't available already via third party programs and companies.

Oh, and apparently Microsoft doesn't know how to spell "pwned".

[Via PC Gamer]

Games For Windows Live is the online service from Microsoft that a lot of PC gamers love to bash for various reasons. The truth is that the service, which launched back in 2007, has improved quite a bit from its original incarnation when Microsoft thought that PC gamers had the same needs as its Xbox 360 fans.

In a new chat with Computer and Video Games Kevin Unangst, the senior producer of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business, admitted, "I think because it was designed originally as a partner to the console service more than the PC service, we had a rocky start." However he adds, "I think the underpinnings are great, I think it's going to continue to get better. We launched a new Marketplace which was great, we're selling Live and non-Live enabled games." He also feels that input from game developers such as Lionhead, who are making a PC port of Fable 3, will also improve Games For Windows Live.

Things are getting back to normal in terms of sales on PC game download sites. Let's look at today's deals:

• Direct2Drive has all of its MMO games on sale for 20 percent off this weekend if you use the code "joker" at checkout.
• Impulse has a number of games on sale this weekend including Madden 08 (the last NFL PC game from EA) for just $4.99. Also Disciples III: Renaissance is on sale for today only for $10.19.
• Games For Windows Marketplace has marked down a number of games 50 percent from now until next Thursday. That includes BioShock 2 for $9.99, Blacklight Tango Down for $7.49 and Osmos for $4.99. Also Microsoft Flight Simulator X Gold Edition is now available on the site for the first time.
• GamersGate has a number of games on sale this weekend including the original Two Worlds for just $4

Microsoft has made a few inroads back into the PC gaming industry in 2010. It revamped its Games For Windows web site and turned it into a PC game download store. More notably it announced plans to publish new PC games such as Age of Empires Online and others.

Now a new report on the TechRadar.com web site, using unnamed sources, claims that Microsoft will use the next version of its Windows operating system, Windows 8, to make a renewed effort for PC gamaing. The unnamed source is quoted in the article as saying, "Windows 8 will represent a real new push into PC gaming. Gaming will be a key component for the whole OS." Details on exactly how this will happen with Windows 8 were not made available. However, the article claims the just announced hiring of former VoodooPC founder Rahul Sood to Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment division shows how serious the company is on getting back its PC game audience.

Microsoft continues to put one PC game on its Games For Windows Marketplace web site on sale for one day only for a super low price. Today that honor belongs to Shadowrun, the 2007 released multiplayer shooter that was based on the cyberpunk pen-and-paper RPG.

From now until 11:30 am Eastern time on Saturday, you can download and purchase Shadowrun for just 99 cents. The game itself is one of the very few that allows for cross-platform multiplayer with its Xbox 360 counterpart. While the game got mixed reviews and didn't sell well back in 2007, it still has some unique elements in it that make it worth checking out, especially for under a buck.

Direct2Drive's daily sales even continues by offering another 2K Games-based PC game on the price chopping block. For the next day or so you can pick up Gearbox Software's first person shooter Borderlands Game Of The Year Edition (with the original game and all four mini-expansions) for just $24.95, a 50 percent price cut.

Impulse's daily sales event is for Gish, the cool platform action game from one of the creators of Super Meat Boy. You can get the game for today only for $9.95, another 50 percent price cut. And don't forget that Deus Ex Game of the Year Edition is just 99 cents from now until 1 am Eastern time.

Microsoft is up to some more price cut tricks today on its Games For Windows Marketplace web site. A couple of weekends ago it offered up Age of Empires III for just 10 cents for one day. Today it has cut the price of yet another game pretty drastically.

That game is Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition. If you have yet to play what is truly one of the greatest games of all time you can now purchase and download the full version of Ion Storm's 2000 cyberpunk RPG for just 99 cents. The price lasts until 1 am Eastern time tonight. At the very least it will prepare you for the release of Deus Ex: Human Revolution in 2011.

In related news Games For Windows Marketplace also has World of Goo on sale for just $4.99. That price will last for the next week,

Black Friday is now in full throttle here in the US but there are still some interesting PC gaming-related online sales that are going on today. Let's take a look at some of them right now.

• The Games For Windows web site is selling Dark Void this weekend for $14.99, a 50 percent drop from its normal price.
• The online BioWare store is letting folks take off 20 percent of their total order if the online store order goes above $45 until November 30.
• Ubisoft's online store has Bloody Good Time on sale for a mere $2.50 for today only.
• GoG.com has all of the Age of Wonders games on sale this weekend for 50 percent off.
• Global Agenda is priced at 50 percent off at the game's official web site this weekend along with 25 percent off the game's booster packs.
• Bohemia Interactive is selling all of its ArmA and ArmA II games on its web site for 50 percent off this weekend.

Age of Empires III has been under a 10 cent sale since Microsoft put the super-low price on the RTS game earlier today on the Games For Windows Marketplace web site. Now Microsoft has announced via the Games For Windows Facebook page that because of the high demand they have temporarily run out of CD keys that are necessary to authenticate the game.

Microsoft states, "You can still buy the game during the sale, and we will auto-assign your key in the next week. There is no action needed on your part, this will be done automatically." The Age Of Empires III 10 cent sale (which includes the original game and the expansion packs The WarChiefs and the Asian Dynasties) ends in about 90 minutes at 1 am Eastern time.

Today is the final day of the daily deals promotion for Microsoft's newly relaunched Games For Windows Marketplace web site and they have ended it with a bang. For today only (until 1 am Eastern time) you can download and purchase the full version of Age of Empires III for just 10 cents.

Nope, that's not a typo. The last PC RTS game from the now shut down developer Ensemble Studios cost just a thin dime to purchase from Games For Windows Marketplace for the next 20 or so hours. Once more it looks like this is the Complete Edition with the game's two expansion packs (The WarChiefs and the Asian Dynasties) included along with the original game. Any way you slice it this is a massive value.