games-for-windows posts

Microsoft's last major update to their Games For Windows Live online service was a few months ago with the 3.0 client update. Today the company released a minor update to the the client that can be downloaded when you sign onto the service.

Besides unnamed bug fixes there are two notable upgrades that Microsoft mentions in its release notes. One is an update to the in-game client to "support DirectX 11 for future titles". That's good since the first out-of-the-box DirectX11 title, Codemasters' Dirt 2, is due for release on December 1. The other update is for the downloadable stand alone client "to make finding content for games easier."

[Thanks to TheWax for the tip]

The Consumer Electronics Show is usually not a major showcase for PC games but that may be changing with the 2010 installment. The massive trade show, to be held in Las Vegas on January 7-10, 2010, announced today that their gaming exhibit area will expand by 50 percent compared to last year.

Even more interesting is that exhibitors for the gaming area will include Microsoft's Games For Windows program which means the show could be the showcase for upcoming Games For Windows titles. In addition the non-profit group the PC Gaming Alliance is sponsoring the exhibit hall's PC Gaming TechZone. Finally the show will apparently show off Lego Universe, the long-in-development MMO from NetDevil. So far the game has yet to make a public appearance so CES 2010 could be the game's coming out party.

This past Thursday, Microsoft's latest PC operating system, Windows 7, was finally made available to the public via upgrades or new PC's pre-loaded with the OS. We've already talked about what PC gamers should know about Windows 7 and given you a history of Windows PC gaming. We've asked if you should even upgrade to Windows 7 and even given you the opinions of many game developers if they think Windows 7 will boost PC gaming. Now we want to do some speculation and maybe give Microsoft some advice on how they could take the opportunity to improve PC gaming now that they have a fresh new OS to play with.

Check out our ideas for Microsoft after the jump:

It's the day before Microsoft unleashes Windows 7 to the world at large and their latest operating system for PCs has gotten a lot of praise compared to Windows Vista, which was released with tons of performance problems and compatibility issues.

But what if you want to upgrade your existing PC or even buy a new one? The big question for you is whether an upgrade to Windows 7 is right for you. We try to give you the 411 in this latest feature.

With the October 22nd release of Windows 7 just a week away, Big Download is taking a look back and previous versions of Microsoft Windows and follow the long (sometimes painful) evolution of PC gaming.

In less than three weeks, Microsoft officially releases Windows 7, the newest version of their PC operating system (although some PC makers could sell Windows 7-based rigs before the official October 22 launch date). After nearly three years of dealing with the last release, Windows Vista, all indications are that Windows 7 will be far more accepted by the public in general and PC gamers in particular.We can also expect far more support from game developers for the new OS.

If you are a PC gamer, chances are you have already tried out the release candidate for Windows 7 or are waiting for the final release. But there may be some things that you don't know about Windows 7 that you need to be aware of before making that final upgrade. Here are a few items that you may need to keep in mind:

Stardock head man Brad Wardell isn't afraid to state his opinion on pretty much any subject so in a recent Shacknews interview (conducted at PAX 2009 last month) it's no shock to hear him talk about Microsoft's efforts to promote PC gaming via their Games For Windows Live service.

Wardell stated he intended for Stardock's upcoming fantasy RPG Elemental to be a Games For Windows Live title. However, he adds that he found the conditions of working with Microsoft to be too hard. He states, " . . . if you want to use Games for Windows Live to update your game, you have to go through [their] certification. And if you do it more than X number of times, you have to pay money." Ultimately he says, "If Games for Windows Live maintains that strategy and they take over, I'm done. I'm not making PC games. I would be done." We don't think that's likely to happen, however, since many major PC game titles have bypassed Games For Windows entirely,

As we approach the launch of Windows 7 later this month, Microsoft naturally wants to show off some of its new features. As our sister site Joystiq reports, one of those features is multi-touch technology. In a chat with director of Windows consumer product management Perri Munsell it's mentioned that Microsoft wants to showcase games that use multi-touch features. Munsell is quoted as saying,"Cause multi-touch by itself? There's no magic there. Multi-touch with a great partner application? That's where the magic exists" No arguement here.

Munsell also talked about the recently revealed self-certification process that Microsoft has put in for upcoming Games For Windows titles. As expected, the idea behind such a move was to get smalller and independent games to have a "Games For Windows" label on them. That should increase the number of games that have the label in the near future. Of course we are sure Microsoft would love it if the major players in the PC game industry (Valve, Blizzard) had a Games For Windows label as well.

Microsoft launched its Games for Windows marketing and certification program for PC games around the time of the Windows Vista OS launch. Since that time many publishers and developers have participated in the Games For Windows program but many others (most notably Valve, Blizzard and EA) have passed on offering their games for Games For Windows certification.

This week Microsoft announced new guidelines for developers and publishers to have their PC games certified for Games For Windows, including a way to certify their titles themselves. That should allow more PC games get that Games For Windows label. The new requirements were made in part to get PC games ready for the launch of Windows 7 next month. Games For Windows titles in Windows 7 must support the OS's parental control and ratings features, support for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and more.

Leave it to Microsoft to not promote their next major update for their Games For Windows Live clients. However the 3.0 version of the PC gaming service is indeed now available for download at Microsoft's web site (there's no auto-update available as of the time of this post).

Aside from a brand new color scheme and art style there's not much that's been changed in the stand alone client's user interface. However, posts on the Games For Windows message boards indicate the in-game client for Games For Windows Live does have some new features such as being able to add Microsoft Points in the game itself to purchase add-on items. You can even change your GamerTag for a "mere" 800 points.

[Thanks to TheWax for the heads-up]

Update: The Games for Windows web site has now been updated announcing the 3.0 version is now available