microsoft 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]

Last summer fans of the MechWarrior franchise were excited when news hit that a free version of MechWarrior 4 would be released. However its been some time since that announcement was made and there's been no real updates on what's happening on that front.

This week, the team behind the freeversion at MekTek posted up an update on their site declaring that "the release is ready". So what's the hold up. In a word: Microsoft. According to the site the game's developer and owner Microsoft "has endured several administrative changes which currently impede the release." However meetings are scheduled to be held later this month and MechWarrior's current owners Smith and Tinker believe that after those meetings take place "it will only take 1-2 more days before permission is granted."

2007 saw the release of Shadowrun, a multiplayer-only first person shooter from Microsoft's now defunct FASA Interactive that was very loosely based on the pen-and-paper RPG. While an interesting if flawed game on its own terms, many Shadowrun fans would have preferred a PC game that was closer to its roots. Now some early demo work from an earlier version of the Shadowrun game has popped up on the Internet.

The info comes from the personal site of Robert Olson, currently working at Mad Doc Software but who previously worked at FASA Interactive on an earlier version of the Shadowrun game. Without revealing too many details, the demo that he was a part of seems to be much closer to the spirit of the pen-and-paper game than the version that was actually released. You can see a lengthy movie that apparently comes from the early Shadowrun demo after the jump.

One of the big problems with Windows Vista was the fact that Microsoft's next-gen 3D graphics API DirectX10 was exclusive to the OS. That was likely the big reason why game developers were reluctant to offer a lot of DirectX10-supported games since the audience for such games would be limited. The release of Windows 7 last week brought out a new version of the API, DirectX11, but Microsoft promised that it would make an apperance on Vista.

That time has apparently come as a new automatic update for Vista has now implemented DirectX11 support for the nearly three year old OS. With two versions of Windows now supporting DirectX11 we expect game developers will embrace using the API in their games than they did with DirectX10.

[Via Blue's News]

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:

As part of the Windows 7 launch, Microsoft opened up the first retail Microsoft store on Thursday in Scottsdale, Arizona (a second store in California will open next week). In addition to selling items like PCs, Xbox 360s, Zunes and the like, That VideoGame Blog has posted up word that Microsoft are selling PC games in their new retail location, but in a rather cool manner.

Instead of a boxed product you go to a kiosk in the store and select which PC game titles you wish to buy. After you pay for your games, a store employee then creates the disk, case, insert and game manual in the back of the store and hands them to you. The entire process supposedly takes just a few minutes. Perhaps GameStop should consider such a move. It certainly will allow them to offer more PC games than anemic few titles they have in their stores right now. We also wonder why Microsoft failed to mention this rather cool feature in their own promotions about the Microsoft Store.

[Via Joystiq]

Today, lots and lots of PCs are being sold and many other are getting their upgrades to Microsoft's newest OS Windows 7. Every reviewer agrees that Windows 7 is a massive improvement over the buggy and performance poor Windows Vista. But will the launch of Windows 7, and its parallel launch of the DirectX11 gaming graphics tech, be a boon or a bust for PC gaming?

Big Download decided to contact a number of game developers to get their comments about the launch of Windows 7 and how, or even if, the new operating system will be a benefit for the PC gaming industry. As you will read opinions are extremely varied from one spectrum to the other. We want to thank all of the people who responded to our inquires.

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.