windows-vista posts

In many ways PC gaming is still evolving from a retail box industry to a more downloadable and even browser based type of business. And in our opinion, there's nothing wrong with that at all. However the business-based gaming site IndustryGamers decided to look at some of the reasons why the retail store has become less and less of a factor in gaming.

While there are other factors brought up in the article such as piracy and DRM set-ups that seem to be against the average consumer, IndustryGamers puts the big blame on Microsoft. Their launch of the Xbox 360 console has caused many PC-only game developers to move into console development, often putting the PC version of their games as a low priority. Add to that the dismal launch of Windows Vista and Microsoft's own moves to close down much of their own PC game developers and it's hard to argue with this article's conclusion. Of course Microsoft's own official stance is that they are still big supporters of PC gaming (as our recent chat with the marketing head of Games For Windows Live demonstrated). The next 12 months will show if that claim is real (with the launch of Windows 7) or whether it's just hype.

Microsoft has already announced that October 22 is the big launch day for their Windows 7 OS, but what about when the final retail version of the software "goes gold" (meaning that the product is done and will be pressed into disks for manufacturing)? Rumors are popping up all over the Internet that the date could be just a few days away.

According to Daily Tech a number of sites are using unnamed sources claiming that Windows 7 is currently on scheduled to "go gold" on Friday, July 10. The actual move to manufacturing will occur a week from Monday, July 13. Remember you have until July 11 to pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium from select retailers for just $49.99 and the upgrade version of Windows 7 Professional for just $99.99. Meanwhile the free Release Candidate version will become unavailable to download from Microsoft on August 15.

As Microsoft gets ready for the launch of Windows 7 on October 22 they have revealed more info on both the pricing of the various versions of the PC OS as well as the packaging of the retail version. As we reported several days ago, today is the first day of the Windows 7 upgrade program for new PCs. If you purchase a new PC from participating retailers and PC makers that has Windows Vista installed, you can get an upgrade to Windows 7 for little to no cost when it ships.

As far as Windows 7 pricing, here are the numbers for the upgrade version:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (Upgrade): $119.99
• Windows 7 Professional (Upgrade): $199.99
• Windows 7 Ultimate (Upgrade): $219.99

If you want the full version of Windows 7 here are the prices:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (Full): $199.99
• Windows 7 Professional (Full): $299.99
• Windows 7 Ultimate (Full): $319.99

In addition beginning today for a limited time you can purchase the upgrade version of Windows 7 Home Premium for just $49.99 and the upgrade version of Windows 7 Professional for just $99.99. Finally Microsoft talked about the retail packaging for Windows 7, saying it is 37 percent lighter than the packaging for Windows Vista.

Windows Vista was pretty much of a train wreck of an OS when it was released 2 1/2 years ago. There were tons of performance problems and driver support was poor. However it looks like Microsoft's next OS release Windows 7 will be a much better product (it's due out on October 22) and Stardock CEO Brad Wardell feels game developers need to get on the Windows 7 bandwagon now.

Chatting with Gamasutra, Wardell feels that one of the big features of Windows 7 is Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform (WARP) which will allow a PC's CPU to handle some DirectX graphical features even if the PC has a poor gaphics card or no dedicated graphics card installed. Wardell feels that feature will allow lots of games to be played on low end machines: "We want the game to look incredible on high-end systems, but I want people to be able to play this on their three-year-old laptop on the airplane."

Earlier this week Microsoft officially announced that October 22 is the target date for the release of Windows 7, the next version of their PC operating system that is pretty much required to run nearly every PC game. Now our sister site Engadget has posted up the contents of a leaked memo from Best Buy with some pre-release details on Windows 7.

After pretty much slamming the previous OS, Windows Vista, in their opening paragraph, the Best Buy memo states that on June 26 nearly every PCs sold at the retailer that has Windows Vista installed will get a guaranteed free upgrade to Windows 7 when it is released. This also apples to any sales of Windows Vista software. Also on June 26, Best Buy (and it admits other retailers) will have a special pre-order price of $49.99 for a Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade and a $99.99 pre-order price for a Windows 7 Professional Premium Upgrade. This deal will only be offered until July 11.

Microsoft's new PC operating system now has a final launch date. This week the company revealed that it will make Windows 7 available to the public on October 22. That should be a huge boost for the OS as new PCs will have it installed and ready for the busy holiday shopping season.

Microsoft decided to go ahead with the launch date following a good response to the already released release canidate version of Windows 7. Microsoft also plans to have a program where people who buy a Windows Vista PC close to the release of Windows 7 to upgrade to the new OS

After months of not committing to a release of Windows 7 by the 2009 holiday shopping season, Microsoft is apparently confident enough to make some official statements on the matter. News.com quotes Microsoft Senior Vice President Bill Veghte as saying, "We are tracking well to a Windows 7 holiday."

This is likely a relief to consumers, PC makers and PC game developers who all had to deal with a January 2007 launch of the current version of Microsoft's PC OS, Windows Vista. Having Windows 7 be made available on new PCs as well as upgrades during the busy fall-holiday shopping season should spur a lot more sales. A release candidate version of Windows 7 was released to the public last week and early feedback from its users convinced Microsoft that it would be ready for prime time this fall. An exact ship date has not yet been revealed.

If you have been iching to try out Windows 7, this may be your last chance to kick the tires on the upcoming PC operating system for free before Microsoft asks you to pay for it. A little earlier than planned, Microsoft has now released the Windows 7 release candidate to the public. This will be close to the final version (hence the name "release candidate) but Microsoft will try to get any last minute bugs out before it's official launch (which many believe will be sometime before the end of the year).

Technically this free pre-launch version of Windows 7 will work until June 1, 2010. In reality you will likely get rid of it long before then since Microsoft has set up the release candidate version to shut down any PCs that have it installed every two hours after March 1, 2010. One interesting feature is the Windows XP mode which will allow programs made for Windows XP to run even if they cannot run on Windows Vista. While this new mode is mostly for business apps, you can bet that gamers will try it out.

Microsoft has insisted they have not yet settled on a launch date for their Windows 7 OS but a new report on News.com may have had a third-party spill the beans on a possible release date. A rep for the UK division of PC maker Acer claims that Windows 7 will in fact launch on October 23.

That's certainly in line with what others are expecting Microsoft to do with the launch of the next major OS. Idealy they would like to have PCs with Windows 7 installed and in stores before the start of the busy holiday shopping season. In the meantime the release candidate for Windows 7 is now available to download for MSDN and/or TechNet subscribers. The general public can download the release candidate on May 5.

If you have been waiting to play the PC version of The Creative Assembly's next RTS game, the sci-fi title Stormrise, you might want to consider upgrading your PC rig. In a new chat at PCGameHardware.com, the lead designer of the title Artem Kulakov is quoted as saying, "Stormrise has been designed for DirectX 10 and Vista only right from the start."

Yep. That means all of you Windows XP owners (and there are a lot of you) are out in the cold when it comes to playing this game. Kulakov states the reason for the move was simple: "Integrating DX10.1 was an opportunity to increase performance and improve visual quality even further." Of course it also limits how many units of the PC version will be sold (it's also coming out for the Xbox 360 and PS3). With the release of Windows 7 just around the corner this may turn out to be the last Vista exclusive game to be released.

[Via Blue's News]