Stardock's Brad Wardell has never shied away from impulsive outbursts, but his latest is definitely one for the record books. When asked about his thoughts on Games For Windows Live, the outspoken CEO gave Microsoft quite the tongue-lashing.
Nevermind, I read the comments on the weebsite. I did not know GFWL was that bad. Love me some achievements though. It was nice that Dawn of War II had them, I didn't know.
Maybe i have just been blind but the ONLY game i have really seen about for GFWL was Shadowrun (which is good on 360). I personally havnt seen any advertisements on the tv or online. I thought they were starting to give up.
I'd say, "stop crying" because I personally never had a single problem with GFW but I've a feeling I might be in the minority.
Personally, I feel GFW should be more streamlined, seamless to the PC experience. What works superbly for a console might not be ideal for the PC platform. That's my opinion on it.
"I'd say, "stop crying" because I personally never had a single problem with GFW but I've a feeling I might be in the minority. "
I say "pull M$ c!#k out of your a$$" because if you never had a problem with GFWL then your either a 360 fanboy or don't actually game on PC. Judging from your comment history i guess the answer is obvious.
and now, i belive they will Kill Console-Gaming... i hope that the PC-devs are Supporting Mac and Free OS and i Hope that the Google-OS will get some Marketshare from M$...Competition will Overdrive the PC-Market in my Opinion
I have like GTA and Fallout 3 and I've never had a problem with it. Then again, I also own an Xbox 360 gold account too.
What exactly is the problem with it? I really can't see it. Is it just that you have to pay to play the game? I can see that being a problem for pc exclusive players definitely but I didn't think it was that wide-spread.
Most of us hate the interface , as it's buggy and intrusive . And we frankly have no use for it . And yet it's tentatively forced down our throat , in some pathetic attempt to pay micropayment a usual thing on pc (outsides of mmos)
it doesnt stop piracy in any way , and no games ever needed it .
it could have been usefull if the game it proposes were cross platform , but asides from shadowrun , it's hardly ever done , hence making it ever more useless .
Matchmaking ? every game already did they well on their own , or it's better done with services like steam .
Chatting ? Any third party program do that job better , included Microsoft's very own live messenger .
Achievements ? What's the point when they are easily hacked ? SF4 or fallout 3 achievement and rankings are a joke on pc .
Anyway whats the point of pc when you centralize everything in one single (and crappy) interface and application ? None , might as well just play on consoles if you dont mind being fed stuff without your say so .
And on console it's acceptable , it's actually why you made the choice , it's simplicity and being spoon fed .
But you don't have to pay for ANY features anymore. They got rid of that a year ago. Personally, I think most PC gamers are unjustified in their hate of LIVE.
It doesn't matter it's a console interface being forced on a PC the thought process behind the meeting for GFWL must have been booze, blow and hookers.
Not to disrespect you but you must not have not played very many games with GFWL if any at all.
read again , free or not , it's something we dont need forced down or throat that create complications and bugs for many of us .
How is is exagerated if you had no problem launching games , and suddenly , because they wanna "gift" you with achievement and other crapola , you crash all the time ?
besides why do you think it's now free to begin with ? Because we hate it and were vocal about it .
Paul, like I've stated in my earlier comment I've never had a problem with GFW but a lot of these reports are legitimate complaints. I've had a ton of problems on Steam and have reported many bugs not only for the service but also for games made by Valve. They're just plain buggy. No service is perfect but I think what many are trying to get across is that GFW has too many restrictions that could otherwise make it a competing service.
Games for widows is nothing more than a monopoly.This generation of PC gaming is sh!t thanks too them for the simple fact that they where so petrified of Sony taking over.... hence them entering the console market, trying to take control ensuring their dominance in both markets.
Games for windows live can't really be a monopoly when less than 40 games use the service. Live is just simply a service, people just don't like change or installing add-on services. Live did suck when it first came out since they were charging much like on xbox 360 but it has evolved much more since it has came out. I don't know why people complain about it being buggy, they must waste resources on other crap or have really junky PCs. It works fluidly for me and my pack of friends who use it. Most reviews for it on youtube are much favorable to the service. LIVE is an excellent service just people slam cause of it's unified feel, which I personally like because for me it means one account, same saved settings, cross platform messaging, and self updating (I admit it needs some work though because it can be slow to start up but it get's the job done better than going to game hosting site which are slow unless you are a subscriber). The bad part of the service is the voice chat quality is poor and needs much improvement for the private chat. In game it works flawlessly for me. (I have at least 8 games that use LIVE)
One more thing I want to add is that a lot of people seem to mix up "games for windows" which is Microsoft's quality stamp of approval and label to let gamers know the compatibility level. "Games for Windows Live" is Microsoft's attempt to bring the Xbox live experience to PC gamers. It's not a bad concept but for now the only people who like it and understand are the people who have both a Xbox 360 with LIVE and game on PC. It's just needs improvement for PC gamers who don't understand the concept behind the service by adding a re-haul to the service much like the changes in windows 7 for the people who hated Vista. The main haters I see for LIVE are people who are new to the LIVE experience, The Steam die-hard fans, and mainly PIRATES. Yea I went there.
Yea I know. It was really the only way to explain my thoughts on GFWL. I had some spare time between breakfast and I figured I should write something after reading a lot of the biased comments. These TL;DR comments probably aren't best for N4G.
Games for Windows saved pc gaming because pc gaming was in decline.Thanks to Microsoft pc gaming has been given a life line so all you should be thanking (Games for Windows).
Microsoft sucks at anything other than making a monopoly.
Their softwere is overpriced, their games are no where to be seen, their customer service can be lackluster unless they see a profit. Their hardware is awful.
Why was it dying again anyway ? Nothing to do with pc games being diverted and channeled toward 360 ,and then other consoles ?
Remember how different Halo looked like as a PC game ? Remember when Unreal used to matter on pc ? Or when remedy games were stuck in dev limbo because they had to deal with console hardware ? remember when bioware moslty made pc games ? Remember when system shock and deus ex werent butchered in their content so they could fit on consoles ? remember when the Elder scrolls was good ? Remember all those microsoft studios that were a force to reckon on pc , later on shut down after be used and abused for console gimmicks (ensemble studios going from Age of empire to halo wars ? then being killed ?) .
Microsoft pulled all of it's ressources out of pc gaming dev , and let it fend for itself , while busy building up it's console marketing and waging war against other consoles .
Once they succeeded at making a dent , now they remember the pc and pretend saving it ?
You can't just drive a car from the bridge into the water on purpose , then later pretend you're saving it's passengers and expect thanks
Microsoft is responsible for decline and lack of support in PC gaming, they pushed everyone to buy their 360 console and games for windows is there to pretend like they didn't do it
Quadalupeupe you make a good point. There has been plenty of games that were supposed to be heading for pc and were ruined because they ended up on the 360. Alan Wake being one of them, does everyone remember what Alan Wake was going to be like when it was heading for pc? How much has been chopped out now?
@JamesCagney: The first and most popular example for this behaviour is Halo. I remember when Bungee presented it as free-roaming, open-world shooter, like GTA set in a science-fiction setting. It was supposed to be huge. Then they got bought by M$ and completely had to change it.
If Microsoft stopped supporting pc gaming the pc gaming would go into decline. Its only Microsoft who stuck there neck on the line and revived games for pc with the much needed Games for Windows.
Wasn't it the general promotion of PC $50 titles that needed $2000 system upgrades to be playable, while everything else was ignored, that did that? The lack of a unified industry voice, despite and because of the raise of Steam and other network services, is why MS tried to get into that game.
That they then put unnecessary conditions, like paying for everything, is what ruined it.
they made it more difficult for the consumer and developers to get on one page
There are hacks that make some DirectX10 only games work on WindowsXP even though Microsoft claimed Vista was required, now Windows 7 is required for DirectX11 and there's still many users using Windows XP or Vista who might not upgrade
OpenGL and 3DFX days, thats when PC gaming was king because it was more open and up to developers on where to take PC gaming but now Microsoft controls where PC gaming is headed and they want you to buy their Xbox 360
How does Microsoft benefit when people game on PC? Steam doesn't charge an online fee, Live on PC is FREE because nobody would pay for it because Online gaming has always been free on PC when servers are hosted by the people
Java, does everyone remember the java monopoly lawsuit?
In short, Microsoft feared and sought to impede the development of network effects that cross-platform technology like Netscape Navigator and Java might enjoy and use to challenge Microsoft's monopoly. Another internal Microsoft document indicates that the plan was not simply to blunt Java/browser cross-platform momentum, but to destroy the cross-platform threat entirely, with the "Strategic Objective" described as to "Kill cross-platform Java by grow[ing] the polluted Java market."[3]
Was going to write something similar. Back in the 90s when PC game was a juggernaut one of the reasons was due to OpenGL and Glide. Who knows how to get the most out of video cards than the manufacturers. Video card manufacturers need to create their own API standard. The games back then really pushed PC gaming to new heights. It really does seem like MS has become the bane of the Tech world. We really need a good alternative to MS OS' on a consumer level. An OS that will use a universal API that can be used on any OS and that will use hardware to the fullest.
GFWL is a really really good idea, it just hasn't been brilliantly implemented. Too much focus was made into making it act like Xbox Live, which just does not Gel on PCs.
I haven't had any issues with Fallout, DoW II, Batman etc...
The only problem I've had is GTA not being able to get online... So I opened a couple ports so it would allow GFWL to do it's crap and presto no issues.
I could careless about GFWL but meh I haven't any many issues with it. And I do like it in some cases, makes it even easier for me to make a 360 gamer jealous who is so bent on the 360 contr and Live.
Fricking Windows Live is ruining everything.
Don't worry Brad Wardell, you have nothing to worry about.
Game sfor Windows are fine aswell.
If Blizzard keep making games for PC everything will be fine.
All the Rest is for Consoles especially Xbox.
and now, i belive they will Kill Console-Gaming...
i hope that the PC-devs are Supporting Mac and Free OS and i Hope that the Google-OS will get some Marketshare from M$...Competition will Overdrive the PC-Market in my Opinion
I have like GTA and Fallout 3 and I've never had a problem with it. Then again, I also own an Xbox 360 gold account too.
What exactly is the problem with it? I really can't see it. Is it just that you have to pay to play the game? I can see that being a problem for pc exclusive players definitely but I didn't think it was that wide-spread.