Xbox Live coming to PC with Windows 8
Soo.... does this mean more cross-platform gaming? That would be cool. Seems like a good step in the right direction with MS consolidating their online services across platforms, however if it's just for multimedia purposes like Netflix and so on, what's the point, PCs already have half a dozen different ways to access Netflix.
I really hope this is more than just multimedia access on PC, I want to play with my Xbox buddies on the multiplatform titles that come out on PC as well.
The whole balance issue when it comes to mouse and keyboard versus the Xbox controller can be bypassed; if the system checks that PC gamers are using an Xbox controller as well, they can play together. It's a relatively simple solution to this annoying problem we've always had that prevented PC gamers from playing with their console friends. If Gears of War 3 came out on PC, I'd be playing it with the Xbox contoller anyway, like I did with Batman, Assassin's Creed, and most other Third person games designed around the controller. Let's do this Microsoft.
I'm still pleased though, if anything, that we might see the end of GFWL soon.
As long as it means more streamlined media extender connectivity without going through Windows Media Center, then I'd say go with it. Maybe this will hopefully spell the end of Games for Windows. GFW was just a really terrible, bastard creation that should have been scrapped long ago. Cross-platforming with XBL seems like a no-brainer to me.
Why wait until Windows 8 to implement this though?
@QuistisTrepe said:
As long as it means more streamlined media extender connectivity without going through Windows Media Center, then I'd say go with it. Maybe this will hopefully spell the end of Games for Windows. GFW was just a really terrible, bastard creation that should have been scrapped long ago. Cross-platforming with XBL seems like no-brainer to me. Why wait until Windows 8 to implement this though?
so they give people no option but to buy Windows 8. Might go a little like "Well, we won't be supporing Windows Vista nand 7 anymore anyway, so you might as well. Oh look, it has Xbox Live... on your PC.. Xbox Live.. not just live. Xbox. X'es are cool, right?"
WHY
Because it makes sense for Microsoft to have all their brands cross compatible, not to mention it's a huge incentive for Windows/Xbox players to keep buying games for those systems, rather than switching over to the competition.
This is like asking why the Vita is going to be compatible with the PS3. Personally, I'm hugely in favour of having my friends list, game stats and achievements, etc, accessible through Windows, especially if this leads to less gaming clients.
@warxsnake: The biggest selling point of what I wrote probably was "We're not gonna support Windows Vista and 7 no more" anyways.
I find nothing wrong with this Xbox Live stuff coming to PC, then again I never had any problems with GFWL ever. Even their marketplace is great when they do crazy deals for a day with pretty huge games for just $1.
If they start forcing devs to include it in PC Games then fuck it so much. GFWL is already a huge cunting burden. But for them to add something as pointless and crap as Xbox live is a whole different level.
That article says how a lot of stuff done with xbox live is multimedia... Why is that a reason to put it onto a PC? PCs can already do everything an xbox can do and a whole lot more.
I wish all PC games ran on Linux.
@AlexW00d: Well good news then, they have no way of forcing devs to do anything on the Windows platform. It's open. You don't even have to use Microsoft's compiler or libraries.
My prediction is that all this means is they will be bundling GFWL in with all the OS disks. They will expand GFWL to do a little bit more but it won't mean anything significant. It will suck just as much as it always has.
Mutliplatform games on PC are already ports of the xbox version. If someone tells you its all unique code, they are bullshitting you. It's the quality of the port that differs, obviously, and whether they took the time to add different rendering pipelines like DX11 support and so on. And since they are ports, they have the xbox live functionality set up by default, only to be removed for the PC version. All I'm trying to say is that it doesn't really take time out of the dev cycle to "add" xbox live support to the PC version of multiplats, since it's already there on the Xenon build (Xbox/PC).If they start forcing devs to include it in PC Games then fuck it so much. GFWL is already a huge cunting burden. But for them to add something as pointless and crap as Xbox live is a whole different level.
That article says how a lot of stuff done with xbox live is multimedia... Why is that a reason to put it onto a PC? PCs can already do everything an xbox can do and a whole lot more.
I wish all PC games ran on Linux.
Best case scenario: Microsoft gives XBL free members the ability to play online.
Worst case scenario: Microsoft tries to charge for online play on PC again and fails to get anyone to pay for online play on PC again. As a result, Gears 3, Halo: Reach and Banjo Kazooie: N&B never make it to PC. Seriously, those are the only games that keep me hanging on to my Xbox. They won't want to kill that.
well pretty crazy for them to do that. good that it's coming but we already have steam on our pc. if we want to play games we go to steam. i think everyone should join up with steam and valve because every company is trying to release a steam like service. we dont' need another one of those.
I will say the same thing here that I said over at tested, no thanks. If they start bullying developers to require this shit on their PC games then I won't be buying any games that use it. I refuse to pay a monthly fee just to play games online unless it's something like an MMO were that money is going to support the server upkeep and the creation of new content.
Anyone else remember how this went down the last time Microsoft tried this shit? Oh right...
I like GFWL, but it is too far behind the competition now to have any hopes of catching up. Microsoft waited too long.
If they can do it right it will be great but after Games for Windows Live it's hard to be optimistic.
I assume it's just another means of being able to buy games online, like steam. Question is, will i be able to buy Xbox Live Arcade games and play them on my PC. Maybe then i'd play some of these new Arcade releases that i've been ignoring because i've had little reason to turn my Xbox on lately.
@tourgen said:
@AlexW00d: Well good news then, they have no way of forcing devs to do anything on the Windows platform. It's open. You don't even have to use Microsoft's compiler or libraries.
True for the most part but if it has a "Games for Windows" label on it then they do have to fallow certification requirements to get that label. Basically Microsofts attempt at a "seal of approval".
Yes, they need to implement cros platform play or they need to remove the GFWL integration. It's extremely annoying to see someone playing the same game as you, invite them only to find out they're playing on a different platform..either don't let me see those people or make cross platforming work.
I hope this wont increase the amount of cross compatible multiplayer games like Shadowrun. I was one of the few that bought that game for the PC, and it gave me such a horrible(and probably slightly unfair) experience of xbox live.
At any time there would be some asshole rambling about anything but the game. Tthe developer had left in an achievement for killing a PC player. Since there were no obvious indication of who played PC and who played xbox, and PC people were rare like a drop of water in the desert, Xbox people would figure out by them self and start sending personal sound clips begging for games, like we were mates or something, which I found incredibly creepy.
Obviously in an fps you cannot pit mouse and keyboard against a gamepad without doing something drastic to even the playing field out. So what they did was to impede the action of the mouse. I have never played an fps where I had so little control of where the crosshairs were going. Though mind you, you could still get an upper hand in situations where the gamepad people have to turn quickly because of their huge blindspots, but the broken aim completely killed the fun I had with it.
I don't think MS can gain control over the PC game market as long as Steam is there.
Microsoft is mad if they think they can charge people to do what Steam already does a better job of for free...
Yeah, sounds like another excuse to charge people for access multiplayer servers they aren't even responsible for maintaining. Fuck that. I can get my "entertainment" elsewhere for the price of an internet connection.
Will never happen. There's no way the developers will ever sign onto that without demanding a cut of revenue that would make XBL uneconomical, then of course there will be the howls of protest due to piracy fears. The last part of your post that you dismissed would actually be a good thing. I'm not sure why you would call that a "waste of time."Give me the option to run a fully functional software-emulation of an Xbox 360 on my PC and I'm in. Anything less than that is completely useless to me, I already have a 360 and Xbox Live.
Microsoft need to go all-in with this integration, if they half-ass it again they'll have wasted their one legit angle into PC gaming. If it ends up being a unified achievement/friends list across Win8 platforms and an app for the Zune market then this is all a waste of time.
They still can't get Games for Windows Live right. What makes anyone think that rebranding it with the XBox Live name would do any better? You don't need anything but Steam anyways.
Obviously in an fps you cannot pit mouse and keyboard against a gamepad without doing something drastic to even the playing field out. So what they did was to impede the action of the mouse. I have never played an fps where I had so little control of where the crosshairs were going. Though mind you, you could still get an upper hand in situations where the gamepad people have to turn quickly because of their huge blindspots, but the broken aim completely killed the fun I had with it.If they do this crossplatform stuff I hope they just do like they did with Quake 3 on the Dreamcast and give the middle finger to the console gamers. Let the matchmaking sort it out.
I hope they aren't forcing me to get an xbox live or gfwl account. I don't have one and never will. It only becomes a problem when they force most windows 8 compatible games to use the service for everything. If not, then i'm okay with it. At least they are investing something again into pc gaming, but of course i'm skeptical.
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