Microsoft is already screwing up their Games for Windows campaign!

[BroadbandGamer]

I was just at Target and they've got an actual PC set up in the PC games section. I took a close look at their setup and the first thing that stood out was that they're not running the system at the native resolution of the LCD. Nothing looked really sharp like it should. This is one of the things that makes PC gaming so great! High res screens running high res graphics! Also, the LCD is NOT a widescreen display. Aren't all Games for Windows suppose to have native widescreen support? Then why would they use a 5:4 screen? silly I think it's a 19" 1280x1024 screen. This is a very stupid move if you ask me.

Also, either the system didn't have a very good graphics card or they turned off the eye candy on purpose. It probably has a crappy card. silly There are several playable demos and game movies. I tried out Lego Star Wars 2 and the new Tomb Raider. Both games looked like royal crap because they weren't running at the native resolution of the LCD, AA and AF were turned off, and V-Sync was disabled!! What the hell!! what a way to show off PC gaming! Turn off everything that makes PC games really stand out from consoles!

Smart move MS! I tried to change the video settings for Tomb Raider and everything was locked. The game was running at 1024x768 and it looked really bad with lots of jaggies and screen tearing. It looked nothing like it does running on my system. On my computer the game looks AMAZING!

So anyway, I don't think this is going to help sell PC gaming. What do you guys think? I think they should fire the guy in charge of these in store PCs!

 

[dug777]

you should have wrastled the store manager

email MS maybe?

 

[Lonyo]

Um, since when is 1280x1024 4:3? It's 5:4, and it's probably one of the most common resolutions. And some games still don't support it, let alone supporting widescreen resolutions.

 

[BroadbandGamer]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Um, since when is 1280x1024 4:3? It's 5:4, and it's probably one of the most common resolutions. And some games still don't support it, let alone supporting widescreen resolutions.

Sorry, I forgot 1280x1024 was 5:4. It has been corrected.

First off, they shouldn't have used a 5:4 screen. 2nd, I'm pretty sure those games support 1280x1024 and that's what they should be running at. The whole UI they have is running at a lower res. This just doesn't make sense.

 

[Nelsieus]

Originally posted by: BroadbandGamer
I was just at Target and they've got an actual PC set up in the PC games section. I took a close look at their setup and the first thing that stood out was that they're not running the system at the native resolution of the LCD. Nothing looked really sharp like it should. This is one of the things that makes PC gaming so great! High res screens running high res graphics! Also, the LCD is NOT a widescreen display. Aren't all Games for Windows suppose to have native widescreen support? Then why would they use a 4:3 screen? silly I think it's a 19" 4:3 1280x1024 screen. This is a very stupid move if you ask me.

Also, either the system didn't have a very good graphics card or they turned off the eye candy on purpose. It probably has a crappy card. silly There are several playable demos and game movies. I tried out Lego Star Wars 2 and the new Tomb Raider. Both games looked like royal crap because they weren't running at the native resolution of the LCD, AA and AF were turned off, and V-Sync was disabled!! What the hell!! what a way to show off PC gaming! Turn off everything that makes PC games really stand out from consoles!

Smart move MS! I tried to change the video settings for Tomb Raider and everything was locked. The game was running at 1024x768 and it looked really bad with lots of jaggies and screen tearing. It looked nothing like it does running on my system. On my computer the game looks AMAZING!

So anyway, I don't think this is going to help sell PC gaming. What do you guys think? I think they should fire the guy in charge of these in store PCs!

hehe, yea, that doesn't sound like it's going to do a good job promoting PC gaming.

I didn't even think about those factors, though. But I guess stubborn retailers find it more conveniant to just throw a system somewhere and put the games next to it. They're probably too busy shining up the x360 and PS3 cases.

Hopefully this is just an instance of a bad cherry in a bowl (or whatever that metaphor is ). And that most other displays in other stores will be a bit more inspiring.

Nelsieus

 

[stelleg151]

I thought the whole Games for Windows campaign was TRULY starting with DX10 games.

 

[kopema]

Originally posted by: BroadbandGamer
I was just at Target and they've got an actual PC set up in the PC games section.

So isn't it TARGET that's screwing up the product display, rather than Microsoft?

And why is that really surprising?

 

[BroadbandGamer]

Originally posted by: kopema

Originally posted by: BroadbandGamer
I was just at Target and they've got an actual PC set up in the PC games section.

So isn't it TARGET that's screwing up the product display, rather than Microsoft?

And why is that really surprising?

Well, why didn't MS set these systems up so that all Target employee's had to do was turn them on?

Also, using a 5:4 display when they're trying to promote widescreen gaming is stupid.

I thought the whole Games for Windows was a good idea. However, these systems (set up the way they are) isn't going to get anyone who isn't already a PC gamer to get into PC games.

If they want to promote PC gaming they need to display its strengths and show what makes PC gaming so great.

For example, I would have used a 20" widescreen display with a top of the line video card. I would have had demos of games like Company of Heros, F.E.A.R., and HL2. FPS and RTS games are always better on a PC. These games also support native widescreen. Tomb Raider isn't a bad game but it's just as good on the 360 and doesn't really show anyone anything new. Same thing for Lego Star Wars 2. It's already on the consoles and actually plays better with a controller.

 

[ibex333]

While I do hate MS, and I will not be getting Vista, I dont agree with your arguement at all!!! You should be unhappy with TARGET not Microsoft.

You are saying stuff like: "Well, why didn't MS set these systems up so that all Target employee's had to do was turn them on?" -- Look MS doesnt have to do ANYTHING!! They dont even make the systems that stand in TARGET. They make the OS for them. If you have a problem with the crappy showcase, you should have contacted TARGET's manager, and told him that his way of showing PC's gfx do PC's no justice. However, leave MS out of it - they got absolutely nothing to do with the crappy setup of PCs in TARGET.


Heh.. What's next? We'll be blaming MS for all out problems... Dang... I have this wicked itch in my ***..... Ahh.. I knew it! It's that darn MS!

 

[BroadbandGamer]

Originally posted by: ibex333
While I do hate MS, and I will not be getting Vista, I dont agree with your arguement at all!!! You should be unhappy with TARGET not Microsoft.

You are saying stuff like: "Well, why didn't MS set these systems up so that all Target employee's had to do was turn them on?" -- Look MS doesnt have to do ANYTHING!! They dont even make the systems that stand in TARGET. They make the OS for them. If you have a problem with the crappy showcase, you should have contacted TARGET's manager, and told him that his way of showing PC's gfx do PC's no justice. However, leave MS out of it - they got absolutely nothing to do with the crappy setup of PCs in TARGET.


Heh.. What's next? We'll be blaming MS for all out problems... Dang... I have this wicked itch in my ***..... Ahh.. I knew it! It's that darn MS!

Are you sure about that? Are you sure Microsoft has nothing to do with these systems?

I thought it was part of the Games for Windows plan to set up PCs at all the major retailers to showcase Games for Windows.

Someone programmed the UI for this system and the resolution was locked at 1024x768.

 

[450R]

I'm surprised you found anything remotely related to PC games at Target. All of my local Targets, Walmarts and GameStops have almost nothing related to PC. So far I've only seen Quake 4, HL2 and Oblivion in Target ... GameStop and Walmart had nothing but console games. I'm not exaggerating.

 

[WraithETC]

The Games for window booth is setup by microsoft. All of them are like that, I've seen atleast 3 of them now. Anywho at my target there is a whole section for PC games.

 

[apoppin]

target did a crappy job of displaying the xbox360 at first ... on a regular TV

MS must be confused ... trying to sell both Vista PC gaming and Xbox360

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: kopema

Originally posted by: BroadbandGamer
I was just at Target and they've got an actual PC set up in the PC games section.

So isn't it TARGET that's screwing up the product display, rather than Microsoft?

And why is that really surprising?

It shouldn't be. I made the mistake of looking for HDTVs at Target. Half were turned off or were tilted at such an angle that figuring out what was on the screen was nearly impossible. The visible differences on the remaining sets demonstrated extremely poor signal quality (lots of noise in lines across the screen), insane color settings (purple-skinned people on some sets), and vastly different brightness/contrast settings in the displays. Ridiculous!

 

[Conky]

The whole "Games for Windows" campaign is rather fuzzy in it's intent. It appears it will be used to sell Vista although I don't know why, other than free advertising, that a game publisher would want to play along with the whole campaign. Obviously, most games are going to be for Windows by default unless they are specifically for Mac or Linux which has never been a problem so it makes the whole GFW concept rather redundant. Obviously Microsoft thinks they can wring more money out of us somewhere with this thing.

 

[SonicIce]

If they had AA, AF, vsync, and native res, that ANYBODY would notice? or care? maybe native res but the rest its way too subtle.

 

[Matt2]

I work at Target and I have never seen such a PC in my current store or my old store.

Kinda weird.

WHat kind of PC was it? I'm pretty sure any PC Target has is going to come straight from Microsoft, so it is Microsoft you should be mad at and not Target.

 

[40sTheme]

Originally posted by: 450R
I'm surprised you found anything remotely related to PC games at Target. All of my local Targets, Walmarts and GameStops have almost nothing related to PC. So far I've only seen Quake 4, HL2 and Oblivion in Target ... GameStop and Walmart had nothing but console games. I'm not exaggerating.

Yours are messed up... my Walmart has twice as many PC games as console games...
Target is pretty much the same. GameStop has slowed down on selling PC games because you cannot trade them in due to Registration Code issues.

 

[BroadbandGamer]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
If they had AA, AF, vsync, and native res, that ANYBODY would notice? or care? maybe native res but the rest its way too subtle.

I disagree. IMO there is a BIG difference between a game running with those settings on and one that has them turned off.

Like I said, Tomb Raider on my system looks absolutely beautiful! On their system is was a grainy, blurry, jaggy mess with lots of screen tearing thrown in.

I also believe they had most of the other graphic settings turned down.

 

[BroadbandGamer]

Originally posted by: Matt2
I work at Target and I have never seen such a PC in my current store or my old store.

Kinda weird.

WHat kind of PC was it? I'm pretty sure any PC Target has is going to come straight from Microsoft, so it is Microsoft you should be mad at and not Target.

The actual box was hidden. All you could see was the screen, mouse, and keyboard. It was right there next to all the PC games.

BTW, I am mad at Microsoft. I think they're responsible for this mess.

 

[tuteja1986]

Originally posted by: stelleg151
I thought the whole Games for Windows campaign was TRULY starting with DX10 games.

well it is but Nvidia hasn't avalible to release non buggy driver and current driver that was released to tester , developers.. ect where buggy and caused vista blue screen of death in some games. ATI does have its driver ready for vista which has been since decemeber but they don't have R600 out. So the DX10 campagin will start mid this year.