Steam type application from Microsoft?

[Jeff7181]

I just read an article on another website about how developers are criticizing Microsoft for not doing more with Windows Live and the "Games for Windows" endorsement being plastered on various PC games.

If Microsoft made a Steam-like application for titles with the Games for Windows that offered friend lists, game/demo/patch downloads, matchmaking, etc. would you use it? Assuming it worked well, of course.

 

[450R]

No, unless Microsoft partnered with Valve and released a unified platform. Publishers need to quit segregating the PC community - so long as it's free and flexible, we only need one delivery system/platform and I think Steam is good enough. I will be skipping some games on the other platforms (e.g. Impulse) just because I don't feel like installing and running tons of crap.

 

[skace]

I don't think Microsoft could compete with Steam at this point, nor do I think they should try. What I can't figure out is why more developers don't just join Steam? Valve has worked hard to hammer out most of the issues and especially now with things like Steamworks to integrate pretty much any game into the various elements of Steam.

I wouldn't mind seeing Microsoft officially sanction Steam for G4W, I also wouldn't mind seeing Microsoft buy Steam from Valve to make it the premiere platform. But I dread seeing many competing products in this arena, especially when the first to arrive was from one of the better companies and done so right.

 

[Modeps]

I think a lot of people felt that GFW was going to try and directly compete with steam when they first announced it. GFW-Live titles already have the matchmaking and friends list (too bad those are rarities and you've gotta pay for the service). I would have loved to see a service that auto-patched your titles and integrated more with their existing online community (yes, achievements too) but i don't see it happening now with the sad state that GFW has become. They do standardize some features, just not the most important ones.

 

[Cutthroat]

There are GFW titles available on Steam (GRID). But do the GFW features work when bought through Steam?

I would like to see Microsoft Game Studios join Steam. I enjoy lots of their titles.

I would not like to see MS buy Steam, I don't trust them as much as Valve. Valve has done a great job with Steam recently, lots of publishers are joining all the time.

 

[RallyMaster]

The "Games for Windows" labeling means nothing more to me other than "This requires XP or Vista." I think Microsoft originally slated it as somewhat of a revolutionary thing that was supposed to go hand in hand with Xbox Live for the 360 and be an integral portion of the gaming experience for Vista users. However, Microsoft has been pretty mum on that fact and about a year ago, I remember reading an editorial in Games for Windows magazine that complained about how Microsoft was really ignoring the voice of the PC gamer. Well...all that did was make me buy an Xbox 360, which was probably their original purpose anyway. Damn you, Microsoft.

 

[Chosonman]

Originally posted by: Modeps
I think a lot of people felt that GFW was going to try and directly compete with steam when they first announced it. GFW-Live titles already have the matchmaking and friends list (too bad those are rarities and you've gotta pay for the service). I would have loved to see a service that auto-patched your titles and integrated more with their existing online community (yes, achievements too) but i don't see it happening now with the sad state that GFW has become. They do standardize some features, just not the most important ones.

That's a mistaken assumption. Games for Windows does not require service fee. GFW is a standard.

Windows live is the service and doesn't require fees for PC to PC gaming. If you want to play cross plateform with Xbox gamers you have to buy the Gold Membership. It's free to Xbox gamers who already have Gold membership

 

[Chosonman]

Originally posted by: Cutthroat
There are GFW titles available on Steam (GRID). But do the GFW features work when bought through Steam?

I would like to see Microsoft Game Studios join Steam. I enjoy lots of their titles.

I would not like to see MS buy Steam, I don't trust them as much as Valve. Valve has done a great job with Steam recently, lots of publishers are joining all the time.

Again GFW is a standard and doesn't dictate online play. Grid's online play is dictated through their own network (I believe this is the case) I played Grid online and there was absolutely no mention of Windows or Windows Live. It was free and I had fun.

 

[Chosonman]

With all this misconceptions about GFW you want to question MS marketing strategy. They should've built up the standard before trying to hawk LIVE along with it.

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: Chosonman

Originally posted by: Modeps
I think a lot of people felt that GFW was going to try and directly compete with steam when they first announced it. GFW-Live titles already have the matchmaking and friends list (too bad those are rarities and you've gotta pay for the service). I would have loved to see a service that auto-patched your titles and integrated more with their existing online community (yes, achievements too) but i don't see it happening now with the sad state that GFW has become. They do standardize some features, just not the most important ones.

That's a mistaken assumption. Games for Windows does not require service fee. GFW is a standard.

Windows live is the service and doesn't require fees for PC to PC gaming. If you want to play cross plateform with Xbox gamers you have to buy the Gold Membership. It's free to Xbox gamers who already have Gold membership

I think we're both confused. Gold membership to GFW-LIVE transfers from PC to 360 and back... PC gamers, with GFW-LIVE can play PC to PC for free but there are additional MP features that gold members get like the ability to play in ranked matches (TrueSkill).

That being said, we're talking about GFW...not GFW-Live which is unfortunately a separate piece of the GFW pie. Simple GFW based titles do not mandate friends lists, Achievements, and matchmaking, nor do they utilize any MS specific online service.

 

[PingSpike]

I don't know why anyone thought GFW was going to compete with steam. I thought it was pretty clear that it was some just lip service to try and fool people into thinking that microsoft actually cared about PC Gaming.

 

[Chosonman]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I don't know why anyone thought GFW was going to compete with steam. I thought it was pretty clear that it was some just lip service to try and fool people into thinking that microsoft actually cared about PC Gaming.

I wouldn't be so negative about MS. PC gaming is really the only thing going for MS right now. In fact after all the problems with the Xbox 360 and defective hard issues and such I wouldn't be surprised if the next generation console MS launches won't just be a specialized OS gaming just for PC's without the hardware. You never now.

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I don't know why anyone thought GFW was going to compete with steam. I thought it was pretty clear that it was some just lip service to try and fool people into thinking that microsoft actually cared about PC Gaming.

Trying to apply some sort of standards to PC gaming is lip service?

Games which wish to be included in the Games for Windows platform must meet certain requirements regulated by Microsoft. These include,[3] but are not limited to:

* An "Easy Install" option that installs the title on your PC in the fewest possible steps and mouse clicks
* Compatibility with the Windows Vista Games Explorer (see below)
* Installs and runs properly on x64 versions of Windows Vista and is compatible with 64-bit processors (though the game itself can be 32-bit)
* Supports normal and widescreen resolutions, such as 4:3 aspect ratio (800 x 600, 1024 x 768), 16:9 aspect ratio (1280 x 720), and 16:10 aspect ratio (1152 x 720, 1280 x 800)
* Launching from Media Center (Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate have Media Center)

While not a required feature at this time, some Games For Windows certified games are playable during the game's installation, making PC games more convenient and more similar to console games, in that players aren't required to wait until the game's installation is complete before they can play the game. This feature is known as Tray and Play but is only available in Halo 2 as of now.

I'm not saying its great.. its well intentioned and could use some improvement, but I hardly think that its lip service.

 

[Bateluer]

MS buying out Steam would be the end of a great thing. Next thing you know, it'd carry a monthly fee just to use it, plus the price of games. And probably charge by the hour for actual play time too.

I say keep the platform free, charge only fair prices for the games. The content delivery system should be as FOSS as possible. Steam is good, but its still proprietary to Valve.