The executive in charge of marketing Microsoft's Games for Windows Live initiative has promised the service will "continue to get better" after a "rocky start" plagued by a lack of quality software.
Microsoft senior director for PC and mobile gaming Kevin Unangst told CVG he thought the company had the right idea in trying to bring features like Achievements, friends lists and simpler multiplayer matchmaking to PC games. But the service's launch was hampered by a lack of the kind of "fantastic games" needed to push that value, he said.
"A network by itself isn't valuable - there needs to be great games to take advantage," Unangst said.
Microsoft is hard at work turning that situation around, he said, with the help of input from developers including Lionhead and Gas Powered Games. He likened the situation to that of the console-based Xbox Live, which evolved partly thanks to input from developers like Halo-maker Bungie.
"The Age of Empire team [at Gas Powered Games] has got a lot of great input and the same can be said for Lionhead, who said 'we're going to build Fable 3 on the PC' and know what they want out of the service."
Unangst also stressed the important of the new Games for Windows Digital Marketplace, which now also sells titles that don't support Games for Windows Live.
Last September, Relic Entertainment announced it was dropping Games for Windows Live support from its Dawn of War 2: Retribution in favor of exclusive Steam support.
"We've always thought this was cumbersome, and only implemented it because back in Dawn of War II's development, we needed digital distribution and matchmaking features from both platforms," Retribution Producer Jeff Lydell told PC Gamer.
Not sure I believe this. In fact I'm sure I don't.
They've been saying this for years but then they never have any resources to devote to it.
Nor do I care any more, except negatively when a game tries to force me to use GFWL - Steam is my master now (because they Cared) and I don't need multiple digital marketplaces.
Nice how they sort of off-handedly bag on the developers who are taking the risk to put their content on the GFWL network by saying "the reason GFWL isn't working is because we don't have any good content." I'm sure that's constructive...
Microsoft in general needs to learn to hold off on their launches until their product is ready. They've developed a reputation for charging their customers for beta.
Yes all bow down to master Steam, they genuinely care, and come up with good ideas and build on them. The Microsoft way is too copy other peoples ideas, but then make them somehow worse. Examples: Windows, Zune, Internet Explorer(All versions copy the latest and greatest from other browsers, but always in a slow and clunky manner), Windows Media Player, Kin, Windows Mobile, GFWL, XBox (Not so bad, but they can't turn a profit, and at the expense of any PC games they made, had some good stuff in the late 90's) Bing (Live Search, Windows Live Search, and MSN Search, different names same crappy searches) and then the only way they get people to use their products is by forcing their way in with exclusive contracts and big wads of cash, giving it to anyone who will take it. Well it work once for Windows.... but Bill Gates was smart, which I can't say the same for Mr. Steve "foamy mouth" Ballmer. They are trying, (are they though? they have so much money it should be so easy for them) but you can't fool people with the same tricks over and over, hence why none of there other products have taken off. I go out of my way to make sure games do not have GFWL, I got screwed with Batman Arkham Asylum, never again, never again. I think people may have finally caught on. I hope the Android train momentum eventually works its way to PC's.
To add to others technical complaints about GFWL -
Activations ... limiting activations without bothering to mention how many or even that you could run out of them and no mechanism to reset them other than rebuy the game.
For the last 3 years or so I have actively avoided required GFWL use. I refuse to buy even good games if they require GFWL.
Rocky start? How old is this 2+years old. That is not a rocky start. A rocky start is after the first 6 months.
Now considering the alternatives, Steam, Impulse, Direct 3 Drive, I think that GFWL is bottom of the barrel. No one wants it and those that have it is because it was forced on them by developers who didn't use any decent service.
Ever since Microsoft introduced the Xbox, they have all but ignored the PC scene. I doubt that will change for the better.
Microsoft runs a lot of infrastructure for Xbox Live. Your five dollars a month covers their costs for that infrastructure.
For the price of one game a year, I think its worth it to have a more-or-less hassle free matchmaking system and statistics, voice/video chat, etc. PC gamers who want these things often have to set up their own dedicated servers, rent a vent server (for more than Xbox Live costs), etc.
Judging from the comments, most of the people here would regard this as the worst case scenario, but if Microsoft really wanted to fix GFWL, they'd just buy Steam / Valve and then merge the GFWL / Steam networks.
I wouldn't really mind it if it wasn't so janky. If they're going to redesign it, they need to do it from the ground up, and from the perspective of a PC user, and not an Xbox user.
I'm fine with it if they can make it work right (like Steam) and they are in the unique position of being able to incorporate the whole thing into their OS, which would also make it better.
I don't recall the masses demanding that GFWL to be fixed, but to be gotten rid of completely.
And sorry Microsoft, it isn't just the "lack of quality games" that make your service so dismal. Your front end client is slow, cumbersome, buggy, unintuitive, and uninspired.
It's somewhat ironic that if MS really wants high quality exclusive GFWL titles, all they have to do is allow Halo 3 and Gears of War 2 to be released on the service. While they are console-centric titles (slower paced, heavy on the aim assist), they would still get a lot of attention. Add Crackdown and even some Xbox Live Arcade titles and it could have at least sparked from interest from non-traditional PC gamers.
If MS could ever entice EA to release their sports games on PC again, those may also be attention grabbing GFWL exclusives.
It is also funny that MS is not willing to put the work into the system to make it successful by pouring resources into their own AAA PC titles. Valve, on the other hand, created some of Steam's biggest attractions.
MS can't blame 3rd parties who took a big risk to help MS out here, they can only blame themselves.
They've been saying this for years but then they never have any resources to devote to it.
Nor do I care any more, except negatively when a game tries to force me to use GFWL - Steam is my master now (because they Cared) and I don't need multiple digital marketplaces.
Microsoft in general needs to learn to hold off on their launches until their product is ready. They've developed a reputation for charging their customers for beta.
Its forcing me to login to access my gamesaves is painfull.
Its forcing me to use in game voice that lags by 5 seconds (with no way to disable it) is painfull.
Seriously the only reason I put up with it is that they have some good game that force me to. (Batman, Resident Evil 5)
Activations ... limiting activations without bothering to mention how many or even that you could run out of them and no mechanism to reset them other than rebuy the game.
For the last 3 years or so I have actively avoided required GFWL use. I refuse to buy even good games if they require GFWL.
Now considering the alternatives, Steam, Impulse, Direct 3 Drive, I think that GFWL is bottom of the barrel. No one wants it and those that have it is because it was forced on them by developers who didn't use any decent service.
Ever since Microsoft introduced the Xbox, they have all but ignored the PC scene. I doubt that will change for the better.
For the price of one game a year, I think its worth it to have a more-or-less hassle free matchmaking system and statistics, voice/video chat, etc. PC gamers who want these things often have to set up their own dedicated servers, rent a vent server (for more than Xbox Live costs), etc.
I'm fine with it if they can make it work right (like Steam) and they are in the unique position of being able to incorporate the whole thing into their OS, which would also make it better.
And sorry Microsoft, it isn't just the "lack of quality games" that make your service so dismal. Your front end client is slow, cumbersome, buggy, unintuitive, and uninspired.
If MS could ever entice EA to release their sports games on PC again, those may also be attention grabbing GFWL exclusives.
It is also funny that MS is not willing to put the work into the system to make it successful by pouring resources into their own AAA PC titles. Valve, on the other hand, created some of Steam's biggest attractions.
MS can't blame 3rd parties who took a big risk to help MS out here, they can only blame themselves.