Will Games for Windows Finally Take Off In Windows 7?

Martin | Sep 17, 2009 | Comments

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A recent blog post by Brandon LeBlanc over at the Microsoft Windows Experience Blog details the improvements to the Games for Windows platform. Games for Windows is not exclusive for Windows 7 but will take advantage of features of the new operating system. The system has been revamped by Microsoft including new “technical guidelines, self-certification options and a set of 22 technical requirements which are designed to:”

  • Create an easier game installation experience.
  • Support both 32-bit and 64-bit Platforms.
  • Support Ratings and Parental Controls in Windows 7.
  • Game titles populated in the Game Explorer.
  • Enhanced game update notifications for game titles.
  • Stability, security and compatibility against commonly known issues.

games for windows

The main question on the other hand is if this will be enough to convince game companies and publishers to make their games compatible with the Games for Windows platform. We all know that only a handful of games were released so far that made use of it. The number of games certainly picked up in the last twelve months but it was still only a minority of games that supported the platform.

The main reason why many developer’s have not joined the program yet is the money, time and additional work that is involved in the process.

While the Games for Windows platform certainly offers benefits to Windows users (like better manageability thanks to the Game Explorer) it lacks support by many popular game developers and causes concern by some gamers who fear that Microsoft is planning a subscription based model similar to the one offered on their Xbox gaming system once a critical mass of supported games has been reached.

What’s your opinion on the issue? Will Games for Windows take off in Windows 7? Do you share the concern of some users or think that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages?

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About the Author: Martin Brinkmann is an Online Journalist from Germany who discovered his love for technology in high school. He is currently working as a freelancer for several publications and runs his own Internet website Ghacks

  • g1lmour
    its inevitible that we ma have to pay for online games if they all adopt the games for windows live service, like someone once said to me, if everyone started pitching flags in their gardens then there would inevitably be a flag tax from the government. so i think the current system is as good as it should be, no payment except when you originally buy, subscription based systems would make me frustrated and would probably stop gaming on those games
  • Nick
    nfs: shift says that its compatible with 7 but if u go on to the forums just about every 2nd topic is about people having troubles with 7. and if its something thats wrong with windows 7 and not the game than you cant take it back, u have to wait and hopefully ea will release a patch.
  • I highly doubt Microsoft will start charging AGAIN for their LIVE service on Windows.
    After all the service started as a paid subscription one, but this model simply didn't work on PCs and they had to get rid of the gold subscription and upgrade the silver one with full online privileges (this happened in July 2008).

    If they moved once again to a paid subscription, people would simply leave it out. PC gaming has always had free online (except for MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, which make sense since they allow a massive ammount of players at the same time and they offer extended online gaming sessions).
    Ask Epic Games how well the subscription service worked out on Gears of War for PC. It ended up being a huge fiasco, and the game's sales didn't pick up more until they got rid of
  • I like to play the games on my pc my console and on my cell phone..this article was not related to games but it related to technology and i had also hobby to search gadget and latest gadgets and many more so this article was really great in my opinion.This site was simply great i like it because i like to listen songs playing games discuss about internet...
    also i like to know more about latest gadget and technology..
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