Microsoft - and why I hate it.

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

You put up with a lot as a Microsoft customer. The operating system which is less secure to hackers than a sieve is to water. A set of basic utility programmes that still set you back well over a hundred pounds and the apparent move to having that renewed yearly. The paranoia over piracy that led to a safety device that crippled hundreds of Hewlett Packard machines (maybe even thousands or more) and then forced their luckless owners to pay for repairs.

But closing down Games for Windows ? It is rare indeed for a company top pull off a move that is simultaneously viciously treacherous, suicidally stupid, and totally incompatible with their business model.

I, like many gamers, due to the fact that thanks to the way GFWL operated the games don't work off the discs alone, now face large chunks of my games library becoming unusable. Age of Empires, Viva Pinata,Zoo Empire 2. I managed to get Batman Arkham Asylum working but only after tons of faffing about. Bearing in mind that Microsoft is still a going concern (but see below for comments on that) this is nothing short of a total, treacherous betrayal of its customers.

But if you are going to kill off your games division why then drop upwards of $ 2 BILLION ( BILLION) for Minecraft, one of the best selling PC games of all time ? Now that Microsoft has just micturated from a great height on every single one of its GFWL customers who do they think is going to buy Minecraft 2 from them ?

Even if not one single GFWL game was turning a profit as Microsoft I STILL wouldn't have closed GFWL. Bleeding heart loyalty ? No. Commercial good sense. A large percentage of PCs and laptops using Windows are now bought by gamers. So long as they continue to buy Windows driven hardware I'm making a profit. Hell - if it was me I'd be GIVING away at least one quality game a year to Windows users.

But revenge may come cold Mr Gates but it comes sweet. If the Steam console takes off a lot of hardware manufacturers will be making Steam based hardware using their operating system. All Steam then need to do is to get a decent set of basic office programs, persuade the manufacturers to switch to that from Windows for PCs and laptops, and Microsoft's entire business will vanish very quickly indeed.

I can't think of any time when a business working outside the financial sector has so fundamentally screwed over its own customers as Microsoft has done.

S.x.

[Electric Cupcake]

Games for Windows will not be mourned.

[Random Reference #98]

"In August 2013, a since-deleted support article for Age of Empires Online announced that the Games for Windows – Live service would be discontinued on July 1, 2014.[5] Microsoft issued a statement in June 2014 denying they were closing Games for Windows Lives, stating "We remain committed to investing in PC gaming in the years ahead, and look forward to sharing more in the future".[6][7][8] After the initial August 2013 support article, some game publishers announced that they would be removing GFWL from their games, but in most cases this hasn't happened yet."

Also it's my understanding that you can use the key that comes with the disc to get a free copy of the game on Steam assuming the game is actually on Steam. Arkham is one such game afaik.

Edit: Btw I actually wish they had ended that awful service just to be done with it. Loss of games=worth it.

[Fork_Q2]

Erm, GFWL isn't "shutting down", you can still play those games. You also exaggerate how "unsafe" Windows is, if you browse OSX, Linux or *BSD willy-nilly, you're not doing yourself any favours.

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

Black Dynamite původně napsal:

Boo Hoo Re Buy The Games On Steam Baby

And the money that I have spent on the games that I have already bought ?

Unfortunately Steam can't drug test people who post or check their I.Q's in advance. Perhaps a basic intelligence test should be mandatory before posting.

S.x.

[Spawn of Totoro]

GFWL is still alive and kicking with no plans to shut down.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-23-microsoft-isnt-shutting-down-games-for-windows-live-next-week

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/22/5831680/games-for-windows-live-shutting-down-microsoft

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/06/23/games-for-windows-live-not-shutting-down/

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

Spawk původně napsal:

gallifrey původně napsal:

Even if not one single GFWL game was turning a profit as Microsoft I STILL wouldn't have closed GFWL. Bleeding heart loyalty ? No. Commercial good sense.

In what world would not closing down a service that isn't making any money be 'commercial good sense'?

Ever heard of loss leaders ? You'd take a small loss on the games because they provide an incentive to buy the operating system where you make your profit.

S.x.

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

Grox3000 původně napsal:

You know what I hate about WIndows?
How it holds your hand with everything.

Oh no you can't do that! You might actually learn something!

Does anyone understand this ?


S.x.

[Gallifrey - CSSC Gaming Founder]

The GFWL website isn't there anymore. If you go with the links from the games it's gone.

S.x.

[chibilibi]

Grox3000 původně napsal:

You know what I hate about WIndows?
How it holds your hand with everything.

Oh no you can't do that! You might actually learn something!

Windows 7 doesn't seem all that restrictive to me.

[Fork_Q2]

gallifrey původně napsal:

The GFWL website isn't there anymore. If you go with the links from the games it's gone.

S.x.

But it hasn't shut down for those games though.

[Fork_Q2]

Grox3000 původně napsal:

FuG chibilibi původně napsal:

Windows 7 doesn't seem all that restrictive to me.

Compared to Linux, hell yes it is.

Difference is, Windows is made for people to be productive with.

*dons flamesuit*

[Charlie]

Well hopefully Linux gets better driver support and them things should start to take off.

[grounded in reality]

Most of the games on steam only support windows.

[chibilibi]

Grox3000 původně napsal:

FuG chibilibi původně napsal:

Windows 7 doesn't seem all that restrictive to me.

Compared to Linux, hell yes it is.

That's because Linux is open source. Of course Windows will be more restrictive than a completely open platform.

I would switch to Linux, if only more games and apps were supported, because as it stands most things are Windows exclusive.

[gleofrocga]

We can all agree that the Sun Microsystems Operating System has the best support for games and great overall potential to work with.