To add to my previous comment, if they are gonna keep the GFWL name they at least need to make it so xbox players can play with pc players. Before I had a 360 I bought gears for pc and was sorely dissapointed to find out I could only play with other pc players which there were barely any to speak of.

Microsoft? Sexy UI? Alright who did they steal.

I suppose it's ok, but it's treating PCs like 360s, which they are not, and god willing, they will never be. PCs aren't a unified platform, no matter what Microsoft might like, and they can't be treated as such.

Hell, my Steam version of Fallout 3 has a tab for LIVE, and when I clicked it, it made me create a profile. As I type this it's trying to download a LIVE update. From within Fallout 3. From within Steam. There are so many ways to distribute a game and get it, even just counting the legal ways, that treating LIVE as the one stop for all your multiplayer needs just doesn't work.

In the PC environment you can't force every developer to add LIVE functionality or achievement bullshit. Steam understands that, which is why it's superior.

Nobody uses game for windows live they use steam.I even got games for window live games that I did not even bother setting up the lame games for windows live interface.

Do not want. I don't care if it's finally free. Leave your console out of my PC. Likewise, leave your PC out of my console.

They both have their own damn niches.

Steam works as a PC platform because it's tailored to PC. I don't see it working well on a 360.

Looks fine, if my XBLA games worked on it I would be very impressed. I agree with AgentMOO about XNA,that would be excellent and Microsoft would ultimately gain.

Free was the right direction. But that may have been too late, this, still too late. Now they need to get people to back the service more. Steam is doing quite well.

It's fine in Fallout 3. I mean, as long as it works with STEAM, I don't see how it's a bad thing.

They should have got developers involved and built a PC focused service from the ground up, rather than trying to adapt a console service for a different audience. Trying to charge for multiplayer was also the absolute most idiotic thing I've seen. Who the hell is going to pay for peer-to-peer gaming when every other PC game lets you choose from thousands of dedicated servers?

All GFWL has to do is come up with a way to "resell" digital copies of games you purchased and it's instantly a Steam Killer.

Wow, a lot of hate for GFW Live.. I haven't had any previous experience with this initiative before Fallout 3, but I think it's pretty nice. I guess a big part of it is that I have like no PC gaming friends, they all are pretty much on a 360. I too have a 360, but some cross-platform games I just would rather have on PC (like Fallout 3).

So I was pleasantly surprised to see how seamlessly I was able to sync with my XBox Live account. I could see the status of my online friends, send and receive messages, etc. Probably the best thing though, is achievement support. I think it's great that my achievements and gamerscore are reflected across both platforms (though I think it's kind of dumb that Fallout PC is considered a "different game" than the 360 version, as far as doing achievement comparisons and such.)

So really, I think the benefit is determined by where your "gaming community" is centralized. Since all my gaming friends have centralized around XBox live, it's nice to be able to still be plugged in, even when I've opted for the PC version of a game.

What needs to happen now is more cross platform multiplayer. I mean, Left 4 Dead is a great example. All of my friends will be getting the 360 version. 4 player co-op, being central to the game, is pretty much dictating that I also get the 360 version, despite the fact that there are a hundred reasons I would really prefer the PC version. But I want to play with my friends, not by myself, or some strangers. The positive experience of blasting zombies with buddies easily outweighs the negatives of being hampered by console controls, etc.