Microsoft has been hitting Games for Windows LIVE hard at this year's Game Developers Conference, because -- let's face it -- you need the backing of major publishers and developers before you can begin to truly entice potential customers into leaving Steam or even Impulse.
In particular, three new features of GFW LIVE were stressed. First, there's "Zero-day piracy protection and server-side authentication," which means you can't play your game before its intended release date, and you also can't participate in online multiplayer without a valid account.
Secondly, new Marketplace APIs are being touted as a great source of revenue for developers, with the ability to design "unique in-game store fronts" potentially meaning sexier and better in-game integration. Lastly, subscribers can now access their GFW LIVE personal settings on any "compatible and connected Windows PC."
As long as you've got some of the market, why not keep your current audience content so they stay with you, and possibly even gain new ground by attracting more companies to offer their games? That seems to be the idea behind this push, in my opinion.
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Contest:
11:20 AM on 03.24.2009 | 
So basically they'll know if I'm playing a NOT pirated game or not, right??
And really Microsoft?? Trying to trick the Wii crowd into PC gaming with ads like that!? *barf*
"Valve says it now "makes DRM obsolete" with key new features for its free Steamworks publishing and development tools.
Chief among these is a Custom Executable Generation technology intended to act as a complement to Steamworks' anti-piracy solutions. With CEG, users gets unique copies of a game that they can access on multiple PCs with neither install limits nor root kits.
Steamworks is also adding support for both paid and free downloadable content that can be delivered in-game. Users can purchase DLC and begin using it within the same play session."
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=22884
So much for that, GFWL.
Does "server-side authentication" mean phone-home DRM? Or does it mean that MS's authentication servers will crash on day one of Halo 4's release, because we ALL know how reliable and timely MS's tech support is.
Furthermore, will we have to pay for it? Is it Vista-only? Do I have to be online to play it?
So many questions...
GFW Live has been nothing but trouble for me and my gaming experience -- Specifically with Fallout 3.
Personally, I don't have a problem with GFWL. Sure, there are the occasional issues, but I think that providing PC games with a unified multiplayer, achievement, and DLC system is a good idea. It will improve over time and as more devs adopt it.
most of these features are already in steam though :-)
Yeah, but I like the fact that I can use my XBL gamertag. Can't do that with Steam.
Anyway, this is going to be one sweet battle. Now Microsoft is going after people on their own platform. Honestly, someone really needs to revise monopoly restrictions for this sort of Technology so that we don't end up having a company like Microsoft, who already have a monopoly, pushing others out of the business.
I know, but we all know that if they think they can get away with it, they'll sure as hell try to make something worth charging for.
So a company wants money, WOW, that's crazy, just mindblowing, a big company wanting money.
And GFWL and Steam suck, guess there's no point in playing PC games.
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