Since the recent launch of Microsoft’s soon to be ubiquitous OS, Windows Vista, the Internet has been abuzz with tales of woe and grief regarding gaming under the new electro-regime.
Enter Rich Wickham.
Rich is the head of the Games for Windows initiative and he dismisses the claims that Vista makes life more difficult for gamers. To wit;
With any launch of a platform of this magnitude there will be growing pains. A large part of our development time was spent ensuring game compatibility on Windows Vista, and we’ve tested over 1000 games so far. The vast majority of games work great on Windows Vista. Obviously we haven’t been able to test every single game that exists, but we will continue to work on ensuring all your favorite games will work with Windows Vista.
There you have it! Straight from the guy who would benefit most by having you believe Vista is the bee’s knees, shins and upper ankles. Of course, he goes on to say more, but you’ll have to click on that alluring jump to get at the rest of it.
Welcome to the full quote. This will be on the test, so you should probably start taking notes.
Some of you may have heard about some incompatibilities with games running on Windows Vista. I’d like to clear up some misconceptions.
With any launch of a platform of this magnitude there will be growing pains. A large part of our development time was spent ensuring game compatibility on Windows Vista, and we’ve tested over 1000 games so far. The vast majority of games work great on Windows Vista. Obviously we haven’t been able to test every single game that exists, but we will continue to work on ensuring all your favorite games will work with Windows Vista.
We’re not the only ones who are excited about gaming improvements in Windows Vista. Developers and publishers, like Electronic Arts, PopCap Games, Vivendi Universal, THQ, Slam Games, WildTangent and others have taken the SDKs and information we’ve shared with them over the years and are delivering great games experiences on Windows Vista. Clearly folks see the value and opportunity in supporting Windows Vista, and we’re thrilled to see their games take advantage of great features like the games explorer, Direct X10 and parental controls.
Let’s talk about parental controls for a second. For the first time, people now have easy to use tools to monitor and control what happens on their computers. Using these controls are optional, so you can choose to block specific content (including unrated or specific game titles), or not. The choice is yours, and that’s the way it should be!
Parental controls are just one part of the improved security in Windows Vista. You will be notified when a program attempts an installation on your system, so you will have the choice to block it, or accept it. By being given a choice, you will have a larger say in the overall health and performance of your system.
So, here’s the party line: “Windows Vista offers gamers, from core enthusiasts to casual game players, the safest, easiest, and most fun experiences of any platform.” But here’s the thing: it’s the truth.
Rich has a good point. Since Vista is so omnipresent, you have to imagine that developers are going to be scrambling to make sure their games work easily and fully with it. Of course, a lot of legacy games will get left out in the cold, but you can almost hear the publishers getting erect for the rereleases and compilations they’ll be blasting you in the face with in the near future.
Everyone’s after your money kid. Welcome to the real world.
