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In 2006, then Microsoft Vice President Peter Moore apologized for what he called a dereliction of duty to the company's number one gaming platform: The PC. More »
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Do not fear Windows 7. Sure, the tests might show that Windows XP performs better, but Microsoft assures us all that the next version of their operation system will be "great for games". More »
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Windows 7 is out and up for download, provided you're OK with using a beta operating system. It promises a raft of improvements over Windows Vista, but how's it shaping up for games? More »
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Will the upcoming new version of Windows be yet another Vista for PC gamers to worry about, or will Windows 7 be a boon for the mouse and keyboard set? TechRadar takes a look. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5135419&view=rss&microfeed=true Remedy Entertainment's "psychological action thriller" Alan Wake may continue to be a no-show at massive gaming events like E3 and Tokyo Game Show, but the new cinematic trailer released today proves that the Xbox 360 and Windows Vista (grrr...) only title is still in the works. Sure, the knees may be sharp, the valleys may be uncanny and the development may be worrisomely bumpy at times, but we're still excited to see Mr. Wake suffer. Logo's snazzy too! More »
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With less than two months to polling day the time is ripe for Stardock to try and push copies of their Presidential Election sim The Political Machine 2008 - i.e. before the entire nation becomes so heartily sick of the election process that it would sooner set fire to its collective genitals than pay cash money for anything to do with politics. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5051277&view=rss&microfeed=true In another case of "Because it's there", some brave/misguided soul has gone to great lengths to get Windows Vista running on a PlayStation 3. How? Emulated via Linux, of course. That translates to blazing speeds, making the Microsoft OS boot in a mere 25 minutes. Notepad opens in just 12!! If you're interested in the techniques required to get Vista on your PS3, PS3HaX has a handy tutorial. Just think — you could be playing Minesweeper in just a few days, at single digit speed percentages! Impress your friends! More »
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Games for Windows - Live multiplayer features are free, effective today, Microsoft announced at today's GameFest 2008 conference in Seattle. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5027826&view=rss&microfeed=true Yeah, that question will rule a lot of you out, but for those it doesn't this should be something of a rare delight. If you've got a copy of Vista Premium, and install the vmcNetflix plug-in, you'll be able to rent streaming movies from Netflix (currently only available to Windows PCs) and - with a little jiggering - beam them over to your 360. It's apparently a little buggy, but hey, in the absence of an official deal, it's as good as you're going to get it for the moment. More »
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Last week, Microsoft announced the release of PopFly, a simple program that allows users to create games without the need to know any code. Taking a number of genres as a foundation, PopFly offers a range of templates based on classic arcade games, upon which you can import your own characters, backgrounds, etc. Once done, the games can then be hosted, on stuff like websites, blogs, Facebook pages or even your Vista sidebar. It' Silverlight-only, which is a slight hassle, and is fairly basic, but hey, who said everything on this world had to be perfect? More »
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Though it's currently trendy to declare the imminent and grisly demise of the PC gaming market, there are some legitimate concerns amid all of the sensationalism. Much-publicized NPD numbers showed retail PC sales slumping by $60 million between 2006 and 2007, while the console gaming market continues to burgeon year-over-year. While it's quite true that these numbers quantify only PC retail box sales and not subscription revenue - like how much WoW makes every month - there are issues at hand that are harder to quantify with raw data. More »
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Microsoft's latest version of its Windows operating system hasn't exactly been hailed as a boon to gamers, with early wonky driver support, a hit or miss Games Explorer and a handful of Vista-only releases that made little sense. But now that the OS has had time to mature, getting a few hotfixes under its belt, its more than serviceable. With Service Pack 1 coming this month, you may wonder if the big download and two hour install is worth sprinting to, rather than ambling toward. More »
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Two questions: Got Windows XP? Want to play "psychological action thriller" Alan Wake? Yer fucked. The game will be available on the Xbox 360 and Vista later this year. Says Markus Maki at developer Remedy: More »
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Following a lackluster infomercial CES keynote, Microsoft sent out a press release this morning touting the "powerful momentum" of Games for Windows and the addition of nine new Games for Windows-branded titles including Alone in the Dark and LEGO Indiana Jones. More »
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And so the Shadowrun beta continues well into the retail release, as details of Title Update #3 are posted at the Official Shadowrun Community Forum. The update, which should be ready sometime this weekend, addresses various balance issues, adds new functionality to multiplayer game setup, improves overall network reliability and fixes 'numerous' crashes, exploits, and glitches. IF these updates keep up, one day the game might be worth the $60 I paid for it! Woot! Hit the jump for the full update details. More »
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Featuring a hulking Big Daddy and a Little Sister hiding in the shadows, the official cover art for the 360 and PC versions of Bioshock is about what you'd expect. Brian Crecente More »
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Hushed Casket has a great piece up about all of the issues with Games for Windows Live. The service, I think many of us thought, was meant to be as robust and easy to use as the 360 version of Live, but instead it's just sort of an awkward appendage. More »
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]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=263707&view=rss&microfeed=true Witness Microsoft and Bungie's latest attempt to get me to not only buy a game I've already played through but also cripple my computer with Windows Vista at the same time. More »
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What could be more exciting than playing a three year old game on a new, untested and relatively unstable new operating system? Playing it for achievement points! Achieve360Points.com has posted a listing of the achievements to be unlocked once the Vista version of Halo 2 hits in May. More »
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They keep telling us it's a game platform, so we'll keep on telling you about it. Microsoft has announced sales for the first month after Vista's consumer launch on January 30th have topped 20 million copies. The number includes copies purchased by companies like Dell to preinstall in systems (like my stupid notebook), upgrades purchased by impulsive individuals thinking it would change the way they game (me, and slowly), and packages shipped to retail outlets (not yet, but the box is awfully shiny.) More »
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Our spies, readers and whatnots have sent word that the Shadowrun public beta for the Xbox 360 version of the game isn't just live, but recently took on board a much larger group of gamers. More »
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What seemed like minutes after Vista launched in Japan, gamers loaded the OS up with erotic games and found this out: Vista is made for dirty. Retailers in Akihabara have their finger on the pulse of nerdom and realizing that knowing how your customers will use the product can mean the difference between a non-sale and a sale. This results in signs like above blurred out games, which reads that the "Vista aero function" is not possible on XP. Sold me! Brian Ashcraft More »
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Microsoft has been pushing their Games for Windows platform pretty hard both before and after Windows Vista was released, but will it last? Is Games for Windows meant to promote the games, or Windows itself? These are the questions that Valve marketing manager Doug Lombardi raises in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz. He observes that the whole Games for Windows label seems geared towards selling Vista more than anything else. More »
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I spent a little time this morning with the Funcom people and Age of Conan. Unfortunately, the servers for the massively multiplayer online game were up and down for much of the presentation so I didn't get to see as much as I was hoping to. More »
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A number of readers have forwarded us emails from Microsoft showing that the Games for Windows team is prepping to test Games for Windows Live. More »
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Computerworld is reporting that many popular PC gaming titles are showing incompatability issues with Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system. From drops in frame rate to graphical glitches in games like FEAR and Half-Life 2, the hardcore gaming early adopter crowd is currently rattling off lists of games tested under the various flavors of Windows Vista and their experiences, for better or worse. More »
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The 2007 DICE Summit has officially opened following the kickoff keynote from Yair Landau, President of Sony Digital Pictures and Vice Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. The core message of his speech was one of convergence. Save your groaning, as I know we've heard that magical marketing buzzword bandied about for over a decade, but Landau spoke not on the unholy marriage of video games and film, resulting in some mutant "Siliwood" cinematic experience, but how the two can compliment eachother. More »
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Planning on getting a second or third mortgage to beef up your Windows box up to Crysis playable levels? You may want to read on. Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli told industry pub Next-Gen that gamers with older gaming PCs can still get their Crysis on, despite having a three year old set up. More »
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Many PC gamers around the world are struggling right now with the question, "Should I upgrade to Vista?" Some of us went ahead and took the plunge, experiencing only minor issues (my World of Warcraft framerate certainly took a noticeable hit), but many PC gamers only play one or two games at any given time, making judging overall performance a hit or miss affair. More »
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As we move from dominant operating system generation to generation, some games will inevitably be tied to their respective popular OSes. Welcoming Windows Vista into the family of questionably necessary upgrades, Voodoo Extreme has posted what they consider to be the best games of the Windows XP era. While they may not be explicity linked to the OS, they were released after October 25, 2001 and represent some groundbreaking, classic video games. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=234130&view=rss&microfeed=true Unfortunately, Bill doesn't wax much on video gaming, but Jon Stewart cracks enough jokes about internet porn and guessing Gates' log in and password to keep us interested. Michael McWhertor More »
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After Wild Tangent sent out that email saying that essentially the only web games that seem to work on Vista are theirs, I decided to check it out for myself. More »
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Let's face it: Porn is a killer app. And right after Windows Vista launched in Japan, gamers clamored to show just the important things the new Microsoft OS could do. Look at how it handles multiple erotic games opened on the desktop. More of this all-you-can-eat smut smorgasbord after the jump! And all safe for work. Brian Ashcraft More »
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Bill Gates was on hand at the British Library's special Windows Vista launch event earlier today to tell all the pretty British peoples about his pretty new operating system. He spoke about the history of the Windows operating system, from its beginning 24 years ago as a DOS extending operating environment that borrowed heavily from Apple, to today's standalone multimedia powerhouse that borrows heavily from Apple. More »
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I received a sorta odd press release last night from Wild Tangent. In it they claim that Vista, which launched today, is "still breaking even some of Microsoft's own games on Zone.com, not to mention smaller web-based casual games across the web." More »
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Staying up all night to buy Windows Vista will so annoy loved ones. What better way to say "I'm sorry" than with a copy of Vista and a red rose and a red thong? Even better if actually have a girlfriend or wife! Really makes the bundled toy figurines below seem juvenile. I mean, grow up. Brian Ashcraft More »
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Japan gets its Windows Vista. At midnight, Microsoft's new OS launched across The Land of the Rising Sun. Folks across lined up to varying degrees with 200 plus people waiting in front of Akihabara's Tsukumo Denki and another relatively large line at Yodobashi Camera. Hundreds also apparently hit the Bic Camera in Yurakucho. For balance know that hours before launch, there was no one to be seen in front of Osaka's Yodobashi Camera. However, sales do appear brisk, and Microsoft's gotta be thinking: Why can't we launch our consoles like this. Brian Ashcraft More »
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Rob Williams over at Techgage has been running Windows XP and Windows Vista through their gaming paces, comparing performance between the old clunky operating system and the shiny new powerhouse. The results? There seems to be something to say for clunky and familiar. More »
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