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General: An Interview with Microsoft
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
Carolyn Koh gets caught up in the red tape at Microsoft and talks to their PR group in Seattle, WA about Games for Windows, DirectX 10, and how it applies to MMORPG gamers. She also throws in her own editorial voice in some cases.
Recently, in my queries into Gaming hardware, I managed to speak to both Razer and Microsoft, eventually netting the interview with the mover and shaker, Robert "Razerguy" Krakoff.
Writing about Razer and our hardware reviews naturally led to their collaboration with Microsoft. Talking to Microsoft wasn't as easy. After many leads, passes and attempts, I ended up with their local PR group here in Seattle. The studio visit may yet happen, but until then, I have answers from the PR group in response to my queries about where Microsoft thinks Gaming and MMORPGs are going. I think I gave them a hard time because I crossed Hardware with Gaming and they had to get the proper answers from the right groups. Give the answers the pinch of salt they deserve. This is Microsoft. They have channels they need to go through.
Read the interview here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
Well I know it is hard to put people on the spot, especially if you want follow ups, but the real question you should have asked was isn't Games for Windows just a veiled attempt at getting more people to buy into Vista?
I have seen the differences between a DX10 implementation and a DX9 one. It blows no ones socks off, at least none of the current games. It does allow more objects on the screen, but you really have to look for it, it is many times not obvious at first glance. So your blows your socks off comment was really a journalistic gaff supporting the Vista mystique.
Games for Windows is a thinly veiled attempt by Microsoft to tap into the economics of internet games. They want their share of the pie. Tying it with Vista just helps them sell more of their over priced OS. Since, when you get down to it, Vista offers very little that the prior XP does not have.
Maybe that would be because a game has to be explicitly written for DX10--which no current games are afaik.
Apply lemon juice and candle flame here to reveal secret message.
Personally and for once I might deserve a tin foil hat for this...I think Vista is going to be the end of PC games as we know it unless game companies come up with alternatives like making their engines in OpenGL instead of DX10. Vista does not run well on half the pc's they're being put on. I went into a Best Buy while they were demoing Vista on desktops and laptops. They're selling machines with 512 megs of ram with vista on them!!!! Vista eats up 500 megs of ram just on idle. Unless Microsoft gets their memory manegement fixed, or allows for you to properly turn off all the stupid controls (security features) that eat up that 500 megs of ram... i won't be touching it myself.
They want people to use vista, they want them to use DX10 to build games, but they forget OpenGL still exists and in no time DX10's special features like the new shader model and light models will work in OpenGL too.
The fact they want to push their new windows for games as a pay per month even for single player games / game rental system alone tells me life is going to suck for us pc gamers unless game makers finally say we've had enough. (i can't remember where i read this so don't ask, if i find a link to it'll post it)
I really wanted to believe pc gaming life was going to remain strong but Microsoft's barbaric overlord self indulgent ways just keep dousing those beliefs and hopes more and more.
Microsoft despite how good the 360 is and how some of their games are awsome...are nothing but a bunch of money grubbling bas****s.
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!
I have Vista. It's on a shelf next to my computer. It seems to work best there
I have 4gigs of ram and it still slowed down my machine. It also blew a hard drive and 2 Nvidia 7800gtx's. Thank god Evga is such a great company and replaced the cards.
How about a refund, Bill?
CH, Jedi, Commando, Smuggler, BH, Scout, Doctor, Chef, BE...yeah, lots of SWG time invested.
Once a denizen of Ahazi
I see Vista as a step in the right direction for PC gaming. Down the line it will make developing games much easier. Which in effect should create better games. This won't happen overnight of course.
---------------
Tested over a 115+ games since 1997.
Currently Playing:
Played(Retired): AOL NWN(91-95), UO, EQ1/2, DAoC, CoX, Lineage1/2, SWG(Pre CU/NGE), Planetside, Anarchy Online, FFXI, AC, Vanguard, D&D, AoC, DCUO, Rift, Eve, others
And that is why...
Conservatives' pessimism is conducive to their happiness in three ways. First, they are rarely surprised -- they are right more often than not about the course of events. Second, when they are wrong they are happy to be so. Third, because pessimistic conservatives put not their faith in princes -- government -- they accept that happiness is a function of fending for oneself. They believe that happiness is an activity -- it is inseparable from the pursuit of happiness.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
I have windows vista on a dual core with 3 GB ram and a Nvidia 8800 GTS, running like a charm. I can play all games without slowing down the computer.
Surely you must have set some hardware wrong in your computer to blow it up. I have no problems whatsoever.
Vista is a POS...
Vista = Windows XP + all the bells in whistles, some restrictive coding and cute theatrics included to make the interface look nice and fresh.
Microsoft Marketing: Design a strange, reflective and otherwise miss-shaped box and people will flock it... That is if they aren't forced to upgrade due to new program restrictions by Microsoft... Fascist bastards.
Halo 2 for XP users please?! Microsoft's response was hell no.
Gaming based... w/e. More like a memory and hard drive space whore...
If they want to make a more game friendly operating system take up less memory, hard drive space and CPU.
On topic:
What I think microsoft needs to do is merge PC gaming and Xbox 360 gaming, making peripherals that are made for being played on both units. General gaming accessories that merge the xbox franchise with their pc gaming franchise into one entity, thus providing reason for xbox gamers and pc gamers to buy the same accessories as well as have some support for a dual platform gaming focus.
I have to admit, microsoft needs to ditch the "microsoft" logo they put on their razer developed keyboard and mouse and have either a cool GWI logo or the Xbox logo because right now it doesnt look like it would want to attract gamers. People like me who would rather buy a much gamer looking razer mouse without the "microsoft" text all over it and a better looking keyboard. If microsoft would be smart, they should treat the PC gaming audience like they do their xbox audience in terms of over all style of product.
Cant wait for some Direct X 10 btw, too bad I cant enjoy it now because Vista at the moment sucks for gaming.
Finally, I have to say the best looking OS on the market is actually free and its not windows nor apples sad excuse for an OS. Its actually Linux. Believe it or not, linux has finally produced the best lookin OS, too bad though its limited by what it can run. If linux could run everything Windows could, i would use it all the time. Check out Linux Ubuntu with Beryl if you dont believe me. ALso heres a video comparison.
Like most corps. they wont tell you shit. They really arent allowed to. This may be a bit off topic but www.techpowerup.com has 2 nice guildes for turning off un-needed stuff in windows xp and vista. I always use them when I do a reinstall.
We're second class gamers to MS.
Games for Windows is a big disappointment, and just an attempt to get the Vista name on as many PC game boxes as they can.
I'll believe MS means business when I see some quality Games for Windows games, and not a crappy sign over a shelf.
Just a bunch of hype.
Wish Darkfall would release.
Ubuntu with Beryl desktop and wine for pc games. More people need to make the change over to linux, give MS a run for their money. Some competition might actually spur MS to give some priority to gamers.
edit: And on another note...when registering games, add linux to the OS of choice and feedback to gaming companies to make games that work in linux or MS windows.
Archlinux ftw
Truth
I also like "Windows Vista was built around gaming." Yeah, is that why 99% of all of my games have to be tweaked to work on it?
MMO games played or tested: EQ, DAoC, Archlord, Auto Assault, CoH, CoV, EQ2, EVE, Guild Wars, Hellgate: London, Linneage II, LOTRO, MxO, Planetside, SWG, Sword of the New World, Tabula Rasa, Vanguard, WWIIOL, WOW, Age of Conan
Vista is a POS, it's simply over bloat software, and as for Games for Window, it's M$ attempt at actually moving Vista to us poor gamers.
With all the versions of Vista you'd think they could have offered a lean fast, no bloat version for gamers.
On topic:
What I think microsoft needs to do is merge PC gaming and Xbox 360 gaming, making peripherals that are made for being played on both units. General gaming accessories that merge the xbox franchise with their pc gaming franchise into one entity, thus providing reason for xbox gamers and pc gamers to buy the same accessories as well as have some support for a dual platform gaming focus.
I have to admit, microsoft needs to ditch the "microsoft" logo they put on their razer developed keyboard and mouse and have either a cool GWI logo or the Xbox logo because right now it doesnt look like it would want to attract gamers. People like me who would rather buy a much gamer looking razer mouse without the "microsoft" text all over it and a better looking keyboard. If microsoft would be smart, they should treat the PC gaming audience like they do their xbox audience in terms of over all style of product.
Cant wait for some Direct X 10 btw, too bad I cant enjoy it now because Vista at the moment sucks for gaming.
Finally, I have to say the best looking OS on the market is actually free and its not windows nor apples sad excuse for an OS. Its actually Linux. Believe it or not, linux has finally produced the best lookin OS, too bad though its limited by what it can run. If linux could run everything Windows could, i would use it all the time. Check out Linux Ubuntu with Beryl if you dont believe me. ALso heres a video comparison.
I swear, I have installed on my computer SWG, Vanguard, WoW, Call of Duty 1 and 2, Supremacy, Eve Online, Far Cry, Everquest 2, Lineage 2, Halflife and Halflife 2 and CS and all those other mods, ...
They are all instsalled in Vista premium and I have no problems whatsoever. believe it or not.
I do have disabled the ennoying security whining from Vistsa, because, since I am educating ICT in highschool I know what I am doing with computers, I don't need the Vista whining on all that I am doing
. So like now Vista does not ask any administrator password anymore for starting up a game or for other things. 
For me personally Vista is an improvement on XP. I loved XP, worked like a charm. true, I had to buy extra RAM and a better GFX-card, but it is still cheaper then buying a new computer. The lowest score I have is 4.9 for my processor because it is only a 3.0 dual core (not a dual core2) the rest goes up till maximum even
Has anyone had improved performance by using the most basic version of Vista over the premium ones?
If they want people to move over to vista then Microsoft should work together with the hardware companies to get those buggy and bad performing drivers fixed as soon as possible. They also should not give drivers that cause any problems Certifications (i heared enough about compatibilty problems even with certified drivers).
Make vista the superior platform then players will migrate, not when you make your new games only compatible with vista and that os is still casing lots of problems and most tech personaly tells you to stay away from it for at least half a year/year still. Their current approach only gets players skip buying those vista only games. (yes some will still buy vista for these games, but there are high chances that they will be unhappy and you will have even more people tellign you to stay away from vista).
3.4ghz Phenom II X4 965, 8GB PC12800 DDR3 GSKILL, EVGA 560GTX 2GB OC, 640GB HD SATA II, BFG 1000WATT PSU. MSI NF980-G65 TRI-SLI MOBO.
whats wit blaming peoples PC's. if their computer worked properly, then install vista only to eventually crap out and no longer function. there is something to be said about the functionaliy, stability, and otherwise credibility of VISTA as a OS. and the nvidia drivers or amd/ati drivers are equally at fault too.
i think it silly to automatically point the blame at the end user when their pc runs perfectly. then WHAMMO!!!! coincidence? i think not. which is another reason im afraid to upgrade. cause id would go absolutely King Kong Al bundy Apesh*T, if my HD or video card fried on me when i installed ViSTA.
lets just say Me and Micro$poof would have a serious exchange of words to put it mildly. but back to the subject at hand, does it have potential? eh....maybe, depends, give it another 6 months and we can determine that. right now, its a worthless $299 paperweight or frisbee, or hood ornament, or a shiny thing that hangs from your mirror in your car for that special "bling" that only a Windows VIsta CD gives..
3.4ghz Phenom II X4 965, 8GB PC12800 DDR3 GSKILL, EVGA 560GTX 2GB OC, 640GB HD SATA II, BFG 1000WATT PSU. MSI NF980-G65 TRI-SLI MOBO.
I applaude MMORPG.com's attempt and I think the questions asked were good ones. But, Microsoft's responses read like a mix between a marketing brochure and a defense attorney's objections in a court room. What a bunch of stuffed shirts they are. I run XP, but I'm never going to help them stuff their pockets by buying that Vista junk. I'll give up PC gaming and buy a PS3 first.