Redmond, Washington — Software major Microsoft’s Games for Windows Live software, which offers digital game sales, friend lists and DRM to publishers, is geared up to launch an online gaming store. Starting November 15, Microsoft will begin selling about 100 Windows PC games directly online, the company announced Friday.
Currently, Microsoft’s Games for Windows Marketplace is so strange: an online site that compels you to download special software first before you can download any games. So it is with some apprehension that we read Joystiq’s report that Microsoft is planning a revamp of the whole system, particularly the Games for Windows Marketplace.
The purpose of the upcoming site is to engage more publishers selling games through the platform, allowing Microsoft to compete a little more effectively with third parties like Steam that have taken over the Windows gaming ship while Microsoft’s been away from the tiller.
Microsoft will revamp its Games for Windows Live service in November with an overhauled interface. (Image courtesy Microsoft)
“With Games for Windows Marketplace, we take the initiative to create a digital store for PC gamers, end-to-end,” Kevin Unangst, Microsoft senior global director of PC and mobile gaming, said in a statement. “And by integrating with our existing Xbox Live and Windows Live services, we have made it easer than ever for millions of gamers to see for themselves how easy buying PC games can be.”
Users can access Games for Windows from any computer, and Microsoft said that download speed is much faster. It focuses on a handful of Windows games that can connect to the Xbox Live service. Moreover, it also said the store will have specials like a “Deal of the Week” and certain seasonal sales. Within the store, users can search games and visit pages of different publishers.
According to Microsoft, at the time of the launch, there will be about 100 games available on the store, which will include popular titles such as Rockstar Games’s “Grand Theft Auto III” and Capcom’s “Dead Rising 2,” “Lost Planet 2,” “Max Payne,” “Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition,” “Flight Simulator,” “Gears of War,” “Halo,” “Zoo Tycoon,” “Fable III,” “Age of Empires Online” and “Microsoft Flight” will also be offered.
“We plan to distribute some of our biggest and best PC franchises on Games for Windows Marketplace from day one,” said Chistian Svensson, Capcom’s corporate officer and vice president of strategic planning and business development. “Digital distribution continues to drive growth in PC gaming, and we are thrilled to partner with Microsoft and bring amazing games to this growing marketplace.”
Although the timing of the announcement is a bit awkward. The new store will be available on at www.gamesforwindows.com. It will integrate existing Xbox Live online console gaming service and Windows Live, which is meant for PC gamers.
Users with a Windows Live ID, including Windows Live, Xbox Live, Games for Windows (Live or Zune account), can login to start browsing the store immediately, and they can purchase games using a credit card or Microsoft Points.
Nevertheless, it seems like this is something Microsoft has been plotting for a while, especially to correspond with the launch of Age of Empires Online. It has even shipped over Peter Orullian, who helped Microsoft sort out digital distribution on Xbox Live, to manage the relaunch.
Microsoft does not mints much money from selling PC games, besides it has poured down a lot of money and energy building up the Xbox business. But die-hard PC gamers tend to buy high-end boxes running the latest versions of Windows. So promoting PC gaming still makes good business sense. Now, it very much remains to be seen how gamers will respond when the revamp hits on November 15.