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Microsoft Games for Windows – LIVE

Mathew March 14, 2007 5:56 PM ET in Tech

Microsoft has taken a leap forward in their mission of bridging the gaming worlds of consoles and PCs by launching Games for Windows — LIVE. The service is very much like the popular Xbox LIVE setup and will kick off the same day as Halo 2 on May 8th, 2007. PC gamers planning to purchase Halo 2 will be able to connect with over six million gamers already in the Xbox LIVE community. Following the May release of Halo 2 for PC, games such as Shadowrun by Microsoft Game Studios and UNO by Carbonated Games/Mattel Inc, will both be released in 2007.

Games for Windows — LIVE will have a subscription fee if you want all the goodies. Microsoft will offer two packages, titled Silver (free) and Gold (fee) memberships. For the “premium” online network experience, the Gold membership will set you back $49.95 a year.

The memberships include the following:

Silver Membership Features

- Single gamertag

- Common gamer profile

- Common gamerscore

- Single player achievements

- Private chat via text and voice

- Common friends list and online presence

- PC only multiplayer including browsing a list of active PC games

Gold Membership Features

- All Silver membership features

- Multiplayer matchmaking with friends

- TrueSkill™ matchmaking

- Multiplayer achievements

- Cross-platform gameplay

One question comes to mind: Will there be an advantage to a PC gamer running the latest-and-greatest hardware over the standard hardware in a Xbox 360? We’ll find out in two months.

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9 Comments:

  1. Thrax
    Cad
    15 Mar '07, 7:41 am

    Hey Microsoft. I'm not paying you $50 to play FPS games, and you offer none of the depth and breadth of an MMO. Kthxfoad.

  2. primesuspect
    The Icrontic Guy
    15 Mar '07, 10:08 am

    I love xbox live. This is gonna be great.

  3. Mathew
    Sledgehammer70
    15 Mar '07, 10:25 am

    To be honest, I see this as another way for Microsoft to make massive money on a ho-hum service. Xbox Live is a great service on a console and yes I paid my yearly subscription fee, But the last thing I want to do is pay for the service for my PC when there is only 3 games... I mean Fileplanet and other sites like it offer access to Demo's and exclusive content, what makes this service any better? They should stick with consoles in regards to LIVE... just my 2 cents

  4. Thrax
    Cad
    15 Mar '07, 10:29 am
    Quoting Sledgehammer70

    To be honest, I see this as another way for Microsoft to make massive money on a ho-hum service. Xbox Live is a great service on a console and yes I paid my yearly subscription fee, But the last thing I want to do is pay for the service for my PC when there is only 3 games... I mean Fileplanet and other sites like it offer access to Demo's and exclusive content, what makes this service any better? The should stick with consoles in regards to LIVE... just my 2 cents

    Exactly. LIVE is great for consoles. GTFO my PCs.

  5. primesuspect
    The Icrontic Guy
    15 Mar '07, 11:29 am

    I mean, I agree that I would never pay for it if I only had a PC, but since I already have live gold for the 360, this is just candy

  6. TheGr81
    Veteran Short-Median
    15 Mar '07, 11:33 am

    Sad thing is, this is probably the only way to play these games over the internet on a PC. PC games have been online for years. Why should we have to pay now?

  7. Mathew
    Sledgehammer70
    15 Mar '07, 11:34 am

    I guess... In other words, gamers who want Xbox 360 games with a real mouse and controller are going to finally have to put up or shut up

  8. Gargoyle
    We can't stop here...
    15 Mar '07, 11:41 am
    Quoting TheGr81

    Sad thing is, this is probably the only way to play these games over the internet on a PC. PC games have been online for years. Why should we have to pay now?

    You can still play them online for free, but you need to pay to play with Xbox players.

    All I know is Halo 2 and this lackluster service is not the killer app that will make me switch to Vista.

  9. Winfrey
    kaishakunin
    15 Mar '07, 11:59 am

    How true ^^

    Although the chance to beat up on console players with the keyboard and mouse combo would be fun for a little while .

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