New Features Incoming for Games For Windows Live

PC gaming has been plagued by a lot of analysts that proclaimed it dead and were quick to deem consoles as the main platforms for which developers would create games. But, as we've seen yesterday, thanks to the PC Gaming Alliance, in 2008 the PC was pretty successful and managed to generate a big amount of profit for all of the companies involved.

Now, as the Game Developers Conference is currently underway in San Francisco, United States, Microsoft seized the opportunity to implement new features in its Games For Windows Live service. As you all know, GFW Live aims to offer a similar experience for PC users as Xbox 360 owners get from their own Live service, providing them with game demos, downloadable content and the chance to interact and play with friends.

Although seriously lagging behind Valve's Steam, GFW has made considerable progress, says Microsoft, which has presented three top improvements made to the service. First and foremost, an anti-piracy solution that will prevent gamers from playing games before their release date and force them to authenticate their copy before being able to play online.

New in-game marketplace APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) have also been introduced so that publishers can completely customize their own page on the GFW Live Marketplace and offer players a more lasting experience. Also, GFW has now introduced a roaming facility, similar to Steam Cloud, which tracks all of the player's data, including save games and preferences, on central servers, allowing him or her quick access to them wherever he or she goes.

“This update and other features currently in development represent a tipping point in the evolution of Games for Windows – Live as a leading online PC gaming network,” said Ron Pessner, general manager of Games for Windows – Live. “In the coming months, we will continue to deliver on our promise to provide gamers and publishers with the industry’s best connected gaming experiences through the Live service.”

With such improvements, and blockbuster titles like Grand Theft Auto IV, Fallout 3 or Dawn of War II being all GFW Live enabled, it seems that Steam might face a serious opponent in the future.