14 DAY TRIAL // The surprising release of Fable III on the PC may be the signal of better things to come from Microsoft for Windows-based gamers. Apparently, the company wants to promote Windows 7 also as a gaming medium and Fable III is just the first step in this direction, according to an internal Q&A sheet. Microsoft may be happy with how the Xbox 360 is doing for the moment and may be trying new ways to convince users to adopt its latest operating system.
This document, which was picked up by Kotaku, is meant to brief Microsoft official spokespersons on how to answer various possible questions at press conferences. One of the questions mentioned on the Q&A sheet is, “Does Fable III on Windows signal a larger reinvestment by Microsoft in PC gaming? How is this different from the previous times you've announced a reinvestment in PC gaming and not quite come through with a robust offering?”
While the answer does suffer from a bad case of Public Relations ambiguity, it does clearly state that, “Windows 7 is a world-class gaming platform, and you can bet Microsoft has a vested interest in using it as a platform for amazing first party content. Fable III on Windows as well as Xbox 360 this holiday is a great first step, and we'll have more news for you later this summer.”
The fact the gaming-capable PC components are starting to become more and more accessible to average consumers could be the reason why Microsoft may want to capitalize on a market that it largely left behind when it launched the Xbox 360. This will not be an easy task for Microsoft, as online retailers like Steam have done a lot to aggregate the PC gaming community and give developers profitable ways to distribute their titles on the platform. Fable III is developed by Lionhead and published by Microsoft Games and will be launched on the 26th of October, but no mention has been made yet of whether the launch will take place simultaneously on the PC and on the Xbox 360.