14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is a software company that is getting more and more involved in the game industry. Its Xbox 360 console is currently one of the best selling ones on the market, largely because of the fact that it has a very solid library of great games, like Gears of War or Dead or Alive, and because it offers players a great online service, which is Xbox Live.
The company tried to port this very successful service for the PC, branding the new Games For Windows campaign, as a great online service similar to Live on the Xbox 360. But things didn't go so well, as users reported functionality issues and the fact that the user interface was too troublesome for casual gamers, who just wanted to play a game.
The fact that Microsoft made the service completely free was received with mixed reactions. While PC gamers were happy, Xbox 360 users thought the decision wasn't fair as they needed to pay for a complete Live experience. Now, in another effort to attract the big number of PC gamers out there, Microsoft has unveiled the new user interface, which promises to deliver players a much more user friendly experience and to integrate itself with any GFW branded game, like the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV.
"We've revisited the concept [for Games for Windows – Live]. Rather than offer an 'Xbox Live for Windows' type experience, let's optimize the service for PC gamers – let's make a great PC online gaming service. As a result of that, we completely redid the interface," said Michael Wolf, marketing manager for Microsoft.
This new version of the GFW Live client is now available and the company has promised that in two to three weeks, a Live Marketplace, filled with demos and trailers for upcoming games, will be launched to offer players a complete online gaming experience.
Let's just hope that Microsoft takes the right steps with this service, because PC gamers are sometimes a bit reluctant to try anything that might completely change the way they play games.