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GTA IV On PC Goes Exclusive With 'Games For Windows Live'
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:27 PM
from the yeah-thanks dept.
from the yeah-thanks dept.
Erik J writes "Microsoft has announced that the PC version of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV will exclusively use Games for Windows Live for its multiplayer mode when it hits shelves November 18th. Rockstar founder Sam Houser explained the decision: 'As we work toward the release of the PC version, Games for Windows Live affords us the opportunity to seamlessly translate the multiplayer console experience for PC gamers, the service is a natural fit for the platform and we strongly believe it will help in building a strong online community around GTA IV PC.'"
Wired is running a story suggesting that this release could save the rather unpopular Microsoft PC gaming platform.
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Submission: GTA IV Goes Exclusive With Games for Windows Live by Anonymous Coward
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Motherfuckers. (Score:5, Insightful)
Wired is running a story suggesting that this release could save the rather unpopular Microsoft PC gaming platform.
Motherfuckers.
Re:Motherfuckers. (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree with parent. This just forces games to be even more locked on a platform than before.
This is not about saving or helping the pc market. It's about selling windows.
Parent
Re:Motherfuckers. (Score:4, Insightful)
This is not about saving or helping the pc market. It's about selling windows.
And poorly.
GFWL was originally Vista-only. The multiplayer support also used to have a yearly fee (aside from the gimped Silver plan), while disallowing developers to have any game features they considered competitive to GFWL's (eg. voice communication and achievements).
So they release a multiplayer-only game ported from a console version (Shadowrun) using GFWL Vista-only, pay-to-play multiplayer. Surprise, surprise, it doesn't sell.
They've back-pedalled somewhat now, making GFWL free and supporting XP, but they seriously shot themselves in the foot, and will have a long way to go before they reverse the damage done to the GFWL name in the minds of gamers.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Man 2 supportive posts and -1 troll :(
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And whose fault was that? They left the code for a SCREWING game in a game they KNOW is going to be looked at by modders! If they use that as an excuse to kill modding with that crappy live(again,if I wanted a freakin' Xbox I would have bought one,okay?) then the game deserves to tank.
I swear,more and more it is looking like those that make PC games don't want to make money. First EA with their "we'll screw them and make them pay full price for a rental!" and now Take2 puts one of the biggest mod games a
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Why would I want some shitty in-house voice comm setup / achievements / server browser / login system?
Take a look at how well Steam works when you force people to use the "platform" services.
There is nothing worse than using some crappy server browser designed for a console without being able to do things like "click column headings to sort". Just like every damn EA driving game.
In fact I've always said that the best menu system for a game was a standard damn Windows Forms app with standard bloody common co
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Ok, so two Slashdotters won't buy it because they hate Microsoft. Then again, if they already hate Microsoft, they already don't have an Xbox or a Windows computer to run it on anyway, right?
Re:BSOD (Score:5, Funny)
No, BSoD is a free, bundled feature of Windows.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
No, I must have missed that. Damn. It goes a long way to explaining all the DRM stuff, though. Piracy of BSoD could be a serious problem in Redmond's view, considering how integral fatal errors are to the whole Windows experience.
It really says: (Score:4, Insightful)
The multiplayer console experience (Score:2)
"Games for Windows Live affords us the opportunity to seamlessly translate the multiplayer console experience for PC gamers"
Exactly how seamlessly? As I understand it, "the multiplayer console experience" involves inviting a couple friends over to my house and playing Smash Bros. together on my 32" Vizio monitor. Does Games for Windows certification guarantee that PC games will let me and a friend play with one PC, one monitor, and two gamepads? Or will players still have to buy a separate PC per person?
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If the game supports xinput and you have two xbox controllers plugged in then it shouldn't be a problem.
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If the game supports xinput and you have two xbox controllers plugged in then it shouldn't be a problem.
Unless the game supports DirectInput or XInput but refuses to read more than one controller per PC.
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Actually i'd guess its not money just effort. I dont know much about multiplayer game platforms but id guess microsoft are offering a well designed wasy to use interface to sort out all the multiplayer stuff that will be alot easier than developing thier own for scratch. Unfortunately for those of us not on windows, this is the same trick they used to get directx everywhere and few games will turn their noeses up at an easy to implement multiplayer system for xbox-live AND windows-live. The real kicker is t
Popular, unpopular (Score:2)
Re:Popular, unpopular (Score:4, Insightful)
That's the point. It's not Games for Windows Live that sells GTA, it's GTA that sells Games for Windows Live.
On the plus side, I'm glad I didn't wait for GTA IV to be released before buying the rest of the series on Steam.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Not being available on Steam reduces the chance that I will buy a PC game by about 90% these days. It is just so handy to have all my games in the same location, automatic patching, no need to worry about CD keys etc.
If GTA IV doesn't come on Steam I won't be buying it. That said I would take this announcement with a very large game of salt. Considering GTA IV was announced as being exclusive to pretty much every platform in existance before its release it is more likely that they have some little piddling
GFW - good GFW LIVE - bad (Score:4, Informative)
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GFW Live is free. Website quote time:
Introducing Games for Windows LIVE, the free gaming service built for Windows that makes great Windows games even better. With Games for Windows LIVE, you get an online identity called a gamertag and a friends list that works across multiple games, the XBOX 360, and even the Zune music service. You can easily find and communicate with your friends online with text and voice chat. Earn achievements and Gamerscore that lets you track and compare your accomplishments.
Play multiplayer games with your friends, or play against new opponents online using our exclusive TrueSkill matchmaking system with other Windows® players or with or against XBOX 360 players (in supported games.)
All of this is possible today and at no charge.
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Let's pretend that I was confirming it for him.
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Please tell me this forces them to use some sort of standard server browser like Steam does. Nothing shits me more than some horrible fucking server browser without the standard gridview control. Yes you EA fucks, I'm looking at you.
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I LOATHE this "all games save in the same place" stuff. When I set my system up I had a small system partition and a main partition so I could reinstall Windows without wiping everything. Now with this I have to remember to back stuff up. Not only that, developers aren't using common sense. Right now I have games:
That set up their own directory in the Documents and Settings directory.
That save their games in a directory named after the game in the My Documents directory.
That save their games in a directory
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Well, games that are writing to your user folder are doing the "correct" thing, according to Microsoft.
http://ati.amd.com/developer/SwedenTechDay/02_Preparing_Games_for_Windows_Vista.pdf [amd.com]
It's not just about sharing - it's about security practices as well. If you are not running with Administrator privileges (which normal users are *supposed* to be running at), then these user directories are the only legitimate places an application can freely write to. In Vista, writing to the program files directory will
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Uhm, you are aware that "Documents and settings" corresponds to /home/ on Unix systems? If you are running a two-partition setup where you wish to have a separate "System partition", you are SUPPOSED to set up your home dirs on the other partition. Just configure your system to store profiles on your "D:". Or use symlinks (junctions in NTFS parlance).
How to move My Documents (Score:2)
That save their games in a directory named after the game in the My Documents directory.
Another thing that the other replies didn't point out: Google lists a bunch of guides on how to move My Documents [google.com].
Re: (Score:2)
look at all the servers letting cracked copies of call of duty4 play
. don't you think this is them just trying to stop that? Ok people will still play copies offline but the online co-op play is what they are pushing.
Wait, what? (Score:4, Insightful)
Rockstar founder Sam Houser explained the decision: 'They paid us. Cash. A big green pile of the stuff. We had our own code for it, but nobody was paying us to use it. They said we have to spew some bullshit about how great it is without making it sound like it's about the money. Whatever. I can do that.'
There. Fixed that for him.
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Well, there is precedent. [penny-arcade.com]
Path of least resistance (Score:5, Informative)
GTA IV already used XBox Live on the 360. Given that the PC port was most likely from the 360 codebase, it would have taken more effort to not use GFWL than to use it. Of course the PR spin won't mention this.
Parent
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Yep. Microsoft did a great job with their API on the 360, and it makes using Live for a PC port a no-brainer from the development side. I just wish it was anywhere even near the level of completeness that Steam is now.
This is my corner, whore. (Score:2, Funny)
Microsoft: Exclusively beating up hookers to sell Windows since 2008.
What about Steam? (Score:2)
Does anyone know if this excludes the possibility of GTA IV being released on Steam? Can we expect a Steam release?
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exclusive means no.
I think this is a monumental blunder on Take2's part.
It may have been a sound 'business' decision, but it is the wrong one.
Take2 has already seen a return on Steam. "Games for Windows" is a failing platform. I will certainly not be purchasing any G4W games.
Take2, I was looking forward to a Steam release.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes, Mac games are crap. They only have:
World of Warcraft: Biggest MMORPG in the world.
Spore: The most hyped game in many years.
Football Manager: The top selling game in Europe every year.
No recent releases or big games there, no siree...
So what if it is powered by Cider? (Score:2)
To make matters worse Spore for mac isn't exactly native application. It uses some sort of windows environment. I believe the term for this is "ciderized".
So what? Qt is a toolkit. GTK+ is a toolkit. SDL is a toolkit. Cider is a toolkit too; it just happens to resemble the Windows environment enough to get games to work. The game engine still runs natively on the Mac's Intel Core processor, not in emulation like, say, Virtual Console games from Wii Shop Channel. What feels non-native about a game that uses Cider once it starts running?
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What feels non-native about a game that uses Cider once it starts running?
performance, well given that spore was developed for cider it will probably be OK, but despite not being an emulator wine simply cant perform as well as windows (well until it gets a kernel module anyway)
Re: (Score:2)
don't blame the platform for dev house laziness/corruption.
Dev houses refuse to develop for anything but MS proprietary Direct X.
Never mind the fact XGL and OpenGL are just as viable, if not more so, than the oh so resource-efficient MS implementations.
There are two possible and equally likely reasons for this:
microsoft bribery
pure unmitigated laziness
Apple in particular outsells PC on many major college campuses. There is no "disparity" between the two platforms among the demographics they are trying to ta
Re:Won't see 'Games for Mac' anytime soon (Score:5, Informative)
Never mind the fact XGL and OpenGL are just as viable, if not more so, than the oh so resource-efficient MS implementations.
I sense sarcasm where there shouldn't be any. Do some research on OpenGL, specifically how it manages resources compared to DirectX, and you'll see why so many developers pick the latter. I'll also quote John Carmack:
"Actually, DX9 is really quite a good API level. Even with the D3D side of things, where I know I have a long history of people thinking I'm antagonistic against it. Microsoft has done a very, very good job of sensibly evolving it at each step - they're not worried about breaking backwards compatibility - and it's a pretty clean API. I especially like the work I'm doing on the 360, and it's probably the best graphics API as far as a sensibly designed thing that I've worked with."
Parent
Because of Games for Xbox 360 (Score:2)
There are two possible and equally likely reasons for this:
A third:
As I understand it, Xbox 360's native graphics API is a version of DirectX similar to that included with Windows, not OpenGL. So unless an Xbox 360 licensee is planning to port its product to PS3 (which uses OpenGL ES) or Wii (which uses GX, Nintendo's variant of OpenGL), it can make a business case for targeting only DirectX.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
OpenGL is really lagging behind DirectX now.
Actually, its not. OpenGL is on par with Direct3D. It the API that sucks, because the core API no longer accurately reflects modern hardware, and everything thats nice is in new 2.1 features + extensions, which are progressing into an object model similar to Longs Peak. Therefore, right now OpenGL is a mixed bag - state machine style initialization for textures, object model style initialization for pixel/vertex/framebuffer objects & shaders.
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I was speaking about macs
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
They could open source the code but not open source the graphics. That's what Id does. That way you still have to buy the game for the graphics.
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Yes I think I saw Id recently open sourcing Hexen 2 or something.
Id does not "open source the code" unless you are stretching "open sourcing the code when its ten bloody years old and throwaway value anyway".
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They probably had a brain, unlike you.
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where does it say that?
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"OMG, is the most important and crucial thing ever! Let's stop anything else we do and act like nothing else matters!".
That's why I hate hippies, not because I think Eric Cartman is cool, but because that's all you guys ever do, get obsessed with a few issues, act like it's the most important thing ever and not leave anyone alone until you made them care about it.
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