Microsoft Closes Xbox.com PC Marketplace 158
SmartAboutThings writes "Microsoft is definitely changing things in its gaming department: it has now announced in a support note on the Xbox site that it will be shutting down the Xbox.com PC Marketplace on August 22nd. This comes shortly after news that Microsoft hired former Steam boss Jason Holtman, whose mission at Redmond is to 'make Windows great for gaming.' The Microsoft Points system will be retired on August 22nd as well. The Games for Windows Live client software will not be affected, at least initially, letting you play previously purchased games."
Future of Microsoft?!? (Score:3, Insightful)
"and let's see if we can whip of a decent clone of Space Invaders."
Really, to make Windows more game friendly kick all that cruft out of it which pre-loads into memory just in case I want to fire up Excel, which I don't have installed and foolishness like that. To be game friendly it needs to be lean, not bloated.
Re:"letting you play previously purchased games." (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:"letting you play previously purchased games." (Score:5, Insightful)
"letting us play" (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm thankful I'm being permitted to play the game I bought. Fortunately I only bought one game with that "windows live" abomination strapped onto it.
Joys of DRM.
I dont think they ever really wanted to until Win8 (Score:5, Insightful)
See, The Xbox PC marketplace, the once or twice I used it, was never really a desirable means of doing anything. Every time I tried something, it would only be available on Xbox...because apparently hiding things that can't be used on a PC was an insurmountable task. It didn't seem to do cool things like let you play PC versions of Xbox games you own or save my game of Batman Arkham Asylum that was a GFWL title such that I could pick up where I left off after a format...
It surprises me that Microsoft has traditionally done such a piss poor job of integrating ANYTHING involving gaming or software purchasing into the OS. Maybe now with Win8 they'll take it a bit more seriously, but I'm still shocked they didn't partner with EA years ago and make a windows-integrated service that precluded the necessity of Origin in the first place.
Re:"letting you play previously purchased games." (Score:4, Insightful)
The two are not the same.
Netflix you are renting X files for the next 30 days. You know this. No expectations that you can stop playing the £Y and movies will still magic onto your tellybox.
"Buy" a game from Steam/Xbox/Origin/what evs and you pay just the once and expect it to continue working.
One you are getting a service, the other you are getting a product.
Don't worry... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sure they won't do this to the Windows 8 Marketplace.
Always complainers (Score:2, Insightful)
The way I see it, MS could write everybody on /. a $10 000 cheque and slashdotters would turn around and say it wasn't done right. Just cause it's MS.
Re:"letting us play" (Score:2, Insightful)
The submitter / slashdot editors intentionally worded the summary that way to get a rise out of you. Don't rise to the troll bait.
The article itself is worded differently and implies that you of course have access to your previously purchased content which was obviously never in question. The summary here however is worded inflammatorily as "at least for now" and "letting you".
Don't make it so easy for people to treat you as a monkey.
Re:"letting you play previously purchased games." (Score:5, Insightful)
Until GoG closes and you have to reformat and can't actually download the game from them again.
There's thing thing called 'backups', dude. You see, Gog actually give you an installer file that installs the game, you don't have to download it from them every time you want to install it.
Re:"letting you play previously purchased games." (Score:5, Insightful)
And this is the kind of crap people love having to deal with when they just want to play a game that's installed on their PC, on their PC.
GFWL is the DRM scheme that makes other DRM schemes look good.