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Shipping Windows 7 Earns Microsoft 1 Billion Gamerscore

Paul Lilly — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:30:30 -0600

Director of Programming for Xbox Live Larry Hryb (better known as Major Nelson) is a few weeks late on this one, but we still give him props for a pretty hilarious Achievement issued to Microsoft: Shipped Windows 7. Unlocking the novelty Achievement adds a billion points to Microsoft's Gamerscore (even if Apple gets the assist).

"We've been a little busy around the Xbox offices getting ready for the Facebook, Twitter, Last.FM, and Zune Video marketplace release coming up. We did, however, wanted to recognize the occasion the best way we know how: with an Achievement! We had a banner made up for everyone on the LIVE team to sign, then we hung it up in the lobby of the main Windows building," Hryb wrote on his blog.

Well played, Major Nelson.

Image Credit: MajorNelson.com

Analyst: Prepare to Pay More (A Lot More) for Xbox Live

Paul Lilly — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:15:55 -0500

Here's some potentially bad news for Xbox 360 console gamers - according to market analyst Michael Pachter, the price of an Xbox Live Gold subscription will shoot up to $100 per year, perhaps as early as 2011. What the hell?

"You can't hook into Xbox LIve Gold if he's playing on a PC," Pachter said on how Microsoft seemingly abandoned the PC as a gaming platform. "That's the other problem - you really want to hook every gamer who has a 360, you want them to buy all their games on 360, play everything multiplayer, pay you 50 bucks a year so that, in a couple of years, it's a 100 bucks a year."

While the numbers might be up for debate, Pachter seems convinced that Gold subscription prices are definitely on the rise. But is he off his rocker?

Current Gold level subs run $50 per year, or half of where Pacther predicts pricing is headed towards. In return, gamers get access to online multiplayer gaming, the ability to stream Netflix movies to your console (provided you're also a Netflix subscriber), and a few other odds and ends. Minus a few proprietary features, it's all stuff you can do on the PC for free, so it would be a tough sell to up and double the price of a sub in a 24-month time span.

Would you pay $100 for an Xbox Live Gold subscription? Sound off in the comments section below!

Netflix Passes 10 Million User Mark

Andy Salisbury — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:32:09 -0600

It looks like everyone’s favorite online DVD rental service has seen 6 percent growth in just one month, and they’re now boasting over 10 million subscribers.

While many of these subscribers remain the average, web-queue using type, a significant portion of the newcomers are thanks to Xbox Live. To date, over one million people have downloaded the Xbox Live client, allowing the online streaming service to take huge prescient, and bringing in a mighty profit.

This number is expected to grow from here to 10.1-10.3 million subscribers by the end of Q1 of this year, and all the way up to 10.6-11.3 million by the end of this fiscal year.

Image Credit: Microsoft, Netflix

The 9 Things Microsoft Got Right

Alex Castle — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0600

In the Holiday 2008 issue of Maximum PC we published a list called “9 Things Microsoft Got Right.” It was a lovely list, of course, but thanks to the space limitations of the print magazine we weren’t able to go into much detail about each of the items on it. We decided that the topic was interesting enough that it deserved more than that, so we’ve rewritten it for the web, with more information and analysis.

So, without further ado, here’s our list of the top 9 things that Microsoft got right:

Mainstreaming the PC

Early PCs were anything but user-friendly. Incredibly esoteric interfaces were hardly intuitive, and sky-high price-points meant that anyone who wanted to learn to use the machines had to be either independently wealthy or willing to give up their earthly attachments just to buy in.

Not that early Windows machines were cheap, either, but they were relatively easy to use, and by appealing to the users who didn’t have the knowhow to use earlier OSes, Microsoft grew the userbase of its software, pushing PCs into the mainstream and subsequently forcing down prices.

The “Mostly Open” Platform

Calm down, Linux-lovers, no one’s going to claim that Windows is open source; just that Microsoft’s thorough and well-documented APIs have been a major factor in the rise of Windows as the dominant platform. Those APIs, in addition to the Redmond giant’s ongoing commitment to fostering a strong community of developers, have ensured a steady stream of killer apps for Windows, securing Microsoft’s place as top dog.

Xbox Live

The Xbox wasn’t the first console with online gaming (that honor goes to the criminally under-appreciated Sega Dreamcast) but it was the first to do it successfully. By requiring a broadband connection to access Xbox Live, Microsoft ensured the service would run much more quickly than the online offerings of its competitors (which didn’t even include Ethernet ports standard). And by unifying user’s accounts and community features across all games, Microsoft created a single, brand-able online experience.

Although the Xbox was never a serious contender for its generation’s top console, the success of Xbox Live, and its subsequent improvements on the 360 have proven that online gaming isn’t just for the PC.

Pushing Minimum Hardware Specification

Just like any software, Windows has system requirements, and with each version, the minimum system specs get goosed somewhat higher. On one hand, this is necessary to allow Microsoft to keep pushing the technical capabilities of its OS. But beyond just that, the Windows minimum system specs give developers who want their app to be runnable by all Windows users a lowest common denominator to shoot for. By incrementally increasing the minimum specifications, Microsoft raises this ceiling and ensures that applications continue to evolve.

The Mouse as a Business Tool

The mouse, which just recently had its 40th birthday, is nearly ubiquitous on the desktop computer. But everyone’s favorite peripheral hasn’t always been so popular; it took Microsoft’s Windows to make it that way.

That’s not to say that Windows was the first OS to utilize a mouse; the Macintosh GUI allowed users to point and click a year before Windows did. However, the device wasn’t taken seriously as anything more than a toy until Windows 3.x got wide acceptance as an office tool.

Bringing TCP/IP to the Masses

Microsoft’s decision to include a TCP/IP stack in Windows 95 was proof that the Redmond giant understood the growing importance of the internet as a tool for a broad consumer base. Together with the included version of Internet Explorer, this made a huge number of Windows users into first-time web surfers.

Supporting Legacy Devices and Apps at All Costs

Whenever Microsoft releases a new version of Windows, they get some flak over compatibility issues with programs written for previous versions of the OS. Despite this, Windows has the biggest backwards compatibility team in the industry, famous for writing “shims” for specific apps and games to make sure they work on newer versions of Windows, even when the app is incompatible because of shoddy programming on the original creators’ parts.

So even if they don’t get it right all the time, Windows has proven that they get the fundamental fact that if an upgraded version of an OS breaks your users programs, it’s not an upgrade at all.

DirectX

Our younger reader may not remember this, but there was a time when playing a game involved more than just double-clicking an icon. Instead, you had to exit Windows, boot up in DOS and run the game from there, all because developers preferred to write their games for DOS, which gave them direct access to the computer’s components, such as the display adapter. Fortunately, Microsoft understood how important it was to get developers writing games for Windows, so they created DirectX, a set of APIs that allowed programs to interface directly with the devices needed to create compelling media on the PC.

By listening to developers and giving them the tools they needed, Microsoft allowed gaming to flourish on the PC. If they hadn’t, who knows what modern games would be like…

Churros

Alright, so maybe the verdict is still out on the recent Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld ads. Nonetheless, the commercials did get one thing right. One brilliant inclusion proved that Microsoft truly, profoundly understands the zeitgeist of modern tech culture. The factor in question? Yes, that’s right: the churro factor.

Think what you will about the rest of the ads, but you cannot deny that churros are indeed a warm, chewy, cinnamon-dusted treat, and Microsoft can’t go wrong in associating their brand with the fried Spanish delicacy.

Xbox Live Marketplace

Michael Brown & Will Smith — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:00:50 -0500

The only way to play videos from the Xbox Marketplace is with your Xbox 360; any hard-drive-equipped 360 can download and play them.

It turns out that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is good for more than just playing games and streaming the occasional transcoded video file. Indeed, the game console can also be a source of movie and TV-episode downloads using Microsoft’s online store, Xbox 360 Marketplace.

Unlike most of the other services we tested, Marketplace doesn’t have a PC component. You rent movies using the Xbox’s interface and the videos are downloaded directly to the Xbox’s hard drive, where all the standard rules apply: You have 30 days to begin viewing and 24 hours to finish once you start. Of course, you’ll need a network-connected, hard drive-equipped Xbox 360 to play. And you should know that the browsing interface uses the Xbox’s standard design, which isn’t exactly “mom” friendly. TV content is for purchase only and typically costs $2 per episode. Each network’s key programming—think Lost and CSI—is available in high def for an extra buck, but don’t expect to see much from NBC here.

There isn’t a massive library of back content available—the service featured fewer than 400 movies as we went to press. In our catalog tests, Marketplace fared OK in the new-releases department, offering the same titles you’d have to fight over at the video store. It didn’t fare as well with classic and cult titles, but the good news is that much of the content for sale is also available in high definition. Like the other services that use WMV technology, videos rented from Marketplace suffer from the soft edges and large file sizes common to the codec. Standard-def movies look slightly worse than traditional DVDs, and the high-def content is noticeably inferior to Blu-ray.

For whatever insane reason, Microsoft chose to base the payment scheme for Marketplace around Microsoft Points, which have an extremely confusing conversion scheme. One dollar buys you 80 points, and each movie rental costs 360 points for standard-definition files and 480 points for high definition. For folks who have trouble with math, SD movies cost $4.50, while HD films cost $6. That makes SD movies on Xbox Live Marketplace pricier than the competition, but HD content is on par with Vudu’s prices for 1080p content. What’s more annoying is that you can’t buy just the number of points that you need. Instead, you have to buy points in multiples of $5. So, to rent a movie for $6, you need to buy at least $10 worth of points. Lame. Points are tied to your Xbox Gamertag. Assuming you have the points to make the purchase, click the purchase button and the video will start downloading. As soon as the Xbox has sufficiently filled its buffer, the content will begin playing.

Like the other WMV-powered services, Marketplace could use a codec refresh. Despite the outdated codec, this is one of the few services that actually delivers HD content. We’d also like to be able to play downloaded content on portable devices and our PCs. That just seems like a natural option, especially given the rich ecosystem that Microsoft has built for media playback. Finally, we’d really like to see a lot more content on the service. Three hundred movies and change just isn’t enough for serious movie buffs.

Hardware: $350
Movie rentals: $4 to $6
Movie purchases: N/A
TV episodes: $2

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Dear Microsoft, it's Time to Ditch Fix Games for Windows Live

Will Smith — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:57:34 -0600

It's no big secret that Games for Windows Live sucks. While the name is comically bad, it's the most minor problem facing the fledgling service. It misses much of the mojo that makes Xbox Live for the...um... Xbox awesome. Once you're in an actual Games for Windows Live-compatible game, it works OK, but even starting a game and getting connected to Live can be a big problem.

1. Fix the Friends List Problem

If Microsoft is serious about helping PC gaming, Microsoft has to get on the stick and, at bare minimum, bring Games for Windows Live to the same level as the Xbox version. That means we need an always-on application that monitors our friends list and lets our pals send us game invites while we aren't necessarily playing one of the few games that actually supports Live. Creating this app should be Microsoft's number 1 priority.

2. PC Gamers Demand Dedicated Servers

Shared listen servers may be acceptable for console gamers, but PC gamers demand the better connection that only a dedicated server can provide. While Games for Windows Live includes some support for dedicated servers, games played on dedicated servers don't contribute to your achievements or ranking online. That's just unacceptable. A killer online service for the PC must include fully-fledged support for dedicated servers. Hell, making this work would be of huge benefit to PC and Xbox customers--with dedicated servers, Team Fortress 2 would have stood a chance on Xbox 360.

3. Live for the PC is Generally Wonky

Games for Windows Live is plagued with connection problems, odd error messages, tricky-to-install updates, and a host of other problems make GfW Live more frustrating than fun. Some games suffered from epic matchmaking queues. Some seem to work, but never connect. Some rigs won't connect on the same network that work perfectly with an Xbox. Sure, once the connection is working, it's great. Until then, it's frustrating as hell.

4. Where's Live Marketplace?

Call me a whore for commerce, but I actually like Xbox Live Marketplace. It's really swell to be able to go out and purchase games, movies, and TV shows for play on my Xbox then download them on the spot. While there's a lot of crap on the service--I'm looking at you, card game genre--there are some legitimately wonderful games available or soon to be available for download. With downloadable demo version of every single game, Marketplace is a no-brainer. Why isn't there a PC version? Hell, we don't even mind converting our perfectly fungible US tender into goofy Microsoft 'points' in order to make purchases on Live Marketplace.

5. Why Am I Paying for This?

As of my last count, there are precisely seven games that support online play using Games for Windows Live. Seven. For the privilege of playing Halo 2, Shadowrun, Gears of War, Viva Pinata, Juiced 2, Kane & Lynch, and Universe at War online with my friends, I have to pay $60 a year. Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem paying for Live as an Xbox owner. I have tons of games to play, and I like that people actually have something to lose by being asshats. But, the value proposition for Live for Windows is out of whack if you don't own an Xbox, and the arbitrary limitations that Microsoft has imposed on free Games for Windows Live accounts (you can't use your friends list for matchmaking, can only play in random matchmaking games, and can't collect multiplayer achievements) don't make much sense.

The good news is that there's an easy fix for Games for Windows Live's woes...

The Future is Steam Powered

This is where I talk about Steam. Steam does everything that Games for Windows Live does, minus the Xbox Live integration (and really, do we want to play PC games with console weenies?). Steam offers the same voice chat and matchmaking that GfW Live does, but ups the ante with so much more! I'm going to break it down feature by feature:

1. Steam Includes an Always-On Universal Friends List

This seems like a simple thing, but Microsoft hasn't been able to deliver it since GfWL launched in June of last year. The lightweight Steam app lies nestled snugly in my system tray, notifying me of friend's game invites, scheduled events, or questions from folks who are in-game. When I launch a game in Steam (even the ones not published by Valve), I simply press Shift+Tab and much of Steam's functionality is available in an overlay. This is how a friends list should work.

2. Steam Makes Being a PC Gamer Easier

The worst part of playing PC games online is the constant patching. Updating a game like Call of Duty or Company of Heroes is a constant, never-ending affair, filled with confusion and heartbreak. Steam automatically patches games you purchase through the service, in much the same way that Xbox Live automatically patches Xbox games when you first load them. The other glorious thing about Steam is that games you purchase using the service don't include intrusive copy-protection software or CD-checks that frequently fail to work. You buy your game, you download it, and it simply works.

3. Dedicated Server Support

In your Steam client, you'll see a handy little tab. It's called Tools, but it's really the home for Dedicated servers. You can download and install the dedicated server client for many games straight from the Steam client. Additionally, Valve's made good tools to keep dedicated servers up to date with the latest patches. Since most home users Internet connection can't deliver as much bandwidth as a game server demands, there are also third-party dedicated hosts, who you (and your friends) can pay to host servers for you.

4. Clan-Management Functionality

This seems relatively minor, but to people who are serious about competitve team-based games, its vital. Giving users the ability to form and manage clans (Valve calls them "Groups") kicks ass. Not only does Steam's Group feature offer roster management, it also gives you the ability to schedule events, denote the server your event will be on, join any of your clanmates in games, and even participate in clan-only chat. The conveniences Steam offers to competitive players are far superior to both Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live. The only thing that comes close is Xfire. (Feel free to join the Maximum PC Steam group if you're interested!)

5. Steam is available today

This is the best part. Steam is available right now, and it's free to anyone. If you want to start using the friends list, all you need are some games you've purchased from Steam and some friends. When Games for Windows gets its ducks in a row, I'll play games with my Xbox brethren. Until then, I'll be playing some Team Fortress 2 on Steam.

Problems Connecting to Games for Windows Live? Read this.

Will Smith — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:24:16 -0500

I've talked about the problems I had getting Games for Windows Live--the version of Xbox Live for games that run on Windows--working. After spending a few hours on the phone with the fine folks at Microsoft who built Games for Windows Live, we were actually able to troubleshoot and fix the problem that was preventing me from logging into or downloading content from Live on my gaming PC.

The culprit? A beta version of the Cisco VPN client. However, removing the offending application isn't as easy as just using Add/Remove programs. I had to go through a series of processes. If you're having problems connecting (and from reading tons of message boards, I know some of you are having problems). So, here's what we did to solve my problem.

First, I followed these instructions, disabling any extra network adapters, and putting the adapter that I'm using at the top of the priority list. That didn't help, but it may work for you.

Second, I fired up my BIOS and disabled the second onboard NIC, so that Windows wouldn't even know it's there. That didn't work either, but it did make me feel like I was doing something useful, which is really all I was looking for by this time.

Finally, I uninstalled the Cisco VPN software, and manually removed the offending part of the app, the Deterministic Networks driver using these instructions. After a reboot, I was in business, and able to log into Live and play Shadowrun and Halo 2 online at home.