Microsoft has been attempting the win back the hearts of PC gamers and making promises to take the platform seriously. Rightfully, this was greeted with a degree of skepticism given Microsoft’s history and the disgraceful Games for Windows Live DRM client which plagued PC gaming for many years. Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for Windows and Devices Marketing, Yusuf Mehdi discussed during the Credit Suisse Technology Broker Conference the Xbox brand and potential for Windows gaming:
“On Gaming, Gaming has been pretty big success case. Gaming, think about it in two pieces: there is a traditional Xbox console business where we compete with Sony, and there we have had probably the best year we have ever had for Xbox, and it’s still on the back of the greatest game lineup of the Xbox history.”
“So if you like games, this is the year to get an Xbox. We have Halo 5 launching. We have Minecraft on Xbox. We have Gears of War, Tomb Raider… Best lineup. Next year will also be the best lineup. That leads to really a great success on it.”
“But the other interesting thing, is now we are bringing that Xbox gaming value prop to other devices, in particular the PC.”
This is a very strange statement to make because Microsoft seems completely unwilling to release its core line-up on Windows. Additionally, Fable Legends is a free-to-play title, and the only Halo game is from a mobile spin-off. There are some exceptions such as Killer Instinct and Gears of War, but Microsoft isn’t delivering and still treating Windows gaming quite poorly. Unless Microsoft plans to release those core games on PC, I really can’t understand what world Mehdi is living in.
More worryingly, it seems Microsoft is planning to try and monetize Windows gaming in a similar vein to Xbox Live Gold. Yusuf said:
“And then you have the ability to effectively now start to get Xbox live in all these games that you are using, whether it’d be Solitaire or Minecraft and now what we see is, we have almost the same number of Xbox live monthly active on Windows as we do on the console.”
“To be fair it’s not the same: the console uses our Xbox Live Gold, paying subscribers. These are free customers, but the ability to build a subscription business on the back of that now, you can start to see some light for that opportunity.”
Microsoft, what the heck are you thinking? Do you really want to make the entire PC gaming community irate and launch another form of disastrous anti-consumer DRM? PC gamers will never and I mean never pay a subscription to access your servers. The only time people are prepared to pay a monthly sub is with MMOs and the majority of those are going free-to-play anyway!
This really is laughable and explains why the Xbox app exists on Windows 10. I have no idea how a company can completely mess up something so badly and then try to make the same mistake once again. It also comes across that the whole Windows gaming focus was simply to introduce an online subscription and fool PC gamers to pay for an online service.
Is anyone on their PR team actually a PC gamer???
No! I can’t believe Yusuf Mehdi is still working for Microsoft. He had too much to do with the botched launch of Xbox One. Clearly the DRM, always on etc was his idea.
hahahahahahahaahahahahahhahahahha
Fuck you Micro$hit, seriously. One of the worst ideas to come out of your company in the recent years.
Ok, if they do this shit, they pave the way for Linux to take off? Maybe Steam OS will be adopted on a larger scale and M$ will bite their hands looking at windows going down the drain. PC gamers will never pay to play online. They will hack the fuck out of windows and still play for free as they fucking should or they will ditch it completely and start using Linux.
Gaming is what still keeps Windows relevant imo. If that goes away, it all comes crashing down and they’ll make room for another OS to rise. Just like Nokia did with stupid decisions and gave away the crown. Fucking noobs.
I already game on Windows, what is the point of this? I already bought into the MS ecosphere with my windows OS. Why in hell would I want to start paying for an XB Live sub, I don’t care for any of their exclusives and I never plan to own an XB.
Sticking with Window7, maybe I’ll turn off automatic updates too…
If they offer their backwards compatibility layer on Windows and first party games, maybe. Otherwise it’s a non starter.
Offer “backwards compatibility” a thing that has existed since Windows 98 and before why would PC Gamers pay for a service we already have had for free.For a company that is supposedly going to give the PC the respect it deserves the corporate asshats seem determined to shovel the inferior console BS down our throats well no thank you MS
if they go through with this, they’re going to lose more than half the gaming community, which I estimate to be about a third of all their customers. linux and steamOS will take off, lots of games will be ported over to linux and many newer and better linux versions will be made. it then won’t take long before EVERYONE moves over to linux. I guarantee you, microsoft will go bankrupt if they go through with this.
Microsoft bankrupt.. LMFAO
never go full retard.
Just realized I was overreacting. I was just a little pissed at microsoft, and sometimes I just need somebody to slap me in the face and tell me “dude, that’s ridiculous”