The Pensive Gamer

Posted 03/14/2007 @ 12:30:47 AM by Joseph Molnar Filed under: News Picks , Windows Vista , Xbox 360

Games for Windows - Live Details

So the official announcement is out, we have Games for Windows - Live details. In particular, the question people were really curious about has been answered. Will a Windows gamer be required to pay in order to play with other Windows gamers? The quick answer, no, but cross-platform play between Windows and Xbox 360 games will require paying for Gold.

This news isn't surprising, but I am curious of two things still:

• Will features like cross-platform gameplay and multiplayer achievements really be a enough of a draw for Windows gamers to pay for Gold memberships?
• With Windows gamers and Sony gamers getting free multiplayer, will Xbox 360 gamers start feeling jaded?

Honestly, the draw to pay for Gold, if a Windows user, seems low unless something else is added to the equation. However, if you play games on the 360 and Windows you can now pick which platform suits you best when buying a game.

My guess, as more revenue is generated via purchases (or perhaps ads) through Live, surpassing the profit generated from Gold subscriptions, you will see Gold either change or go away.

Posted 02/08/2007 @ 10:30:00 PM by Joseph Molnar Filed under: Media , News Picks , Windows Vista , Xbox 360

Xbox Live Video Marketplace RSS Feed

While I'm a fan of the Xbox Live Video Marketplace it is nice to see my number one annoyance, the lack of knowing what was released without turning on my 360, is now solved. The Microsoft Gamerscore blog announced an RSS feed that gives the details.

XNA Game Studio Express running in Windows Vista

David Weller of Microsoft has posted the instructions on how to get the non-Windows Vista Visual Studio 2005 and Visual C# Express development tools patched so XNA Game Studio Express will run on Vista.

I had trouble installing XNA Game Studio Express late last year so this is great information for those stuck. However, I really wish Microsoft would finish Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista. The release versions of Windows Vista have been available to Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers since November 2006. Those subscribers probably use Visual Studio as their main development tool and really shouldn't upgrade to Vista until the official Windows Vista Visual Studio Service Pack 1 is released.

Apple TV to Play Games?

Engadget is reporting how Greg Canessa, Xbox Live Arcade's ex-executive who is now at casual gaming company PopCap, may have slipped that Apple TV will support games. While rumour until official confirmation, this really shouldn't surprise anyone. Apple already supports casual games on the iPod via iTunes. If it wasn't clear before, this week continues to prove that the living room is one huge battleground.

Posted 01/29/2007 @ 10:30:08 PM by Joseph Molnar Filed under: News Picks , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , Windows Vista

God of War II on the PlayStation 2

More details, including a trailer, on God of War II were released today. The game looks great. Though I have to say I would hate to be Sony right now. God of War is a system seller, something the PlayStation 3 needs.

Unfortunately the game is built for the PlayStation 2. What would you have done if you were Sony? Do you stop a game in development so you can target the newer console? You can't compare this to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess since the Wii and GameCube are similar enough that two versions of a game can be built at only slightly more expense over building a game for just the GameCube.

If Sony made God of War II for the PS3, deadlines would be at risk and they would be alienating those unable to spend $500 or $600 (US) on a new console. By not targeting the PS3, however, the Wii and the Xbox 360 have less direct competition.

Honestly, this isn't a tough call just a bad place to be sitting. Making God of War II for the PS2 ensures a significant number will sell and will probably drive more PS2 sales; all businesses need to make money and something needs to pay for the development of the PS3. Even if the PS3 does not win the race against the Wii and Xbox 360 for this generation, successful PS2 games and the continued selling of the PS2 means Sony can earn enough cash to put the PlayStation 4 out the door.

Windows Vista's Audio Stack

Windows Vista has a new audio stack, which has bothered some folks. In Vista Microsoft decided to remove hardware acceleration from the DirectSound API.

I've been using the release version of Windows Vista Ultimate for over two months and while I do have an audio card capable of hardware accelerated 3D sound, I generally do not play PC games nor do I have 5.1 surround sound speakers. What I can say is that I immensely appreciate controlling the sound at an application level, which software-based audio allows; no more overblown music or system beep surprises.

I'm not an audio software engineer so I can't comment on why hardware acceleration is not possible. I am curious if it was technically possible but it would have taken an extremely long time to architect/build in addition to requiring changes in audio hardware.

This would be analogous to the Windows Vista graphics driver model (called WDDM). Windows Vista ships with WDDM Version 1.0 which essentially doesn't allow multiple applications to simultaneously perform 3D graphics acceleration. For example, when an application locks the graphics processor you will notice that the Aero Glass interface reverts to opaque windows. Version 2.0 of WDDM will have much better support for simultaneous graphics processor access, but this requires Microsoft to work with the hardware manufacturers to ensure the hardware is suitable.