Free is always good, and in this case, it should have been free from the start. Microsoft announced it would dropping the price of Games for Windows LIVE from $50 a year to $0. Good call. Asking PC gamers to pony up money for online play when they don’t have to anywhere else is a bad idea.
To go along with the price drop, Microsoft announced that this Fall, they’ll be releasing a Marketplace for PC games that utilize Games for Windows LIVE. Pretty good idea. I have a feeling more games will take advantage of LIVE on PC since it’s free now. Could make for a strong opponent to Steam. PC gaming is making a strong comeback, people. Are you ready?
October 9, 2007 – 12:13 pm
Microsoft sent out a press release saying that Games for Windows LIVE will be getting an update to v1.2 sometime in November.
The Games for Windows – LIVE v1.2 update will continue to add numerous end-user benefits to the service, such as support for offline Achievements, so gamers can continue to rack up Gamerscore when not connected to the internet, the ability to see whether your friends are “joinable” in games, along with additional UI features.
Microsoft is pushing out updates on a good schedule here. I think the problem still is that only gamers with both an Xbox 360 and PC are going to pay for LIVE. Strict PC gamers aren’t going to start dropping $50 a year for something they can do for free anyway.
Read More »
Do you want to curb stomp your friends only on the PC? Well, you better pony up for a LIVE membership, since the game’s multiplayer seems to be locked to only use Games for Windows LIVE servers. Microsoft confirmed the information to CVG today.
Now, some may argue that Games for Windows LIVE is free, but that’s just for the Silver account. To play online, you need a Gold account, which will run you $50 a year, just like Xbox LIVE. This looks to be the first game to pigeon-hole gamers into a LIVE account to get their multiplayer action.
This is sure to piss off a few PC gamers out there who don’t want to pay to play online. I wonder how the Mac version is going to work around this.
[UPDATE] I found out you will be able to play for free with a silver account.
It’s been a big news day with GDC going on. Microsoft didn’t want to be left out, with their announcement of a pricing structure for their Live for Windows accounts. The cost will reflect those already in place on the Xbox 360: Silver members won’t have to pay a dime, which Gold members will have to shell out either $8 a month, $20 for three months, or $50 a year.
The good news is that current Xbox Live Gold members will be able to use their accounts on Windows without having to pony up any extra cash. No official word if Live for Windows accounts will work the same way on the Xbox 360, although it’s hard to imagine why they wouldn’t.
Live for Windows accounts will be able to get achievements for both larger cross-platform and some casual games. No word yet what the major advantages are for needing a Gold account, other than cross-platform play with the 360 in games like Shadowrun. I can’t image there being many other advantages, since virtually all online play on the PC is free now. I really don’t see many PC-only gamers going out and spending $50 a year just to play against people on a console, but we’ll see how it plays out.
