Peter Moore, head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division, has released a statement aimed at hyping the upcoming Vista launch in the gaming world. Windows Vista is released on January 30th and Moore is eager to once again push what he considers to be the 'true gaming platform'.
In a statement made to Gamerscore Blog, Moore said, "For the first time in Microsoft’s history, we’re releasing an operating system built from the ground up with gaming as a core scenario. With a worldwide presence of over 200 million gamers of all stripes, we’re taking the world’s most popular gaming platform and making it easier, safer, and more fun for everyone, while delivering new technologies that will deliver the most powerful, most immersive, most innovative gaming experiences to the Windows platform."
With Vista will be the next generation of graphics technology, DirectX 10, and Moore claims that many of the top game designers are optimising their games for the new technology. A number of games have already been announced for the platform, including Crysis, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Supreme Commander and Flight Simulator X.
Click for larger imageStatement continued:
Right from the start menu, Windows Vista makes it easier for everyone to find and play games. No more searching for icons and files scattered around your computer – Vista Games Explorer takes all your games and puts them in one place, every time you install, complete with access to community and online components for your favorite games. With Windows Vista’s native support for Xbox 360 controllers and the ability to go wireless with the Wireless Receiver for Windows, you also have the ability to decide how you want to play your games.
Gaming on Windows Vista puts parents in control. Just like Windows Vista gives parents the choice of what their children can access on the web, what programs they can use and what times they can use the computer, Windows Vista lets parents control what games their children can play, and when they can play them, through a simple set of family controls. Combined with support for every major game content rating system worldwide, parents will have both the knowledge and the ability to decide for themselves the level of access their children can have.
The ability to control your own gaming experiences was on full display at CES earlier this month, where we showed how we’re bringing the Xbox Live experience to Windows. We’re calling it LIVE, and it’s as simple as its name. Now, gamers on both Xbox and Windows will have one identity, one friends list, and one consistent set of experiences that will travel with them across both platforms. This year will produce a powerful first wave of LIVE-enabled games, starting with Uno, Shadowrun and Halo 2. And that’s just the beginning…
Windows Vista opens doors for more and more people to get into gaming, especially for casual gamers. Right now Microsoft casual games reach 120 million people every month, and by 2008 the annual revenue for casual games is expected to reach $1.5 billion. To meet this rapidly rising demand, Microsoft Casual Games will roll out eight Windows Vista-optimized titles in 2007 on the MSN Games website, including Luxor 2, Bliss Island, Crystal Quest, Spinword, Jewel Quest 2, 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, Darwinia, and the runaway Xbox Live Arcade hit Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved.
For the first time in history, we’re marketing Games for Windows as a true gaming platform, starting with redefining the brand.
The Games for Windows brand stands for a quality gaming experience, that’s easier, safer and more fun to play. We’re setting a new standard for gaming on the PC, with the best publishers in the world incorporating the Games for Windows brand into the hottest new games on the Windows platform, including Atari, LucasArts, Midway, Turbine Inc., 2K Games, THQ, Vivendi Universal, and of course, Microsoft Game Studios.
At retail, we’re taking PC games out of the shadows and giving them the spotlight they deserve. All Games for Windows titles will have consistent packaging and advertising, with playable kiosks for the biggest titles, as our new branding and merchandising campaign rolls out across the US at retail outlets including Circuit City, CompUSA, GameStop and Walmart. In years to come we’ll add more, especially worldwide, where we’ve already started with PC World and Virgin in Europe.
With all the excitement surrounding the launch of Windows Vista, it’s important to remember that 2007 is just the beginning for Games for Windows.
With a PC gaming renaissance touched off by Games for Windows and Windows Vista, and the release of more Windows Vista-optimized laptops, desktops and accessories, we’ll see more powerful, more innovative, and more fun gaming experiences than ever before.
We’ll see revenues from the PC gaming market grow more than ever before, as more people find it easier to get into casual and cutting-edge games alike. It’s our mission to meet this growth with a platform that’s as simple and safe as it is filled with potential and new gaming experiences.
For everyone who’s had even the slightest hand in bringing Games for Windows and Windows Vista to the consumer, you have my deepest appreciation and thanks. Together you’ve taken the most popular and historic gaming platform ever created and breathed new life into it, allowing great gaming innovations of the future to continue to happen on Windows.
Source : Gamerscore Blog
