Microsoft announced new features coming to the Games for Windows Live online gaming service and community:

“This update and other features currently in development represent a tipping point in the evolution of Games for Windows Live as a leading online PC gaming network,” said Ron Pessner, general manager of Games for Windows Live. “In the coming months, we will continue to deliver on our promise to provide gamers and publishers with the industry’s best connected gaming experiences through the Live service.”

In the last six months, the Games for Windows Live community has seen staggering growth thanks in part to the launch of a more PC-friendly interface last November, and the addition of some of the year’s biggest and best Windows games, including #1 best-sellers “Grand Theft Auto IV,” “Fallout 3” and “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II.”

“As a publisher, no one is more excited to see the continued growth and evolution of Games for Windows Live than Microsoft Game Studios,” said Dave Luehmann, general manager of Window games for Microsoft Game Studios. “We have several projects underway which will incorporate the Live service, and we’re continuing to build new developer relationships here at GDC to bring the best in the industry to Games for Windows Live.

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Yeah, because we have been seeing an extraordinary amount of new games from MGS... oh wait! They also managed to fuck up GTAIV multiplayer bringing in console based P2P shit. What's worse, instead of going Steam way, they regionally lockout the CLIENT itself, so countries without live are simply left out of the (very small) "party"

Sale of additional content through a marketplace? Do they even KNOW what PC gaming is about? I'm not about to pay for "extra content," outside of expansions, even if it means I'll pirate it. 

Also the protection is shit, every cracked copy I have seen just completely bypasses server-side authentication. I played FO3 as a pirated copy even though I had the original CD with me. That's how useless GFW is in terms of protection.

All in all, GFW fails. I knew it failed back in the day when they asked me to pay to use it, I know that's removed, but still.

Edit: Did anyone else not laugh aloud when they read this?  "and protect publishers and consumers by requiring authentication for online play"

Is GFWL still integrated into games instead of being a proper third-party application?

What's interesting is that Valve has just announced something new for Steamworks to go along with the new stuff like DLC and such. I'm still not interested in GFWL though.

http://kotaku.com/5182197/new-steamworks-feature-makes-drm-obsolete

I'm not sure what it means though seeing as everything on your games list is associated with your account and you can play them on any computer provided you can log into steam or maybe something to do with backing games up on disks?

Microsoft can poke it. GFWL is too late, too XBox-focussed and frankly utterly shite. After all the bull they came out with a couple of years back about enhancing PC gaming the best they can do is that utter fiasco with FO3 'dlc' and some half-assed achievements.

MS does not need or want PC gaming.
PC gaming does not need or want Microsoft.

Actually, there's quite a large chunk of people who only use Windows because that's where the games are, myself included. For all the good stuff they did for gaming in the late 90's, MS have continually disappointed over the last few years and need to be careful. A user with an XBox and Linux or (God help us) a Mac surely isn't going to be as profitable as one with Windows and its associated ecosystem.

If MS wants to do DRM in GFWL they need to do it the Valve way. When you download a copy it will only work on the machine in which its been downloaded too and keep it at that.

MS probably makes more money on an XBox user.
I've paid less than €100 for my XP six or seven years ago.
I never needed Vista.
I will never purchase MS points and buy something on the windows marketplace.

PC OS: money

PC hardware: no money

PC marketplace: money (very little)

PC software/games (aside from OS): no money

PC mods: no money


XBox hardware (console): no money (probably)

XBox periphals (overpriced WLAN adapter, hard drive, HDMI cable etc.): money

XBox marketplace: money

XBox software (licences): money

XBox DLC: money

I know this is probably not the point you are trying to make, but if Microsoft were to alienate their PC gaming userbase, they probably would not switch to XBOX.  After all, that would just be another Microsoft product.  I, myself, would install linux only on my computer and then probably buy a PS3.