Would you buys PC games from the Microsoft Store?

bigdogchris

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Microsoft is working to have cross platform API's, especially with DX12. Developers are also starting to come on board in bringing next gen console games to PC.

There are over a billion x86 based PC's in the world and many will be eligible to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. Windows 10 includes the Microsoft Store and Xbox Live app. Why would Microsoft not want to take advantage of hundreds of millions of potential customers?

I know many people like Steam and other 3rd party distributors. However, one caveat with them is that they can flip a switch, ban your account, and you've lost everything forever. It's happened to many people. I just can't imagine Microsoft ever doing that.

If Microsoft started to bring their first party games in DRM free form to the Windows Store / XBOX Live on Windows 10 and tied them to your Microsoft account for future downloads (like Steam), would you buy them from their store?
 
If a game purchased from the store can be completely disconnected from the store, and ran on it own, without ever "phoning home", then yes. But even then, I would only buy titles that are exclusively the cheapest there.

Otherwise, no.
 
If Microsoft started to bring their first party games in DRM free form to the Windows Store

I thought this was a serious thread until this part. :) First party *and* DRM free? You may as well be asking "what if Windows went opensource". They proved once again how little they do care about Windows gaming after their annual headline hype about "how much they value PC gamers" when Spencer got up and proclaimed "all we really mean is now you'll be able to stream Xbone games to your PC, trololol". Xbox-Xbox-Xbox is the MS corporate policy for gaming. The only reason they're bothering to update DirectX is to renew platform lock-in for 2015, much in the way you might renew a domain name you aren't really using for anything but don't want to lose. They don't care about the PC gaming ecosystem.

Microsoft will only truly give a shit about PC gaming again or even consider cross-platforming their first party titles once its already too late and SteamOS or something else has hit a critical mass in breaking Windows' PC gaming lock-in.
 
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If it's handled anything like Games for Windows, then NO! Unfortunately whatever they come up with will most probably be a piece of garbage.
 
I thought this was a serious thread until this part. :) First party *and* DRM free? You may as well be asking "what if Windows went opensource". They proved once again how little they do care about Windows gaming after their annual headline hype about "how much they value PC gamers" when Spencer got up and proclaimed "all we really mean is now you'll be able to stream Xbone games to your PC, trololol". Xbox-Xbox-Xbox is the MS corporate policy for gaming. The only reason they're bothering to update DirectX is to renew platform lock-in for 2015, much in the way you might renew a domain name you aren't really using for anything but don't want to lose. They don't care about the PC gaming ecosystem.

Microsoft will only truly give a shit about PC gaming again or even consider cross-platforming their first party titles once its already too late and SteamOS or something else has hit a critical mass in breaking Windows' PC gaming lock-in.

Even then, I think it would be out of necessity. Even Steam and Nvidia are trying to go for the casual console gaming crowd. They're aren't just targetting PC gamers anymore. Especially with Valve, the days of them being PC focused are long gone and have been for many years.
 
Yes, I would. If they would be tied to my MS account, and I could access them from any pc/console, I'd not mind. Of course if they would not be as ridiculously priced like she games that cost twice much as retail boxes here.
 
The only reason they're bothering to update DirectX is to renew platform lock-in for 2015, much in the way you might renew a domain name you aren't really using for anything but don't want to lose.

Not that I disagree about MS not caring much about PC gaming, but DX12 looks to bring a lot to the table over DX11.
 
I prefer to buy box now anyway.

First to save the bandwidth.
Second because I don't want Steam to make me sing for keeping my collection.
 
I prefer to buy box now anyway.

First to save the bandwidth.
Second because I don't want Steam to make me sing for keeping my collection.

This. I avoid digital anytime I can.

I refuse to play in apple's world, what on earth would compel me to play in microsoft's world? I'd give up gaming first and actually anything that's xbone only, I'll never play.
 
If I already didn't have so many gaming platform accounts, I might have considered it.

However if it was implemented in a way similar to Gfwl before, then no, that version was woefully bad (I had more headaches with it than I had with Vista...).

Oh, offline mode and no region lockouts are also mandatory for me. I absolutely loathe Region lockouts.

I prefer digital versions over hard copies because hard copies can get damaged and become irrecoverable, at least with digital I don't have to keep it around when I don't want it. No Bandwidth issues where I live, we haven't had Bandwidth limitation for home internet since the country had internet, too much competition for anyone to even think about implementing it (mobile is a completely seperate issue).

Oh, and when I buy games, I tend to keep it, even if I don't play it, and digital is the only way I can buy fully English games.
 
Not that I disagree about MS not caring much about PC gaming, but DX12 looks to bring a lot to the table over DX11.

Sure, if the hype and rumors turn out to be true (because that's all DX12 is right now, and it will take years to reach critical mass) - but that doesn't change what I said about why they're even bothering. Until they stop for example paying off third parties to keep games off Windows so they can force Xbone exclusivity (see: Rise of the Tombraider), or mandating that their firstparty studios continue their decade+ tradition of intentionally not creating Windows versions, well the idea that they "still care about PC gamers" is going to remain a tough sell.
 
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It would have to be more open than steam (DRM etc) not just the same and not Dependant on store in anyway since Microsoft's longterm support for anything is shit is games for windows live
 
I know many people like Steam and other 3rd party distributors. However, one caveat with them is that they can flip a switch, ban your account, and you've lost everything forever. It's happened to many people. I just can't imagine Microsoft ever doing that.

Who does this happen to? There are VAC bans, which only bans you from multiplayer modes in VAC enabled games. If you get a VAC ban, you deserve to have your account fucked up. The only other thing I've heard of is people involuntarily having a game revoked, which even that is rare, and always the result of buying gray market keys.

Other than that, I've only ever heard of accounts being suspended for doing shit like trying to commit payment fraud, hijack steam accounts, register stolen cd-keys, etc. Basically, if your not a jackass and don't break the law... you should never have even a flicker of concern over your Steam account being banned.

Onto your question, no. Never. GFWL was probably the worst thing in the history of PC gaming. I won't give them the chance to push their godawful DRM on me again. Basically, with the exception EA games... Steam or GTFO.
 
smh.gif
 
Nope.

With GFWL, Microsoft hasn't exactly proven that they're committed to running and growing a PC gaming platform. They basically developed a rudimentary platform and then sat idle while Valve figured out how to build an active gaming platform on PC.

I don't currently feel comfortable buying any digital PC games tied to Microsoft given it'd be tied to a platform that could possibly go silent because they decided to shift focus to some other division.
 
Not a chance, I want my OS to be an OS not a store. In addition to that GFWL was absolutely awful and they showed that they have no problem abandoning it even though it left many games at least partially broken.
 
Absolutely no chance of me buying anything from their store game-wise. I'm pretty well locked into Steam at this point. I have a few items on Origin, just because that's the only place I could get them, but I haven't even installed Origin since I bought those games to even play them. (ME3 for one... the only other possibility might be Mirror's Edge 2) I really don't want multiple accounts, clients, etc. for games. Steam does everything I need it to for my PC games.
 
The day Halo 5 or Forza is available for Windows PC is the day I consider buying anything from the Windows/Microsoft/Metro/Xbox/whatever-they're-calling-it-this-week store.

Ofcourse we all know that'll never happen.
 
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Steam > GOG > Amazon ..................................> Origin > Microsoft Store
 
Steam > GOG > Amazon ..................................> Origin > Microsoft Store

Indeed! I do buy from GOG now and then. Especially if they've got an old game I want, but it hasn't shown up on Steam yet. Plus, they just seem cool, and I like to support them a bit.
 
The only other thing I've heard of is people involuntarily having a game revoked, which even that is rare, and always the result of buying gray market keys.

This actually happened to me recently with my copy of Dragon Age Inquisition on Origin. I purchased it from Amazon's digital section, as sold by Amazon, not Bob's discount game keys or something.

I bought the key and it worked for a week or two, and then I went on a two week business trip. When I came back, I discovered that Origin had revoked my key because of a "TOS violation" and it took hours on the phone bitching at them and later Amazon's customer service people to get it straightened out.

The only way I was even able to get it working again at all was to cajole Amazon into giving me a refund and buying it again. EA's customer service people treated me like a criminal.
 
GOG is cool conceptually but my preference for Steam is based on pure laziness: auto-updates of all my installed games with zero interaction required. With GOG there's no auto-updating, so I'd be back to the era of dicking with installers and executables constantly, which would really be a pain with frequently updated games.
 
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GOG is cool conceptually but my preference for Steam is based on pure laziness: auto-updates of all my installed games with zero interaction required. With GOG there's no auto-updating, so I'd be back to the era of dicking with installers and executables constantly, which would really be a pain with frequently updated games.

GOG auto updating/installing sounds like a really bad idea considering their bloatware problem.
 
I'd buy from the Microsoft store if i could log into my account on my buddy's xbox and play the same game on there.

Otherwise, newp. I don't see their prices being competitive either.
 
GOG is cool conceptually but my preference for Steam is based on pure laziness: auto-updates of all my installed games with zero interaction required. With GOG there's no auto-updating, so I'd be back to the era of dicking with installers and executables constantly, which would really be a pain with frequently updated games.

I can understand why someone might like auto updates for the convenience factor but patches can introduce new issues and break mods, personally I would prefer to be able to disable automatic updates completely on SP games.

As far as GOG goes, most of their games are too old to be getting new patches. The only issue I have with their games is that many come with a dosbox wrapper and I would rather use my installed version of dosbox because it's more customizable and I like using a CLI with old games for nostalgia.
 
I know many people like Steam and other 3rd party distributors. However, one caveat with them is that they can flip a switch, ban your account, and you've lost everything forever. It's happened to many people. I just can't imagine Microsoft ever doing that.
You trust MS's Satya more than the Gaben? I don't.

But honestly I don't fear either happening, but what I like are games that are stored easily for me, install-able on a multitude of PCs without having to remember where I keep disks or unlock codes, that are CHEAP. Gaben has awesome sales, and a huge repository of games available in one convenient place. If MS can't beat Steam, why would I split my library? By being so late to the game, they can't just even afford to be AS good, they have to be better or have games I want to play that simply aren't available through Steam.

So if there's the next Halo that comes out, and I can only get it through the MS store, sure if the game looks good I'll buy it from their store.
 
There are too many PC "storefront" apps already. Between Steam, Origin, GoG, Uplay, etc. I don't want or need any more.
Steam is good enough for me. That doesn't mean I wouldn't use it if the deals were good enough, but I'd rather MS leave this whole thing alone.
 
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