WTF Microsoft...Great Job

PC has been ignored in recent years from Microsoft...after the birth of the Xbox One.

I wanted to drop a thread to say, as a gamer (95 percent pc, but I own both PS4 and Xbox One S) Microsoft is finally making some really great moves. Cross platform is a phenomenal idea (I have a steam link and xbox one in my bedroom too...so lots of options). Just read Gears 4 has local split screen on pc (Great for my 4k hdr/7.1 thx surround setup in living room), unlocked frame rate (So I can use my 1440p/144hz Swift Rog, also in the living room). Forza Horizon 3 I'm sure I'll put in hundreds of hours, mostly on PC (or Xbox one in my bedroom, or Xbox one S in living room) as I own every car in Forza 6.

Years and years of lame promises have really turned around recently for Microsoft. Sure...they can maybe iron out some wrinkles (Launch day woes, for instance) but I'm really impressed with Microsoft's efforts recently.

How about you guys? What do you think about Microsoft's moves? Please feel free to insert some random Microsoft hate nonsense...or contribute to the thread.

I congratulate the new CEO of microsoft.

It seemed like he told the xbox team to start supporting windows 10 or find a new job.

Mattrick tried to kill PC and make us all play 720p games thank god for sony and nadella coming in and squashing mattrick and helping PC grow again.

I'm happy Microsoft exclusives are now on PC, it would have been awesome having the Gears of War trilogy on PC during the 360 generation however the question remains, where does the Xbox Slim/Scorpio fit if everything runs faster and smoother on PC? What's the point of owning a system inferior in every single way? I can plug my PC into the TV as well and if carrying it around is too much of a hassle I can simply get a Mini Itx board and PSU and chuck my other components into a case the same size as the Xbone giving the same portability.

Psssh, no Dolby Atmos? Time to upgrade! ;)

Yeah they had been talking about this move for a while now, so it's nice to see it actually happening.

I applaud them for being the first to become PC 3rd party devs. Are the games still borked by the Windows Store or is that slowly improving?

After decades of abuse/neglect it would take MS moving mountains for me to buy the shiz they are selling, i wont load up or buy anything from the windows store neither will i use UWP, hell i cant if i wanted to i ripped it all out of my windows install, if that means i miss out on the few games they release i am fine with never playing them, in short MS can suck my big fat Di*k ............. (Ok...small....small, thin Di*k) :(

VERY good OP and I plan on making a thread like this but analysis more on how MS has changed business wise.

The Windows Store needs a lot of work before anyone in Redmond thinks it is time to uncork the champagne. That being said, if they do more to interface with Steam and start focusing on the quality of games coming from their internal studios, I could come around.

After 15 years of saying they're committed to PC gaming they're finally doing something.

The xbox have effectively become irrelevant. Why would you have a weaker machine to play the same games you can play on a more powerful one (PC). I think MS doesn't care anymore about the xbox brand. And funny that you mention cross platform since MS continues to be the company that hinders true cross platforming more than any other by promoting DX12 and refusing to support a true cross platforming technology like Vulkan which could make games compatible on any platform out there and not just MSs.

Thank you based MS.... For the gamers by the gamers and all that jazz. :P

I've always been a console loving gamer who would play on all systems, just getting into PC gaming so I think I joined it at a great time . Love the play anywhere idea , will be cool to see how well they optimize their games for PC .

MS's problem is, a bit like Apple, is that they want to monopolize every aspect of things they touch. It'll be a long time before I go back to the windows store for my gaming choices. I've chosen not to use Origin or buy EA games (with 1 or 2 exceptions I just couldn't pass on, my moral justifications aren't that strong I guess :P) because I vote with my wallet to not support alot of their choices, the same with MS this gen. This might well change as MS decides to bring in more consumer friendly policies, but I'm not there yet.

Lol yeah 15 years of meaningless promises for them to finally release a handfull of games i dont even want, too little to late for me personally......i also refuse their restrictions on playing their games that no other publisher or developer imposes on me, the promise that it "may change or work better in the future" is not enough for me, i already know about MS and their promises.

I cant buy anything form MS with a clear conscience .....i just don't trust them.

Xbox is definitely flourishing under Spencer... it's great to see. And it's interesting to see how Sony reacts/is reacting to the increased competition... so far, not that great.

So EA isn't selling games through origin, or ubisoft through uplay? or Blizzard through battlenet?

I'm still very, very sceptical of Microsoft's "We love PC gamers" move. Only time will tell though.

you can use mods, sli, fps counters gsync anything you want...just like steam....

UWP has lots more restrictions.

UWP is months old, the others are years. They already are removing a lot of those restrictions. You have to start somewhere right? So far, what they are doing with gears is pretty amazing. Thats gonna be the first big title made for UWP.

Microsoft SAVED this shitty gen, Sony really has gone downhill, the complete opposite of 2013.

After E3 2013, I pre ordered the PS4 and was happy to get into next gen gaming, here I am 3 years later disappointed yet loving the console everyone told me to "ignore"

rip ps4poo

Yes Microsoft is really 4 the Gamers.

I especially like seeing the CEO Satya Nadella personally visiting game studios to congratulate them for their hard work.

People are just silly. Microsoft does not owe PC gamers anything and Microsoft is not for PC gaming because they care. These companies are in it for the money and rightfully so. They make changes for the money not because they care or they saw the light. Not "trusting" Microsoft is a silly notion because they are not any different for any multi-billion dollar company. Gamers have to get over the idea of personifying companies.

Yea, I'm impressed as well. I even preordered the digital versions of Forza Horizon 3 and Gears 4, so I can play on both X1 and PC. I read that MS is supporting ultra widescreen monitors,which, if true, if awesome.

well, they have extended the olive branch, now its up to PC gamers to actually buy the games. If no one buys Forza/Gears on PC, then of course they will not stick with the platform.

some might argue that they are shooting themselves in the foot by keeping their games on the Windows store, but I can at least see where they are going with trying to unify their xbox/windows userbase.

personally i'm thrilled with the direction they are going, my biggest complaint being that you need to have a certain version of Windows 10 to play games via the Windows store. That is just going to frustrate people who don't want to fart around with updating windows but want to play the games. Having the windows store/game stuff completely separated from the operating system seems like it would be a better idea.

lol nah. The Windows Store is still shit. They can have their "exclusives" as long as they keep them tied to that piece of shit they call a store.

I think every business ever wants to monopolise everything they touch. Competition is great for consumers, not for producers.

My god I agree 100%!!! The bolded is so true.

There's a difference where you use closed systems to force consumers to use only your software, store, etc on your hardware vs say a more open system like steam which allows products bought on competitors sites to be activated, easy access to free mods developed by the community, friendly to developers, both large and small, promotion of an active community and so on. One feels like something created for the consumer the other to force the consumer to use it. When Origin, MS Store, Apple and so on make it seem like they are interested in providing a service rather than holding me hostage I'll happily spend my money there :)

Good ol' MS, never screwing up ever. Can always count on them.

I have an Atmos receiver. THX...not the greatest, but pretty freaking loud enough. My house shakes. I'll look into Atmos...maybe I need a few more speakers? Cheap enough.

Key words being "feels" and "seems".

There are few saints in business.

The idea behind this move from Microsoft is sound and, if you ask me, well over due. The fact that they split Xbox from Windows in the first place shows that the people they had making the decisions were followers and not leaders. Instead of playing to their strengths and using their solid position in the OS market they decided to use the same business plan as Sony, who in turn had taken theirs directly from Nintendo, Sega etc. A separate dedicated console with no support for the market that actually makes the company money, who's bright idea was that?

I know the reason for it though, MS were bitter at the PC games market after it effectively told them to shove their Games for Windows Live initiative where the sun doesn't shine. Honestly what did they expect? Did they really think that PC gamers would happily pay a subscription fee and help Microsoft lock PC gaming into a single company controlled monopoly, that's exactly what they wanted after all. This is also the reason for my scepticism, last time they tried to bludgeon the market into their image, this time I can't help but feel they are trying a nicely nice approach.

It's a very different market now from GfWL days, with Steam being the big boy, that MS could easily have been, and several other publisher distribution networks already well established. So they may actually have accepted that the monopoly is not going to happen now.

I must admit I'm impressed with the options they thrown in to Gears of War 4 on PC, I really didn't expect that. So maybe they're for real and have learned that half heartedly throwing bones out like QB and GoW Ultimate on a piece of crap mobile phone app store will not win them the hearts and minds (and cold hard cash) of PC gamers that remember what came before.

As I said "time will tell"

Oh really ?

As a PC gamer myself also which in the end of the day it benefits me for MS to release their major games on PC im not blind enough to tell this is happening because of X1 fail sales.

If you really think that MS would give a crap about PC gaming or crossplay if X1 had X360 success or better , then you need to reconsider.

So , with that being said , i refuse to say thanks to MS because its not about their efforts towards PC gaming rather than their efforts towards extra $$ which losing from X1. That is a totally different concept you should consider before you say thanks to someone. As you said , years and years of lame promises ... Why ? Because X360 was doing great , they didnt have any problems with cash.

Now , take this as nonsense all i care , it is what it is. Should i thanks MS ? No freaking way. In the end of the day i dont care about any of their games aside maybe Gears 4 plus the last thing i want is another platform/store like STEAM to have to deal with. ( There is a way to bypass it though )

@AzatiS: The Xbox One is only a failure in comparison to the PS4. In comparison to he Xbox 360 it's selling just as well and is likely more profitable, down to them not losing money on every box sold.

Personally I think they are trying to go the Apple way and have people thinking "I've got a Windows PC/Laptop I should go with a Windows phone and a Windows Console". It's about time they realised the option has always been there for them. As I said above my worry is that they are going to try and edge a sub based gaming service out of it, as it is on consoles, this where they'll fail on PC again.

BS there are big companies out there that behave much more openly than MS so why not give MS shit for their refusal to update itself to a time where technology should be more open and transparent for everyone?

If anything, video games prove that not every company is the same. They differ wildly. Whether it's pure luck or insight, some companies do things akin to someone caring for us. Maybe they ultimately don't care for us at all, so maybe they can ultimately never be trusted. But we should avoid paying for companies whose actions are against our interest. And companies don't change very dramatically it seems. So placing trust in a company with a good track record doesn't seem impractical. Reminding people of the ultimate motivation behind corporations in general is not a bad thing either. So I guess we'll keep seeing these types of posts in perpetuity. Someone saying they can't be trusted, so any trust is misplaced. Someone saying they are not all the same. It's a paradox.

We ultimately know nothing, but we can still know something. We ultimately can't trust anyone, but we can still trust someone.

No , X1 is a tragedy on its own , similar to what PS3 was for SONY for at least its 5 first years. In short , money loss.

Selling ? Aside mere numbers lets see behind those.

The first model wasnt selling as good as you think , they had to cut price on the get go or offer free games over and over which in the end they got forced to remodel the original X1 for further price cut. You call that ... good sales ?

And with countless price cuts and numerous offers all over the place let alone re-modeling they still had hard time to sell worldwide let alone in their own territory , that of US. And before things get super nasty , they decided to go PC as well before its too late. Thats the only reason why they did so.

And the cherry ... they are not giving officialy the total worldwide X1 sales numbers. Whys that if X1 does so great ? You tell me ...

@AzatiS: All we can go on are what various press releases have stated and they say the Xbox One has sold as well as the Xbox 360 in the same time scale. True or not, neither of us can present actual number because MS don't release them and from that all we have is conjecture.

This is MS realising that they have an enormous, pre-built market that they can have unfettered access to through Windows 10 be it on a phone, PC or Console. If the Xbox One is as much of a failure as Sony fans like to imagine, it may have been a contributing factor but Phil Spencer has said from the day he came into his role that PC gaming was high on his agenda. Long before any game was announced as a "Windows exclusive". I see it as a more visionary leadership rather than the bitter and cold former suits that came before.

I still don't trust them though, there's a long way to go before that happens again.

True... But its the same to sell your product at your fix price without a loss (or limited loss even ) and the same thing to try so hard to push your system that you offering free games , coupons , price cuts etc ? Its not the same at all. Yes , i wouldnt mind to go buy an X1 myself if it costs 10$ tommorow !! You get the picture ?

As for MS , they stated 10 years now that theyll support PC ...they never did it till things got nasty for them in console department . But hey , nothing wrong with that in the end of the day. PC gamers like us will get benefits , with one way or another , but to go as far and say THNX to them ? Naaaah , i wont for the reasons i already mentioned.

@AzatiS: Oh you're right there, there is nothing to thank MS for. All they want at the end of the day is our hard earned cash, just the same as any other business on the planet. I don't thank Valve either, they provide a service and I pay them for it through buying games in their shop, nothing there to get all gushy over. :)

They are pretty much forced to focus more on PC, since XBONE failed. But yeah, good thing for us PC gamers.

In other words, the Xbox crowd wasn't large enough to attract high-profile games, so MS had to offer them something, which meant opening up to PC to make the MS camp look more attractive.

What i dont like about MS is the timing of going PC ! Its the time when X1 struggles that they are deciding to do what they were telling us 12 years now. Other companies like VALVE at least , they stayed true to their PC roots. Yes everyone wants our money but under what circumstances ? As PC gamer i have nothing but respect to VALVE ( aside some mild BS here and there ) ... not so much for MS.

But hey , this is just my opinion.

Pretty much thats it

@FrozenLiquid: I'll agree on that, but some are more consumer friendly than others.

Microsoft has been trying hard ever since Phil took over. You can't change a industry over night but you sure as hell can screw in up Don Mattrick style in an instant.

A lot of hard work has went into the ecosystem, games, online, the dashboard and many other areas. The Xbox One today isn't the Xbox One that launched just 3 years ago. A lot of positive changes have things moving in the right direction.

They still have to tackle, if possible, the popular hate the media still has on them. But, gamer's are wise and aware of what is happening here. They can only report trash so long.

Absolutely. Thank you MS, and God bless the United States.

Incidentally, if anyone wishes to play FH3 and Gears 4 on PC, the Windows 10 anniversary update is required, so go download it and happy gaming.

Yup. Emotions do not belong in business. Have a preference, stick with what you know or like. But to delude yourself into believing they actually care about us, is retardation.

And there are corporations that seem to think its all good to decide for me, their customer, what it is I value like EA access or mods in my games. Don't even try to paint a picture of one having negatives while the one you worship is squeaky clean.