I think I'm too used to Live at this point so I'll try a few games with GFWL. I'm still new to the PC thing so can you only use games with GFWL that have the corresponding banner or have been bought off the GFWL marketplace? I was looking to play Skyrim for the user-generated content anyway and losing a file would be no real issue since I already bought it and played the heck out of it on consoles.

I feel like less of an undesirable for likig it a little. I tried that Tinker game for a bit and the Live format was really nice and familiar. I am a little less terrified about it, but the issues do seem severe in comparison to Steam which I've used about the same amount and seems to be the preferred metod for playing games/game management. I bet it's a lot more popular with people who play games primarily on Xbox rather than those who use a PC. I don't know if anyone knows this, but are they actively pursuing ways to fix the service? It seems broken in execution, not concept.

From what I hear, it seems it has hope. If it has gotten better over the years, perhaps my lack of experience would be a good thing. The issues do sound pretty tedious, but I don't mind rolling the dice with some PC games Like Warhammer 40K since I can't say lost data would be too depressing. Thanks for the response. You really hepled me separate the facts from preconceived notions of PC elitism. Perhaps I'll reconsider Dark Souls since a lot of the criticism seems to be based on the early issues with GFWL.

I am and never have been a PC gamer. Since the beginning I have always used consoles and never had a PC capable of running any of the new exclusive-to-PC games that occasionally caught my eye. A few weeks ago, Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition was announced, and since I had finally bought a PC that could run a few games last year, I decided to buy the game (again) for PC to try the new content when it came out (now that the bonus content will be available for consoles, I don't think I'm going to buy it now, though). I Had also heard that the game would use GFWL as its DRM. For me this was no problem: I had loved the original Xbox and have been using a 360 as my primary console since Halo 3, so the chance at using a very familiar online system sounded appealing. I could communicate with friends who are also on live, earn Gamerscore, and use an interface which would seemingly help me adapt to the new way to play a game. However, the use of GFWL with the new Dark Souls edition stirred up plenty of controversy in the PC gaming community, including a petition to avoid the needed use of GFWL to play the game (which I'm sure you're all aware of). At first, I suspected this was one of two things: Microsoft hate, since it appears Valve are the PC gamers' sweethearts and Microsoft should not encroach on their turf, or Xbox Live hate, due to its interface or its community or simple PC elitism (sorry guys, it exists and thrives). I decided to do a little investigating to see which of the two options, if any (or maybe more), the issue derived itself from, and it now seems my first assumptions may not hold the answers. It seems that the DRM implementation is awful and the service is not even close to user-friendly, but since I am apparently 5 years late on the matter, I wasn't seeing the reasons why GFWL was so unapproachable as much as how it ruined the gaming experiences of recent users. To educate and ignorant console gamer, what is wrong with Games for Windows - Live and why is it such a pariah in the PC gaming community? As a side-note, this is not an attempt to call out any PC gamers or to defend the service, but is an admission of ignorance and the seeking of information. I know nothing about why the service is so bad, so of course it cannot look too unappealing. Once I know the facts, THEN I can create an educated opinion on the matter.