Vista gets Live-wired in May

this is really good news, I only wish they would have done this sooner. Not hot about the pay part, but I like the pc - 360 playalong.

Yuck. this is gonna suck so bad its not even funny

I do not think this is a totally bad idea since Live has some nice features, and I have wanted my XBL friends list on my PC without have to use that stupid MSN plugin. However, I doubt many PC only owners are going to cash in.

i dont like this at all

AbstractTerror.... How exactly is this a bad idea? Don't post tripe unless you back it up!

Unstoppable_1: I assume you cannot read because you only pay if you want to cross platform. Many of us own an Xbox and PC so this is really nice.

Bad idea Microsoft.... bad idea :(

Microsoft has official sunk to the lowest hole in the universe. Up yours Micro$oft. Boycott this because no one is gonna pay when you can play it for free online. This is bullcrap. All along you had the power to make 360 and PC compatible but just wanna make more $$$. Nobody needs vista. Xp is way better.

PC user are going to kick some 360 donkeys. OMG can you say Gears of Wars for Vista.

I understand paying to play on Xbox 360, but charging money to play online on PC? MS sucks for that.

i guess i'll have to get xbox live now...

ummm albert thats $49.99 a year

Does this mean that future games like Crysis, and UC3 that are DX10 for Vista, will you have to pay-to plau online? If so, M$ $ucks... I can't afford 50$ a year tbh... I like playing online free...

Pay 50 bucks a month for gold to play with gamers that will just cry about cheating on all FPS games just because we are using a superior mouse and keyboard over their controller. That will be great.....Not. Silver edition it is.

I want....NOW.

Damn...i don't like this i want to Live be a exclusive of XBOX!!!

fascists....now they want to turn my freaking pc into a pay-to-play system...just gotta love those big corporations >.

My only concern with this is the PC friends match list and it MUST STAY FREE.

Yeah , I don't think Microsoft expects Pc gamers to pay to play online, rather than get more 360 gamers to buy Vista. Still wouldn't recommend it tho.

Do read: DirectPlay was the predecssor for game networking with DirectX. It failed and later got deprecated by Microsoft. why? It's not flexible enough for businesses making online games. They have a complete different architecture according to each business and it works well. I don't sere why Windows Live would be any different. This is purely an attraction-to-Vista strategy. If it wasn't, they would have had XP users take advantage of this. Game devs have their own architecture and have already said XBox Live is too strict. Not to mention, Blizzard Entertainment after turning down Microsoft due to Live. Stay away unless some favorite game of yours requires it.

Off topic: "Paying 49.99 to play someone on console not woth it, and for the people say tha pc gaming is dead you should realy read up on tech. PCs are way more better in games dont have too wait for a new console to come out every few years to see better grafics." perhaps you should wait a few years- learn proper grammar and than post that again. :] On topic: its cool/ AWESOME how i wont have to pay extra for the service on my pc! Oh and if anyone knows if i NEED vista for this stuff, lemme know in a message pleasy :]

i guess if i had a 360 with gold i wouldnt mind the extras on vista. But then again..why would i want to play 360 games on my pc? i like them where they belong..and i like my PC games seperate! Sure I prefer my FPS games on the PC, but i dont like to cross my platforms..

too bad you don't have to pay to play online with pc gamers, so a lot of us 360 owners won't get to play with as many hermits as we first thought. but still, awesome, i can get achievements on my computer now too.

Paying 49.99 to play someone on console not woth it, and for the people say tha pc gaming is dead you should realy read up on tech. PCs are way more better in games dont have too wait for a new console to come out every few years to see better grafics.

This doesn't bother me one bit. I have Live already, which I just paid 50 for one year. I got Vista (Ultimate) for free (thx to college). hell, there's already cheaters on Halo 2 for xbox 360. But cheating doesn't bother me. Usually those who cheat really have to go out of their way to do it. Like the old motto says, "you ain't tryin' if you ain't cheatin'".

Sounds great. But what specific games will allow cross-platform gameplay?:?

you don't need to pay to play from one computer to another, just from a computer to the 360.... pay to play accross platforms. Although i don't know if i like the accross platform thing, a keyboard and mouse is a huge advantage in a lot of games. (esp FPS)

I'm confused. So you have to have live account on windows to play multi player PC games when this comes out? that's rubbish if you ask me. Although i do already have Gold on my 360, it's just inconvenience. Can someone clear this up for me...is this true?

wtf, "the example of a PC gamer, outfitted with a mouse and keyboard, serving as the decision-making general of a real-time strategy game while Xbox 360 owners play as the grunts on the battlefield." I know it's only an example, but having PC gamers and 360 gamers in the same game seems wack. PC gamers will destroy a 360 gamer in any FPS. And no, I don't want to buy a USB keyboard and mouse for my 360 to level the playing field (no pun intended). I already have an entry-level PC. I made the choice to keep my gaming to consoles only. Creating two-tiered games is, IMO, a dumb idea.

This could spell the end of Cheat free gameing on the Xbox360, and the huge amount of fair play that happens on Xbox Live. Do you realy think Xbox 360 gamers can stand up to Nerds with no life and Keyboard Macros? Oh god the death of the cheat free console that is Xbox360 is comming!

Sweet i dunno about it i guess ill get vista but doesnt Halo Custom Edition do the job good or just a 360 why make 2 you better mix em together and he says Uh alot in the voice thing so pc playing against 360 correct?

If you have the Gold XBL membership and Vista, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY AN ADDITIONAL FEE TO USE GWL. GWL takes all the extra work out of setting up a Ventrilo/Teamspeak server, has all the communication aspects of XBL built in, matchmaking and all the other features that make XBL so awesome in the first place. Since you're paying $49.99 in the first place to game on Live, why not use GWL to play Battlefield 2 with a mouse and keyboard, voicechat, and matchmaking for no additional cost on your computer with Vista? Seems like a no brainer to me.

PC gamers the free ride is over better get use to it. XBL is the best gaming service on consoles and it will soon be the best on the PC too. You only have to use one App instead of the 3 or 4 you currently use now so that should be welcome news. Playing Crysis with Achievements is going to be great.

Again, to the people who seem to have missed it: Silver membership will be FREE. So no, you don't "pay for online pc gaming now" :P.

NICE!! i cant wait. halo 2 for pc is going to be nice with the coustom Maps. and the activments for the Vista version of the game. CANT WAIT!

i got windows vista is ok but the only problem i got with it is that on old games the online mutiplayer wont work on some games

This kind of sucks. I have a 360 and Gold, and live is great for the console thing because it does make it easyer to play console games mp. But PC is already great at multiplayer. I liked how it was free, msn and yahoo messengers where great friends list, there was already free voice chat whenever you wanted to download it. I was kind of a fan of the text chat rooms on games, because you don't always feel like talking on a mic. Plus the conversations are always muggled when more than one person is talking on voice. The whole thing will probly lag out PC games haveing to run this background program, also opens the door for cheating and hacking vs. the console.

Great guys, lets pay for online PC gaming now.

It won't be fair for Console gamers that will be up against the might of a mouse and keyboard. I don't think this is a good idea. It will make it very unfair to those of us who still use the good ol' controller.

Maybe if they bring the Xbox 360 games over to Vista, I'd get this. Otherwise, scam.

im a big pc gamer there is no way im paying for any online gaming M$ can go to he**

Microsoft likely does not expect PC gamers to pay for this. Its strategy is more to attract 360 users into buying Vista.

I don't think PC gamers will pay for gold for the PC live features. But people like me who have a 360 and live but also play PC will benefit from them. Anyway I think having achievements and stuff for PC games could be pretty awesome, but I'm not sure it will work out all that well. I really don't want another program running in the background when I'm gaming. I already have a firewall, Xfire and other programs running, I don't need any more to slow me down.

Vista is stupidly bugged as it is..Please make things work on different rigs before you push more money whoring ideas M$!! The way i see it is, we're going to be paying to play and chat online..which we've been doing for free for YEARS, and then they'll come up with the bright idea to only let mods and game upgrades work through DLC! More money! if PC gaming is going down this road..I guess im going to the online-is-free PS3 option! Although even sony have the 'pay us more' DLC downside. I miss the old days when fun gaming cost about £20...with no added extras or monthly fees haven't these companies got enough money?!

it's absurd that they expect PC gamers to shill out money to play games online...something that we've all done for free for ages...unlike the xbox360, microsoft has no real say in pc games...I really don't know why the service(gold) isn't free with Vista.

So it is going to be Mouse and Keyboard vs controller. I see problems here.

Not too bad. I'm not a big PC gamer, so I won't get the gold, but it looks neat.

I don't know what you're talking about Andron666. PC gaming is booming.

coolness, now i may be able to play with my friends dad who is a playstation/pc guy.

Not exactly a great surprise. But I doubt this will save PC gaming ;) It's in MS interest to keep people playing on PC's, and that's why I never got on the xbox wagon. It's just a stripped down PC.