Vista gets Live-wired in May

How would windows vista users get the program or service if it is free? and is it available on all versions?!!?!?!?!?!?

JEEBUS_BOGONDO, I don't think user made mods will be a problem as people will still be able to host their own servers, and even Halo 2 on the PC comes with a map editor. If they were to try and eliminate mods, that would also eliminate the PC gaming community. What I AM more worried about is PC vs 360 users. Not so much as control, but so much as the developers ability to make sure that both are going to have a consistent frame rate. One advantage that console users have over PC users are that they have no settings to adjust, so everyone gets the same frame rate. PC gamers, on the other hand, all depends on how high they have their graphic settings and what their PC can handle, so there is a lot of frame drops here and there if they don't have it tuned right. If PC gamers want the edge, then they either need a top of the line graphics card or just turn the visual quality all the way down.

tthis is dumb

I don't know why everyone is making such a big deal. The only thing I see being a problem is that M$ will eventually be adding purchasable content that PC users used to get for free. But again, that content is usually up to developers if they want money from it. Even Epic has said that they will not charge people to get new Gears of War maps. Other than that, the matchmaking and friendslist is a great way of knowing what games your friends are playing while being able to click on their name and joining the same game as them without having to go through the hassle of using an IM, finding an IP address, then hoping that you are both able to get into the same server. I don't think anyone can argue the point that finding games on Xbox Live is easier to use than gaming on the PC. My own friends are so impatient (and incompetent) that trying to explain to them how we have to join a PC game together is like talking mathematic equations to a 5 year old...they loose interest very quickly and go to something more entertaining and easier, which in the case of my friends is Xbox Live.

pretty cool but whats going to happen to all the cool user made mods tho? counter strike itself was a user mod and now is it going to be dried up like the xbox 360 only getting mediocre crap that you pay cash for every few months? also, as a first person shooter fan it certainly wont be fair to console users going up against people who have the advantage of mouse and keyboard. console users will get OWNED by the mouse and keyboard on fps's you watch.

FoamingPanda, if you finally decide to read instead of skim over information and assuming things, PC-only multiplayer is FREE. You have the option of playing with consoles if you pay for gold. Next time spend more time reading instead of capping every word in your sentences.

Two questions: 1) Does this mean if I have a Gold account on my 360 I automatically have a Gold account for my PC? Or do I have to set-up two? 2) Does this mean people on their 360 can play against people on their PC at the same time?

well i'm glad they didn't make you have to pay for pc v. pc. That would have ticked me off. I'm not gonna get gold version though, playing against console players just isn't worth 50 dollars although i'd love to do it. It'd be fun for the first few weeks, but it's a lot more fun to play against people who are more challenging

well, theres a 100% chance im getting a 360 for halo 3, might aswell have a gold account for the two consoles (PC and 360)

microsoft tryin 2 make more money again

Pc VS Xbox360, pointless much?, doubt if anyone wants to pay for it.

You can play Xbox 360's with PCs? Wow, I really hope my PC can run Halo 2.

Thinking more on this, and I'm trying to reason what Microsoft's immediate motivation is. Remember when Bethesda tried to sell horse armor to PC users for 2 bucks? Perhaps Microsoft is ultimately trying to establish the same kind of digital download revenue system that apparently works well on 360. Sure, PC gaming will be free (at least for now) between other PC users, but at what point will companies begin offering additional content (maps, mods, expansions) only through Xbox Live for Vista? From a publisher's standpoint, it doesn't make sense to give away for free what can be provided for profit. This is especially true on the PC platform, in which piracy is a much bigger factor when it comes to a company's bottom line. So, perhaps it's not an inevitable threat to PC multiplayer gaming as we know it, but instead, the end of free bonus content, post release?

foamingpanda. you seem pretty hypocritical to me... windows is just as much of a monopolizing force as a console. (actually, I'd argue more-so) reason: directx. if you were truly what you say you are you'd only play openGL games in linux.

well at least i'm still very happy with XP. screw Vista. I dont need DX10 yet.

This is awesome! Now I can beat all my PC friends with their keyboard and mouse because they "aren't good with a controller." No more complaining from them, just dying...

To Microsoft: Stop. Trying. To. Take. My. Money. I'm sick of paying or registering for goods and services that SHOULD be free. STOP TRYING TO CONTROL MY CHOICES AS A CONSUMER. I'M SICK OF COMPANIES MONOPOLIZING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THAT SHOULD BE FREE. STOP IT. I haven't purchased a new console in over two years because I am absolutely SICK and TIRED of companies monopolizing various aspects of the industry. I don't CARE if you want to make more money. Stop taking away my freedom as a consumer, or I, and many other PC gaming fans, will stop purchasing your products. I don't like console gamers when I'm playing a PC game online. I don't want to play with them, talk to them, or even know that they are playing. I don't want to be forced into registering for a service that should be free, or paying to play against other console gamers. Stop forcing these choices on me.

People seriously need to read the article, you WILL NOT HAVE TO PAY to play multiplayer on PC to PC. But if you want to play with Xbox360 players, then you will have to.

I would be appauled if I had to pay to play games from one PC to another, especially if it's a monthly fee. Want to play FEAR online? can't costs too much, want to play warcraft 3 online? no way jose! ... I realize it wont be for older games, but for new games to come, and its a rediculous idea, money grubbing Mi-crotch-soft.

They should make it a part of messenger, it already got tabs and you can already invite people to games and it also uses the microsoft passport login, just make some complimentary 360 icons or something for friends with Live and the rest is history. easy as pie! EASY AS PIE.

This is a slippery slope. By establishing a proprietary online gaming service on the PC platform, Microsoft is potentially positioning itself in eventually becoming a required component of PC online gaming in the future. If and when that happens, they could charge for PC-to-PC multiplayer just as they do on 360. However, Microsoft doesn't manufacture a person's hardware, and users can readily switch from one OS to another. Maybe if that worst-case scenario comes about, developers and gamers will embrace something like Linux or Mac OS. OpenGL instead of Direct3d...

I think it's a really good idea, it's cool that they are unifying platforms together with one gamerscore, and once service. I personally think it's really cool that I can collect gamerscore now in halo 2! heh heh

wow.. this kinda seems useless... for the most part unless you wanna play against 360 people. Other then that x-fire is out there doing the same thing.

Can't beat Xbox live...

So does this mean that Halo 2 will be cross platform multiplayer like Shadowrun will be? That should be interesting. Also: "Kevin Unangst, director of Games for Windows, offered 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." -----That could be a really amazing gameplay experience, just have to hope those PC nerds are up to snuff.

john1918, lol, I feel your pain. I'm personally hoping that I'll be able to cream (at UT3) the mainstream gamers at my school. I might actually pay money in order to completely dominate the football team... lulz

Looking interesting, but I wonder how the fee will be recieved by pc gamers....

PC games will still happily run their own servers online. It's only the partner titles that Microsoft brings in (via $$$) for Games For Windows/Vista that will have Live-enabled gameplay. Some will also opt to use Live's newer backdoor services, running a Gamespy-like subnetwork. Don't suddenly expect all PC publishers to flock to Live for their multiplayer. Obviously it's a nice cost-cutting measure for publishers who are creating a PC and 360 version of a title simultaneously, others will enjoy the dual-platform publicity it brings, but the PC multiplayer model inherently needs no Live-like service to function.

that going to be good...i think its a great idea and can't seem to wait for the update hope we get some cool new stuf for the 360

Publishers can still have free online service for thier PC games. You just will not be able to play with 360 users unless you have a gold account. I think for many gamers it will not be a huge deal as we already have an account.

You mean we are going to have to pay money to put the beat-down on console-fan-people? Darn. Well this might be worth a few bucks.

....ya right we are gonna pay for somthing PC users been having free for a long time......I can understand why you would charge X-Box live users its your product but PC are not ur product only the OS is. I hope game makers don't fall for microsoft retarted making making off PC gamers. Example of free severs for match making games are Steam, BattleNet, Gamespy, also pravite severs made by the makers of other games. I for one won't fall for this and buy thier crap.

and the point of running windows on a mac isn't to run WINDOWS, it's to run APPLICATIONS that are only available on windows, on a mac.

indigoAK200, bootcamp? that's old news... look up the parallels software. being built on Unix doesn't make it a rip-off... talking about FEATURES in the operating system, MS didn't do much innovation in vista, they did a LOT of "hay look what they got in OSX let's do that."

:o...Amazing. But I am actually concerned that if we, as 360 and PC gamers, can play together, wouldn't the PC gamers have an advantage? Especially in FPSes.

Jesus H. Christ. It's not like every game from here on out will use this feature. The cold truth is that the majority of the games that actually do use this service will be arcade titles. And you guys are forgetting that there ARE ways of balancing gameplay between console and PC players.

wtf no cross platform on silver, thats such bs

to me, the only thing I'd benefit from gold would be multiplayer achievements. all the others I don't really care about. Silver for me

I agree with DefAde72 and anyone else that thinks this is a dumb idea...I will sell my Xbox360 and just play on the computer...what an unfair advantage in any shooter or rts game. Xbox live is great because no one has an advantage hardware wise...this will ruin LIVE for me ...I hope someone from microsoft reads this.....

so....what about if you play Halo 2 on Xbox 360? Will there be achievements only for the Vista version?

arghh wot r u gettign worked up about, silver and gold on pc isnt like on x360, on pc regardless of service you can play for free, read article first!

Sweet! Idont have to pay for another Gold Membership. I wonder if this will have any affect on STEAM?

Hmm, I think the argument that Windows is just a rip-off of MacOS X is irrelevant. If you look at Apple's website and read the various forms of documentation available on MacOS X, you'd know that MacOS X is built on UNIX, which is an open-source platform. So, on a technicality, MacOS is just as much of a rip-off as Windows is. But let's be honest here. How many people actually own a Mac or can afford one? Howe many soccer moms out there are going to drop $2,000 on a Mac for their kids when they can drop $500 on a Vista PC for their kids and get the same end result - their kids with a computer? See, soccer moms and soccer dads don't care about whether or not MacOS X is more secure. They don't care whether it's faster or prettier. They care that their kids can do what they want on their computer - and let's be honest again - kids these days want to play games. MacOS X sucks for games. Plain and simple. As for Boot Camp - it's Apple's way of sucking wind. The fact that Apple would even develop a way to run Windows on a Mac just goes to show that Windows will for a long time be the majority of the market share and that Apple knows it and should just start taking it in stride.

Hey no extra charge sounds good. PC user get free online, which is what they already have on a service with little lag. I think is sounds good.

Sounds fun

why does everybody assume that a 360 player wouldn't be able to choose if they want to play against PC players or not?

If you PC users ruin my games of GRAW 2, I will personally hunt down and smash your mouse and keyboard.

Very Awesome :)

oh, wait, insane pilot. did you forget that I was talking about vehicles?