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Valve Questions Microsoft's PC Gaming Commitment

Posted by Zonk on from the are-you-in-or-are-you-out dept.

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting on comments from an interview they conducted with Doug Lombardi, marketing manager at Valve Studios. Lombardi criticized Microsoft's recent commitment to PC gaming in the form of the 'Games for Windows' initiative, which we've previously discussed here on the site. In Lombardi's view, this new push for games on the PC platform is nothing more than an extended advertising scheme to sell the Vista OS. "'Sony and Microsoft both have armies of PR people whose job it is to cram that information down the throats of press and analysts every day ... All those people do is say the PC's dying, the console's winning, and nobody on the PC side is championing that platform. And sales data tracks retail, and there's no doubt about it, PC sales at retail are declining ... World of Warcraft is making a whole lot of money outside of the retail channel, we're making a decent bit of cash off Steam, all the casual guys are not tracked - the PopCap games, Bejewelled, all that stuff doesn't show up.'"

4 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. They have such a tough position by GregPK · · Score: 3, Funny

    On one hand they have the PC gaming market they need to support; On the other hand the more they move to console the more they make money and Vice Versa. Though with Vista's new Xbox live connection feature allowing Xbox 360 owners and PC owners to play each other. It sort of bridges the gap. But they did it to themselves.

  2. Get rid of Steam by superangrybrit · · Score: 0, Funny

    and then I'll take you seriously about that "Games for Windows" bit. I don't want to hear about your other games made by other companies on your Steam platform. The game should alert me if there is an update at start up like in Blizzard games. I don't want to install your store.

    1. Re:Get rid of Steam by beef623 · · Score: 1, Funny

      What turned me against steam was the fact that I went out and bought Half-Life 2 took it home, installed it and had to wait half a day for it to get the required updates because they didn't even ship the full game on the disc(90-95% if I remember right). I could understand if it was an MMO or something along that line, but the least they can do is put a working copy of the game on the cd/dvd you buy. I can't honestly see how a company that would do that to its customers would have the nerve to complain about someone else's methods, even if it is microsoft.

    2. Re:Get rid of Steam by beef623 · · Score: 1, Funny

      I'll agree that the support is nice and that aspect of steam is a good one, but they shouldn't force the updates down the gamers throats and they shouldn't require an internet connection for a single player game.

      No offense intended but you guys are the only people I've ever heard say anything about steam that didn't involve a lot of swearing, things flying across the room and the death of small animals...