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[Rolodzeo]

Those Average Joe's own a PS4 currently. I think average PC gamer cares more about settings and full screen then you are letting on imo.

Although you have a point saying AJ already have PS4, I think about all the people playing Minecraft, Sims, Battlefield/CS:GO/CoD and LoL/Dota (and I know some of these titles have their own delivery platform, I'm just naming representative games). Then again, Forza, KI, Gears and the like are catered to more hardcore gamers. Hmmm, I'm confused.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Oh please they know what they're doing since Tim talked to them 18 months ago about this. They likely could care less about game sales and more about whether they can get their dream app store version running with the policies they want with a large userbase. The games are just bait m8. If they wanted to emulate steam's success, they'd have done it easy peasy. But they always want more. Unfortunately for them they're no good at hiding their intentions.

True. True.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

This isn't limited to gaming. Microsoft is pushing UWAs really hard, and increasingly locking down what you can do with Win32 apps in the name of security, performance, and OS integrity. This is going to continue, and there's no getting off the ride because of forced updates with Windows 10.

On the other hand, these "missing features" aren't an unsolvable problem. Microsoft is going to continue to develop new APIs for the UWA platform that opens up what you can do in a controlled, secure way. Basically walled garden. The plants are just young at this point, making it really obvious when you see the stone walls that you've lost your freedom.

 

[jblank83]

Oh please they know what they're doing since Tim talked to them 18 months ago about this. They likely could care less about game sales and more about whether they can get their dream app store version running with the policies they want with a large userbase. The games are just bait m8. If they wanted to emulate steam's success, they'd have done it easy peasy. But they always want more. Unfortunately for them they're no good at hiding their intentions.

I'm unhappy with Nadella's leadership so far. Microsoft's offensively ham-fisted "upgrade to Windows 10 or else" tactics coupled with this are terrible moves. Nadella isn't as incompetent as Balmer, but his software policies have been insultingly narrow minded, even while the media eats it up for being oh so modern (ooh, software as a service!).

I can't say the software or products Microsoft is working on are all that different from what was going on before, either. His best decisions have been cutting some of the wasteful projects MS was dumping cash into. Anyone with half a brain could have done that.

 

[Yoshichan]

edit: woops, wrong. Sorry.

 

[GavinUK86]

*sigh*

This brings back some disgusting memories.

Now the Deus Ex DX12 video is creating new ones.

Thanks Microsoft, ya dick.

 

[onQ123]

Outside of Microsoft owned studios, who are the Xbox One devs that don't also develop on PC? It must be a tiny tiny percentage of 3rd party devs.

The point is that they will make a UWP game instead of making a Xbox One game & this game will be playable on Xbox One , Windows 10 PCs & the Windows 10 STBs.

 

[Innolis]

Excellent article and I wholeheartedly agree with everything Durante said.

Consumers have kept MS in check before when they wanted to pull their DRM crap with the xbox and they should do it again.

 

[TouchMyBox]

There certainly won't be any sudden introduction of heavy restrictions, that would cause the frog to jump out of the water.

Waaait a second... Maybe UWP is Frog Fractions 2?

 

[Grief.exe]

DX12 obviously works in Win32 as emulators have started to incorporate the performance features.

 

[StereoVsn]

This is a great article as always from Durante. UWP and UWA is quite dangerous for both gaming as well as regular applications. Microsoft is pushing UWA hard on the application storefront and through Visual Studio integration and its unsettling in the effect it will have on gaming as we know it.

Unfortunately too many people will go with console mentality toward PC gaming which is missing the point of openess that currently exists. There is nothing wrong with consoles, I have more then one, but losing great capabilities because of some nebulous benefits is BS.

The only thing that's missing from the article is mentioning of Microsoft's shenanigans with DirectX 12 and Windows compositing engine, potentially forcing functionality (well, restricting functionality) in that. Check out pcper arctic for details.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Genera...up-Ashes-Singularity-DX12-and-Microsoft-Store

 

[Pacotez]

The only difference this time around is they don't have the balls to charge for online. Will it make it more inviting? Yes. But by how much?

I bet they will, at least if they don't give up before that happens

 

[StereoVsn]

I bet they will, at least if they don't give up before that happens

"For one low price you can now play with your Xbox friends and get free games monthly! Get Gears Ultimate for the month of July free!"

Oh, I have no doubt they have a monetization plan in the works. You should see how they push those enterprise software and Azure subscriptions.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Buying RoTTR from the Windows Store on launch day was a huge mistake. I did it to avoid Steam, which I dislike, but I didn't realize at the time that it was going to be so restrictive.

That said, The Windows Store isn't going to stop me from playing Quantum Break, or ReCore. I wish there was another way, but there isn't, and ultimately, I just want to play video games!

 

[StereoVsn]

Buying RoTTR from the Windows Store on launch day was a huge mistake. I did it to avoid Steam, which I dislike, but I didn't realize at the time that it was going to be so restrictive.

That said, The Windows Store isn't going to stop me from playing Quantum Break, or ReCore. I wish there was another way, but there isn't, and ultimately, I just want to play video games!

There are quite a few other video games that you could play. You know, without supporting the bullshit that Microsoft is trying to push.

 

[Grief.exe]

Buying RoTTR from the Windows Store on launch day was a huge mistake. I did it to avoid Steam, which I dislike, but I didn't realize at the time that it was going to be so restrictive.

That said, The Windows Store isn't going to stop me from playing Quantum Break, or ReCore. I wish there was another way, but there isn't, and ultimately, I just want to play video games!

 

[Wowfunhappy]

There are quite a few other video games that you could play. You know, without supporting the bullshit that Microsoft is trying to push.

In a given year, there are maybe ten large new video game releases that I end up really enjoying. And that's being generous. In 2015, I can only count two: Splatoon and Life is Strange. Three if you count RoTTR as a 2015 release.

 

[brian!]

universal apps sounds like something you'd get a planet hollywood

 

[Pacotez]

Thank you OP. I read the article.

I think Microsoft, as a video game publisher, has a right to protect their intellectual property. If that means a non-standard (specifically non-EXE) PC application that's distributed through an official Microsoft store, they're allowed to do so. Additionally, UWA sounds like a set of tools for making software, not unlike CryEngine or Unity. Microsoft should be allowed to use and promote using these tools, even if it means something like lack of mod support in games.

What would be unacceptable is if Microsoft would one day force all Windows apps to be made with the UWA toolset, and sold through an official Windows store. But that is ridiculous. We're too far down the Windows PC path too assume that could happen. For one, developers wouldn't stand for it. If you're already familiar with a different toolset (or have built one in-house), you wouldn't suddenly want to learn something different. I don't think gamers would stand for it either. Valve has made a big push to make Linux a strong platform for games, and you can currently get over 1500 Steam games on Linux (including big name games like Borderlands). If Windows became closed and proprietary like iOS, I think gamers would jump ship to Linux (or maybe Mac).

To make Windows a walled-garden-type platform would be doing a disservice to a large number of people who buy Windows: PC gamers. I just don't see it happening.

Doesn't W10 sometimes uninstall programs?

"For one low price you can now play with your Xbox friends and get free games monthly! Get Gears Ultimate for the month of July free!"

Oh, I have no doubt they have a monetization plan in the works. You should see how they push those enterprise software and Azure subscriptions.

thank you for the nightmare inducing thoughts!

 

[Saucycarpdog]

Secretly I blame Apple for everything (well, let's say 99% of everything) wrong with computing today.

How can any for-profit company resist that profit margin? It's like back when everyone wanted to be WoW, but now everyone wants to own an app store.

May I ask why? Windows still is much bigger than OSX and the tides aren't really changing very much. OSX, while not allowing as much, still allows many of the same open connections that you can do on Windows. If your beef is simply with iOS I would remind you that mobile and computers are still very different platforms today. Perhaps the future Microsoft and other companies will try to converge these platforms, which I am firmly against, but for now they remain quite separate.

Also, don't know why you dislike Apple so much for creating their profit model. People like their products and storefronts and are willing to pay for it. If they also make large profits at the same time while satisfying customers I don't see the anything wrong with it. If other companies want to follow that model that shouldn't be apples fault.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Yes. Thank you Durante.

 

[Gattsu25]

May I ask why? Windows still is much bigger than OSX and the tides aren't really changing very much. OSX, while not allowing as much, still allows many of the same open connections that you can do on Windows. If your beef is simply with iOS I would remind you that mobile and computers are still very different platforms today. Perhaps the future Microsoft and other companies will try to converge these platforms, which I am firmly against, but for now they remain quite separate.

Also, don't know why you dislike Apple so much for creating their profit model. People like their products and storefronts and are willing to pay for it. If they also make large profits at the same time while satisfying customers I don't see the anything wrong with it. If other companies want to follow that model that shouldn't be apples fault.

He's likely referring to people chasing after the iOS app store profits, not the mac os app store (seriously, the mac app store is inconsequential enough to not really exists as far as I'm concerned).

 

[Drazgul]

"For one low price you can now play with your Xbox friends and get free games monthly! Get Gears Ultimate for the month of July free!"

As if that'd ever happen anyway. Mouse users wreck gamepad users 10 times out of 10.

 

[Tizoc]

So UWP's are like Console games...but on PC. You can't mod them, get custom settings, etc. That doesn't strike me as a good idea on a Platform where that kind of stuff is King.

Actually some console games can be modded or hacked like the ps3 yakuza games

 

[Scaramanger]

It will be interesting to see how well QB sells on the store. If they get good sales it might be enough to start turning the heads of some publishers, especially with the benefit of no piracy (and therefore no anti-piracy measures costs).

Gamers are pretty fickle, if the game reviews/plays well how many will resist?

 

[XBP]

Am I the only one who's always annoyed that this gif never actually finishes the sentence.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

It will be interesting to see how well QB sells on the store. If they get good sales it might be enough to start turning the heads of some publishers, especially with the benefit of no piracy (and therefore no anti-piracy measures costs).

Gamers are pretty fickle, if the game reviews/plays well how many will resist?

Publishers would lose so much more money pissing in the face of the bigger base (Steam). It's crippling yourself for a few petty sales.

 

[epmode]

The next step is when MS announces a DirectX feature that will only work with UWP. Or maybe a cross-platform multiplayer initiative that will only work in UWP.

 

[Scaramanger]

Publishers would lose so much more money pissing in the face of the bigger base (Steam). It's crippling yourself for a few petty sales.

It's my belief also but I guess QB will give us the first insight as to how true that is

 

[ClaptoVaughn]

Am I the only one who's always annoyed that this gif never actually finishes the sentence.

Yeah it could use about an extra 1/2 second in the beginning too.

 

[nib95]

Really excellent read. Far more thorough and detailed than anything else I've read or heard on the subject, including from Tim Sweeney.

 

[10k]

Durante has done more for PC gaming in five years then Microsoft has in two decades.

Edit: Fixed.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Durante has done more for PC gaming in three years then Microsoft has in three decades.

You might want to re-evaluate your time frame a bit.

I mean, Microsoft did make Win32 to begin with. And DirectX. And they popularized personal computers in the first place.

 

[Quasar]

On the other hand, these "missing features" aren't an unsolvable problem. Microsoft is going to continue to develop new APIs for the UWA platform that opens up what you can do in a controlled, secure way.

Certainly. It took a long time for win32 to get to where it is now. I don't see this as any different. And I'm sure MS will offer a way for other stores to sell UWA apps in time.

 

[moniker]

Good article, thanks Durante.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Certainly. It took a long time for win32 to get to where it is now. I don't see this as any different. And I'm sure MS will offer a way for other stores to sell UWA apps in time.

What makes you so sure? I don't see any financial incentive for them to do so.

 

[Sydle]

What makes you so sure? I don't see any financial incentive for them to do so.

Because they said they will. More about that at build apparently according to Spencer, Myerson, and Panay.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

You might want to re-evaluate your time frame a bit.

I mean, Microsoft did make Win32 to begin with. And DirectX. And they popularized personal computers in the first place.

I believe Apple is responsible for bringing GUI to the desktop with the original Mac, MS copied that later with Windows.

As for popularizing personal computers, that distinction belongs to IBM and the original IBM PC. The fact that IBM happened to license then little-known Microsoft's MS-DOS instead of better-known but more expensive operating systems was what ultimately started MS on their road to their world domination of today.

MS, throughout it's entire history, has never actually invented anything itself. Starting with MS-DOS and then later Windows, they saw someone else's idea and copied it and later pushed the original out of the market. This was later codified in the MS corporate ethos as 'Embrace, Extend, Extinguish' and it's a methodology used even today to enter a new market, rise to dominance, and crush competitors.

 

[GHG]

You're doing gods work Durante, thanks man.

The more people that become aware of what's going on the better it will be for all of us.

 

[Fret]

Sure, this all sounds bad, but it only effects MS games. We'll always have Steam or GOG. If MS somehow decides to force UWP apps only on Windows, then we can move away from Windows. It's hardly doom and gloom right now.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

If MS somehow decides to force UWP apps only on Windows, then we can move away from Windows.

It's just that easy!

 

[TerryLee81]

I hope the top level folks at MS responsible for this decision read this article.

 

[Krejlooc]

I believe Apple is responsible for bringing GUI to the desktop with the original Mac, MS copied that later with Windows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_Alto

 

[Dreavus]

Am I the only one who's always annoyed that this gif never actually finishes the sentence.

No you are not. And there are SO MANY other .gifs that have that exact problem.

 

[TheSeks]

If MS somehow decides to force UWP apps only on Windows, then we can move away from Windows.

Yes, because you'll be able to play Street Fighter 4, King of Fighters 98/02, and numerous other "Windows only" titles on Linux without a huge pain in the ass hassle that is WINE if they even work with that "emulation" wrapper.

I wish there was another way, but there isn't,

Yes there is. Play them on X-box 720 and don't support MS's trojan horse bullshit just because they're on PC!!!

Doesn't W10 sometimes uninstall programs?

No, at least not on me? Source for this otherwise it's FUD that ties into the whole "MS IS DATAMINING EVERYTHING YOU DOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" invasion of privacy paranoia.

 

[KingJ2002]

great article and it's spot on. Microsoft should clearly take a look at gaming on Mac computers to see what a future like that could possibly end up as.

Many of their decisions to close off their platform is only going to lead companies and other manufacturers to look into alternatives like Linux for consumers.

Microsoft clearly doesn't give a shit about them:

Surface tablet
Surface Pro Laptop
Lumia Phones

and I can imagine a desktop solution similar to the iMac.

the PC space is a big mess thanks to all these agenda's... it's necessary for all of this to be sorted out or else it will force Microsoft's hand.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Yes there is. Play them on X-box 720 and don't support MS's trojan horse bullshit just because they're on PC!!!

This option:
1) Provides no tangible benefit to me as a consumer—playing on a console is more restrictive than even a gimped PC.
2) Requires me to spend an extra $300+

 

[wapplew]

No more "wait for //Build/" respond? Strange...

 

[kyser73]

You might want to re-evaluate your time frame a bit.

I mean, Microsoft did make Win32 to begin with. And DirectX. And they popularized personal computers in the first place.

That's debatable.

 

[Krejlooc]

That's debatable.

Long, long before windows was a thing, the amiga and atari st were doing the same things to immense popularity.