Microsoft Making New PC Games DL Marketplace

By Marcus Yam
published

A Steam competitor?

For PC gamers, the most popular way to buy games digitally is through Steam. And where there's action, Microsoft wants to be there.

Microsoft today announced the overhaul of Games for Windows Marketplace, which will have Games on Demand online distribution. Launching Nov. 15, the Games for Windows Marketplace will sell PC games, and like the Xbox Live Marketplace, will have recurring specials such as Deal of the Week.

"With Games for Windows Marketplace, we set out to create a digital store built for PC gamers end-to-end," said Kevin Unangst, senior global director, PC and Mobile Gaming, at Microsoft. "And by integrating with our existing Xbox Live and Windows Live services, we've made it easier than ever for millions of gamers to see for themselves how easy buying PC games can be."

Logging into Games for Windows Marketplace requires any form of Windows Live ID, such as Windows Live, Xbox Live, Games for Windows – LIVE or Zune account. The new store also supports Microsoft Points, as well as credit card purchasing.

Check out more about the new PC Marketplace at Joystiq.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
53 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Albyint
    I would use them if they used the same strategy as Zune Marketplace. Pay monthly for access to the whole library but I doubt it turns out that way.
    Reply
  • rocky1234
    This is all good & all but they sure had better still have the DVD or blu ray versions as well. Call me old fashioned but I like to have the game & box in my hand. I also do not want to have to wait 2 hours every time I have to reinstall a game because of a windows wipe & reload. Steam works fairly well but it sure is annoying to have to wait 10 or 15 minutes for it to do updates to the installed games before being able to play a game.

    When I first got CODMW2 I had to wait 2 hours before being able to play it & I owned the DVD version but because at the time steam was having problems it would not let me play my new game until they got their servers back up & running. I almost returned the game & said frack it but just as I was ready to give up it told me starting game updates now & then had to wait about 5 more minutes before playing it. Maybe this was just a bad Exp for me on that game but it sure makes online crap like that look bad. The thing that got me is it did not state that the game was attached to steam if it had I most likely would not have bought it because I would have wanted to avoid problems like I had with the game.
    Reply
  • siliconchampion
    @Rocky

    Wow, I'm sorry. Here at school, I get roughly 80 Mbps download speeds, so installing large games goes quite quickly.

    I purchase almost all my new games through steam, a notable exception being SC2 of course, and love it.

    Before I left for class one day I simply began downloading about ten games, including MW2 and other large titles. When I returned from class (55 minutes later), my clean install of W7 was no longer barren of those games.

    Steam is the model others should look for... Now if only there were a "steam for movies."

    And Zune Pass is a fantastic system for music distribution.
    Reply
  • LongLiveRock1974
    While I like being able to purchase games online, I won't be using this service. I really dislike Windows Live and every experience I've had with it. I'll stick to Direct2Drive.
    Reply
  • invlem
    I dunno, they're going to have to pull a magic rabbit out of their hat for this to work... Games for Windows vs Steam, there's no comparison... I can't stand the GfW interface
    Reply
  • jkflipflop98
    All these greedy corporations eye up a slice of the pie they think they can win, but it's just going to end up costing them.

    Just partner up with Steam. They've won. It's over. You'll NEVER be as good at this as Steam is, so just sign up with them and call it good. Sometimes I think the tech world purposefully tries to kill itself.
    Reply
  • rohitbaran
    jkflipflop98All these greedy corporations eye up a slice of the pie they think they can win, but it's just going to end up costing them.Just partner up with Steam. They've won. It's over. You'll NEVER be as good at this as Steam is, so just sign up with them and call it good. Sometimes I think the tech world purposefully tries to kill itself.Well, it is good to have competition. If they do turn out to be a good enough option which means price and service wise, I will buy some games from them as well.
    Reply
  • zmbcat
    Microsoft really wants to get themselves in to everything nowdays.
    Reply
  • thechief73
    I personally favor Steam ever since buying a retail box of Half Life 2, and it has grown on me more and more ever since. Great sales, friends, groups & chats and a well refined interface. The Steam forums and support are very helpfull and always post ahead of time Steam updates and downtimes along with what will be affected, and the instant game updates are a breeze / no hassel affair, as well as all the other perks Steam offers.

    I say good luck to Microsoft shoe-horning into their territory, they are going to have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to compete. But if they can pull off a good system and match Steam's deals, a little compition never hurt anyone.
    Reply
  • I am quite a fan of Steam but if Microsoft opens up their own store and has sales like Steam does, THEN WOOHOOOO! Competition is good for the end user!
    Reply