Three reasons I'll never forgive Microsoft's GfWL and XfW failures

[Guest]

Keep dreaming.

 

Keep dreaming?

[coolhund]

Nothing will beat Steam in price, convenience, or crazysales

 

What's so bad about Steam anyways? 

 

1. Its the sole reason there are more like it.

2. Its bloatware that nobody really needs.

3. Its very unreliable, slow and always has connection problems, which in turn makes is completely useless to use in its other functions (which I called bloatware already). Why should I use it as an IM, if I and my friends get disconnected all the time and we need to change to a different IM then anyway?

Anyone remember Gamespy 3D/All-Seeing Eye times? You could always play games over them, even if some important server went poof. In Steam at least 5 times a week you cant play because they either are doing some crap update again or something simply goes kaputt.

 

I dont have anything against digital sales. But they promised to make them cheaper because they save packaging, discs, etc. But they didnt. Their stupid weekend sales are only good for easily manipulated people who buy everything that is cheap. And the account restriction and bonding is a joke. I saw one of my friends lose his whole collection of games because Valve ######ed up and he never got it  back.

[Anibal P]

1. Its the sole reason there are more like it.

2. Its bloatware that nobody really needs.

3. Its very unreliable, slow and always has connection problems, which in turn makes is completely useless to use in its other functions (which I called bloatware already). Why should I use it as an IM, if I and my friends get disconnected all the time and we need to change to a different IM then anyway?

Anyone remember Gamespy 3D/All-Seeing Eye times? You could always play games over them, even if some important server went poof. In Steam at least 5 times a week you cant play because they either are doing some crap update again or something simply goes kaputt.

 

I dont have anything against digital sales. But they promised to make them cheaper because they save packaging, discs, etc. But they didnt. Their stupid weekend sales are only good for easily manipulated people who buy everything that is cheap. And the account restriction and bonding is a joke. I saw one of my friends lose his whole collection of games because Valve ####ed up and he never got it  back.

 

Wow dude, get up with the times

 

1. Yeah how DARE they come up with a system to easily get games digitally, created at a time where having a 2d/512k u connection was considered badass, they addressed a need, and pioneered digital distribution and have been at the top all this time because unlike the rest they actually get it

 

2. Anything that doesn't come in a basic Windows install can be called bloatware by the ignorant masses, not even close to a valid reason 

 

3. Unless the last time you used it was back in the early days, then you are incorrect, I have been using it since almost the beginning, yes it was unreliable but so was Win XP, it's completely stable and usable nowadays, and is one of the few 3rd party apps that does not crash all the time in Win 8, AND I run the Beta client 

 

That being said, it does need better integration into Metro, but that's not a real concern to most and likely not a real complaint by even the smallest of minority of Steam users 

[Lenny Bruce]

Long live Steam.

'Nuff said.

 

I heard that GTA IV on PC used GfWL, and a lot of people hated it... or maybe that was the poor optimization of the port, which would then be Rockstar's fault....

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Any more issues from this topic and it will be closed.

 

Ridiculous that some of you can't discuss a simple topic without resorting to personal attacks.

[MorganX]

Since you clearly seem to think that you know better than the companies you slammed, I challenge you to release a game platform/service and do better than those companies have done. Competition within an industry usually leads to better products, so if you know better than Microsoft, Valve, EA, and Ubisoft, excellent! So please, show us what you can come up with and impress us!  :) Eagerly looking forward to seeing what sort of design and service you will release.

 

In other words, you have nothing meaningful to contribute. Got it.

Any more issues from this topic and it will be closed.

 

Ridiculous that some of you can't discuss a simple topic without resorting to personal attacks.

 

I forgot it was a game related post ...

[Raa]

Keep dreaming?

Yes, that's what I said.

 

 

Long live Steam.

'Nuff said.

 

I heard that GTA IV on PC used GfWL, and a lot of people hated it... or maybe that was the poor optimization of the port, which would then be Rockstar's fault....

I'm hearing you on that. Fortunately they've changed it, but I can't say the Rockstar Club 'launcher' is much better really. :/

[ViperAFK]

Nothing wrong with steam at all. Origin / Uplay and GFWL however are a different story.

IMO origin is at least 'ok', however yeah I agree about uplay and GFWL.

 

I think origin is a bit unfairly bashed these days, it doesn't have as many features as steam but it works pretty well and isn't bloated.

[Guest]

Yes, that's what I said.

 

Agree to disagree. It is the worst performing application on my system. Heck, I can start a game of Hearthstone faster than Steam can get its brains together, from a cold launch. Not to mention, for a stripped-down client, the navigation and browsing is just bad. Way faster to do it with IE on steampowered.com than to bother using the client for anything else other than to just install the games.

[AnotherITguy]

I personally used Games For Windows Live, and it wasn't too bad, I just wish that Microsoft would have improved upon it, but sadly, they never did. Xbox for Windows, can't say I've used it. Lastly as far as you not forgiving Microsoft.... why the hostility? it is a publicly traded company, mistakes happen, and they do have to answer to the shareholders.

[Raa]

Agree to disagree. It is the worst performing application on my system. <Snip>

And we'll leave it there. Clearly the issue is not with Steam.

 

And Hearthstone is a great game too btw! (Y)

Oh there's another launcher - Blizzard's. Not that I mind it at all.

[MorganX]

I personally used Games For Windows Live, and it wasn't too bad, I just wish that Microsoft would have improved upon it, but sadly, they never did. Xbox for Windows, can't say I've used it. Lastly as far as you not forgiving Microsoft.... why the hostility? it is a publicly traded company, mistakes happen, and they do have to answer to the shareholders.

 

I guess I take the title within the scope of an online tech forum, expressing displeasure with these services. IMO, Microsoft had/has the best service and infrastructure and has just ... failed with it non the PC for no good reason other than IMO ineptness. So, I blame Microsoft. But not in a deep personal way. Just conversationally. I wouldn't call it hostility in the way that clearly some take any gaming discussion ... to heart.

 

At the very least, if MS is just going to throw in the towel, they should allow these services to tie into Live as far as achievements maybe, Gamerscore, who knows where it could lead.

[sathenzar]

I personally like steam and don't care to have yet another game manager on my system. I don't need 4 managers to swap my games with. It's just dumb. I've actually declined purchasing any game that is exclusive to origin just because of that.

[theyarecomingforyou]

GFWL was a complete disaster. Initially Microsoft tried to charge for it, which was outrageous, but quickly backed down due to public opinion. It made save games incredibly hard to backup and they would frequently end up corrupted (something I experienced with GTA IV and Batman: Arkham Asylum). It didn't store saves in the cloud. It required constant updates that required restarting the game. It was poorly supported and had a terrible client. It had constant login problems and each time you reinstalled a game it would prompt you for your serial key. It was widely despised and developers that utilised it were widely criticised.

 

Steam and Origin are superior to GFWL in every way. Heck, even UPlay is leagues ahead of it. GFWL was a great reminder of how out of touch Microsoft is with PC gamers. Now it's shut down it's left many games unsupported and unplayable, while others have had to be converted to other services (usually Steam). I'm glad that GFWL is gone and I won't forgive Microsoft for trying to force it upon PC gamers. Good riddance.

[trooper11]

GFWL did not turn out well because MS was not aggressive enough in adapting Xbox Live to the PC gaming market.

 

MS had to scrap it and start over in a smarter way. I really think that they are planning something much smarter that will bring Xbox Live to the PC without the silliness that came before.

 

MS could have a real winner if they bring all of the XBL features to the PC along with access to the data you already have on consoles. I think they have laid a strong base to build on with XBL on Win 8 and apps like smartglass. If they also pursue games as a service, they could roll that into the PC side and offer even more value. MS is all about bringing their platforms together now, so its not crazy to think they will start to do more and more cross platform features/content between PC and Xbox. Cross buying games between WP and Windows is already happening NOW, so what is so crazy about thinking it will come to the Xbox?

 

I'm interested to see what happens over the next 6-12 months.

 

 

 

I guess I take the title within the scope of an online tech forum, expressing displeasure with these services. IMO, Microsoft had/has the best service and infrastructure and has just ... failed with it non the PC for no good reason other than IMO ineptness. So, I blame Microsoft. But not in a deep personal way. Just conversationally. I wouldn't call it hostility in the way that clearly some take any gaming discussion ... to heart.

 

At the very least, if MS is just going to throw in the towel, they should allow these services to tie into Live as far as achievements maybe, Gamerscore, who knows where it could lead.

 

 

The thing is, I don't think MS is throwing in the towel at all. They painted themselves into a corner with GFWL. They have taken a clean slate. The base they have put in so far is to tie XBL services across all their devices, including Windows. The next step is to bring content in the form of cross buying options across all devices that are capable.

[spaceelf]

GfWL was a good idea with bad execution.  If they'd have improved the downloader and moved most functionality OUTSIDE THE GAME I don't think people would've hated it so much.