Games for Windows was promoted through convention kiosks and through other forums as early as 2005. The branding program was open to both first-party and third-party publishers. The brand itself represents a standardized technical certification program and online service for Windows games, bringing a measure of regulation to the PC game market in much the same way that console manufacturers regulate their platforms. Games for Windows is a discontinued brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2006 to coincide with the release of the Windows Vista operating system. For the service, see Games for Windows – Live. That's not simply a gaming problem, but nor are they magically immune.For the magazine, see Games for Windows: The Official Magazine. It's hard to imagine Microsoft keeping the PC as open as it's always been, if it can get away with locking it down and keeping the keys. Over on OS X, Apple has proven that at least their users will embrace a platform-holder owned storefront and the security/bonus features that can be bundled with it. The threat, in short, isn't Windows 8 but the potential Windows 9.Īlready conventional apps are effectively second-class citizens in the new regime confined to little icons, while Modern UI apps get to stretch out in big flashy tiles. Microsoft wants to be your source of everything from apps to music, and with Windows 8, it's not messing around like it did with Windows Marketplace. If successful though, it's easy to see this level of control stretching - and love or hate Windows 8, there's no denying that a big chunk of it is about turning at least the default PC ecosystem into a more Microsoft-friendly one. The games available on the store are no big threat to anyone but the casual gaming portals right now. The rules are here, covering everything from the type of ad these apps can show, to how fast they have to load, to prohibiting any touch controls that contradict Windows 8. Nobody else can sell Modern UI apps, and it gets to both take a cut and dictate exactly how they work. Games in here are firmly the likes of Fruit Ninja and Doodle God, rather than Crysis 2, but what matters is that it's a slice of the PC gaming industry that Microsoft gets to outright control. The Windows 8 Store is restrictive for devs
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