12th Blog:
Microsoft Games for Windows Live is Set to Shut Down July, 2014.
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It seems Microsoft is pulling the plug for Games for Windows Live and Marketplace for reasons unknown.
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It is possible it could be due to the rise of Steam as the leading Digital Distributor in PC gaming and many publishers like Capcom and Warner Bros. leaving Games for Windows Live to opt for Steam instead.
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This is a both a good and bad thing. The good is that users will no longer need to be signed in to Games for Windows Live to play their games and continue their saved games. It also means less resources used on the PC that can now go to the game being played for better performance.
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The bad news is we have to hope that the games get updated to remove Games for Windows Live or else we now have a game that can be used as a coaster. Why? Because once Games for Windows Live shuts down, that means its servers shut down. That means the games can no longer be activated, which means you will not be able to play the game you PAID for. The next bad news is all your saved data and achievements stored on Games for Windows Live will also be lost having you to start your games from scratch.
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But, the good does outweigh the bad and this is a time to rejoice as Games for Windows Live was more of a nuisance DRM for PC gaming and the Marketplace was nothing special. You rarely ever saw games on sale and there rarely were ever any games worthy to have interest in. The next big problem is, with this news, I now wonder about XBone, err... X-Box One. Are we going to have to worry about similar problems happening with the upcoming XBox One in its future? Microsoft has lost the faith of a lot of its customers and the news of this shutdown is not making things better. Gamers are getting worried and more and more are moving to the upcoming PS4 and PC gaming with Steam. I can't blame them. I would be paranoid too.
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So with Microsoft putting up the white flag, in the great words of the Terminator, "Hasta la vista, baby!"
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