Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
Two years after launch, Microsoft finally give us some excitement with the cross platform gaming dream. Grand Theft Auto IV will have console players carjacking the rides of PC owners. Microsoft are promising a renewed push for the LIVE service.
Now two years old, the Games for Windows LIVE brand has been a somewhat hit and miss affair. Only a smattering of titles has provided the ability for Xbox 360 and PC owners to share a gaming experience. Microsoft have taken a deep breath and plan to revitalise the idea with some of the biggest releases due over the next few months.
And what bigger name than RockStar Game’s Grand Theft Auto IV? Featuring DirectX 10 graphics and LIVE features such as a out-of-game client and marketplace GTA IV
“We’re incredibly proud of the deep, customisable multiplayer experience that Grand Theft Auto IV offers players, “ said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “As we work toward the release of the PC version, Games for Windows – LIVE affords us the opportunity to seamlessly translate the multiplayer console experience for PC gamers. The service is a natural fit for the platform and we strongly believe it will help in building a strong online community around GTA IV PC.”
Games for Windows – LIVE delivers a connected experience for PC gamers, letting users enjoy a common Gamertag, Gamerscore, and unified friends list that carries across both supported PC games and the Xbox 360 console, as well as single and multiplayer Achievements, voice chat, text messaging and TruSkill online matchmaking.
It was a fine idea from Microsoft, but one that has languished , only a few titles that have taken advantage, and reliance the Vista operating system that has not encouraged the technologies popularity.
In this new push however, Microsoft are pushing some high profile titles to flagship the service. Along with GTA IV, some of the year’s most-anticipated titles will take advantage of Games for Windows – LIVE, including “Fallout 3” (Bethesda Softworks LLC), “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II” (Turbine Inc./THQ Inc.) and “James Bond: Quantum of Solace” (Activision Publishing Inc.).
“Great Windows-based games like ‘Grand Theft Auto IV,’ ‘Fallout 3’ and ‘Dawn of War II’ are proof that Microsoft is delivering on its promise to provide the best possible PC gaming experience on Windows,” said Kevin Unangst, senior global director of Windows gaming at Microsoft. “We are engaged with our community and listen attentively to their needs and concerns. With their input our platform has continued to evolve, and we’re proud of the marked improvement the Games for Windows program has brought to PC gaming in its first two years.”
By the end of the year, we will see if the public have embraced or shunned Microsoft’s cross platform dream.
David Bass
| For the fourth year in a row, IDC has placed content security provider Websense (NASDAQ: WBSN) at the top of the IDC Worldwide Web Security 2011 –…
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