Friday, February 26th 2016
Windows Store Games won't have VSync, SLI/CrossFire, Fullscreen or Modding
Microsoft is looking to cut itself a lion's share of the game digital downloads pie, by making Microsoft Store (which comes included with Windows 10), sell contemporary AAA games, such as "Rise of the Tomb Raider." Unlike other cross-DRM transactions (eg: purchasing a Steam DLC game through UPlay store), Microsoft Store will serve both sales and DRM roles. You must be thinking "it's a free world, always room for more competition," right? Think again. There are several pitfallls to buying "Rise of the Tomb Raider" or any other AAA game through Microsoft Store, as users on Reddit found out.
To begin with, games purchased through Windows Store are built on Microsoft's Universal Apps Platform, and not the conventional desktop-based executable. The game is essentially a "modern UI" app, and not a conventional Windows application. This has great limitations - no NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFire support; no real fullscreen mode (just borderless windowed mode or pseudo-fullscreen); and V-sync being always-on. Other major downsides of UAP apps include no support for modding, and mouse macros. What's more, since UAP apps don't have *.exe extensions, you can't add them to Steam, and so no Steam Controller support. The Store in itself doesn't have a good refund policy along the lines of Steam and Origin limited full-refund policies; and you'll never be able to play your games on Windows versions older than Windows 10.
Source:
Reddit
To begin with, games purchased through Windows Store are built on Microsoft's Universal Apps Platform, and not the conventional desktop-based executable. The game is essentially a "modern UI" app, and not a conventional Windows application. This has great limitations - no NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFire support; no real fullscreen mode (just borderless windowed mode or pseudo-fullscreen); and V-sync being always-on. Other major downsides of UAP apps include no support for modding, and mouse macros. What's more, since UAP apps don't have *.exe extensions, you can't add them to Steam, and so no Steam Controller support. The Store in itself doesn't have a good refund policy along the lines of Steam and Origin limited full-refund policies; and you'll never be able to play your games on Windows versions older than Windows 10.
91 Comments on Windows Store Games won't have VSync, SLI/CrossFire, Fullscreen or Modding
- Hey, Microsoft is going to sell games on Windows store, what can we do to not have our lazy monopolistic ass that grabs nearly 30% of PC gaming market revenue pwned?
- Let's counter with Linux to get gamers off Windows platform!
- By investing into Vulcan (OpenGL) et al?
- Nah, let's have another Linux distro that would allow you to stream games from your windows machine
- Oh, yeah! That will show them! DirectX, we are coming!!!
For some reason, that didn't quite work.
- Hey, what about Steam machine?
- To use with streaming?
- Yeah, but maybe also with Windows!
- Heh, but don't we want to fight Windows?
- Oh, right, let's release overpriced "Steam Machines" that would allow people to stream games from their Windows Machines!
- That will show them!
For some reason, that didn't quite work.
- Hey, maybe we should also take on PS4 and XBone, what about inventing a controller?
- Right, let's make something that lookes kinda like owl and works like half ***ed mouse.
- Hell yeah! Sony, Microsoft, WE ARE COMING!!!
For some reason, that didn't quite work.
- OMG, Microsoft is actually starting to sell games on Windows Store, what are we going to do?
- Let's start FUD campaign!
Yay...Walled garden "omg this won't work", "omg that won't work" is nothing but part of the FUD campaign.
Valve is too big, you need godzilla to take on it. That's what Microsoft is in this case.
Microsoft does NOT need to create any walls.
Neither would it even try to ban third party applications from its platform. (that would get them insta pwned by EU and company)
They would want to leverage their position to get a nice share of the market.
The way Google did (and does).
Definitely not the way Apple did (and does).
To be fair though, tall those actions were following Valve people looking closely at the architecture of Windows 8, before they started the games in the Windows store. He predicted its use as a walled garden and the exclusion of other features/platforms.
So, back then, people thought it was FUD, but I'm thinking now, 3 years later, maybe not so much.
Quantum break sales on Xbone: 99%
PC: 1%
Headlines: PC is dying!!!
I dont want an Xbox but do want to play Gears of War, Quantum Break, etc. So I think this is a pretty decent effort to get their platform off of the ground.
I'll be the minority but I'll buy what I want to buy and play what I want to play. Its not like the games are broken in some way
And remember, the last time Microsoft tried this (Games for Windows Live), it failed miserably.
I'll take freebies from the Windows Store (e.g. Minecraft for Windows) but I ain't ever giving them a dime.
No wonder ppl resort to piracy not that I am condoning it.
Instead if they made it more accessible with reasonable pricing without having users jump thru hoops consumers are more than willing to pay for it.
This is like Sony making all their new BluRay releases only playable on 2016 BDR models only. They would be hanged!
I use Windows all my life (win7 atm) but for the first time I just wish this company would just go into obsolescence like my old VCRs and Blackberrys.
They only pretend to support it (as evidenced based on DX being shit forever and ruining studios/games).
I almost forgot the best part: They will blame us for the downfall of PC gaming b/c we won't buy/support this shit. Kind of like ubisoft blaming piracy for their shitty games (they want to be console only too).
The only problem I see is that Micosoft isn't going to release Microsoft titles anywhere except Windows Store. The only one Microsoft is hurting is Microsoft. Microsoft should have learned their lesson with Games for Windows Live. Microsoft should be well aware now that putting Xbox in charge of PC game publishing is horrible idea. Microsoft doesn't learn so sales via Windows Store will pale in comparison to other digital distributors. By extension, Microsoft's self-published titles will do extremely poorly because they refuse to put it on other markets like Steam, GOG, and Origin.
As been stated, Microsoft will blame piracy rather than the true culprit: their walled garden market. At the end of the day, there are two Microsoft's: headquarters and Xbox division. Headquarters won't do anything to jeopardize Windows gaming which means continuing to allow third party software to be installed on Windows. The Xbox division will continue to prance around like a headless chicken. As long as the division is still profitable through Xbox sales and licensing, I don't see the status quo changing. Microsoft headquarters just doesn't care enough about PC gamers to fix their own Xbox division. They have too many other sources of revenue to care.
The only way Microsoft fixes this is if they put Xbox division under the direction of the Windows division. There's been so much brain drain (Lionhead is effectively dead, FASA Interactive is gone, Rare is deader than a door nail, Digital Anvil is gone, and so on) at Microsoft that doing so would almost certainly result in failure. Except Halo, Fable, and Gears of War, all of the excellent IPs Microsoft aquired through all of those buyouts have been mostly collecting dust.
www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/microsoft-continues-to-proclaim-its-love-for-pc-by-doing-nothing-at-e3.202172/
Microsoft could never convince me they've made an about face in 18 months
...you know...
...like Robert Space Industries...
...that could have been developed by Microsoft...
...if Phil Spencer didn't screw over PC gamers in the name of Xbox.
Hell, look at Shadowrun. Microsoft owns the IP so they're getting royalties on it but without Microsoft's vice-like grip on development and publishing, the series is doing really, really well. Microsoft just needs to learn to back the !@#$ off.
Steam never went this far. I agree with the above posters, I'm getting pushed closer to linux every day...
Its Microsofts one time of the year when they crawl out from that XBOX shaped rock they've been hiding under for more than a decade with party hats, party poppers, balloons, trumpets and a massive foam glove with #PCMASTERRACE printed on it to let off some pent up steam, shout a few words about what they are doing that's great for the PC Platform/PC Gamers then go crawling back underneath their rock and do absolutely nothing until around the same time next year when the season is right and they come out of hibernation to perform the same part act and scream the same bullshit to the moon again before going back into
hidinghibernation.Anything Microsoft says in regards to PC gaming should be taken with a C-130 packed so tight with salt, even the pilots & crew have shrivelled up into stickmen.
Look.
www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-update-rise-of-the-tomb-raider-first-month/2300-6429698/That's right. Xbox One sold less copies of Rise of the Tomb Raider, even after Fallout 4's fallout was over than the PC version.
Because everyone is buying the game on PC. Microsoft needs to make Xbox on PC work if they hope to keep Xbox relevant.