Microsoft Markets PC Gaming, W00t!

I am an avid PC gamer and in all honesty I am not looking forward to the increased security of Vista so much as I am looking forward to DX 10 and the new generation of graphics cards it will usher in.

To go along with DX 10 Microsoft is starting a marketing campaign that focuses on games for Windows. Microsoft is taking this further than mere TV commercials and ads online, they are actually calling for the PC game developers to change the packaging to more closely reflect that of the XBOX 360 games.

What we will see are boxes that resemble those of the XBOX 360 with the little green “X” logo, but the PC games boxes will have a blue Windows logo on them. I for one am supremely happy to see Microsoft dropping some cash on PC gaming.I have never felt that PC gaming was dead as some naysayer’s have cried, PC gaming is simply for the more hardcore gaming crowd. PC gaming costs more, no doubts there. At the same time, PC gaming is of much higher quality graphically than consoles. That is not a statement made to hate on console gamers, it’s simply fact.

If you think Oblivion looks good on your XBOX 360, go to a friends house that has a high end computer, fire the PC version up and see what true hi-definition gaming is. I’m talking about Quad SLI gaming on a 30” display at 2560 x 1600, more resolution than even the highest of high end HDTV’s can muster.

Back to the point, Microsoft is also bridging the gap between console and PC gamers with the XBOX 306 Wireless Gaming Receiver. This USB peripheral allows you to use any wireless XBOX 360 controller with your PC. Granted, most avid PC gamers will still opt for their keyboard and mouse, but at least Microsoft is trying.

Another really cool step in the right direction Microsoft is taking is Live Anywhere that allows PC Gamers to interact with XBOX gamers via XBOX Live. So now what we see is Microsoft wooing console gamers from the console to the PC by allowing them to still chat it up with their XBOX pals, and use the same controllers between the PC and the XBOX.

Makes me wonder, why don’t console makers try to woo the PC gamers to the console market? Not that any hardcore types will abandon their PC in favor of the console altogether. The guys and gals that drop $3000 - $6,000 or more on a gaming computer wouldn’t bat an eye at a $500 console if it appealed.

To me what would make a console appeal are cool games I can’t get on my PC, Halo 2 for instance. That said I hate gamepads, driving games are my sole use for the gamepad. Want to woo me to your console, let me use MY keyboard and mouse on your console via USB support.

It really wouldn’t take much to make my home a multi-platform gaming environment. A few simple concessions to my gaming roots on the PC and I would bite. I bet lots of other PC gamers that don’t own XBOX, PS2 or Game Cube feel the same way.

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