Games For Windows Live

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Introduction Games for windows

Games for Windows is a trade name that is owned by Microsoft and launched in 2006 as a source to coincide with the commercial release of Windows Vista. It represents a standardized technical certification program as well as an online service for Windows games. Those games that have been certified by Microsoft carry the “games for windows” logo stripe. Games softwares must satisfy certain requirements that are regulated by Microsoft to be liable for featuring the games for Windows Brand name on its packaging.

Some of these requirements include:

The game should be compatible with the Windows Vista Games Explorer.
The game should expose an “easy to install” option that installs the title on a PC in just about a couple of steps and mouse clicks.
The game should install and run properly on x64 version of Windows Vista and should be compatible with 64-bit processors.
The game should support normal and widescreen resolutions.
T he game should support parental controls as well as feature family settings in Windows Vista.
The game should support launching from Media Center.

Games for Windows Other services

Games for windows have several other features brought to the users by Microsoft. Some of these features are discussed below:

Online Play

From the wide collection of Games for Windows, some games have access to Microsoft’s Live Network to play online along with other features like voice chat, messaging, friends list et cetera that are accessed from an in-game menu called “Guide”. Gamers can easily log in with their Xbox Live gamertags to play games, gain achievements and chat across different platforms. It is free of cost and therefore all the users can access features that were normally accessible only to Gold members.

Games Explorer

Games explorer is enclosed with all the versions of Windows Vista as well as Windows 7 and is a special folder that displays the games that are installed on the particular computer. The game’s shortcut and content rating information is added to the Games Explorer when a compatible game is installed. The fact that a game is compatible depends on the age and popularity of that particular game with newer games that have better compatibility. Games Explorer is well-matched with Windows Vista and Windows 7 with 7 parental controls. Parental controls help parents to restrict how long their child can play and what kind of games they can play on the basis of ratings and titles.

Tray and Play

Tray and Play is a technology exclusively created and developed for Windows Vista. It requires the user to put the game disc in an optical disk drive and start playing instantly, while the PC takes care of the installation in the background. The only game that uses this technology is Halo 2 (Windows version).

List of Games for Windows

The following are a set of released and going-to-be-released games for windows.

The Games Released in 2006

Titles	Release date	Developer	Publisher
Company of Heroes	14 September	Relic Entertainment	THQ
Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs	17 October	Ensemble Studios	Microsoft Game Studios
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy	11 September	Traveller’s Tales Ltd.	LucasArts
Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Deluxe)	10 October	Microsoft Games Studios	Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Flight Simulator X (standard)	10 October	Microsoft Game Studios	Microsoft Game Studios
Zoo Tycoon 2: Zookeeper Collection	1 October	Blue Fang Games	Microsoft Game Studios
Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania	17 October	Blue Fang Games	Microsoft Game Studios

Titles and Names of The Games for Windows Released in 2007

Titles	Release date	Developer	Publisher
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties	23 October	Ensemble Studios	Microsoft Game Studios
BioShock	21 August	Irrational Games	2K Games
Bee Movie Game	30 October	Beenox	Activision
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts	24 September	Relic Entertainment	THQ
Crysis	15 November	Crytek	THQ
Halo 2	31 May	Bungie	Microsoft Games Studio
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts	24 September	Relic Entertainment	THQ
Disney-Pixar's Ratatouille	26 June	Heavy Iron Studios	THQ
Empire Earth III	6 November	Rockstar New England	Vivendi
Hellgate: London	31 October	Flagship Studios	Namco
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition	26 June	Capcom	Capcom
Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia	15 May	Artificial Studios	SouthPeak Games
My Horse and Me	30 November	W!Games	Atari
Rail Simulator	5 October	Kuju Entertainment	Electronic Arts
Sega Rally Revo	28 September	Sega Racing Studio	Sega
Shadowrun	29 May	FASA Studio	Microsoft Game Studios
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword	18 July	Firaxis Games	2K Games
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Gold	17 July	Firaxis Games	2K Games
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe	2 October	Beenox	Activision
Star Wars Empire at War: Gold Pack	4 September	Petroglyph Games	LucasArts
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance	6 November	Gas Powered Games	THQ
Supreme Commander	20 February	Gas Powered Games	THQ

Titles and Names of The Games for Windows Released in 2008

Titles	Release date	Developer	Publisher
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures	20 May	Funcom	Funcom
Alone in the Dark	24 June	Eden Games	Atari
Call of Duty: World at War	11 November	Treyarch	Activision
Civilization IV: Colonization	23 September	Firaxis Games	2K Games
Crysis Warhead	16 September	Crytek	Electronic Arts
Deer Hunter Tournament	14 October	South Logic Studios	Atari
Devil May Cry 4	5 July	Capcom	Capcom
Fallout 3	28 October	Bethesda Game Studios	Bethesda softworks
Football Manager 2009	14 November	Sports interactive	Sega
Frontlines: Fuel of War	12 February	Kaos Studios	THQ

The following titles are names of a few of the Games for Windows that were released in 2009.

Titles	Release date	Developer	Publisher
Age of Empires III: Complete Collection	15 September	Ensemble Studios	Microsoft Game Studios
Batman: Arkham Asylum	15 September	Rocksteady Studios	Eidos Interactive
Battlestations: Pacific	12 May	Eidos Interactive	Eidos Interactive
Championship Manager 2010	11 September	Beautiful Game Studios	Eidos Interactive
Bionic Commando	28 June	Capcom	Capcom
Codename Panzers: Cold War	10 March	Stormregion	Atari
Colin McRae: Dirt 2	1 December	Codemasters	Codemasters
Demigod	14 April	Gas Powered Games	Stardock
East India Company	14 August	Nitro Games	Paradox Interactive
Football Manager 2010	30 October	Sports Interactive	Sega

Titles and Names of The Games for Windows Released in 2010

Titles	Release date	Developer	Publisher
Aliens vs. Predator	16 February	Rebellion Developments	Sega
Batman: Arkham Asylum- Game of the Year Edition	26 March	Rocksteady Studios	Eidos Interactive
BioShock 2	9 February	2K Marin	2K Games
Dark Void	19 January	Airtight Games	Capcom
Game Room	24 March	Krome Studios	Microsoft
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City	13 April	Rockstar North	Rockstar Games
Just Cause 2	23 March	Avalanche Studios	Eidos Interactive
Metro 2033	16 March	4A Games	THQ
Napoleon: Total War	26 February	The Creative Assembly	Sega
Vancouver 2010	11 March	Relic Entertainment	THQ

The following titles are names of a few of the games that are observed in the catalogues of going-to-be-released or upcoming games for Windows.

Titles	Expected or expected release date	Developer	Publisher
Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer	TBA	Funcom	Funcom
Alpha Protocol	1 June	Obsidian Entertainment	Sega
Brink	29 October	Splash Damage	Bethesda Softworks
Fable III	TBA 2010	Lionhead Studios	Microsoft Game Studios
F1 2010	TBA 2010	Codemasters	Codemasters
Fallout : New Vegas	TBA 2010	Obsidian Entertainment	Bethesda Softworks
Hunted: The Demon’s Forge	TBA 2010	Inxile Entertainment	Bethesda Softworks
Lego Harry Potter: years 1-4	29 June	Traveller’s Tales	Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Mafia II	24 August	2K Czech	2K Games
Blaz Blue: Calamity Trigger	27 May	Arc System Works	Tradewest

The promotion of Games for Windows was done through convention kiosks as well as forums from the year 2005. Ever since its promotion took shape, Microsoft claims that there has been an increase in the sales of Games for Windows- branded games in several stores around the world.