Games for Windows

You already know that Windows is a phenomenal gaming platform - the most popular gaming platform on the planet, in fact! That's why you're here.

But what you may not know is that Microsoft and some of the gaming industry's biggest names have worked together to make the gaming experience on Windows better than ever. And Games for Windows is the result. What is Games for Windows? It's a promise of games that deliver the great new gaming experiences on Windows.


The Games for Windows brand on games means four key things:

1) Quality. Games for Windows branded titles undergo extensive testing, and not just by the publisher. Microsoft also invests in quality checking each title to ensure they meet performance and reliability standards.

2) Compatibility. Games for Windows branded titles work on Windows XP and Windows Vista based PCs, including both 32 and 64 bit editions. Games for Windows titles that support controllers are also compatible with the Microsoft XBOX 360 controller for Windows, including the XBOX 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows. They even support widescreen resolutions and more.

3) Safety features. You can be confident that any title carrying the Games for Windows brand will support the new parental controls and family settings features in Windows Vista.

4) Easy to Play. Games for Windows branded titles are easy to install, find and remove, especially in Windows Vista. Every Games for Windows title appears in the new Windows Vista Games Explorer (no more hunting around the start menu for that game you just installed). And Games for Windows branded titles all offer some form of “easy install”, putting you in the game more quickly.

Why are these important? Because Games for Windows is all about letting you focus on the FUN.

Many great titles already carry the Games for Windows branding with many more on the way in 2008. Be assured of these great new gaming experiences by looking for Games for Windows branded titles.

Thanks for stopping by. And have FUN!

Great but you forgot to leave out the fact that older games will not play on the new and improved Vista. I am tired of MS making things not backwards compatible. I have older games that will not work on may new machine because they run on directx8 or 9.

Do you have practical solution for this? how do we run these old favorites?

Thanks,
Lost in Vista

Hello Jonesyx6, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Have you tried using Compatibility Mode on them?

You can also install the DirectX version that the game is requiring from Microsoft to.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks for the answer. It did not work a few more settings but gets pretty tiring having to uninstall and reinstall over and over.

I will let you know. I saw on another forum that Vista directx10 leaves out or renames a lot of the components needed by earlier editions. Some said they manually installed things but did not say how. What is real scope with that?

Thanks

there is a few ways you can get games working on vista, for example, me and Dzomlija managed to get diablo and Ultimate doom working on vista, have a look here > Blizzard's Diablo 1

I tried lots of settings. By the way the specific game is Total War: Medieval. I am about to give up and try an old machine just for this and other games. Seems sad that MS does this all the time to their customers.

Thanks

FYI. The diablo example of putting it in a games folder did not work. It closes as you are starting the game.

Thanks for the help.

Some older games may require that you also install DirectX 9.0 for them to work.

Do you have instructions on how to do that. I tried installing it and it gave me the 'untrusted cabinet' error. I have seen a lot of problems with it. This is getting to be more trouble than it is worth. I have to be a programmer just to play a game.

Let me know if there is a work around. Thanks again

If that is what the program says it needs, then you would just need to install the 9.0C DirectX.

Download details: DirectX 9.0c Redistributable for Software Developers

I downloaded the 33MB file and ran the install for DX9. The install program went from start install to all components installed in less than two seconds. In other words, it did not install anything but stated that it installed components. As for the game, it still stops working (closes) as it starts loading the first game screen.

I'm lost. Any other ideas? I hate to ask this but is their a manual way?

Thanks for all your help.