PC Gamers don’t often take lightly to the idea of any kind of closed platform, naturally, this is what Microsoft appear to be proposing. Games for Windows LIVE, something like STEAM but with a hell of a lot more money behind it.

The idea was first brought to the public’s attention at the same time as the hyped, but ultimately disappointing, DirectX 10. Messenger in and out of game with voice chat, a platform to buy games and downloadable content, topped off with the ability to play cross-platform with Xbox 360 users. We could even keep our fantastic mods if we wanted!

Wait, where have I heard this before?

Oh right, Steam. Been there, done that, and still doing it very well. Perhaps Microsoft saw the success that Valve had accomplished and wanted a piece of the pie, with the stealth update (read: much needed) to the UI of LIVE on the PC and the promise of a standalone client supporting all games coming in weeks time, MS seem to have kicked their idea into overdrive after a long period of stasis. The question now is: will PC Gamers bite?

The main issue is downloadable content. What can be gotten for points (read: money) on the Xbox is usually issued in a patch on PC for free. When it isn’t, it divides the community as most aren’t willing to pay simply for downloadable content, expansion packs are how the PC platform has learned to operate; micro-transactions may be wildly successful in the Asian MMO market, but Western gamers tend to like a more solid approach, and just the mere mention of a micro-transaction will often have gamers spinning their heads in anger.

At the same time, this could bring even more new gamers into the fold; the cost of a gaming PC is rapidly approaching that of a console leaving fewer and fewer reasons not to get a PC, especially for those who want a more complex but more rewarding experience. Perhaps applications like Games for Windows LIVE and Steam are the halfway house between a console and a PC.