Microsoft to launch game-download platform

PC games and instant gratification could be a profitable business model come Nov 15th

Instant gratification is where it's at when it comes to accessing the latest games. It used to be, in the old days, that you had to get dressed and trudge your way down to the local store to get a new video game.

Now, you can do it from the comfort of your home, in your pajamas and fluffy slippers.

Microsoft announced Friday morning the creation of what it calls, a Games for Windows Marketplace. The market place is a games-on-demand distribution site, or as gamers like to call it, instant gratification. For the first time, game players can easily access PC games, which heretofore were available in store, with download options varying by developer and title . At one point, gamers could use Steam. But some Windows 7 users had been experiencing issues with compatibility. They've also had issues with viruses in the past (for example in 2005, 2007, and 2008), mostly due to their peer-to-peer file sharing service. Since then, there really hasn't been a one-stop destination for PC games.

Microsoft's download marketplace for PC games is a bit behind.

All three of the major next-generation consoles - PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 - have download stores, and a huge selection of games are available for your mobile phones. 

Nonetheless, the marketplace is out and should gain some traction. Developers upload their games, and Microsoft hosts the site, and the payment processing. Then the revenues are split between the two, at an as yet undisclosed percentage. The benefit, is that without the costs of producing game disks, and shipping, games will come with a higher profit to the companies who make them. This model even benefits the gamers, since they get a substantial reduction in cost.

Don't believe me? Lets look at a recent game. If you download Dead Rising 2 from the Games for Windows Marketplace it costs 39.99. Getting it new at Gamestop will set you back 59.99, or 49.99 for a used copy. They also mentioned, in the release, that they will have rotating specials on the site, both weekly and seasonally.

In an interview with Vator a Microsoft representative told me that game would be available for pre-order before their launch, the same as they are in many retail stores. Games will  be available on the Games for Windows Marketplace, at the same day and time, that they would be in the store. This could be an advantage, when you consider that midnight pickups are not available for every game, bought in-store.

The Games for Windows Marketplace also seems to have avoided the pitfall, that Nintendo found itself in when it opened the DSi shop, where users could not share points between their DSi and Wii downloads. Users will be able to use their Microsoft Points balance, across the  spectrum of downloadable offers: Games for Windows Marketplace, Xbox Live and the Zune Marketplace.Or, as the Microsoft representative put it during the interview, "...with a LIVE ID, the marketplace will recognize your current gamertag and account information. ...Your secure identity, including credit card information and MS points balance transfers seamlessly across platforms, removing barriers between you and the games you love. "

If user of the existing marketplaces, all transition over to the Games for Windows Marketplace as well then the platform will start with an estimated 25 million users.

The sites full version will launch on November 15th. The Microsoft representative said that 100 games will be available when the store first opens.

(Image from Microsoft)