Drew Johnston is the GPM for the Live Engagement Team on Windows. His work covers Games for Windows — LIVE and Windows 7. He will be speaking at this year's GDC about the next stage of Games for Windows — LIVE, expected to launch this summer.
What will the new Games for Windows mean for players and developers?
There are two parts here. Windows 7 is a smaller, leaner, faster OS than Vista ever was. It's been out in beta since January and has been getting good reviews from everyone who has used it, including gamers. A lot of the core gamers have come back and said their games are running more reliably and faster and much better than Vista. It's smaller and leaner for laptops, too, and also for Netbooks.
Win 7 is not slated to come out any time soon, but the new Games for Windows — LIVE will be out this summer. So, there is a bit of a gap.
There is a bit of a gap. The official word from Microsoft is that we will release Win 7 three years after the release of Vista.
So, you are expecting Win 7’s release by the end of this year?
Somewhere between November and January of next year is when it will come out, depending on how you interpret the official statements.
Watch the Games for Windows — LIVE compilation video
in addition to many other LIVE titles.
What will Games for Windows — LIVE Version 3 mean for consumers?
Games for Windows — LIVE, the extension of the Xbox LIVE service for Windows, has been out for a couple years now. We released an update this past fall that added downloadable content and game add-ons as well as an out-of-game client.
Version 3, coming out this summer, adds on to that with a couple of features for end users and publishers. Games for Windows — LIVE is going to focus on three key areas. One of those is server-side authentication. What that means is the LIVE service will track the license of the title to the gamer’s account. They will be able to run that game from any machine they want to. No longer will they be tied to a single machine.
Will there be a limit to the number of installs?
No. You’ll be able to install anywhere and play anywhere. We will be DRM-agnostic. What I mean by that is, it’s up to the publisher if they want to have off-line copy protection. If they do, there may be some separate copy protection. As far as Games for Windows — LIVE is concerned, you can install anywhere you want, as many times as you want.
Another thing from the end-user's perspective will be support for custom in-game storefronts, so publishers will be able to build custom in-game storefronts for their downloadable content. Currently, you have to buy your PDLC outside of the game.
Will this be like an enhanced Xbox LIVE Marketplace?
It'll be like the in-game storefronts you see in Rock Band, where you can browse content directly in the game and go from there.
The third thing we are providing for the end-user perspective is the roaming saved games and settings. We will store your saved games and settings in the cloud so that, combined with the server-side authentication, means not only can you install and play anywhere, you can start a game at work and continue your saved game at home without having to worry about moving that saved game around.
How were those features for Version 3 decided upon?
We were looking at the various features that would help both our users and our publishers. One of the biggest issues for all WIndows Games across the board is piracy, and while various DRM methods have been tried by various publishers, none of them of have been particularly effective for long. As an online service, we decided what we could do best was to leverage our online service to help protect the IP of our partner while giving the customer the freedom to use and install wherever they wanted.
We chose, in this case, to not provide an offline DRM solution since there are third-party DRM solutions out there. Frankly, with an online service like LIVE, being part of that online community, especially in multiplayer, having access to LIVE is the most important thing.
We feel that not only does this protect the publisher’s IP but it also frees up the consumer to install and play anywhere they want to. It changes the user behavior to reduce the value of a pirated copy. If I get a pirated copy of the game, but I can’t be in the community with my friends, I can’t get achievements or can’t add to my Gamerscore or can’t play multiplayer – then this significantly reduces the value of the pirated version of the game.
One of the things we were very concerned about was punishing the legitimate user of the game by having restrictions on the number of installs or where you can play it - things of that sort. And the roaming saved games helped flesh out that entire scenario so if you want to install and play anywhere you will have your saved games available for all those various locations.
Were these ideas inspired by postings in forums or some other feedback?
Yes. In particular, we watched a number of the various DRM fiascos and we read in forums about how people didn't like certain kinds of DRM and how it was intrusive. They didn't like the appearance of rootkits or things that placed additional restrictions on people's systems. We felt the best approach was to leverage the value of LIVE and the online connectivity and leverage the additional value of the LIVE service to the title rather than restrict the usage of the title itself.
What will Version 3 mean to the industry?
There's another feature I didn't mention from the consumer perspective called Zero-Day Piracy protection that we are planning to talk about at GDC. Piracy is one of the biggest problems that publishers have today and, in particular, the leakage of their game before street date. In many cases publishers feel like they lose as much as half of their revenue from pirated copies that get bit-torrented before the game hits the street date. This happens from a number of different places. Somehow the discs, as they go to the manufacturer a month ahead of the street date start showing up on torrents and the like. Publishers don't think that most people grab these titles to steal the IP. They believe they have dedicated customers who really, really want to play the game - now. They have a high excitement level and they can't wait to buy the game on the street date.
However, it's very hard, like a kid in the candy store, when they see, sitting there on their PC, the ability to download the game and play it a week or two before the game is released. So, if we can stop the early release of game by using Zero-Day Piracy that can increase legitimate sales for the Publisher.
Which will do what?
There’s a one-time online authentication of the game. So you do need to check online one time to see that if the street date has come or not. If not, the game continues to stay locked. It’s basically an encrypted game that shipped on the CD or digitally distributed so if the games get out early there’s nothing to run. The decrypt keys won’t be given out until street dates. During that one-time authentication, we see if the street date has passed. If so, we send down the decrypt key and the player can go on and play. From then on, they don’t need to check in ever again.
So Microsoft will be the portal to unlock the game?
Correct.
Where will that information come from? Will that reside on Microsoft’s servers?
It will reside on Microsoft’s servers. We will not release the keys until the publishers define the street date.
Where did the idea of Zero-Day Piracy come from?
It's something that publishers have been asking for. It's a way of improving their ability to generate revenue from titles on Windows. Again, back to piracy - piracy is a really big problem. We can reduce the amount of pre-zero day piracy by using these encrypt keys, as well as server-side authentication reducing the number of pirated copies people grab and play with. Currently, people do share keys. They will grab a key and give it to a friend. It's unclear how many copies get pirated by keys being shared but server-side authentication increases the number of sales to the publisher.
What are Microsoft’s long-term and short-term goals, and how do you know if you succeed?
I think we're already succeeding to start with. With Version 2.0 and game add-on support, several really great titles already came on board. Grand Theft Auto IV, Dawn of War II, and Fallout 3 and others have brought in significant increase in users for Games for Windows — LIVE. Version 3 will extend the number of titles coming to the Games for Windows — LIVE platform. Also, increased game add-on sales will help them as well.
We have about a dozen titles lined up to release this calendar year. Some announced, like Stormrise, coming out during GDC, and the new Batman: Arkham Asylum title is coming to LIVE. There are others I can’t mention now because they aren’t announced yet. We have 12 titles in the pipe now. I expect with Version 3 to see more.
The kind of feedback we have gotten from partners is “This is the kind of thing we have really been looking for. These are things we wished Games for Windows — LIVE originally shipped with.” We expect to see a broader pick-up on the number of titles and additional content as well as more and more users coming to the service.
Will Version 3 and your GDC presentation be ways to woo developers?
Yes, I believe so. We have done some early preview discussions talking with developers ahead of GDC. We had some very positive feedback on Games for Windows — LIVE, as well as features coming for Windows 7. GDC will be more of a public announcement of the set of features so that publishers understand we are making significant headways into helping with piracy.
It doesn't solve everything with piracy. Hopefully, third-party DRM solutions can help with that, but Zero-Day Piracy and Server Side Authentication are good first steps to reduce piracy on the Windows platform.
What will be the outreach steps after GDC?
We continue to meet with our partners throughout the year. There’s also the E3 show coming up where there will be additional announcements.
What will Version 3 mean for Games for Windows — LIVE community?
For Games for Windows — LIVE, we are continuing to support the Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows — LIVE community as one service. That’s something people should understand. People think Games for Windows — LIVE is a separate version of LIVE on the Windows platform. That’s not it at all. LIVE is one service. It runs across multiple platforms.
Is that something you think you will have to address further to clarify?
I think there’s a little bit of education that needs to go out to some people. We still run into people who don’t understand that it’s one Gamertag on both platforms. If you have an Xbox and if you are using the LIVE service, it’s the same identity on Windows. We know that a lot of Xbox gamers are dual gamers on both PC and Xbox. It’s really important that people continue to build their Gamerscore and earn achievements and stay in touch with the community on LIVE on PC as well as Xbox.
We’re not adding any new community features in Version 3. We’ve really been focusing on publisher features and getting titles to the service because we believe LIVE has a lot of great community features as it exists today. What we really need on the Windows side is to build more engagement from the number of titles.
In your opinion, why do you think that people don’t know it’s a unified system?
I think the branding can sometimes be a bit confusing. We have a Games for Windows — LIVE brand and an Xbox LIVE brand and, for people who are not as familiar with LIVE service, it sounds like two different systems. So, we need to do more with our outreach and our marketing to make people understand its one service.
Do you have any plans to do this?
We have a lot of plans in place to make it much clearer to the mainstream consumer that it’s not about Xbox or PC, but it’s about LIVE. It’s about enjoying the LIVE services and community wherever you’re playing. We have reorganized our teams around that very focus.
How long have you been at work on the developer aspects of Version 3?
We started in advance of the release of Version 2. I’d say about a year.
What will Version 3 mean for download speeds?
Nothing specifically in there for download speeds, but we are always looking at ways to improve performance and connectivity, reduce the number of problems users might have with connecting to LIVE.
Do you think that Version 3 is competition with a service like Steam?
Steam is a great competitor. They have been in full-game digital distribution for quite a while. Several Games for Windows — LIVE titles actually distribute through Steam. Games for Windows — LIVE titles have a digital distribution presence and a retail release presence. Steam has a number of competitive features compared to what we do. Yeah, I view them as both an ally and a competitor.
Are you moving in the direction where Steam will be a sole competitor?
We already have similar benefits to Steam. We have had community features ahead of Steam like achievements, Gamerscore and game add-ons. Steam just announced they will be having downloadable content as well. In some ways, Steam is following our lead and in some ways we are following their lead.
Are you already thinking about V4?
We are. Don’t have anything to announce at this time, but we certainly going to continue to be building on the LIVE service to a broader range of titles and larger consumer base as well additional feature that, when we are ready to talk about, we will announce.
In the interim between 3 and 4, will there be micro additions?
It’s a continual improvement process. If we see an issue that our customers face, we will address it between releases.
If you could stand up and say "We do X uniquely. No one else does it", what would it be?
The LIVE service is the unique thing that we have. It's not Games for Windows — LIVE versus other system. As I mentioned earlier, I think the industry has really been chasing LIVE, quite frankly, with Gamerscore, achievements and game add-ons. It's great to be in the lead there. If you really want to be playing cross-platform play, the only way you can do that is through LIVE if game publishers choose to use that feature.
The latest count is around 18 million LIVE subscribers both PC and Xbox. It’s the largest gaming community out there I believe. These are our online engaged players engaged with the service on an active basis. That’s the real value of LIVE.
The key thing I would like for people to understand is that it isn’t about just the PC or just the Xbox - it’s about LIVE on whatever platform you are playing, and continuing to add value to that LIVE service.
— John Ryan
Gamertag: DarthVegan