Yes, I can see the Windows store becoming serious competition to other stores. People who grow up these days are used to the app store concept, to the idea that there's a built-in store to the OS and it's the way to get software. While old PC users will naturally stick to what they're familiar with, a few years from now I imagine that buying on the Windows store will be natural to many people (if Microsoft doesn't botch things up).

It won't be a competition for GOG, though.

Now you have one reason: Windows Store! Yeah baby!

I was thinking about this already back when Windows 8 was released (with Windows Store), and I somewhat agree with what you are saying.

At this point it is not fully clear (probably not even to Microsoft themselves) what they want to do with legacy PC gamers (including Steam (and GOG) users). I believe their ultimate wish is that the PC home users/gamers would migrate to using Windows (mobile) devices and XBox, and leave the x86 PC paradigm behind. On the other hand they also fear that if they don't handle it correctly, PC gamers will become Android and Playstation users instead. MS was too optimistic and self-confident thinking PC users would gladly jump ship to the earlier Windows RT devices, where you could get software only from Windows Store. Hey, just because it is by Microsoft doesn't necessarily make PC users love and accept it (fortunately).

So in that sense, I feel nowadays Microsoft is one of the biggest threats to legacy PCs, ie. an open platform where anyone can even make an OS of their own (Linux, FreeBSD, SteamOS etc.), can publish software and applications without Microsoft's involvement etc. Last I heard, MS is now dropping the requirement that Secure Boot should be possible to be disabled, in case you want to install some new Linux variant or other non-MS operating system without MS's approval on PC devices.

I have no doubt that in the end Microsoft wants to lock down the PC platform (so that they have more control over it), but how exactly they achieve it is still open. Probably they mostly wish that future "PCs" would be some sort of Windows 1x powered lightweight touchscreen laptops without the ability to install e.g. Linux, and applications would be bought only from Windows Store.


Even though I don't necessarily wish it, I also see the possibility of Android platform becoming the "future PC". At least it still allows people to install software also from 3rd party sources (hello HumbleBundle!) and it seems Android devices have also become more and more rooting-friendly, ie. you can even replace your Android with third-party variants.

Too bad though that at the same time Google has made some changes in new Android versions with which I don't agree, like making external SD cards less useful with new Android versions.

Imagine intentionally installing, using & approving of Spyware...


...topkek

A bit more food for thought: what would be the reaction if e.g. some new MS development tools, or API like DirectX 13, would work only for Windows Store products? A bit similar like Valve is locking down Steamworks games to Steam, but even a step further from that?

MS could still defend themselves saying that developers still have an ability to make non-Windows Store "legacy" games with earlier DirectX variants and older tools, but these new versions are merely perks for Windows Store-only applications.

If and when that ever happened, hopefully there are viable third-party alternatives (that are not tied to only one application store, like Steamworks is to Steam). OpenGL for 3D graphics I guess, but how about controllers, audio, multiplayer/voice etc.?

FFS,.. MS is really picking up pushing Windows 10 upgrades:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1276734-microsoft-is-making-it-easier-to-upgrade-to-and-harder-to-ignore-windows-10/

I guess I need to disable automatic updates on those PCs where I've already reserved + upgraded Windows 10, but reverted back to Windows 7 for now, just so that someone doesn't accidentally start it.

This is the comment which stood out for me. This closed mentality of restricting things to certain technology, in most cases when it is not needed, should have been killed off long ago. An example, Halo 2 which only runs on Win Vista. What we would see here is another store open for a few years, loads of software linked to that, and then it closes and those games are lost. As a collector this is very annoying. Sure the younger generation probably only know online stores, and hold their products in zero value, that is the cost of advancement, but that aside procedures should be in place for these to be run outside their original system.

The way I see it is that these types of things will become divisive in future (or probably already are), I grew up buying big box games (well after punchcards, cassettes, 5.25" floppies, 3.5" floppies etc.) and it was a great feeling to go out at a birthday and choose one of the shelf, get home, look at the really nice cloth map, then sit down and spend 3-4 months mapping each town, routes to quests etc. Now I see myself buying half a dozen in the sale and never playing them, or forgetting them as they are just a picture on a store. Going forward, that is the way things will be, nothing solid, nothing owned.

Windows Store at the moment isn't anywhere near threat to neither Steam or GOG or even more brand specified stores like Origin or Uplay mainly because their catalogue is pretty thin. Sure, they got a few known entities there, but as a whole the store doesn't seem to offer anything very interesting (not that I have huge user experience with it, I just opened it for the first time on purpose because of this thread. Maybe it's area locked as well, so maybe the offerings are better on some other location that isn't Finland).

Some, but not all. Three months after the official launch date, W10 marketshare is 6.63% ... so it's not much. I'd say it's mediocre at best.

And while we're still on "big numbers" which have only one purpose, to impress and fool you:
I installed W10 on 5 devices, 3laptops and 2desktops, as free upgrades from W7. Then I clean installed W10 on all of them. And then I clean installed W7 on all of them again.

I bet that those 5 w10 installs are included in the 110+ million above number, despite the fact that I never intend to reinstall W10 on them devices again. And I bet I'm not the only one. This is where, I think, you're wrong. If they'll insist going down this path, with forced updates, being "aggressive", using spyware etc then I'm going to update in 2020 but not to W10 and instead to Linux (from current W7).

So what? Their market share is so small that they don't matter on the grand scheme of things.
Look at orriggin and their bribing methods (giving away multiple games for free) and they're still minuscule.
bblizaard is the only one big enough for one to think that they can matter somehow, but look, they only have 3 (three!) games with which they're milking the fools? gimme a break, that's nothing.

Well, those titles don't tell anything to me, I could easily live my entire life not playing those franchises at all and still be sure that I didn't miss absolutely anything.

Now some thoughts regarding their future strategy:

Ms were caught with their pants down by the strong development of the new "mobile" sector and thus they made a desperate move by offering W10 for free. It's the first time in their history when for a whole year Microsoft will not make any money (or little) from launching a "superior" version of Windows.

Their new (future) bets are:
-clouding their products (Office, Dynamics, Azure etc they are in full process of clouding their whole products);
-"premium" (for now) hardware (by 100% copying Apple: Surface, SurfaceBook, Lumia), but it remains to be seen how long their partnerships with hardware, oems will still be valid: for oems MS just became an competitor (it's a matter of when MS will look into cheaper markets, not only premium) not a partner anymore, so oems could re-orient themselves in more cheaper partnerships (see linux). In a world which develops itself more and more inside a "browser" it almost doesn't matter anymore what OS you have installed on your PC (device).

They are betting for a future in which the local PC will become just an extension of the cloud.
I imagine that when, in the future, the cloud computing fully takes over, Microsoft will "shock" the world by making the Windows service open source. Of course, most of the API will be already in the cloud and that will be closed with one thousands locks.

We'll see.

I wonder what would happen if you should need to reinstall Windows at some point though? I understand the free offer is just an automatical update, you don't get a free license key, do you? So if for some reason you'd have to reset your system, you'd be back to your old Windows and would have to pay for a Win 10 license if you wanted to completely restore your system to how it was before reinstalling Windows, the way you'll have gotten used to by then.

Disable the spyware through the proper methods, or use this which automates such process. And no, toggling an on/off switch isn't the proper method.
When you upgrade using the free offer, the machine's hardware ID hash is sent to MS servers. Whenever a new installation occurs, the hardware ID is checked against the values in the servers, and if it is found there, the OS is activated. If it's not found, the OS will complain about activation, will prevent you from changing some visual options, and will have a watermark on the bottom right. Other than that, it will continue functioning perfectly.

well dunno from my personal experience as i don't use a windows phone i have absolutely no interest in windows store so just deleted it along with groove and most cortana functionality and i wont install anything of it again - so ya at least i'm one of the people who wont use it for sure ;)

I doubt that would fly. There'd be too much protest from PC gamers and developers alike. If MS get too greedy, they'll just shoot themselves in the proverbial foot. Remember all the crap they originally wanted to pull off with their new XBOX? I doubt that launch debacle had a positive effect on sales. I can say that it's one of the main reasons why I'll never buy one myself, and I did own both of their previous consoles.

I think this discussion is mainly relevant if you are talking about AAA games.
It does not seem relevant if you are chiefly interested in older games and indie games, which is what GOG focuses on.

With this in mind I really don't think Windows 10 can or would want to compete against GOG, since they'd focus on different types of games. The "Big Money" that Microsoft would be going after lies in triple-A games and certain mainstream Indie games, and not the obscure stuff (seen by modern mainstream standards) that you'll find on GOG.
So there are two different markets at play here.

Otherwise competition can only be a positive thing in my opinion, as far as Steam & Co is concerned.