Games for Windows LIVE Cert. May Cause a Chilling Effect on PC Gaming, Says Stardock CEO

Shacknews has posted a wide ranging, two-part interview with Stardock CEO, Brad Wardell. In it he explains that there is a potential cost to developers who submit multiple title updates through GFW; “if you do it [submit patches through the title update certification process] more than X number of times, you have to pay money.” Wardell continues, “If Games for Windows Live maintains that strategy and they take over, I’m done. I’m not making PC Games. I would be done.”  

He goes on to explain that a majority of the patches to any PC game are not issued to fix bugs endemic in the game software’s code, but rather to fix compatibility issues that arise, post-release with third-party applications such as anti-virus software, drivers, etc. I would have to disagree with him on that point, but I digress.

Wardell also discusses some of the hidden costs to modern game development, such as having to “license a third-party NAT facilitator.” Microsoft offers this and other services to the development community, but only through the GFW program with, “all these strings attached.” 

Stardock has experienced several major hurdles earlier this year with their release of Demigod. When the game was launched in April a perfect storm erupted due to server capacity issues exacerbated by a 10:1 ratio of pirates to paying consumers all trying to login to the feeble network infrastructure that was in place. Wardell admits they were working with a network architecture that was not scalable and as a result they had to take drastic steps to keep their paying customers happy. They offered an open return on the game, regardless of place of purchase. “There’s an economic business justification for treating your customer’s better.” If you’re one of the thousands of customers who purchased Demigod during the launch window, it’s reassuring to know that Stardock is supporting the game technically and financially through a rough release.

The issue of GFW Certification is a whole other can of worms. These days, every major platform has a certification process. Xbox Live and Apple’s iPhone App Store are two of the highest profile cert. programs out there. They are in place to protect the platform holder and the consumer from both malicious and buggy software.

It’s a double-edged sword. No one wants to pay for a game or app that doesn’t function or is riddled with annoying bugs, but at the same time someone’s got to pay for the cost of the testing, review and publishing of the content. Every platform holder handles things differently, but the end result is the same. The developers usually end up with the short end of the stick.

In the case of GFW, Microsoft should probably waive the cost of submitting title updates when they go over the limit, since it benefits them to have quality, bug-free software on their platform. They can work closely with developers that have these problems which could improve their certification process along with the developer’s experience of submitting to the program. This would make sense unless, of course, they’re abandoning the PC as a gaming platform in favor of the more successful and profitable console market.

The market may have already beat them to the punch, seeing that Valve, Stardock and other independent developers are watching a steady increase in online sales through their digital distribution platforms like Steam and Impulse. With these marketplaces offering achievements, communities and social networking that rival or exceed GFW, they may just bow out of the branded program entirely.