Valve challenges Microsoft's dedication to PC gaming

Valve questions Microsoft's Games for Windows push during a recent talk defending the strengths of the PC gaming market.

By Corrine Zuniev

Gordon Freeman

Doug Lombardi, marketing manager for Valve Corporation (developers of Half-Life and Counter Strike), has openly doubted Microsoft's dedication to PC gaming in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz recently.

"Right now it seems like [Games for Windows is] part of the marketing push to help Vista," Lombardi points out. "To really back a platform is a sustained effort over years and years, so we'll see if in two years Microsoft is still spending money to put Games for Windows sections in retail, and having PR people preach that message that the PC isn't dying."

Despite his opinion on Microsoft's Games for Windows, Lombardi has a bright outlook on PC gaming.

"If you took World of Warcraft, Steam, PopCap and added it to the PC pool, all these huge revenues -- just WoW by itself, right? If you took WoW's 2006 revenues and the 360's revenues and compared them, even then you would say I don't think the PC's really dead."

The Valve manager was not threatening in his critique of Microsoft, but he was definitely throwing out a challenge to the corporation to step up their position in the industry. More as it develops.

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