What do you get from a Games for Windows tag?

Quality tags deserve quality features (or so the bromide goes), so what will gamers expect from a PC game box with the Microsoft “Games for Windows” strip emblazoned on it? IGN got to explore some of the gaming features of Windows Vista that makes the next-gen OS gaming’s XP… sort of… or maybe even more than that.

One feature you already heard of are the robust parental controls built into the OS. Just how robust? IGN says that it controls not only gaming but also web-browsing as well: lock out certain sites, lock out certain games, lock you out of browsing or gaming at certain wee hours in the morning – but hey, there’s a reason you’re under 18 years of age.

One quite useful feature, also mentioned earlier but more detailed now, is the Games Explorer. It goes beyond simply organizing your games. You can even view, organize, and start your game from individual games save files. Depending on how publishers take advantage of the feature, it will also include useful or at least descriptive information including performance ratings. There’s even a feature being considered that allows you to “stream-play” the game off the CD/DVD while it’s still installing. Whoa.

Here’s the quick lowdown on what gamers get from a box with “Games for Windows” tagged on it:

• Games Explorer support
• Parental controls
• Compatibility with the Xbox 360 controller (where applicable)
• Widescreen support
• 64-bit processor support
• Multi-core and multi-threading support
• Media Center support (Premium and Ultimate Vista packages ship with Media Center)

Quality tags deserve quality features (or so the bromide goes), so what will gamers expect from a PC game box with the Microsoft “Games for Windows” strip emblazoned on it? IGN got to explore some of the gaming features of Windows Vista that makes the next-gen OS gaming’s XP… sort of… or maybe even more than that.

One feature you already heard of are the robust parental controls built into the OS. Just how robust? IGN says that it controls not only gaming but also web-browsing as well: lock out certain sites, lock out certain games, lock you out of browsing or gaming at certain wee hours in the morning – but hey, there’s a reason you’re under 18 years of age.

One quite useful feature, also mentioned earlier but more detailed now, is the Games Explorer. It goes beyond simply organizing your games. You can even view, organize, and start your game from individual games save files. Depending on how publishers take advantage of the feature, it will also include useful or at least descriptive information including performance ratings. There’s even a feature being considered that allows you to “stream-play” the game off the CD/DVD while it’s still installing. Whoa.

Here’s the quick lowdown on what gamers get from a box with “Games for Windows” tagged on it:

• Games Explorer support
• Parental controls
• Compatibility with the Xbox 360 controller (where applicable)
• Widescreen support
• 64-bit processor support
• Multi-core and multi-threading support
• Media Center support (Premium and Ultimate Vista packages ship with Media Center)