Windows 7 Will Be ‘Great for Games’

GamesIndustry.biz has published a three-part interview with Microsoft’s Chris Lewis (here, here, and here), in which the VP of the Interactive Entertainment Business answers questions about gaming on Windows 7, the Xbox 360, and more. His comments about PC gaming are particularly intriguing:

Q: PC gaming is still pretty popular for certain genres, so how do you feel that the Games For Windows campaign has progressed – is there more development planned there?

Chris Lewis: We’re happy there, and we’re very mindful that there’s a strong and vibrant PC gaming community out there. Not all console games lend themselves to the PC – when it is appropriate we bring games to both platforms, when it’s not we don’t, and that will continue to be the case.

Ultimately we’re a Windows and PC company at heart, and that’s not going to change, and the development on both platforms will remain central and important. The business ebbs and flows, and there will be times when we do more on one platform than the other, but they do co-exist very nicely, and as a company we’re in a pretty unique position that we have a strong legacy on PC.

We now have a similarly robust position on console, but we’re excited about all screen sizes, whether they be phones, consoles via the television, or PC. We’re uniquely placed to offer a very rich experience on all of those screen types to consumers, and we’ll continue to invest across all platforms.

We remain focused on it, you’ll see more from us there in the future, and long may that continue.

Q: Are you aware of any changes in the next Windows platform that are specifically aimed at the gaming community?

Chris Lewis: Windows 7 will be great for games, undoubtedly. It’s all good news – it’s even more robust, it’s quicker relatively, and the early testing cycles are proving very promising overall. I think it’ll be nothing but good news for PC gamers, but we’ll have more to say on that later on this year.