yeah but does no one recall “The Internet Gaming Zone”? sure they made good games but if you wanted to play those games online with ease on PC then hope your PC came with IE or you had a decent modem to then download IE if your PC only came with Netscape.
One of the first decent PCs my parents bought in like '97 only came with Netscape. it was shortly after the time when the US Government said Microsoft can’t force every Windows Install to include IE. so some PC makers decided to go with Netscape instead. IE was a big download for the time too so imagine trying to download that on a 28.8 modem. took all day just to play X-wing Vs Tie Fighter or Age of Empires online because unless you knew the IP of the person you wanted to play and they knew yours you weren’t playing online.
So yes Microsoft has made good games for Windows but they’ve always been shitty about it.
I knew about the ‘gaming zone’ but at the time I played multiplayer across serial (shoutout to radioshack having everything I needed). A few years later when we got broadband, I just used direct IP. Still working today, no hassle other than either port forwarding or setting a vpn between machines. Will take direct IP every time over Live or other services that will eventually die (hello Gamespy; at least I can use a hex editor to use 3rd party GS servers).
yeah but does no one recall “The Internet Gaming Zone”? sure they made good games but if you wanted to play those games online with ease on PC then hope your PC came with IE or you had a decent modem to then download IE if your PC only came with Netscape.
One of the first decent PCs my parents bought in like '97 only came with Netscape. it was shortly after the time when the US Government said Microsoft can’t force every Windows Install to include IE. so some PC makers decided to go with Netscape instead. IE was a big download for the time too so imagine trying to download that on a 28.8 modem. took all day just to play X-wing Vs Tie Fighter or Age of Empires online because unless you knew the IP of the person you wanted to play and they knew yours you weren’t playing online.
So yes Microsoft has made good games for Windows but they’ve always been shitty about it.
I knew about the ‘gaming zone’ but at the time I played multiplayer across serial (shoutout to radioshack having everything I needed). A few years later when we got broadband, I just used direct IP. Still working today, no hassle other than either port forwarding or setting a vpn between machines. Will take direct IP every time over Live or other services that will eventually die (hello Gamespy; at least I can use a hex editor to use 3rd party GS servers).