The topic for this article may mislead many people as it is a discussion that has been going on for quite some time. Is PC gaming mainstream? According to Robbie Bach at this year’s CES 2007 he stated that “Over 200 million people play PC games in a month”. After hearing that you may think that PC gaming is mainstream already and always has been, but due to the cost factor and intimidation it has been a platform that has swayed people from jumping in. Now with Vista around the corner Microsoft is looking to dominate the market even more so by bridging the gap between consoles and PCs with Live Anywhere.

For those who have not heard of Live Anywhere I will explain the basis for what it is by quoting Wikipedia: “Live Anywhere is a feature for the video game console Xbox service, Xbox Live. It will enable a variety of non-Xbox platforms such as a Windows Vista PC, Windows Mobile phones, and Java-enabled phones to connect to Xbox Live. Users, each with a unique Gamertag that carries over from Xbox Live, will be able to play online, keep track of their friends’ status, send and receive messages, purchase Xbox Live Arcade games for cell phone use, gain and keep track of Achievements, and more.” With that being said Live Anywhere is something that PC and console gamers have been wanting for quite a while as it will definitely enhance the experience of both platforms at the same time.

The bridging of both of these platforms will mean that Microsoft will have the biggest number of people playing on their platform, surpassing what Nintendo and Sony will ever be able to reach – combined. This is something I think Microsoft has seen for quite a while as it is one gigantic bulletpoint they would have in their pocket over their competitors, especially when you consider the developers would see the fact that they could pitch their games to an even broader audience that any of the competitors could EVER offer. Microsoft sees this opportunity and gets it – 210+ million gamers out there playing on their platforms wanting more. The only concern for Microsoft right now seems to be rolling out Live Anywhere.

Microsoft has been sitting on Vista for so long and obviously it has been because of Live Anywhere. Rolling out Vista and Live Anywhere at the same time is crucial. Microsoft’s competitors surely are not going to sit idly by and wait for them. Vista is due for release in January and the whole gaming community is waiting to finally see what Live Anywhere will do.

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