Run, Shadowrun

Shadowrun is in stores, apparently. It looks interesting, but I'm not fond enough of competition to buy a multiplayer-only title.

Well, not without a demo, that's for sure. Word is that a 360 demo will drop on June 6.

From what I've seen, there has been no announcement of a PC demo.

This is a very odd way to launch Microsoft's 360-PC synergy.*

The proper way, of course, would have been to make damn sure there was a PC demo on launch. Starting up the demo for the first time would take the player through the process of creating a Live account. Then there would be a few screens showing all the very cool things that Live has to offer PC players.

Assuming, of course, that Live has anything more to offer PC players than stat-tracking, matchmaking, and cross-platform play. And that's only if you choose to pay the 60 bucks a year.

It would've been nice if Microsoft had decided to get a full-fledged Live service up and running for PC users. That means the downloadable games, movies/tv shows on demand, and demos available right now to 360 users.

Or how about this: Offering a discount for PC gamers registering a new Live account and purchasing Shadowrun through digital download.

I'm not sure who they're trying to convince. At this point Microsoft doesn't need to make a successful product. They just need to keep throwing money at it until it works the way it's intended.


*Halo 2 is apparently also part of this overarching plan to stun the world with mediocrity. A last-gen game for current-gen prices? Pathetic.

And while I'm on the subject, look at this Games for Windows page. The Coming Soon column lists a bunch of games that are definitely not coming anytime soon, except for Lord of the Rings Online which happens to be out already (as is made clear since it's listed up top in the Featured Releases section). Their commitment is certainly in evidence.