Rumor: Microsoft's Live support coming to free Windows games; Minesweeper, Solitaire and more
by David Hinkle 
on Apr 6th 2010 3:05PM
Microsoft is allegedly preparing to implement Live functionality into the free suite of games that comes with all Windows-enabled PCs:
Solitaire, Chess, Checkers, Spades, Hearts, Backgammon, Minesweeper, Purple Place, Spider Solitaire and
Freecell. This tip comes courtesy of our trusted source (who accurately predicted
Lucidity,
NBA 2K10 Draft Combine and
Tecmo Bowl: Throwback). Reportedly, each Windows game will not only get Achievements, but also chat and leaderboard support. While unconfirmed by our source, we'd anticipate this to be a free update.
If true -- and hey, our tipster's batting a thousand (that's sports talk for
reliable) -- adding Live functionality to these games would be an ideal gateway for Microsoft to usher new users into Live and the Achievements system. After registering a free Games For Windows Live account, a new user would be able to instantly start building Gamerscore cred with the free games included on Windows PCs. It's
Drug Dealing 101 -- give 'em the first fix for free, and they'll be hooked!
