The just-announced Gears of War looks fantastic on the PC. The already-beautiful Unreal Engine 3 is pushed even further on Games For Windows as can be seen in this first ever footage of the game running on the PC. With new levels, a level editor, and more surprises on the way, will Xbox 360 owners cry at feeling neglected by this "super-awesome" version?

Gears of War is no longer a Xbox 360 exclusive. Neither is Viva Pinata. Two of Microsoft's premiere console titles is now getting the Games For Windows treatment. The Game of the Year-winning shooter from Epic will gain a few enhancements on the PC, such as five new levels, a new editor, and "some very big surprises." Could the game look even prettier on a DirectX 10 PC? Believe it. Thankfully, the game will run on both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Viva Pinata and a major list of new Games for Windows titles were revealed at the Microsoft keynote, including titles such as Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties, Stranglehold, Blacksite: Area 51, and Kane and Lynch: Dead Men.

Sega's upcoming strategy title Universe at War: Earth Assault is embracing the battle of keyboard and mouse vs. gamepad by allowing cross-platform play, joining Shadowrun and Uno as titles utilizing Microsoft's LIVE Anywhere

Can Xbox 360 owners fare well against their Windows counterparts in a largely point-and-click-centric genre? When announcing the console version, Sega VP of Marketing Steinberg lauded the gamepad control scheme but gave no details on how it works.

Universe at War is coming out for PC in late 2007 and the Xbox 360 sometime in 2008.

The din about Games for Windows seems to cycle between a very quiet roar (remember their presence at E3?) to a muted hubbub, like the babbling of a crowd at a party that you can't quite make out. But what exactly do people think about the service now that it's getting out there into the wild?

The Hushed Casket has a list of the top ten things wrong with Games for Windows, and we'd have to agree with them. Although #8 on the list is more of a plus for another network -- "Xbox Live users have it so much better" -- it proves how the same company can do two similar things with very different results.

Our own James Ransom-Wiley called GFW a risk back in December, and this list pretty much confirms that opinion. Microsoft has been putting a lot of eggs in this basket, even publishing Games for Windows Magazine (without editorial influence) and mentioning the service left and right ... but will it pay off? Right now they've got a lot of uphill work to do. Check out the list and see if you agree.

For an industry that has been purported to be "dying" in some form or another for the past two decades or so, PC gaming has remained a remarkably consistent niche in the overall games business. The New York Times today takes a look at a recent upturn in the PC games market, partially fueled by the phenomenal success of World of Warcraft and the imitators it has spawned.

Don't cancel your console development plans yet, though. While domestic PC game sales were up 48 percent to $203 million in the first two months of 2007, the PC market was still dwarfed by the $990 million spent on console games during the same period. And while efforts like Games for Windows and HP's gaming initiative are likely to help attract attention to computer games, it's hard to match the focused marketing muscle of the big three console makers. So while PC gaming may not be dying, it's not exactly threatening to take over the country, either. The rest of the world, on the other hand ...

GamesIndustry.biz reports that the Ziff Davis Game Group -- home to publications like EGM and Games for Windows -- has continued to recede, with expectations for the game magazines offset only partially by a growing 1UP. Total gaming profits for Q4 2006 were down to $1.6 million from $3 million in Q4 2005, while the online subset of those totals grew 76 percent.

Ziff Davis profits as a whole increased 70 percent over that period, meaning that while the games group is still making money, it's not matching pace with the rest of the publicly traded company. Would the Game Group do better with a new owner?

It seems Microsoft has revealed one of those incentives in the form of cross-platform multiplayer. Text shown at the end of the latest Shadowrun trailer notes that "cross platform play requires Xbox LIVE Gold ... or Games for Windows -- LIVE Gold account (on Windows)."

We're betting that PC vs. PC multiplayer will still be free, as it has been historically. However, we're hoping that Microsoft has some more ingenious plans for GFW Live Gold. Paying a monthly premium just to settle the keyboard vs. gamepad debate does not sit well. How about a GDC announcement to soothe our nerves?

Trailer embedded after the break.

With consoles on one side and PC's on the other, the room was literally divided between the two factions. The only unification between the them being that of Microsoft and FASA Studios' upcoming shooter, Shadowrun. Best known for its cross-platform gameplay, all eyes are on Shadowrun to bring some real gravitas to the never-ending debate between fragging with a controller or the staple keyboard and mouse. We received our Shadowrun training on the Xbox 360 and while it was educational, we wanted to play "the right way" over on the Windows Vista build of the game.

A few rounds later and the collective butt of our team was sore from the repeated beatings it was taking. Next to us on a PC was Mitch Gitelman of FASA Studios. With every frag a taunt and every victory a celebration, you can only imagine our surprise when we realized that he was doing it all with the Xbox 360 controller.

Sacrilege? Maybe. Boundaries? Shattered. And if Microsoft gets what they want out of the Games for Windows brand, get used to it. Read on to discover how Shadowrun is making the controller a serious contender.

Sneaky hidden videos will always score high on our list, particularly if they don't involve Britney, Paris, and Lindsay. It's time we reclaimed their 15 minutes because they've run into serious overtime.

So, the story behind this video is as follows: 'Games For Windows' Magazine recently filmed a totally unathorized, hidden video tour of Kaos Studios for a piece about Frontlines: Fuel of War. They weren't thrilled about having their HQ filmed Geraldo-style, but THQ (the publisher) didn't want to retaliate against the magazine, for fear that they would give them a bad review in return.

So, once all the smoke has cleared, what does that leave us with? Frankly, not too much. Either it's a well planned "fake" secret video, or else it's a new wave of marketing going into effect that really embraces the old adage "there's no such thing as bad publicity." Of course, nothing really groundbreaking or damaging was revealed in this video ... or was it? Does this mean we can start running around developer HQs with a camera, knowing that they won't want us to pan their upcoming games?

Hmmmmmm ...

Atari has extended its deal with CD Projekt, agreeing to publish the Polish developer's action-RPG The Witcher in North America; in addition to Europe and Asia. Based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski's Blood of the Elves book series, The Witcher (originally, Wiedźmin) was first unveiled in June 2003 and made subsequent appearances at E3 each of the following years. The game utilizes a modified version of BioWare's Aurora Engine and is said to blend fast-paced combat with a twisting storyline driven by players' decisions.

The Witcher's relevance in North America is crippled by a lack of English-translated Sapkowski work (only one short story collection has been translated; to be published in April). Even the awkward name witcher is lost on English-speaking audiences (Sapkowski actually prefers his word to be translated as hexer). Wiedźmin is derived from the polish word for "witch" (wiedźma), and, as Sapkowski imagined, was invented by magicians as a derogatory term used to describe sterile mutants with (supposedly limited) supernatural abilities. In the game, players are Geralt, Sapkowski's legendary monster slayer, who is a witcher -- "The Witcher."

The Witcher is scheduled for release in North America this fall under the Games for Windows brand, and will be compatible with Windows XP and Vista.

Doesn't look like the potential buyers for Ziff Davis's games group, which includes EGM, Games for Windows and 1UP, are willing to pay the three times revenue price for the group that Ziff Davis wants. Asking for three times revenue, on a division that brings in mid-$20 million, but still breaks even on earnings is, as one source puts it in Foliomag.com, "Very, very over-the-top."

Kevin Gifford explores the sale and the Ziff Davis corporation in his latest Magweasel column at GameSetWatch. Avoiding the pitfalls of dumping on how print is a "rapidly diminishing" presence -- going so far as to say he thinks EGM is doing a "very good job at proving why they should exist." -- he comments more on the turn of events at Ziff Davis. A company which profited from enthusiast publications is finding their business eroding by the ultimate enthusiasts publication tool -- the internet.

See also: For Sale: EGM and 1UP

id Software's John Carmack isn't ready for his studio to make the jump to Windows Vista. "Nothing is going to help a new game by going to a new operating system. There were some clear wins going from Windows 95 to Windows XP for games, but there really aren't any for Vista," Carmack recently told Game Informer during a lengthy interview, which also featured id colleague Todd Hollenshead.

While Carmack remains keen on Xbox 360, he thinks the Vista initiative is bogus, accusing Microsoft of using the new OS's "artificial" tie with DirectX 10 to lure consumers (and developers). "They're really grasping at straws for reasons to upgrade the operating system. I suspect I could run XP for a great many more years without having a problem with it," concluded Carmack. Good news for those content with XP.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

See also: Games for Windows Vista: how the new brand & OS will change PC gaming

Call it a formality, but Bethesda refuses to confirm Shivering Isles, Oblivion's first full-length expansion. But the forthcoming content is no myth. After all, Bethesda supplied the details for the scoops that were bought and published by PCZone and PC Gamer, two UK mags. In fact, another Shivering Isles feature will appear in the March issue of Games for Windows (due Feb. 6 on newsstands).

This is just the business of embargoes, folks. Once Games for Windows has had its window of opportunity to sell the "exclusive" content, Bethesda will open right up.

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved has had its own little evolution, going from minigame, to full-fledged console game, and now it'll be dropping onto PCs everywhere and we've got the video to prove it. Yes, it's retro gaming action that takes you back to the land of arcade quarter-eaters like Tempest and Qix ... and it's incredibly addictive fun.

Check out the Vista version in action after the jump. It looks pretty spiffy on that monitor, or else the brightness levels are just kicked up to 11. Either way, PC users can finally toss Minesweeper and Solitaire away, because this will be the new king of the timesuck in cubicle-land.