Microsoft (MSFT) is finally stepping up to address the loud complaints from both OEMs and gaming companies about the impact Windows 8 will have on their businesses. A Microsoft spokesman has told VentureBeat that Windows 8 will have greater integration with its popular Xbox platform and will make gaming a more central part of the Windows experience than in previous editions.
“With Xbox on Windows 8, we created easy entry points into the types of entertainment that you’ll enjoy, including games,” he said. “The Games app prominently features your avatar, profile, friends and Gamerscore and allows you to explore your friends’ avatars.”
Of course, these reassurances aren’t likely to appease gaming CEOs such as Stardock’s Brad Wardell, who described Windows 8 as “schizophrenic,” “obnoxious,” and a “nightmare,” or Valve CEO Gabe Newell, who described Windows 8 as “a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space.”
