Summary of Games for Windows Technical Requirements
Computer games are a key entertainment experience on Windows, but ease-of-use concerns have caused customer frustration over the years. Traditionally, games are installed like applications, but they are utilized more like entertainment media (movies or songs, for example), as demonstrated by the gaming experience on Xbox 360 consoles. Innovations, such as Games Explorer, expose games in a consistent manner that is different from standard applications. These innovations also give games first-class citizen status in Windows, together with Music and Pictures. The following requirements help ensure that Windows 7 and Vista provides an improved, more accessible, and unified gaming experience. At the same time, they ensure compatibility with Windows XP.
Security and Compatibility Requirements
The following requirements improve the overall security of games and help ensure that they work with Windows 7 and Vista on different architectures, under different configurations, and in different modes.
Summary of Installation Requirements
Customers can be confident that applications will install on Windows without degrading the operating system or other applications if applications use official system component distribution methods. A streamlined installation experience provides a more accessible and trouble-free out-of-box experience for games.
Summary of Reliability Requirements
These requirements make an application more reliable by minimizing the number of crashes, hangs, and reboots. The reliability requirements can help ensure that software is more predictable, maintainable, resilient, and recoverable.
