DirectX 10 Still Only Available for Vista?
Originally Microsoft planned to only have DirectX 10 available for machines running their new Vista operating system. However, with less than stellar sales of the new operating system and people not running to jump on purchasing the new software like it’s a PS3 or Xbox 360, have caused the possibility of DirectX 10 becoming available for XP machines as well. It could all be the result of the gamer community, including players and developers.
Well, here lies the crux of the matter. In order for Microsoft to sell more copies of Vista to gamers they need some leverage, for example an established base of popular games that will only run on Vista. However game developers will never agree to develop something that only runs on Vista, that would mean professional suicide, maybe if Microsoft brings a big bag of green to the negotiations they might, but not just because of DirectX 10 and Vista. It is all the more likely we’ll see a watered down version of DirectX 10 first that will offer basic DirectX 10 compatibility to Windows XP users with compatible DirectX 10 hardware. This will create the much needed established base of PC’s with DirectX 10 compatiblility hardware and then it is only a small step to convince the game developers to include a ‘ultimate’ setting in their DirectX 10 game that will unleash the full eye candy when run on Windows Vista. That seems a more likely scenario to me, rather than Microsoft betting all on one horse. But we’ll see, for the time being, don’t abandon Windows XP just yet, there’s plenty of excellent DirectX 9.0 games in the pipeline for this year.
I really like the idea of “ultimate” settings that are only seen if you’ve got the right hardware. I think this is mirrored in HD television as well. Sure, everyone gets the signal the same, but if you’re not equipped with the right TV or cables, you’re not going to get the full effect. This benefits everyone, even the equipment manufacturers and cable providers. A similar economy could be seen in the computer hardware, software and accessories domain.
Original story: DirectX 10, no longer a Vista exclusive? at Hardware Analysis
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5 opinions for DirectX 10 Still Only Available for Vista?
Willy
Apr 1, 2008 at 1:35 am
[Admin Deleted] A man. I don’t want a B.S. O.S. but I want the DX10. Microsoft has a complete monopoly over OS’ and they now have a firm grip on the gaming market with the 360 but do you think that’s enough for them? hell no. They make you pay for an individual live account on 360 for every profile you have on the same machine…..you can’t play a lot of games co-op without an additional console (The darkness, turok, kameo, tenchu z, skate, etc… ) and now this crap with vista/dx10. When will this [Admin Deleted] end? If linux could just work it’s way into the gaming market we wouldn’t have to deal with this kind of [Admin Deleted].
Unnamed Gamer
Apr 24, 2008 at 7:09 pm
First off, there’s no reason to be so harsh. Second, I fully support the Dx10/Vista move. have you ever even tried vista? Cuz most of the people who “Flame” against it are people who read othere “flamers” reviews on some crack website. I’ve owned Vista since the week it came out and it works perfectly. A hell of a lot better than Xp ever did for me. And yes you need to get better Specs but hey that’s life. You want better performance, you gotta upgrade. Just like you can’t upgrade an original xbox to get 360 performance. it’s life, and a lot of people are gonna be moving to Vista once they dump Xp and move on.
nitro
Apr 26, 2008 at 1:21 am
yea right vista is a POS I have to run a dual boot just to get directx 10 for certain games and its a real pain. that is lame for a company to try to force people to upgrade. I just bought a laptop and the first thing i did was dump that garbage vista and put xp on it. It runs quicker looks better and doesnt ask you 10 times if im sure i want to do something..the os was made for retards or somethin
will
Apr 26, 2008 at 1:53 am
exactly, that’s all it is, a FORCED upgrade. If it really was a superior product they would release dx10 for XP.
I recently DOWNgraded to pissta from XP and after a couple weeks of tweaking settings it runs alright. How it runs is not the issue at hand though.
The issue at hand is the forced upgrade. Microsoft is producing the only OS for gamers that want to run in dx10. There is absolutely no reason they couldn’t patch dx10 into XP. They know that the only reason for people to buy vista is for the dx10, if that weren’t the only reason they would patch it into XP.
And Vista doesn’t run as good as it should. It is a resource whore. I know it sounds like a conspiracy theory but I think they bogged it down with so much crap just so people have to upgrade hardware. If people have to upgrade hardware they have to spend good bit of money on parts or (if they are not computer savvy) buy a shiney new dell or whatever crap they are pushing these days. In my opinion, I think it is all a b.s. ploy to sell an inferior OS and force people to spend a lot of money on stuff they don’t need all to stimulate our economy in recession. Yes folks, microsoft is working closely with the government, imagine that.
Lance
Apr 27, 2008 at 12:22 am
I understand what you guys are saying, but really it isn’t all that simple. I’m sure they COULD eventually patch 10 into Xp but it would basically mean they would have to re-write a bunch of system files and dx files so that XP doesn’t recognize it as a virus. And nobody is forcing you to upgrade. I mean almost all of the directx 10 titles are also dx9 and they look amazing either way. The only ones really are shadowrun and halo 2 and windows live. Vista doesn’t run like xp because It’s brand new. Xp ran just like this when it first came out in what ‘99? Xp runs great now cuz it has ya know 7 or 8 years of updates and 3 service packs. And Vista was out almost a year and a half before the start of this so called “recession” and I really doubt one piece of software is gonna stimulate anything.
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