In fact, playing games has become one of the PC's more typical uses in recent years. Microsoft has developed its Windows software to support PC gaming for years and continues to incorporate new technologies to make the PC gaming experience more enjoyable for the home user. On the eve of Microsoft Gamestock 2000, Microsoft's annual gaming press event that begins today on the company's Redmond, Wash., campus, PressPass interviewed Microsoft's Shawn Sanford, group product manager for Microsoft's Windows Division, to better understand the PC gaming market and its future. Sanford and his team are currently working on Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft's next version of Windows for the consumer. Gaming has been a popular use of the PC since the beginning and has grown with the maturation and innovation of PC technology.
Gaming is incredibly popular.
In fact, PC games sell more than all other categories of computer retail products. I think the popularity of gaming on Windows PCs can be attributed to two areas. The first is the flexibility of the personal computer, which enables developers to use the innovations built into the PC platform to deliver incredible games. This flexibility also enables consumers of all types to take advantage of the environment by providing them with the choice to play the games that best suit them. As processor speed and power increase at an incredible rate and graphics cards rapidly improve, these innovations continue to open new opportunities for game developers and players.