World of Warcraft media player

[Vandenh]

Microsoft has released a WoW skin for media player 10. You can get it here (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/desktop/wowskin.mspx).

Why does MS release skins for non-MS games? Interesting...

[Abednigo]

Why does MS release skins for non-MS games? Interesting...

You've seen Terminator 3 right? Bill Gates is like Skynet. Once the pieces are in place, he'll launch his attack. Even harmless little things like media player skins are part of his larger plot for world domination. :D

[Demize99]

Why does MS release skins for non-MS games? Interesting...

Or maybe... just maybe... MS isn't as evil as you think they are. Nah, thats too reasonable.

[Furious Wang]

WoW + 360 = win

[BloodAngel]

When I was interviewing for jobs right after college I interviewed with MS games division. The folks I saw there were hardcore gamers that did what they loved to do.

Walking through the offices I noticed one guy playing Doom II, another guy playing EQ. The MS campus is a cool place to visit, and I was very tempted to take the job, but the hours these guys put in are insane, some of the Devs live on campus, and go home on the weekends.

My point is that MS isn't the evil entity folks make them out to be, they are a business that turns out some nifty products.

[Heretic Machine]

Exactly what BloodAngel said...

[netcraazzy]

Has MS released game themed skins in the past for media player? If this is the first then I would seem a bit strange for them to pick WoW of all games. Why not Halo?

[Vandenh]

They have Halo skins and lots of MS game skins as well... as far as I know this is the first non-MS skin. Does this smell like a deal between Blizzard and MS?

[Grimgrock]

If I'm not mistaken, a Halo theme already exists.

[Kefkataran]

If you notice, WoW's site announces this as being released by "Microsoft Games for Windows". This is a part of the Microsoft website that pushes, you guessed it, games created for Windows. This includes non-Microsoft games.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/games/greatgames/default.mspx

They recommend everything from The Sims to Half-Life 2 to... um... Nancy Drew. :\ Oh, and Everquest 2. Heh.

So anyways, I don't think there's some big conspiracy that should make people jump to conclusions. I'm sure Microsoft would love to have WoW on 360 and this may be a small way to sort of court them, but it's far from a major revelation.

In fact, hell, go here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/games/downloads/default.mspx

You'll see they've released plenty of non-MS WMP skins. Battle For Middle Earth, Half-Life 2, and Need For Speed Underground, to name a few.

[Varsity]

My point is that MS isn't the evil entity folks make them out to be, they are a business that turns out some nifty products.
Every large entity is evil. It's only when people realise they consist of real people that the image fades away.

[Kefkataran]

Every large entity is evil. It's only when people realise they consist of real people that the image fades away.

Actually, the very reason that large entities tend to be considered evil is their ability to dehumanize. The bigger a company you work for the less likely those in charge are going to know who you are or give a shit what you think. But, really, let's not turn this into a faux-discussion of political theory like 1/4th of the threads here devolve into. :p

[Varsity]

So are you agreeing or what? ;)

[Kefkataran]

A little agreeing, a little disagreeing. There is a reason to think of big corporations as evil, but you're also right that most people stop when they realize there are real people working there. That's also the problem of the corporations themselves though: the bigger a company gets, the more likely those in charge will stop thinking of their employees as real people and more as just, well, employees. Then it becomes more and more focused on efficiency (ala EA's constant churning out of nine-times-out-of-ten mediocre titles) over anything else including quality.

Oh, god, what are we doing? This was a thread about a stupid WMP skin. :p

[Abednigo]

My point is that MS isn't the evil entity folks make them out to be, they are a business that turns out some nifty products.

I certainly know that. I know for myself it's just fun to pick on a company as huge as MS. When they swallow up whole companies to get XBOX exclusives, they're just asking to be picked on. ;)

[Vandenh]

So Kefkataran sorted this out.. MS has indeed released other skins. Looks like there is no special reason for MS to support WoW.

[Kefkataran]

I certainly know that. I know for myself it's just fun to pick on a company as huge as MS. When they swallow up whole companies to get XBOX exclusives, they're just asking to be picked on.

I don't think Microsoft is so well known for swallowing huge companies for game exclusives. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm no huge fan of the big M, but I'd still point to companies like EA much faster than I'd point to Mr. Gates.

[Royal Fool]

It's not coming to Xbox 360. Forget it. Okay?

[Kefkataran]

It's not coming to Xbox 360. Forget it. Okay?

It could. Blizzard said so themselves in that interview that was posted a few days ago. It's just not currently planned and seems fairly unlikely to me.

[Dirty Harry]

thanks to microsoft i might install silent hill 4 for pc aGAIN, GG MICROSUXX

[netcraazzy]

I don't think Microsoft is so well known for swallowing huge companies for game exclusives. Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm no huge fan of the big M, but I'd still point to companies like EA much faster than I'd point to Mr. Gates.

Yeah I'd put EA in the same league as Microsoft when it comes to devouring smaller companies. EA just sticks to software studios while Microsoft runs the gambit of the tech industry.

[jim_rock]

You've seen Terminator 3 right? Bill Gates is like Skynet. Once the pieces are in place, he'll launch his attack. Even harmless little things like media player skins are part of his larger plot for world domination. :D

I remember downloading a Terminator 3 skin for media player 9 a couple years ago. Tis' funnay!

[mister_slim]

My point is that MS isn't the evil entity folks make them out to be, they are a business that turns out some nifty products.
No, MS is an evil entity, but some of the people working for them are okay. It's like the drunk in Diablo 2. He wasn't evil, but he helped the analog of Satan.

What was my point, anyway? Something about microsofties being drunks? Anyway, hurting my eyes with that monstrosity wasn't exactly nice.