There are some rumors circulating around the internets that Gears of War 2 could make a belated arrival on the PC platform, just like the first title. IGN points to Beantown Games, the originator of this vicious little rumor, which posted details from a supposed unreleased press release for the game, along with supposed box art shots featuring the Games for Windows logo.

IGN then gave Kotaku the nod, who went to work checking into some of the stuff Beantown Games posted. The blog found inconsistencies in the Beantown post, with the supposed leaked press release being a near carbon copy of the original press release for Gears of War 2 on Xbox 360. Then, there's the UPC codes, which apparently all point to The Golden Compass. It's odd, to say the least.

As much as all of this seems like malarkey, one shouldn't entirely rule out the possibility of Gears of War 2 on the PC. The first game released on PC in November of 2007, a full year after the release of the original Xbox 360 game. Since the sequel released on Xbox 360 in November of last year, we wouldn't put it past Epic and Microsoft to crank the game out on PC some time in 2009. Though, when we contacted Microsoft, a spokesperson said "We have no plans for Gears of War 2 on the PC," so take it as you will.

Source - Beantown Games [Via IGN]
Source - Kotaku

It must be quite an annoying wait for you PC gamers, knowing that your console brethren are already finding enjoyment in Street Fighter IV. There must be something we can do to make this interim more bearable? Oh, we know! We have just the thing; we've got the specs, thanks to Capcom.

Wouldn't you just love to know if your PC can handle all of Bison's psycho power? Chances are, it can. Check after the break for the minimum requirements and see if your rig stacks up.

Do you like Games for Windows? Oh, you do? How about E3? Great! Now here's the rub: You can't have them together. According to our brothers from other mothers at Big Download, the GFW announcements at E3 2009 are going to be, well, non-existent. A Microsoft PR rep said that the company doesn't feel as though the game is aimed at PC gamers, but rather console-focused.

And while Microsoft plans on holding a Windows 7 reception at E3 where a variety of PC games will be demoed using the new operating system, the press conference set to "completely transform how people think about home entertainment" (does that mean we'll pay someone else to think about it for us?) won't feature any new GFW newsplosions.

For the few of you out there waiting for a PC version of Street Fighter IV and who, simultaneously, had not prepared for playing the game with a keyboard and mouse, Capcom has luckily thought ahead. It's including a MadCatz Fight Pad in the $60 Games for Windows version of SFIV that'll be sold at your local brick and mortar. We're wondering how many folks are willing to snag one of these for the controller alone!

Problematically, the company has at once solved your problem and caused another -- how are you going to play against friends in your house with only one controller? Knowing that the arcade controllers released have come in fairly short supply, here's hoping the introduction of PC Street Fighter IV brings with it a bevy of the unfortunately necessary controllers to the market.

Poor Games For Windows Live. The branding and service have been so neglected that it actually gives us a little spring in our step to see someone embracing it, like the way we like to hear about Brad Pitt buying mosquito nets for poor countries.

Its latest benefactor is Street Fighter IV on the PC, which will use the service to provide multiplayer and Achievements when it arrives on home computers this summer. Out of curiosity, have any of you been waiting for a PC release to polish up your Tiger Uppercut?

[Thanks, The Weaponeer!]

Microsoft has revealed new plans for the Games for Windows Live platform, focusing on copy protection and downloadable content, according to Develop. The features built into a new GFW update will help game companies prevent game piracy before a product's street date with server-side authentication -- including "authentication for online play".

GFW users will also be able to save general settings to an account, which can be carried over to games played on any "compatible and connected Windows PC," which sounds similar to the Xbox 360 General Settings feature, sans the cloud preferences are saved on.

Microsoft also plans to encourage downloadable content by simplifying the process. Using new APIs, developers will be able to create in-game store fronts to make DLC access a streamlined process for customers while "providing developers and publishers with new revenue streams."

Microsoft promises that the GFW team is hard at work on "several projects" tied directly to the Live platform and hope to build "new developer relationships" to get the most out of the platform. It seems Games for Windows Live is slowly creeping up to the functionality of the Xbox 360 Live platform. We're finally here! Quick, someone check the temperature in Hell.

GameSpy recently sat down with Bethesda senior producer -- lead producer of all DLC -- Jeff Gardiner to discuss The Pitt, revealing a host of interesting tidbits for Fallout 3 fans. The Pitt begins with the player encountering an escaped slave, named Werhner, from Pittsburgh, who claims the leader of The Pitt has discovered a cure for mutations. After disguising themselves as a slave, players will have to "find work, and figure out how to gain audience with raider boss."

New quest lines, "stylized" Power Armor and weapons aren't the only things added to Fallout 3 with The Pitt DLC; new mutated foes will hunt down the player. Trogs (pictured above) are subhuman life forms, heavily mutated by the unique Pittsburgh radiation. "They scurry around on all fours, fear the light, and hunt in large packs," said Gardiner.

The Pitt is expected to add the same amount of game time to Fallout 3 as Operation: Anchorage did; however, players will be able to return to The Pitt when their quest is completed. Three of the four achievements added for The Pitt will be obtained by completing the quest. The last is "much more difficult," involving the collection of one hundred steel ingots found in the area.

Three new perks have also made the travel to Pittsburgh. One adds to the "killing efficacy" of the new Auto Axe melee weapon, another relates to the extreme radiation of the area, and the last is "rewarded after completing a Pitt fight." The Pitt DLC releases on the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows Live on March 24 for 800 ($10).

Microsoft has revealed Batman: Arkham Asylum will lead the charge this summer as a Games for Windows Live release. The Bat will join Stormrise, Battlestations: Pacific and Red Faction: Guerrilla in what the official GFW blog calls "a strong summer" lineup -- not like it'd be biased about it, right?

Batman: Arkham Asylum is currently in development by Rocksteady Studios -- of Urban Chaos: Riot Response fame (or shame, depending on your take) -- and follows the comic book mythos of the renowned DC character. Joystiq recently went hands-on with Batman: Arkham Asylum; check out the post to find out if it's just another routine brawler or "the best Batman game ever," as Warner Bros. has claimed.

[Thanks, TheWeaponeer]

Bethesda just made the release date of Fallout 3's second DLC pack, "The Pitt," officially official: Tuesday, March 24. Like last month's "Operation: Anchorage," the upcoming DLC will come in at 800 ($10) on Xbox 360 and Games for Windows Live simultaneously. Also, Pete Hines from Bethesda confirmed that the recently released patch for the game "is specific to DLC and is required to play The Pitt. It doesn't address anything with the base game outside of that."

In tandem with the confirmed release date, Bethesda also dropped a trio of new screens that you can check out below in our gallery.

Congratulations, Ron Pessner! You've been chosen by Microsoft to head up the Games For Windows Live division and step into the shoes of one Chris Early, who recently became the victim of our terrible "layoffs" tag. It says here you've come from the Entertainment and Devices division, and will be joined by Microsoft Games Studios' Dave Luehmann, who will oversee development and publishing for Windows games.

That's right, Ron, they have games on Windows now. To be fair, you undoubtedly boast a keen awareness of the matter, as Microsoft claims to be pursuing success for its PC gaming platform with renewed vigor. According to a statement published on Gamasutra, the company hopes to further "invest in Windows as a first–class gaming platform through great Windows out of box experiences," not to mention a variety of online services like LIVE and MSN games.

And hey, you're taking over at a point where Games for Windows Live is free. That has to be easier compared to the last guy.

Chris Early, general manager for Games for Windows Live, has been listed among the casualties of Microsoft's first sweeping round of layoffs. While Microsoft has yet to make a formal announcement, VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi reports that emails to Early have bounced, and surmises that "more well-known managers will exit now there are fewer people to manage."

The former exec was first put in charge of GFWL in July 2007, and had been an evangelist for the platform since the early days of Live Anywhere. Takahashi ponders if this might signal the beginning of the end for service altogether, which despite a recent revamp has struggled to find acceptance. We wish Early the best of luck as we turn our heads skyward and wonder aloud if anyone in this economy is truly safe.

The holiday shopping season is about kick into high gear....keep your stress down about buying presents for your mother-in-law by checking out a week's worth of highlights from Big Download:

Exclusive features

• Playing Together: Co-op in PC FPS Games: Doom started the whole co-op mod in PC shooters and we look back at the trend on the eve of the launch of Left 4 Dead.
• Microsoft talks about Games For Windows Live plans: Microsoft's Michael Wolf gives us the 411 on their plans to revamp their Games For Windows Live service include their upcoming Marketplace additions.
• America's Army AA3 screenshot comparisons: America's Army is developing an Unreal Engine 3 revamp of their free multiplayer shooter and we have detailed screenshot comparisons of both the current and upcoming versions.
• League of Legends interview: We chat with Riot Games about their upcoming multplayer fantasy action-strategy game.
• Reviews: We review the latest American McGee's Grimm episode King Midas
• MODMonday: Our mod column this week is about a graphical revamp of Wolfenstein 3D, WolfGL
• Big Iron: Our hardware column this week takes a look at the perils of system restores in PC rigs
• Mac Monday: This week's look at gaming on the Mac takes a look at the recent fantasy RPG Kivi's Underground.
• Independent Minds: Our regular look at the indie game scene takes a look at titles made with the Unity platform.
• Boot Disk and Virtual Bargain Bin: Both our retro gaming and value priced game columns this week are about the turn based strategy game Disciples: The Sacred Lands.
• Big Ideas: Our regular look at trends in gaming is all about game reviews and how useful they really are.
• Freeware Friday: Our regular look at free games this week is about the procedural RTS game Dyson.
• BigCast: Our weekly podcast on PC gaming has some guest chatters this time round from sister sites Joystiq and GameDaily.
• Contests: We are giving our readers a way to win one of three copies of the PC version of Quantum of Solace and we still have beta codes to give out for Battleforge.
  

One part of the new (Improved? You decide.) Games for Windows Live is, well, live. That would be the in-game interface we covered yesterday. It's fast, functional, and even swaps Windows UI elements out for 360 controller button icons when you connect a 360 controller to your PC (a nice touch).

The next element of the GFWL reset is due next month: the Marketplace. We got to go hands-on with this standalone app and ... it's very much what you would expect. The Marketplace app will become available once the first GFWL DLC rolls out; load up a GFWL game and it will auto-download. Similarly, GFWL games will check upon starting up if there are any title updates – just like 360 games – and download / install them with no muss, no fuss.

With little (no?) fanfare, Microsoft has rolled out an update to its also-ran Games for Windows Live service, ready to shed some of that bad name just in time for this holiday's GFW-branded lineup (think Fallout 3 and GTA IV). So what's in store for you, PC gamers? Mostly, a much needed UI refresh. Gone is the ill-advised, console-inspired Blades interface – in its stead is a much slicker (much quicker!) menu that pops down from the top of the display. All the features you'd expect to be there are there: gamertag, friends list, messaging, achievements. As announced earlier this year, they've also done away with the tiered subscription service for PC gamers. No more "Gold" service – all of this is free, including TrueSkill matchmaking.

Indeed, there isn't much new in the way of functionality with one notable exception: the Marketplace. Though it's not available just yet (we'll let you know when "in the next few weeks"), the standalone Marketplace app will be akin to its 360 counterpart, offering publishers and developers a place to host trailers, demos, and DLC – all integrated into the game. Available now: the ability for a game to alert you to patches, and then download them and seamlessly patch them into your game. Boot it up again and – voila! – you're running the latest release. No messy files to download or delete.

We'll have our writeup of the latest installment in the GFW Live saga tomorrow; however, for now, flip through some of these screenshots from yesteryear to see what's changed. If you've taken it for a spin, let us know what you think. Oh, hell with it: you'll let us know what you think regardless! (Full presser after the break).

Full game digital distribution is in the cards for Games For Windows Live, we just don't know when that hand will be dealt. "Clearly it's on our road map," GM Chris Early confirmed to Shacknews. An update to the service today added video, demo and DLC support to Microsoft's PC Marketplace.

Should services like Steam be concerned? Not yet, at least. But with Microsoft already locking up exclusive content for GFW Live (see Fallout 3 PC DLC), there's precedence to suggest the company could scoop into its considerable war chest and strike up some exclusivity deals when it gets around to offering full releases. Of course, Microsoft is known for taking its sweet time getting to the ultimate destination. Road maps can be complicated, you know?